My 1967 Chevy K20 Build Thread

[Chaparralman1974]

2/1/2024 - 2/5/2024
Primer Cab
The cab is now primered and ready to be block sanded. After doing a thorough cleaning of all the metal, I proceeded to apply a total of 2 coats of epoxy primer to the entire cab. I could have probably just spot primed where the body work was, but seeing as how the initial epoxy primer application was not all that good, I opted to ensure that the entire cab was fully sealed up. After waiting 2 days to ensure that the coats fully flashed, but was still within the window to top coat, I followed up with 3 coats of 2K primer surfacer. This was only applied to the areas that mattered, like the inside roof, back panel, and dash align with the roof, rear of cab and the door jambs. There was no reason to put any 2K primer surfacer on the firewall, floors, or anywhere else that isn’t readily visible. Now on to blocking!

[loudchevy]

Awesome update! Love the progress you've made on this

[Chaparralman1974]

Originally Posted by loudchevy

Awesome update! Love the progress you've made on this

Thanks Scott! She is getting there!


Clay

[Jason Banks]

You are making great progress, that's a lot of work. I have another question, Dunbar was able the put new bushings in your existing shackles for the rear springs?

I'm trying to get mine done, just dropped them off local and he wasn't sure if he would be able to do it. The shackles themselves are apparently specific to 1967-1968 4wd trucks and I can't find anything that matches. GM PM 3888966

[Chaparralman1974]

Originally Posted by Jason Banks

You are making great progress, that's a lot of work. I have another question, Dunbar was able the put new bushings in your existing shackles for the rear springs?

I'm trying to get mine done, just dropped them off local and he wasn't sure if he would be able to do it. The shackles themselves are apparently specific to 1967-1968 4wd trucks and I can't find anything that matches. GM PM 3888966

Hi Jason, yes Dunbar was able to get the new bushings pushed in. We used the existing shackles and they just put new parts in. The only thing that I had to have rebuilt and replaced was the rearmost shackle mounts themselves. They were totally fubar, so I had another spring company (Valley Spring Service) here in Phoenix fabricate totally new brackets. Everthing fit like a glove, although I did have to do a bit of trimming on the new mounts to ensure they wouldn't rub the springs. Let me know if you need any detailed pictures or anything.

Clay

[Chaparralman1974]

I don't remember exactly what part number was what, but here is the parts list that Dunbar billed me for.

Clay

[Jason Banks]

Great! RB-117 is what I had come up with to cross reference to the 468481 Part number I had found for the bushing. Hopefully they can get them installed!

He kept trying to explain to me the 117 was used on newer trucks, and I was saying 'please just check it out'.

[Chaparralman1974]

Originally Posted by Jason Banks

Great! RB-117 is what I had come up with to cross reference to the 468481 Part number I had found for the bushing. Hopefully they can get them installed!

He kept trying to explain to me the 117 was used on newer trucks, and I was saying 'please just check it out'.

Yeah, it is always a good idea to have them double check! I was not happy with Dunbar in the end. They didn't do all the work that I had been told they would do. I ended up taking the leaves back apart when I got home and cleaned them up myself. I will likely not use them again, but in their defense, the bushings did turn out ok. Everything on my chassis is sitting nice and level now.


Clay

[Chaparralman1974]

2/10/2024 - 4/8/2024
Steering Gear and Carburetor Rebuild
I needed a break from some of the body work, so I decided to begin the rebuild process of both the steering gear box and the carburetor. I am still not 100% sure what I am going to end up with regarding the steering system. I originally wanted to add power steering to the truck, but in order to do so, I would have to graft in a dimple in my totally virgin frame to accomodate the proper steering gear box, as well as source a pump and all of the other components necessary. Another challenge would be the steering arm. My closed knuckle axle has a straight steering arm that would need to be modified in order to work. Given the fact that I want the truck to be as factory looking as possible, I really don’t want to cut the steering arm or replace the front axle. I also looked into the possibility of adding an EPAS system. I may do that in the future, but for now, I decided to just rebuild the manual steering gear. It was not at all that difficult to do. I completely tore down the box, cleaned it, sand blasted and painted it satin black. As this is a standard Saginaw design, and parts are readily available, I was able to get a rebuild kit from Midwest steering and rebuilt the box in short order. I replaced all the bearings, seals, and bushings, and at the recommendation of Midwest steering, filled the box with lithium grease. I did have to do a slight modification to the pitman arm and steering arm with the tapered holes for the tie rods to go into. As they no longer manufacture the one piece tie rod, I had to use the three piece design present on later model 4x4’s. These tie rods are thicker, so I had to ream out the holes using a 7* reamer so that the tie rods would slide in.

[Chaparralman1974]

I next moved onto the carburetor. It was trashed. Mice had made a home out of it and the throttle shafts were seized in place. Nothing on it moved freely and the throttle body plate was corroded beyond help. At some point, someone tried to force the primary throttle shaft to move and twisted it. I tore the entire thing down, soaked everything in carburetor cleaner and then removed the brass tubes, needles, seat, jets, etc. and cleaned out every passage with welding tips. I was able to find another throttle body on eBay and then got a complete rebuild kit from Quadrajetpower.com. They have some AMAZING videos on the quadrajet rebuild process and I found that by and large this was a fairly easy rebuild. Once I got all of the parts, I was able to get the carburetor completely rebuilt. I also have been playing around with Caswell black oxide treatment to refinish all of the hardware on the truck. The carburetor has been no different. I blasted all of the screws, nuts, bolts, etc. and gave them a good treatment with the black oxide solution. This stuff really gives a nice looking rust free treatment that should allow them to live for another 60 years!

[72 tigger]

Beautiful work as always!

[Chaparralman1974]

Originally Posted by 72 tigger

Beautiful work as always!

Thanks Kirk! She’s getting there! I am really looking forward to getting a bed back on it so it once again looks like a truck!


Clay

[raggedjim]

Great work on this. Sticking with it through the cab work is a tough thing to do!

Good luck, Rg

[loudchevy]

Carb cleaned up nicely!

[Chaparralman1974]

Originally Posted by loudchevy

Carb cleaned up nicely!

Thanks Scott! I just hope it works! LOL!!


Clay

[LT7A]

Was cool to read through your thread. I appreciate the efforts towards originality and the attention to detail.

[Chaparralman1974]

Originally Posted by LT7A

Was cool to read through your thread. I appreciate the efforts towards originality and the attention to detail.

Thanks much! It has definitely been a labor of love for me.



Clay

[Short 3/4]

Hey Clay,
Just catching up on your build. Always a pleasure to see how your progress is going. I recently recommended this thread to a guy restoring a similar truck, as your research and the detailed documentation of your fine work is second to none.
I’m glad to see you decided to go with the stock manual steering. I’m always amazed how many think they “need” power steering, without actually driving the truck for awhile. With stockish sized radial truck tires (I’ve always used 235/85R-16’s) the steering gears are low enough and the steering wheel large enough that even around town and off road is usually not a problem. FWIW even my 66 year old wife occasionally drives mine with no complaints.
Keep up the good work. I’m really enjoying following along.
Tom

[Chaparralman1974]

Originally Posted by Short 3/4

Hey Clay,
Just catching up on your build. Always a pleasure to see how your progress is going. I recently recommended this thread to a guy restoring a similar truck, as your research and the detailed documentation of your fine work is second to none.
I’m glad to see you decided to go with the stock manual steering. I’m always amazed how many think they “need” power steering, without actually driving the truck for awhile. With stockish sized radial truck tires (I’ve always used 235/85R-16’s) the steering gears are low enough and the steering wheel large enough that even around town and off road is usually not a problem. FWIW even my 66 year old wife occasionally drives mine with no complaints.
Keep up the good work. I’m really enjoying following along.
Tom

Hi Tom, and thank you for the kind words! Yeah, I think that the manual steering will suffice for now. I am still tossing around the idea of adding an electronic powersteering setup in the future, but for now I am focused on just getting the old girl back on the road. :-)


Clay

[Jason Banks]

Clay, could you get me pictures and possibly measurements of the parking brake parts I have circled in these pictures? They are missing on my truck.

I ordered all new cables from Inline Tube and the front an rear cables fit fine. - https://www.inlinetube.com/products/sbst6713

The intermediate cable they sent is shorter than the NOS cable(which appears to be the correct part number), but I haven't tried either one yet since I don't have any of the pieces pictured.

[Chaparralman1974]

Originally Posted by Jason Banks

Clay, could you get me pictures and possibly measurements of the parking brake parts I have circled in these pictures? They are missing on my truck.

I ordered all new cables from Inline Tube and the front an rear cables fit fine. - https://www.inlinetube.com/products/sbst6713

The intermediate cable they sent is shorter than the NOS cable(which appears to be the correct part number), but I haven't tried either one yet since I don't have any of the pieces pictured.

Hi Jason, the cab is on the truck now, so I crawled under and tried to get a measurement of the parts you circled. The long rod on the passenger side appears to be about 15 3/4" and the shorter one on the driver side is about 3". It was kinda hard to get my head up in there and hold the camera steady.

Here is a link with a bunch of pictures that I took during the tear down along with a few videos that documented how all the cables were situated in the frame.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/021d...hc2mWcfmRC6chQ

Let me know if you need any additional pictures or anything.


Clay

[Jason Banks]

Holy crap, those pictures are amazing. Thank you so much!

I was able to rig mine to work. I may make a version of that longer rod.

I had this kit from Inline Tube for another truck - https://www.inlinetube.com/products/inl14355

The shorter brackets are probably the same as what you have.

But the long rod is just straight and not a hook. On a 1/2ton 2wd there is a dimple on the frame it rests on. I just put a bigger washer on it so it wouldn't pull through the hole on my frame. If I can't make a hooked rod, I may make a more elegant plate with an angled surface for the washer on the rod to rest against.

The intermediate cable that was included with the cables from Inline Tube was too short, but the NOS cable 3894291 worked fine.

[Jason Banks]

I'm going to watch that video about 50 times.

I noticed your brake lines are routed identical to mine. I ordered the full line set from Inline Tube and they were not even close, so I sent in my old ones and they duplicated them for me.

I don't have a hose on the vent for my rear diff. My vent just like a little breather cap.

Looks like your truck has the HD rear spring option like mine has too.

Hard to believe they only made 2773 Fleetside K20's in 1967...

[Chaparralman1974]

Hey Jason!

Anytime on the pictures! We are all in this together! LOL

I am going to try to reuse my brake lines. They weren't that bad, but the were wasted as they went into the "T" fittings on the front and back. I am hoping that I can just splice in some new brake lines with some unions. Truth be told, I have been procrastinating on it. I need to get out there and get it done.

I made sure to take thousands of before pictures to use as a reference, so if they aren't in my build thread, let me know and I can post some more.

And I agree about the low count of these trucks. Sadly, many of the K20's were worked to total junk. Those that are left have been cut down to shorty's. I am trying to keep this one as original as possible. I may change my mind later on down the road, but for now getting the old girl back on the road is the top priority.


Clay

[Chaparralman1974]

8/1/2023 - 6/11/2024
Body work, body work, and more body work

I HATE BODY WORK!!!!!
By far, the most grueling part of this entire project has been the body working phase. Over the past 12 months or so, I have been doing primarily body work with detours into other areas of the project that are a lot more fun. I will say that I have learned a lot about doing body work and can fully appreciate why professionals charge what they do for quality work. I have also had to change directions on a few things along the way. I had really wanted to keep all of the original sheet metal on the truck, but economics and common sense win the race there. For example, I tried to fix the hood which had severe oil canning in it with heat shrinking, but that is an art in and of itself. I ended up just going with an aftermarket hood and it fits like a glove! The part that I used was AMD 300-4067 and it seemed to line up with the original fenders perfectly.

The next thing that I changed direction on was the bed. I really wanted to try to salvage it as well, but I was able to find a near perfect bed off of a ‘68 that has a wood floor in it, so I am going that route instead. All of the other panels, doors, fenders, etc. were in really good condition and were able to be reworked. The only exception there was with the cowl that was so far twisted and welded on, that I just found a replacement on FB marketplace.

After doing all of the body work, I resealed it with Eastwood Epoxy Primer and then followed up with 3 coats of Eastwood High Build Primer / Surfacer. After I finalize primering the hood and get the bed stripped, it will be onto final block sanding. I think that I have also decided to attempt to paint this myself. Originally, I wanted to farm that out, but I figure, what the heck? What is the worst that can happen?