Caps, toppers, camper shells - ONLY!

[jeremy zander]

Here is a truck i just picked up.
true one owner 1972
I bought it for the tailgate..

[jocko]

I stared at the 2nd pic for 5 minutes trying to figure out how they secured the tailgate to the wall and why they only put wood flooring on half the bed... Ha. Nice topper and nice truck!

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by jocko

I stared at the 2nd pic for 5 minutes trying to figure out how they secured the tailgate to the wall and why they only put wood flooring on half the bed... Ha. Nice topper and nice truck!

That's two of us....I think I need more coffee

[factorystock]

A lot of these early takeoff tailgates get separated from vehicle and end up at swap meets and craigslists. 98% of the time, wrong color of your truck. Wouldn't it be nice if all these super nice original tailgates get bought up by board members, put into a gigantic early takeoff tailgate pool, and then just traded ( or cash if you have nothing to trade of course ) for the color they need?

[jocko]

Fortunately my C20's original owner KEPT the tailgate and it was dent free.
Unfortunately, he painted the rest of the truck a slightly different shade of white. Ugh.

[72 tigger]

Jeremy, Your pics brought back some memories. In the 90's I bought a 72 the same colors & same topper as yours, the only difference was that mine was a cheyenne. I bought it for the nearly perfect black interior & the factory A/C. The body was typical midwestern rusty but, it ran & drove well. I believe I paid $700 for it & after I paid him I asked "do you happen to still have the tailgate?" He said "I believe it's up in the garage attic, do you want it?" I decided I could use it so I took it . Sold the engine & trans for $500 after I drove it for a year- definitely one of my better deals

[RockinKees]

I have a question...
Are the campershells specifically made just for Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge etc. Or are they interchangable?
I have seen one for sale overhere in Holland, but it’s on a Ford longbed...
Don’t know if it would fit my ‘59 longbed?

[68panelman]

Originally Posted by Bagged67gmc

1967

Borrowing your picture.
Looking for a short bed stepside cap like this.
Are these also made of unobtainium?

[special-K]

You might still be able to have one made to order.

I just bought this last month so I could sleep in my '72 at Spring Carlisle. It came off an '87. I wanted one with raw aluminum pieces like there were before everything went black. The bubble windows are a funky orange amber and all the glass was clear. So I tinted those tangerine. I'm thinking about doing a woodgrain treatment on the tan aluminum

[68panelman]

That cap fits right in with the olschool look of your truck Tim. I researched a little last night and ARE makes an aluminum classic series and need to get further information with a phone call today, their site only goes back to 1980 and mini truck option only?, Hence the phone call today, ha

[special-K]

Thanks. That's exactly what I was after... for 80 bucks!

It seemed to me I had seen later trucks with all aluminum caps by ARE. Mostly work caps but some with windows as well. It used to be you could go to any of these places selling cps and local/regional shops built them to order. But with the fiberglass popularity on more rounded modern trucks I guess those places may not be in business any more. I still see windowless aluminum caps that I'm sure are custom made, being a special height or maybe tapered roofs, etc. On the longbed '69 Power Wagon with Utiline bed I used to own, I had one made for a trip to Arizona that was basic white with just one jalousie window on each side. I dark tinted the windows and added clearance lights on the back. But it was very light (like this one now) and easy on/off.

These guys are in PA. Maybe they could fix you up:

https://www.rangertruckcaps.com/deluxe.html

[68panelman]

Thanks, it's on the morning list.
After my coffee and truck fix

[special-K]

Mine has a badge on the back from where it was bought in Lancaster. I could see if that turns anything up, too.

[Steeveedee]

I think I posted this before, but it's a good place to re-post it. I only have some stuff in the bed, no creature comforts, yet. The neighbor's house has been edited out of the picture. Guess I should pull it out in front of the house and get more pics.

[Coley]

Originally Posted by jocko

Fortunately my C20's original owner KEPT the tailgate and it was dent free.
Unfortunately, he painted the rest of the truck a slightly different shade of white. Ugh.

I'm in the same boat....seems to be common when the caps are involved there is always a risk of the tailgate disappearing.
My '72 had a cap on it for a lot of its previous life as well.
Fortunately, the owner kept it in the garage and sold it with the truck which was nice....but what was really nice was the condition it was in, lol.

Coley

[special-K]

Most of the caps back East had a hatch and the tailgate stayed on. While many in the west were more for camping than utility, so they had a door with tailgate removed.

[Shaky]

Sears' finest:

[special-K]

Perfect! Your truck is so right.

[Shaky]

Originally Posted by special-K

Perfect! Your truck is so right.

Thanks - once upon a time. There were sins you couldn't see in those pics that had to be fixed or it was gonna go downhill fast. Currently looks like this:

[special-K]

Is black the original color? Looks to be turning out nicely.

[Shaky]

Originally Posted by special-K

Is black the original color? Looks to be turning out nicely.

No - the maroon was the original, but a friend noted how straight the truck was and talked me into black. The paint is coming out spectacular. I'm going to keep it pretty stock, except for the seat and an overdrive.

[special-K]

Ok. I was never sure if your truck was Vermillion or if it had been painted Bronze. It will look great in black I'm sure.

There was a truck I could have bought until the owner died a couple years ago that was a GMC LWB Fenderside 2500 in black. He first showed it to me in '01. He bought it off of an Amish farmer. He himself was a farmer. What deterred me was it had been hit on the driver side. It looked fine on the outside, but inside in front of the door it was still pretty crunched up. Would have made a great run around chore truck, but that damage killed it for my hopes of making it nice...without getting into some serious cab rebuilding.

[Shaky]

I don't want to derail this thread too much. My truck was originally vermillion, but someone did a quick overspray with a slightly different shade - probably right after they filled the big dent in the roof in with two-part epoxy. You can see what I went through with that in the C20 thread in my sig line.

To make amends, here's a pic of my buddy's truck that we went to Alaska in, with the rare "'66 bed on '67 chassis and topped with old topper".

[cardude]

Originally Posted by RockinKees

I have a question...
Are the campershells specifically made just for Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge etc. Or are they interchangable?
I have seen one for sale overhere in Holland, but it’s on a Ford longbed...
Don’t know if it would fit my ‘59 longbed?

Did some looking and found out there are a BUNCH of differences between pickup bed sizes - that's the problem with finding a topper that works for our rigs! ('67 - '72 GM, and '72 - 93 Dodge look to be the only candidates)

Check out this list:

http://www.truckinamerica.com/toppers/BedSize.htm

I've got one off of a '90's era Chevy, before I realized they are tapered front to back almost two inches! The rear height is wrong, too. Crazy!

Nobody makes our size anymore. Been researching making my own out of fiberglass by making a female mold. (like a boat hull) LOTS of work!!

[DaBeast'68]

Period correct shell/cap, just ignorant to make or model...Any input is greatly appreciated. It was originally red/white, but faded prior to resto. Curtains soon to come, I have the original rods too.