The Ugly Truckling

[72KAY20]

Have decided to restore the ugly 71 K20 parts truck. It has got to be one of the ugliest K20's I had ever seen. I bought it a few months ago because the price was right (cheap), 350, SM465 4sp, 4.56 no spin rear, and the truck actually would start and move.

There is not a good piece of sheet metal on it anywhere. Very bad rust or dents in every piece but the frame is in pretty good shape.
Here are pictures from the day I bought it.

Thought I would complete the last K20 restoration in 6 months but it took me 2 years. I am not going to guess when this one restoration will be finished. No rush on the ugly truckling. It definitely will take more than 2 years. Will just buy parts as I find them. This weekend I bought a decent bed, front fenders, hood, and radiator support. They are all GM parts with very little rust. Will start to slowly recondition them when I have time.
Project has begun, wish me luck!

[steelhorse]

Good luck on this one.

[RWB-713]

Originally Posted by steelhorse

Good luck on this one.

you're a brave soul...

[gdavis]

it only gets better from here

[litew8]

Here we go again.

[DeadheadNM]

Originally Posted by litew8

Here we go again.

Nice! Along for the next ride also....good luck.

[72KAY20]

Agree with gdavis that it only gets better from here!
Getting rid of Ugly bed is step 1.

Here are before pictures of the Ugly

[daves72C10D]

Yea, that's a rough one.

[72KAY20]

Really cutting corners on this restoration

Since the bed is so ugly, will just be taking to the local metal recycler. I used a metal cutoff wheel and cut through the top of each of the 8 carriage bolts. Just had to cut the corners of the squares below the cap off the bolts and then used a long punch to punch them through the top and the channel below. This sure beats trying to get the rusty bolts off from underneath.

More pics of Ugly bed coming off.

[72KAY20]

Decent bed that I found on Craigslist at a great price. It looked like someone had sprayed bed liner or a hard under coating on the bottom which had helped a lot to preserve it. The deal also included the 2 front fenders, hood, and CST trim. All original parts with NO rust! Still need to find a decent cab and doors.

Luckily the same buddies that helped me on the last K20 restoration - Rudy S, Tom B, and Johnny C) are still great friends and agreed to help with the bed switch . My brother Paul continues to be a Saint and is letting me keep the ugly truck at his house. This allows me to stay married to my wife.

[72KAY20]

Bed install almost complete. It is just going to sit on the frame for now. We clamped the Ugly cap on to help keep rain and leaves out of the bed.

Will not bolt the bed on the frame until I find and install a decent cab. Also planning to install a fuel tank in the rear frame like I did on my orange & white K20. Will definitely wait for warmer weather.

[fapfap72]

I really like that new bed! Good shortcut to make on this truck, looks a lot better already

[72KAY20]

Thanks fapfap72. I called the metal recyclers this morning and they are only paying .09 per lb. That would probably be only $40 for the whole bed.

May hold on to the bed for another week or two and try to cut out some small pieces of the sides and bed floor, without rust, to save for future metal work. Still prefer original GM metal with slight surface rust to Taiwan patch pieces.
As you can see, I may not find very many good pieces!

[gdavis]

Good find on that bed. I looked on crigs list last night. I have not found a step side short bed for my truck. Still looking here in Florida.

[72KAY20]

Found a 1968 GMC cab on Craigslist in New Castle, DE. It had been sitting inside of a garage on a dolly with 360 deg swivel wheels made out of a truck frame. Bought it and a bunch of interior parts from Curt's Auto.

Curt had taken it a part years ago and was going to restore. He changed his plans and decided to sell. I was very happy when he said he would include the dolly. Sure did make it a lot easier loading and unloading.

This cab is in much better shape than what I started with when I restored the orange and white K20. It will need rockers on both sides but the cab corners and the rest of the bottom are in great shape. I am storing it in my garage for now and will start to work on it every now and then.

[72KAY20]

A few more pictures after loading for the trip back to MD.

[DeadheadNM]

Good score!

[72KAY20]

Worked on one of the vent doors and cleaned up the cab that I bought in DE some this weekend. Amazed that the cab corners were not rusted and that both vent boxes were solid. The channel across the top of the firewall had only minor surface rust in a couple areas.:metal

[72KAY20]

Few more pictures after cleaning the dust and dirt off. Will have to cut & convert this floor to a high hump floor.