WA 1968 Chevrolet C20 w/ build sheet and Protect-O-Plate

[68 TT]

UPDATE: Price reduced to $2,700 o.b.o.

The truck now runs and drives. Turn signals work, wipers work, heater works, all dash lights work, brakes work but need bled a little better.

I purchased this truck with the intention to restore it to all original condition with just safety improvements but no longer have the time to put into it that a vehicle with the documentation and history this truck has deserves to have put into its restoration.

Purchased new at Camp Chevrolet here in Spokane on June 8th of 1968 as a special order vehicle. I purchased it from the original owner’s son who at the age of 16-years old was with his father when he picked up the truck from the dealership. He inherited the truck from his father who drove it as his daily driver from the date he purchased it.

The truck has the Camp Chevrolet filled out 1968 Chevrolet New Vehicle Inspection report filled out before the owner picked up his special order truck which is signed by the original owner and shows the VIN of the truck, the Owner Protection Plan and New Vehicle Warranty book with the metal Protect-O-Plate insert in the original Chevrolet paper warranty book packaging envelope and the original owner’s manual. All are enclosed in the original Chevrolet plastic owner’s manual pouch. The truck went the entire warranty period without a single warranty repair of any kind as every single page of the tear-off section of the Protect-O-Plate warranty book is completely un-used and intact.

It also comes with the build sheet which I removed from behind the seat springs to keep it from deteriorating any further than it already had before I purchased the truck. It has been kept in a climate controlled environment for protection since that time. Glove box SPID label is intact and shows the same options as the build sheet. The build sheet shows a few more but that is typical as the assembly line workers who filled out the SPID label only listed the bare essentials.

The previous non-original engine threw a connecting rod in 2006 and the engine sat torn down out in the weather, but the block looks to be salvageable. It is a 327 block and the correct casting number for the truck. It comes with the truck and is loose in the bed. The crank was damaged heavily from the rod failure as well as being exposed to the weather for too long, so it was well beyond repair and discarded. With the way the connecting rod failed by pulling the rod bolt retaining flange off the big end of the rod I chose to dispose of the rods rather than trust any of the remaining parts being any less metal fatigued. I kept the failed rod as a memento. It will come with the truck. With the engine out and on the ground the truck sat partially disassembled for several years in the owner's yard before I purchased it with much of it in boxes and loose in the bed or inside the truck.

Over the past six years I have completely torn the truck down to the frame and disassembled the cab to remove the years of built up crud and debris as well as to evaluate what I was working with. I have been working through the truck from end to end replacing damaged, worn out or incorrect components along the way with low mileage correct original parts as needed. I have been building the 67-72 Chevy trucks for more than 30 years and I had collected a few nice original low mileage and / or rare parts that I used to repair this truck. Nearly every component has been removed, cleaned, inspected and reinstalled with the only exception being the front suspension as I had intended on upgrading the truck to disc brakes and the heavier duty square body 5/8” tie rods and steering linkage components for reliability and safety.

I have the disc brakes and new steering linkage components assembled onto a cleaned up spare 3/4-ton crossmember and A-arm assembly with new ball joints and have the matching 3/4-ton disc brake master cylinder to go with it but do not have the proportioning valve or hard lines needed to complete the installation, so the assembly has not been installed. It will come with the truck.

UPDATE: The truck is complete and runs great with a fully functional factory automatic choke assembly on the Q-Jet. I have replaced the one damaged hard line on the rear end, flushed and refilled the brake system with new fluid. The parking brake is functional and operates properly.

It currently has a 4-bolt main truck 350 in place of the original 327 connected to the original SM-465 granny gear 4-speed manual transmission. The engine is clean internally and has new gaskets, fresh oil, plugs, plug wires, cap, rotor and points with a clean Quadra-Jet carburetor and new air cleaner. It also has a rebuilt alternator, starter and new USA made voltage regulator that fits under the original Delco-Remy regulator cover. It has the 1971-up style power steering assembly on it, but I have the correct two-piece crank pulley set for the early style power steering that will come with it if you can locate a set of the early power steering pump mount brackets and a pump body to match so you can use them. The original exhaust manifolds to work with them are also included. I have the dual exhaust that was on the truck, but it doesn't fit the manifolds currently on the truck. It will fit the correct ones included that work with the original style power steering system. The truck does have an original GM exhaust system on it that has been modified to fit the exhaust manifolds currently on it and fit with a new muffler.

It is running and I have set the timing, dwell and idle. UPDATE: I have installed a new radiator, fan shroud and fan clutch along with new hoses and thermostat. It also has a new Interstate battery. I have also drained and refilled the transmission and rear end with new gear oil.

The commonly rusted in place spring mount bolts and panhard bar mount bolts have been removed and replaced along with all the bed mount bolts, bumper bolts and cab mount bolts. All the sheet metal mounting hardware has been removed, all the threads chased and cleaned then reassembled. As the door hinges were very worn out from daily use for 40-years they were in dire need or replacement. The door hinges I installed are from a truck that was only 12-years old when it was parked due to engine problems. The doors close like they were new and can be closed with one finger.

The heater housing has been completely disassembled and cleaned out along with the cowl vent areas to remove any built up debris and accumulated dirt from the years and was reassembled with a pressure tested original copper / brass heater core and the blower housing re-sealed to the firewall to prevent any rain water or air leaks. All the original cables still function properly but some of the control levers were repaired to restore function.

All the wiring was removed, cleaned up, inspected and repaired as needed then reinstalled.

The truck also received the low mileage original AM radio, speaker and wiring from the same truck that donated the door hinges.

Everything in the engine compartment is as correct and original as I could manage to make it. The truck did not come with power brakes, but the original owner retrofit it with power brakes from a square body truck. I removed the cobbled together parts he installed and installed the correct for this body style 3/4-ton dual diaphragm Delco power brake booster assembly and firewall braces with the correct pedal linkage rod parts.

The original plaid cloth insert seat upholstery was in sad shape after so many years of use but I kept it for reference when re-covering the seat. It is included with the truck. Classic 60's Chevy red black & white plaid striped pattern. Original vinyl covered door panels are in great shape and just need a good cleaning to bring them back to the original bright red appearance. The original rubber floor mat was dry rotted and very torn up with large missing areas to the point it was unusable in a restored truck so it was discarded. The arm rests were ripped and damaged so they were replaced with new correct color reproductions. The original owner installed a chrome 3-spoke steering wheel some time in the 70's. It was heavily rusted and missing the horn components so it was replaced with a correct 1968 Chevy truck 3-spoke steering wheel. The horn button is very rare and comes from a CST optioned gold & white anniversary edition 68 Chevy truck I owned years ago. The rest of the interior is original to the truck all the way down to the original glove box liner.

All the body panels are original to the truck except for the driver side front fender which the original owner had replaced many years ago. Typical dents, dings and wear & tear for a truck that got used as a truck but overall it is in great shape for a vehicle that is over 50 years old. Typical 67-72 Chevy truck inner & outer rocker panel rust and outer cab support rust but the cab corners and lower A-pillar and B-pillar supports are in great shape. The floor pan looks great and should only need very minor touch up here and there, nothing major. The roof skin has some loose cargo damage from being used as a truck for so many years so I have a complete original GM production line inner & outer roof skin assembly to go in its place that I removed from another truck of mine. It is an easy installation job requiring only a little patience and some spot weld drill bits to reverse the assembly line process of installing the inner and outer roof skins onto the cab structure. Plug weld and grind smooth then repaint. Looks like it was new again and it was installed just like the originals were so no compromised structure by cutting & welding at the A & B-pillar areas like some people do for roof repairs. I have done it twice before and it takes about a weekend to complete taking your time not to damage anything. You can even put a layer of sound mat / heat barrier material in between the inner & outer skins during the process to keep a little noise and some of the heat out of the interior. Most of the great looking 67-68 B98 option side trim is intact except for the tailgate section is missing and the driver side tail light piece is off the truck and bent up but I have it and it comes with the truck. I replaced some of the CHEVROLET hood letters that were damaged or broken with nice original parts so all of them are in great shape and tighten down properly now.

I have put more than 500 hours into the tear down, clean up, repair and reassembly of this truck. I hate to sell it at this point but just don't have the time to invest into it to go to the next step in the restoration that this truck deserves. I don't want to do a rushed job of it and not do this truck justice, so I would rather sell it to someone who can put the time into it that it deserves. I have close to 1,000 digital photos of it during the process and will make a copy to go with the truck for your records.

UPDATE: Asking $2,700 o.b.o.
Mike
(509) 230-6142
Call or text
No trades please, I have too many projects as it is.

Nice deal for someone out there!!!

[68 TT]

Here are a few more pics of the engine compartment.

[68 TT]

A few more of the SPID and some of the build sheet both where I found it and after I removed it.

Notice the factory typed over the M20 option description line with a different font and a different option. Makes me wonder if the truck was supposed to be built with the rear leaf spring suspension option but they screwed up and built it with trailing arms.

I can't see any evidence of the original M20 transmission description being removed or covered up and there is no obvious damage to the label in that area so most likely the factory did this to write over the area. I don't know why they just didn't make a new label or even just put the option out of numerical sequence at the end of the list. What makes it more unusual is that the option isn't even on the truck as it has trailing arms with the secondary overload springs and the VIN on the frame matches the truck.

[68 TT]

Realized it was kind of small and hard to see so here are a few more with a better view of the SPID plus a couple more.

The battery tray is from a 90,000 mile survivor as are the door hinges since both were in sad shape when I got the truck.

Battery retainer has the correct double dimple reinforcements to the edge and the retaining bolt is the correct original part as well.

The donor had been parked since 1979 when I purchased it so the hinges only had 12-years of use on them. They don't show any signs of wear at all and the doors close with one finger.

Both parts of the jack retainer are there but I don't have the jack itself.

[68 TT]

Some wonderful individual stole the correct horn button, GM emblem off the gauge cluster and the hood letters so I had to make a few changes.

I know the horn button belongs on a CST trim level truck and not on a Custom but it was gathering dust and was too nice not to put on this truck since I didn't have another 67-68 horn button that wasn't in use.

Steering wheel is from the 90,000 mile survivor as well with new horn button parts. I'm just glad they didn't steal that too. The truck had a rusty 14" chrome 3-spoke wheel from the 70's or early 80's on it when I purchased it that was in really sad shape so it needed replaced.

I replaced the hood letters with a nice set of originals from my collection.

They damaged the original chrome trim gauge housing in their hurry to remove the emblem from the dash so the one on there now is not original to the truck or correct but is in nice shape. I didn't have another GM logo choke block off plate to go in the hole so there is a choke cable there to fill the hole even though the truck didn't have one from the factory. The cluster itself was undamaged and is original to the truck. I cleaned it up, repainted the needles and replaced all the bulbs then reinstalled it.

[68 TT]

I have continued to work on the truck to bring it closer to being fully functional and it is almost there now.

I have just this weekend installed a new three-core radiator, fan shroud and fan clutch along with new hoses and thermostat. It also has a new Interstate battery.

I found the missing linkage part I needed to have a fully functional factory automatic choke assembly on the Q-Jet so I installed that. The engine runs great and the choke operates as it should.

I replaced the carburetor base gasket with a three layer setup that prevents the heat damage to the carburetor that is common to the early design hot slot intake manifolds. I also replaced the air cleaner base plate with a raised base to lift it away from the spark plug wires just for good measure so there is no chance it could cause any grounding of a wire or misfire.

What I thought was the sound of a bad throw out bearing turned out to be a slightly bent inspection cover rubbing on the crank flange so that has been repaired and everything is smooth and quiet as it should be now with the clutch.

I have also drained and refilled the transmission and rear end with new gear oil.

I have replaced the one damaged hard line on the rear end, cleaned out the master cylinder, flushed out all the old brake fluid and refilled the brake system with new fluid. I replaced the rear bleeder screws and installed dust boots on them to keep debris out of them.

[68 TT]

I found a choke delete cover plate assembly in my parts collection so I decided to take the incorrect silver painted dash bezel, plain knobs and manual chock cable off the truck. It has the factory automatic choke so it was kind of misleading anyway.

I put a new chrome edge dash bezel onto the truck along with the stainless center headlight & wiper knobs like were on it when it was new.

I just wish I could find one of the GM logo choke cover plates to install like was on the truck originally instead. At least the manual choke parts are no longer there and correct block off parts are in place.

I also dropped the price to $3,200 o.b.o.

[CG]

Im very happy you aren't here on my side of the mountains. I have no need or desire for another truck, but I'm impulsive lol.

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by CG

Im very happy you aren't here on my side of the mountains. I have no need or desire for another truck, but I'm impulsive lol.

I can make it be on your side of the mountains

[TBohne]

If this truck was not half way across the country from me my wife would not be very happy with me, I can not believe that this truck has not sold yet with all the work that has been put into it already.

[HeloCrewChief]

Sent you a PM.

[bb400ho]

man i cant believe you still have this. you wouldn't if it wasn't so far from me

[68 TT]

I appreciate that you guys.

It seems locally that nobody wants anything that isn't shiny or physically perfect. Don't they understand these things are 50+ years old?

I guess they have all been to one too many Good Guys shows and think they can get a truck like they see there for next to nothing. It takes 10x what I am asking for this one to get there at the minimum if you have to pay a body shop for paint & body work.

[CG]

He told me there was a deposit on it, but let me know if it didn't go through he would contact me. Been about a week so Im assuming it got sold. That's what I get for not just stepping up in the first place =)

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by CG

He told me there was a deposit on it, but let me know if it didn't go through he would contact me. Been about a week so Im assuming it got sold. That's what I get for not just stepping up in the first place =)

I did have a deposit on it from a local guy representing a friend who is out of the country on business about a week ago. He was waiting on the money from his friend to arrive and it now has. Paperwork was done yesterday afternoon.

The truck is officially sold now.

[HeloCrewChief]

Congrats on the sale. You did great work on getting it cleaned up.

[BigTopGT]

Seeing this for sale ad for the first time today is absolutely heart breaking.

I'd have bought the truck if it were still available.

Hey, if you get another like this, in similar shape (Orange would be a plus!), I'm a buyer.

Seriously. (And congrats on the sale. This was a steal for whomever bought it.)

[68 TT]

Thanks guys.

I wish I could have put the time into it to do the paint & body work but it just wasn't going to happen.

Coming to reality with how much time you actually have to get things done and then doing some project triage sucks.

I really liked this truck but in the end a nice restored original truck just didn't have a place here. I would have felt bad every time I put anything in the bed to use it as a truck.

I needed a version of it that I could use as a truck and not be worried about originality in the build process so I could put the best parts for the job into it and not just the correct original parts. That is my 69 C20 that I have converted to a K20. Not a thing on it is original to the truck or correct, not even the cab. I stole that to convert my stepside to factory A/C. If something gets damaged when using it as a truck it won't be such a crime as if it were the 68 C20. Still a crime but a misdemeanor instead of a felony involving a deadly weapon.

[Shifty One]

Man, I'm glad you sold this beauty, I was trying to work out shipping logistics...