got the 72 longhorn home

[SS Tim]

Well... yes. It is hard to find a combination of working and pretty options. Usually it goes one way or the other it seems. A Cheyenne Super 30 pickup (longhorn or stepside) is low production, add buckets and an AM/FM the number gets smaller. With A/C, tach and a BB/4 speed, smaller yet. No Spin and a manual throttle too... well that and the other options just make this the truck it is. For me it would be a huge and hard to justify expense to import this to california in addition to performing a full de-rustification/restoration.

[richard2717]

Went home at lunchtime to take a closer look at the fog light setup. Someone did a decent job making it look like it would have come from the factory but it is not. I am assuming it is an extra headlight switch since it has two pull out positions. What I felt in the dim light yesterday evening on the label was actually an embossed label from one of the old time label makers.

Oh well its still cool I think

[richard2717]

Originally Posted by SS Tim

Well... yes. It is hard to find a combination of working and pretty options. Usually it goes one way or the other it seems. A Cheyenne Super 30 pickup (longhorn or stepside) is low production, add buckets and an AM/FM the number gets smaller. With A/C, tach and a BB/4 speed, smaller yet. No Spin and a manual throttle too... well that and the other options just make this the truck it is. For me it would be a huge and hard to justify expense to import this to california in addition to performing a full de-rustification/restoration.

Not saying a derustification is impossible but would most definately not be cheap unless another donor truck is found ( which i think I have.) The cab is salvageable with rockers and possible cab corners but it will need bed, tailgate, doors, fenders,hood and support, just minor stuff really

[richard2717]

Well, was staring at the longhorn this afternoon while cleaning up around the shop and kept thinking to myself that the paint still looks good on that thing, wonder if it will buff up some. Grabbed the polishing compound and a clean rag and Bam this thing would look sweet all buffed out. I will just have to wear kevlar gloves when I go to do the bottom

[Dieselwrencher]

Looks like it cleaned up quite well!

[richard2717]

I am not digging the brown diamond tuck interior. Can someone steer me in the right direction on what would be the correct seat cover for this truck? I think I have a good line on one if not two Longhorn trucks to help rebuild this one.

[SS Tim]

Originally Posted by richard2717

I am not digging the brown diamond tuck interior. Can someone steer me in the right direction on what would be the correct seat cover for this truck? I think I have a good line on one if not two Longhorn trucks to help rebuild this one.

Richard,
The one thing that may be to your advantage rebuilding this is that the Baltimore plant did not trim code your SPID. As it stands in the pictures you originally had parchment(off white) interior vinyl. When a Cheyenne Super was ordered with buckets it used the same all vinyl seat covers as the Cheyenne (and I want to say all A50 bucket optioned '72s). Fabric/Houndstooth is not factory correct on buckets.
But as I mentioned above if you had to have a different color Black, Blue, Olive, Saddle and Parchment were available on Cheyenne Super trucks. Since I don't have a complete trim card for '72 I need to wing this. Black, Parchment and Saddle (about the same shade as the diamond tuck) are known and common trim combinations, but I have seen documented Olive and even Blue (not such a good idea!) with 511 paint. So depending on if you are planning on removing or replacing the headliner a color change would be easy and correct. Normally I don't like seeing changes but interior color is a small thing if done correctly and I want to see this truck rolling again!

[richard2717]

Thanks for the info Tim, I will be redoing the headliner as well since they made it match the seats

[richard2717]

Well spent some time this morning removing the interior from the truck so i could gauge the condition of the floor. I was pleaseantly suprised no where near the amount of rust I expected to find. I am assuming that this truck was built very early in 72 since just about everything I have found with a date stamp says71'. I do not think that the seatbelts are original since I feel they should have been parchment and should not have the center belt. This set is black is stamped 71' and has the center belt. They look brand new, no rust or discoloration that I can tell as of yet. The belts between the seat and console even still had plastic sleeves on them. I will most likely sell these or trade them for som parchment ones in like condition.







I was pretty sure the cab lights were not original but I think this confirms it Pretty sure this is where the water was coming from inside the cab since they drilled all the way thru.




One thing I am having trouble with is the headliner. How is it attached to the roof? the trim was already busted in several places with several extra screws but now that i have that off the headliner still wont budge. I don't want to tear it up since the original might still be a good shape underneath.

[richard2717]

At some point someone put slip on covers on the rockers over the originals this caused most of the rot in that area.

[SS Tim]

Richard, Don't have time to go into depth on this today, but if you have some time you might want to do a "seatbelt color" search. It is possible that the black belts are factory but the A/C balls generally key. Are you sure it is a center set and not inners for shoulder harness? What color is the console? The bottom might give us a true "as delivered" indication. Also can you tell what color the dash pad and column are originally. On the headliner, they probably pulled the original and wrapped it with the diamond tuck. At the time this material was available roll form. It was probably glued to the old headliner and then glue back into the truck. Assembly manual shows the stock installation using a large full span "X" of adhesive to secure it. However it could also have been done in place with the new material being glued on and trimmed or wrapped around the edge. Look very closely maybe pull a corner and take a peek. It it likely that the headliner is toast though. The assembly date was on the blue door sticker in the upper right corner. If it is still there you will see the month and year. '71 part dates are expected. Unlike modern prodution "just in time" vendor part stocking numbers, they tended to lead production somewhat from weeks to on very low volume items a year.

[richard2717]

Tim,
At this point in my life I am not sure about anything. Everytime I think i figure something out I can come up with 5 reasons why that can't be right later in the day, The center console was painted brown at some point ( I assume when they did the seats) but when I pulled it out this morning the lower sides and bottom are still white. With the door panels being white and the console ( assuming) originally white I have come to assume ( and we all know what that will get ya ) that the seats would have been white along with the belts. I also assume that when they did the diamond tuck they switched out the white belts for black since the seats & carpet were a dark brownish color.

The dash pad appears to still be original and it is black as well as the column and wheel.

So basically what ur saying on the headliner is that most likely it woll be trash regardless.

Thanks for the info.

Richard

[WIDESIDE72]

Originally Posted by SS Tim

Richard, Don't have time to go into depth on this today...

[richard2717]

Here are some better pictures of the console & seatbelts

[VA72C10]

Very cool truck. Headliner is glued on from the factory as well as being attached with the trim...who knows what they put it back up with when they re-covered it...likely will need a new one anyways but try using a wide scraper or putty/drywall knife and work it under to separate it and see if it comes off...

[ThreeQtr]

Maybe someone more knowledgable than I would know if there were conversion companies back in the day that might have done this truck up like it is (?). Similiar to what 'Choo Choo' and 'Explorer' have done in recent years.

[WIDESIDE72]

Originally Posted by VA72C10

Very cool truck. Headliner is glued on from the factory as well as the trim...who knows what they put it back up with when they re-covered it...likely will need a new one anyways but try using a wide scraper or putty/drywall knife and work it under to separate it and see if it comes off...

I have parted several trucks with headliners and have never seen any sign of the trim being glued (?) I have never been able to remove all of the trim without breaking at least one piece due to the fact that the little palstic tabs that hold it into the slots cut into the metal are tougher than the actual plastic piece I was pulling on!

[leddzepp]

your black seatbelts and black dash pad are correct. i have the same interior.
Posted via Mobile Device

[VA72C10]

Originally Posted by WIDESIDE72

I have parted several trucks with headliners and have never seen any sign of the trim being glued (?) I have never been able to remove all of the trim without breaking at least one piece due to the fact that the little palstic tabs that hold it into the slots cut into the metal are tougher than the actual plastic piece I was pulling on!

you are correct. no glue on the trim. Sorry I said it wrong....I re-worded it


and yep....always seems one piece breaks...

[richard2717]

Originally Posted by leddzepp

your black seatbelts and black dash pad are correct. i have the same interior.
Posted via Mobile Device

I am by no means an expert on interiors, it just seems kinda strange to me if the console was originally white I would assume the seats were as well which would make black belts seem gaudy to me. Like I say though I have never in all my years seen one of these trucks with these options, usually around here the people got the plainest truck they could with 6 cyl 3ott. Heck it is rare enough to see A/C

[richard2717]

Well dug into the headliner and I am not thinkin Choo Choo customs did this one..... Maybe outback customs did

[richard2717]

Well i have had a line on four different longhorn bodies and so far nothing has panned out. both of the ones I found thru craigs list turned out to be flakes, one on here is in Washington state made it to difficult to ship and one other was a complete truck that I felt bad about parting up to fix this one since it appeared to be in nice shape. I have to make a decision soon since it is sitting right in my main doorway to the garage on four flat tires. I guess i am either gonna have to find four tires so I can move it around or go ahead and part it out. this is a tough one for me.

[SS Tim]

Richard, Toss some tires on it to move it about. The complete truck seems to be a really good option.

[67-4x4]

are you looking for another bed

[Vintage Windmills]

Did you see the longhorn near Olympia, WA being parted in the parts section? Long way to ship but may be an option?