ID 1969 C20 Custom Camper CST 22.4k original miles

[larryboy_3t5]

1969 Chevrolet C20 Custom Camper CST
Survivor with original paint and interior. 22400 Original miles. I purchased this truck from the original owner’s wife after he passed away. He had ordered it new from Appleway Chevrolet in Spokane, Washington and took delivery of it in Dec 1968. The original owner wrapped the tailgate in a blanket and stored it. He installed a brand new cabover camper and used it as an RV, only driving it for occasional camping trips. It was stored in an air conditioned/heated garage it’s whole life. He stored it with the doors closed one click so the weather strip would not be crushed. It has never been wrecked and the paint is original, as is the interior. The original jack has never been used, nor has the ashtray. It has never been smoked in. I purchased the truck in April 2016 but declined to buy the camper. I spared no expense to make this a reliable, daily driver and a capable and beautiful truck. I have invested over 60k to get it to this level.

Factory options include: Tinted glass, upper molding, lower molding, door edge guards, day/night rear view mirror, Auxiliary rear overload springs, power brakes, inline fuel filter, manual throttle, power steering, chrome hub caps, roof lamps, AM push button radio, CST trim, full gauges with tach, full foam seat, L47 396, Turbo 400 automatic transmission, trailing arm w/coil spring rear suspension. Dana 60 rear axle with 3.54 gears.
Dealer installed items include Unity spotlights, fog lights, and dual saddle fuel tanks. Total fuel capacity is approximately 52 gallons.
Owner installed items include a three-gauge bezel with original Stewart Warner gauges for engine vacuum, transmission oil pressure, and transmission oil temperature.

What’s new:
Engine completely rebuilt with new pistons, mild Comp roller cam, roller lifters, double roller timing chain, two piece billet timing cover, Edelbrock aluminum heads and Airgap Performer intake, Edelbrock aluminum water pump, Sanderson ceramic coated headers, Holley 670cfm Street Avenger carb, MSD 6AL ignition, MSD billet electronic distributor. Est. 425-450 hp. Moroso air/oil separator, Early Corvette expansion tank converted to radiator overflow, Old Air products electric fan and shroud with dual Spal fans. Original radiator is in like new condition. Dressed to replicate the look of a 69 Chevelle SS396 right down to the GM branded hoses. All hoses and hard lines in fuel system have been replaced. New hi performance GM mini starter. 150 amp one wire alternator.
Transmission was fully serviced and a Hughes HD torque convertor was added to match the cam profile. A Lokar electronic kick down switch/cable was added. New transmission mount and center drive shaft mount. New CPP transmission crossmember provides clearance for exhaust.
New stainless Magnaflow dual exhaust with polished mufflers, x-pipe, and a set of polished Vibrant resonators give it the perfect sound.
New Vintage Air AC installed with factory style vents and controls.
New original Chevelle style comfort steering wheel.
HD sway bars were added front and rear. It corners very flat with none of the old school lean in the corners. New Moog front springs, KYB shocks, bushings ball joints and bump stops. New Moog rear variable rate springs, KYB shocks. New rear trailing arm bushings. New body mounts and shims line up the body with the bed perfectly.
New POL disc brake conversion, all new stainless steel brake lines, new rear brake shoes. New 16x8 wheels powder coated original silver with new Michelin Defender LTX Radials (in some of the photos you will see the original 16.5 inch wheels that the original owner painted white. I replaced these because there are no choices for tires in that size anymore and they are not safe to use with modern radial tires).
Class five trailer hitch modified to hide behind the rear license plate. New trailer wiring. New 69 Chevelle flip up rear license plate bracket. New original style rear bumper from LMC truck. I have not replaced the spare because I don’t like how it shows below the bumper. The spare tire bracket does come with the truck.
Front bumper is original. The front bumper guards are new reproductions of GM originals.
Turn signals, park lights, back-up lights, cab interior light, and the three clearance lights between the bumper and tailgate are all LED bulbs.
Original AM radio replaced with Custom Auto Sound retro-replica Slidebar am/fm stereo with Bluetooth connectivity. Dual cone stereo speaker in center dash. Rockford Fosgate 6.5 inch speakers in custom kick panels (no cutting required). Rockford Fosgate 600 watt four channel amplifier under the seat.
Full BoomMat sound deadening and heat barrier under the new molded carpet that goes all the way to the back of the cab. BoomMat sound deadener and carpet cover on fuel tank.
Three-point shoulder harness seatbelts with GM push button latches.
The II Much brand carbon canister shown in the bed is plumbed to the drivers side saddle fuel tank and is part of a complete pre plumbed system for the future installation of a throttle body fuel injection system. It includes vent and return lines plumbed and connected to the tank and a mount in the engine compartment for a fuel sump needed to make the system work with a three-tank fuel system. All that needs to be done is to mount the sump and throttle body and wire the system. The hoses from the carbon canister are plumbed through the bolt holes in the bed with bulkhead fittings. No drilling was required.
Triple electric horns behind grill that have the tone of a train horn at a lower, safer level.
Everything done to this truck (with the exception of the air conditioning) can be undone without repair or modification. I have saved most of the original parts that are in like new condition and include the following:
Steering wheel (original two-spoke with no cracks), AM pushbutton radio, carpet, distributor, coil, voltage regulator, alternator, radiator fan and shroud, carburetor, air cleaner, valve covers, intake manifold, cylinder heads, exhaust manifolds, cam, lifters, pushrods, seatbelts, and the original step bumper and class five receiver hitch that had been installed by the original owner.
Included with the truck is the original protect-o-plate, registration, dealer inspection paperwork, build sheet (recovered from between the seat cushion and springs), owner’s manual, and an obituary for the original owner. $52000 OBO

[larryboy_3t5]

Here are some more photos. The one of the seat was taken prior to installing the new carpet and sound deadening. Thats why you see the paper wrapping and the slice of carpet under the jack.

[larryboy_3t5]

These are all from the day I bought the truck. Gives you an idea what it would look like if you were to paint the wheels white. I've had many say that's what I should have done with the new wheels. I just wanted to try out the original color. The blue tank you see on the passenger inner fender is a Marvel Mystery Inverse Oiler. It introduced Marvel Mystery Oil into the intake via the PCV system. The owner did this instead of installing hardened valve seats when unleaded fuel was mandated. Caused a lot of carbon build up in the combustion chamber and was the reason I rebuilt the motor. It is now .030 over with new pistons which makes it a 402ci instead of the original 396ci. You can also see how much the body mounts had sagged over the years. The lines are now straight with the new body mounts. I still have that rear bumper and hitch BTW, and it will go with the truck if wanted.

[larryboy_3t5]

More photos of original parts and paperwork.

[larryboy_3t5]

More photos

[buzzcutt]

I don't think I've ever seen such a beautiful truck in my entire life!

[carbuff382]

OMG, that truck is truly a diamond in the rough. I'm with buzzcut, that's probably the nicest original truck I've ever seen. If I only had the room!

[larryboy_3t5]

The truck will be listed on Bring-A-Trailer soon. It is currently unavailable for private sale.

[Thealien]

Originally Posted by larryboy_3t5

The truck will be listed on Bring-A-Trailer soon.

That should be exciting!

[Joesjunk]

Originally Posted by larryboy_3t5

The truck will be listed on Bring-A-Trailer soon. It is currently unavailable for private sale.

Good luck, it should do well on BAT

[cypressbog]

Let us know when it gets listed. What is the emblem on the upper left of tailgate?

[Brettd85]

Probably disc brakes.

[yote1234]

Beautiful in many ways. love the documentation

[larryboy_3t5]

Yes, the decal on the upper left edge of the tailgate is a copy of the original that GM put on the 71-72 trucks to announce that they now had disc brakes. It would not have appeared on a 69 but when I converted the fronts to disc I thought it was a good fit. Same with the "Air Conditioned" decal on the driver's door glass.

[52napco]

Beautiful truck and love it but it lost its survivor status with engine mods etc

[Mickeymotormount]

Nice truck. It just makes me salivate.

[larryboy_3t5]

Sorry, forgot to let everyone know, this truck is live on Bring-A-Trailer.com. There are two days left on the auction.

[larryboy_3t5]

Photo from auction

[larryboy_3t5]

Bid to $35,500. No sale. It is on the market again and I will take $45k. If it hasn't sold by this Spring, I am going to improve my presentation and try again. Maybe take it to the C10 Nationals.

[Brettd85]

It’s a cool truck and was fun to watch. The extra holes, rebuilt and modified engine, and fogs might have held it back a bit but that’s a super strong number on a long bed! BAT usually brings good prices on low mileage vehicles so I would think the markets spoke. I wouldn’t be too disappointed, good luck with the sale.

[Grandpa's CST]

Wow what a BEAUTY! I have my Grandpa's Og 69 C20 in the same color w/Og paint. That is amazing what you have done. Hat's off

[Dmoore]

Did this truck ever sell?

[larryboy_3t5]

The high bidder on bringatrailer.com commented that he would have bid higher if the fuel injection was installed and the FI emblems were added to the fenders. I haven't put any more miles on the truck, but I had to take a break from working on it to have a surgery. I'm planning to install Holley Sniper TBI and the emblems next week. I will be contacting the high bidder to see if he is still interested and if not, it will go back on bringatrailer. Before I list it, I will update this thread with some photos of the install.

My other project (68 C10, 3" stretched cab, 7' bed) is moving forward and the sale of this truck will replace the savings I'm depleting building that one. Luckily, it's at the fab shop for all the body modifications so my break isn't effecting that right now.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by larryboy_3t5

The high bidder on bringatrailer.com commented that he would have bid higher if the fuel injection was installed and the FI emblems were added to the fenders. I haven't put any more miles on the truck, but I had to take a break from working on it to have a surgery. I'm planning to install Holley Sniper TBI and the emblems next week. I will be contacting the high bidder to see if he is still interested and if not, it will go back on bringatrailer. Before I list it, I will update this thread with some photos of the install.

My other project (68 C10, 3" stretched cab, 7' bed) is moving forward and the sale of this truck will replace the savings I'm depleting building that one. Luckily, it's at the fab shop for all the body modifications so my break isn't effecting that right now.

Please post updates on your other build as well. Hope your surgery recovery goes well!

[larryboy_3t5]

Thanks. Maybe I'll start a thread for the 68 build. I'm not very good at staying up to date on posts but maybe I'll give it a shot.