The story on your truck

[GmtGmt]

got the idea from another section on the board so why not here also

Whats the story on your truck?

Will post mine later but need sleep

[cayoterun]

Good idea: All old iron has a story.
I'm always interested, when I'm stripping one inside and out, in what I might find in the nooks and crannies.
I thought of this on the last truck when I found the little kid's bunny rabbit. I tried to imagine what the rabbit could tell about what it and it's little human did with the big humans as they went about life.
Cayoterun

[Restrorob]

Originally Posted by GmtGmt

got the idea from another section on the board so why not here also

OK, Since I played in the other thread I'll play in this one too !


I bought project 74 from the same boss as my 97 only back in 1995, He bought the truck in 76 as a DD and company rig. In 83 he loaned it to a boy scout troop master for a weekend camp out, He blew a radiator hose and kept driving till it quit. Burnt the 4 bolt 350 up so boss parked it in the back lot, He hired me from the auto business in 92 and decided that would be my first project.

I found a totaled 76 C10 with a good running 350, He bought that engine for me to install and put it back on the road. By the next year 93 it started smoking and using a little oil, He had me pull it back out and rebuild it and had the trans freshened up. We ran it another 2 yrs 95 then he decided the body/paint was starting to look a little too worn for a company truck and parked it, I asked in 96 what he was gonna do with it. He let me have it for $700 cash with 56,000 on my rebuilt engine, It was my DD until 2000 when the trans took a dump.

It sat in my back yard a few months until I went and looked at new trucks....

I decided then I could strip and rebuild this whole truck for way less than a new one and have the old skool cool factor to boot and NO payments !!!

The frame/running gear & brakes/suspension (3-6 drop)/trans has all been done, I went ahead and added some punch to the engine going 30 over and installing a thumper stick with related parts. It's been a slow process the last five years due to family health issues (mine and elderly parents) but I hope to get a little done this summer......

[russgt]

My 76 Blazer.

I purchased it in January of 2009 from the original owner who had special ordered it. He ordered it loaded up with just about everything, rallys, tach + gauges, AC, dealer cruise, Trailering special package, optional fake wood center color, almost everything except he got the 4 speed. He daily drove it until 85' when he let the registration lapse and bought a station wagon that was easier to load his gear into. He pieced together a plow set up for it and only used it to plow his driveway and had even tried to sell it for about 10 years, but after 6 people saying that they would take it, but didn't show up with the money, he gave up. fast forward to late 2008, a friend of mine bought a house and told me a story about roofing his elderly nieghbors garage. The interesting part of the story (to me) was that the old man had an old 4 speed blazer in the garage. My response of coarse: "does he want to sell it?" Two days later I was checking it out, the price $400. I told him that I wanted it but, I wanted to bring my wife by to check it out. He didn't believe me when I showed up with the wife and 400 cash. He thought that no one would ever actually buy it.

I am in the process of completely redoing it and hope that I get the chance to show it to him when it gets back on the road.

[Racker]

Here is what i have figured out about my '74 CrewCab:

As far as i can tell, mine started life on the Air Force base in Cheyenne, Wy. , then moved to Douglas,Wy. as a rescue rig some time in the 90's. After that, it headed to a really small town, Glendo, Wy., as their rescue rig up until '02. At that time it sat around collecting dust and wasting away.

A buddy of mine bought it at auction for $500.00 and was going to scrap it out. Then he remembered that I was looking for one and gave me a call.Long story short, I bought it for what he paid. It sat in the my shop yard for a couple years as i was building my rock crawler.

Finally had time to mess with it now, so here goes. Ended up changing intake and carb since the original carb was shot, added a bed from a old project the boss had laying around and started driving it as a DD.

[jitteryguy]

I've want'd a 4 door dually every since I bought my Suburban almost 20 yr's ago. a couple yr's ago I stop'd by a buddy's car lot, he was'nt there so I drive'n out the back gate and see this rough dually. a couple weeks later I see my buddy and ask bout the truck, we hagled a bit and decide'd that if I pull'd the 454 and brought it back to him I could have the truck. I went and got it start'd and drove it home the next day. turn's out the PO was in to walk'n horse's and had a drink'n problem and live'd in the truck for a while, we clean'd 6 large trash bags of personal effects from out of the cab. the rear fender's where beat up, the boot for the half camper was shot and one door glass was broke out. my Girlfreind (she dont complain about the crap I drag home) thought I was crazy but now she think's it a cool truck.
I end'd up pay'n $1500 to leave the 454 in it, clean'd it up and buff'd out the paint. since then I've slowy been fix'n it up.

[JuicyJ]

Here's the story on my truck. My Dad bought the GMC Sierra Classic in 1990. Well after he bought it the engine crapped out. His buddy rebuilt the 305 and it okay for a few years. My Father was constantly putting money in it. Well at that time I turned 16 and got a job. He would pick me at work at night and sleep in the truck till I got out of work. I would drive us home. I had no permit or nothing to drive. So we did this for a few years. At 18 I graduated and instead of a class ring I got the truck. Well i ran it for my first few years of college. I had the oppurtunity to buy a clean 1970 swb stepside for cheap from his buddy but I was stubborn and said no. Stubborn Kid I was. Blew the engine twice (racing) and I just said the hell with it and bought a crate engine for it. I ran it some more and I was surprised that it never stranded me anywhere after the crate engine install. Stored it a few years most of my twenty's, thank god cuz I don't think i would have it today. I was going to paint it but I got ripped off by a body shop. So now it sits in my garage slowly getting back to one day soon seeing the road. I love this truck to much to let it go to waste. I have done most of the work on it, and I will soon dive into the body work. Hopefully I will do it and my pops proud cuz the truck deserves it. It is a part of the family in a way.

[dmartin1]

at the age of 15(17 now) my dad offered to buy me any truck under 2200$.i had 500$ from x-mas stuff and workin for random people,i went and looked at some blazer that was abseloutly done.i finally got the balls to ask the guy on the next street about the 1978 chevy 3/4 ton 4x4 he had half croaked over in his front yard.i wanted it since 8th grade,he told me 500$.me and my dad drug it home with a chain,and i have boughten everything and done 75% of the work to it,and as it sits everything works,body work and opaint done,inside restored,brand new driveline lifted on 40's etc.
first truck i ever drove,owned,bought,and worked on.
i abseloutly love the old chevys(all years.)
i have since then found a 1967 chevy 327 turbo 350 for 75$ and it sits in the back yard awaiting engine rebuild.
hookin up ac at the moment in the 78.

dont think ill ever sell it.eventually want to put a 500 caddy in it with some goodies.

[78 Big10 454]

In late 1977, I had just finished restoring a 59 El Camino and a 56 Ford F-150 big window pickup. Sold both of them the same week and now I was truckless! I wasn't about to use my 74 Vette as a DD, so I went Chevy truck shopping. Hit the local dealer on Christmas Eve who had two stripped down 78 Custom Deluxe longbeds and a well-equippped 78 Cheyenne "Big 10" Fleetside. Got a good deal on the Cheyenne and when I pulled out of the dealer's lot and punched it, I laid rubber for half a block. Didn't realize how hot a 350 was until I got home and closely looked at the sticker and realized it was a 454. Called the dealer who told me the 454 installation was a factory mix-up. And I've been paying for it at the gas pump ever since....

[Altec]

I should write a book...

Mine started out as my Father's truck. He purchased in the mid '90's, and drove the truck until early 2000's. The truck is a 1981 K10 Custom Deluxe. In his ownership he added leafs to the packs for a roughly 4" lift, stuck on Outlaw II 15x10 wheels and wrapped them in 35" BFG KM's. The truck started with a 350/350 combo. He had changed the engine MANY times. From a 6.2 diesel which later went into his roll back, a beefy 350 that later went on to be a 900hp 8-71 race engine in a '84 Monte Carlo, a 305SB from the Monte, another 6.2 that wasn't in long enough to run, and finally a 454BB that got used all of a couple months. The transmission was swapped for a 700R4 with a manual lock up switch. The interior was upgraded to a Silverado, and he also added a Silverado AC system since the truck came with heat only. Later we swapped most of the panels for repops, and the rockers were replaced. Then we got ahold of a '91 Silverado Suburban front clip and doors for power windows, along with a new rust free bed.

After this it sat for a couple years because of gas prices... He later gave the truck to me as something I could work on. Sadly, by this point the frame was rusted out around the steering box. So the hunt began for a new frame. Which was found a couple years later... And then we get into my work log in my sig.

[sjreno]

As far back as I can remember I've always loved the Square body shortbeds. One day driving, this particular truck caught my eye. I said, "if he happens to go the same route as me and we get caught at a light, Ill pass him a compliment." As luck would have it, that's what happened. I passed the compliment and followed that by asking if he'd be willing to sell it. As more luck would have it, he said yes. 2 days later a deal was struck, and now the truck is mine! Some things in life are just meant to be.

[74chevy4x4]

I bought mine last year from the second owner, a GI here at Ft Campbell. He had purchased it a couple of months before from the original owner, a retired Air Force type in Vegas, and drove it to Tennessee. I'd just gotten back from Iraq and have always liked the old Square bodies, so when I saw it on Craigs List for 3800, I checked it out and got him down to 3100.
I've since had the heads rebuilt, put in an Edelbrock Performer Intake, Comp Cams XE268, Jeggs Headers, pulled the TH350 3-speed for a rebuilt 700R4 Tranny with Overdrive and swapped the NP203 for an NP241C and Flowmaster Exhaust.
The "Project/Money Pit" is a lot of fun and a PITA too, LoL, but I plan on many upgrades in the future.
I get many compliments from people and Love driving a rare truck. The newer trucks are real nice until the sticker shock sets in. I'll drop 10 to 15K into this one and continue to enjoy it for many years to come.

[C25 Farm Truck]

My truck spent most of its life in Muleshoe, TX. It was bought by an old West Texas rancher for hauling things back and forth to town and for towing his camper. He didn't put too many miles on it, and for the last couple years of his life, he hardly drove it (he kept impeccable records). When the rancher passed away, his son kept it in a barn at the ranch and used it occasionally. In fifteen years it accumulated only 10,000 miles. He then sold it to a friend of his, a rancher in East Texas. That man had the transmission rebuilt, got the engine in working order, and then decided that a 4wd would be much better for his needs. So he parked it out by the highway (with no For Sale sign on it) to see what he could get for it.

Meanwhile, I was starting to look for a truck. Some of my fondest memories are bumping around my grandfather's farm in his rusty red Custom Deluxe. So when I bought my own little place, I wanted a squarebody to do my hauling with. I started checking Craigslist constantly, but never found anything that really met my needs. One day I was driving to work and sitting out by the road was a beautiful crew cab. The next time I came into town with my wife I pointed it out to her. But I couldn't tell if it was for sale. After a couple of weeks of driving by the truck every day, I finally stopped and asked about it. I took it for a spin and then the next day took it over to my mechanic for him to look it over. Meanwhile I was working hard to persuade the wife that this was a good idea. Surprisingly, she said yes! So I struck a deal with the rancher and brought the truck home. My wife was flabbergasted. She said, "The only reason I said yes was because I thought you had the good sense not to do such a foolish thing!" She has since learned to love the old beast.

[West Texas Z]

I saw some of the creations from Hills Hot Rods at a local car show and fell in love with the square body. I'm a Ford man but some how got sucked into the cubes. lol The rest is history.....never looked back.

[Keith Seymore]

I think many of you know my story -

Ordered my '87 new so I would have something to drive when I lost my GM company vehicle in October 0f 1986.

Followed it down the assembly line, and drove it over to the shipping building myself.

Owned it for four years, then sold it to my father in law in Montana/Arizona.

Father in law owned it for 18 years; I got it back when he passed away.

Fixed it up in 2008 and been driving it ever since (that makes me both the original and third owner of this truck! - lol).

You can read all the gory details in my into/build thread, linked below....

K

[wyattglock]

I had always wanted one of these trucks, most of the guys in my family had or have one. I looked for a couple of months before a friend found a truck northeast of Grand Rapids, MI. He test drove it and since I trust his opinion, I pursued it and bought the truck. We drove 6 hours north from Lafayette, IN to get it. In hindsight, we probably should have planned on towing it back home. Fuel pump quit, rear brake line blew out. Had to fab a bumper and mount a towbar. Paid a friend to drive up from Lafayette to tow us back. Took almost 9 hours in the rain to get back. Have been working on the mechanicals ever since. Still love this truck and cant wait to get further into rebuilding it.

[xs-style]

I was in the process of buying my 75 corvette from a friend of mine. He happened to mention a truck for sale. While i was picking up the vette, I saw the truck. It looked almost identical to my dads truck. I drove the corvette home, and had my mom take me back up there and bought the truck 20 minutes later lol.

[Restrorob]

xs-style,

Do y'all have money trees up there in NC ?

Originally Posted by GmtGmt

Will post mine later but need sleep

OK Thomas, Lets here your's !!!


There's some Kool stories here, Keep um coming....

[xs-style]

I wish I did! If I did the rebuild of the truck wouldnt have taken a little over 2 years so far. Of course I didnt just repair what broke. Its getting everything the factory forgot.

[69GMC910]

My Grandfather bought my truck new, back in 82. They drove it seldom, as they had an 82 Buick Lesabre which had many more bells and whistles than the High Sierra! The truck became a farm truck early in life, and by farm truck, I mean it delivered diesel and lunches to the field! My Grandmother used to take my brother and I camping every summer in this truck, and with her 52mph top speed, it's safe to say we spent a LOT of time in this truck as kids! Oh, my Grandma also LOVED pine tree air freshners!! Anyways, back in 1993 or so, my grandpa overheated it bad and burned a couple valves... The truck still ran, just not real well. It probably did two more lake trips (1200 miles) after the burnt valve, and also remained a "farm truck"... In 2001 I was driving my nice 69GMC and winter was fast approaching. I offered my Grandpa $500 for the 82, and he accepted! The truck when I bought it had 56,000 original miles! The burnt valve 350 lasted me about a year of daily driving. After that I swapped in a 383 re-did the body, and am currently redoing the interior. The truck now has 158,000 miles on it! Such great memories abot this truck, and would have a hard time parting with her!

I think the scent of PINE TREE AIR FRESHNERS was finally gone from the truck in 2009!!!

[GmtGmt]

Originally Posted by Restrorob

OK Thomas, Lets here your's !!!

Yeah will post it when i get i home from work today

Great stories guys

[jitteryguy]

Originally Posted by GmtGmt

Yeah will post it when i get i home from work today

Great stories guys

I recall some of the story on how you got your's, interesting !

[West Texas Z]

The truck came across last year when I "needed" a truck. I say needed because it felt at the time that every little thing I did required a truck and I got tired of asking my dad for his. I started looking for 1st generation Ford Lightning but failed to find anything affordable or in decent shape worth buying. I saw the 84 and saw that it was in great shape and in budget. Ive seen the things that Hills has done to them and decided to bite the bullet. lol

[motornut]

Back about 2000 I had a 78 4X2 burb drove it till it wasn't safe for the dogs in the back
Found an 85 4X4 in Kingston Ont, custom built, gold burb
4000 with safety, fell in love with it running/attending car shows etc
then a co-worker mentioned a neighbour has a 87 4X4 burb but needs work 600.00
I put a whole new front end, ball joints, axles, did drivers box side patch,no time before cold and snow so never did get the pass side box replaced(still in box lol)
went flat black rust paint cause it was more for winter driving and bush/camping
going into winter 05 a drunk drove into the back of the 87 insurance wrote it off
kept the truck for off road/plowing/parts.
I found this site in the nov.09 lots of reading.......drooling .....more drooling
Fast fwd summer 2010.
while trying to get tune up/spec info here on the 85, it turns out to be a 88(see sig for long version)
I had till renewal (dec)to get it done up as an 88(police still investigating)
found the jimmy about 3 hours drive from me(really rare here)
drove to see it ,bought it and he drove it here ,i drove him back
While working on the jimmy (nov)the gold burb was parked on the street.
it was hit by a drunk ....insurance wrote it off.....( see sig again lol for the rest of the story)
the Jimmys story is
the guy i bought it from bought it a couple of years ago in some kinda split up
the story was the couple bought it and repaired the body,(may have been in 89 by part #'s)
sat for a few years then the couple split and sold it
box sides and fenders, not quite sure if all the parts are aftermarket but it's not fulla bondo
told it's a period correct bored over (?)350 4 bolt main with a cam
well the flywheel was done (green paint prob 305 orginal)
changed starter,front seats,dash,radio.......
went to bring it in for a paint $$
but the intake blew, oil down the back puddles under it @body shop
glad they do more then just body work(see sig)
fixed and home again

[daytonagp4]

I have built 4 square bodies in my life so far I'm 27 and all the other ones i built were just beaters 1st on was a gift from my dad for graduating, put a 6" lift drove it into the ground. 2nd one was a flip truck that i wanted to fix up and sell that was 8 years ago i still own it 3rd one was a straight beater!!! And this one I'm building now has been a work in progress for 4 years now. I traded my old honda 250r for it. It wasn't running when I bought it so i decided to do a full resto due to the frame and cab being in such good shape. (so i thought) I started to strip it down and found out that in the late 80's it was a show truck ....a hot pink one....... Started to do a half a$$ resto found the frame was bent so i decided to do a show truck. Got a new frame and the rest is in my build thread!!!
I wish i could go back to when it was a show truck before and see what it looked like as a hot pink show truck!!!! below are my trucks minus the flip truck.