My 72 c10 daily driver
 

You know i,ve had some really nice 70-72 c10,s in my 64 yrs of living but i,ve come to realize something really special......... I really appreeciate my not so perfect 1972 c10 d / d. Will it win awards-no,has it got rust -yes, its bone stock custom delux c10,350 eng. With 350 turbo, lwb . Its a 12-14 mpg truck because i,am a pokey driver now after over 2 million miles pushing a big rig all over the usa. I have to say i,ve been truely blessed to see the magnificent usa. From coast to coast at wide open throttle believe it or not. It isnt that i was a speed deamon because trucks just didnt have the engines like today. Seems like everyday somebody compliments my old d/d c10. I always take time to share my truck with em all.. I meet alot of really nice folk with it. Dont sell yor old trucks short even if they arnt perfect. In reality you have a truck you can really enjoy in alot of ways that the perfect trucks cant.believe it or not my worst c10 is my favorite. Take time to enjoy simple things as you wont always have the opptuneity to do so i promiss. Nothing beats all original 67-72,s imo. Just my rant i recon......
Bob

Re: My 72 c10 daily driver
 

I feel the same. I have restored them to factory stock, built pro-street ground pounders, mud bog winners, and show winners. I still like a truck in tip-top b-e-a-utiful condition, but anymore it is just simply about driving them. It's what I do, have always done, and don't want to ever stop. I have also had as many as nine on the road at once, in various configurations. But now I am happy with two that cover the pickup spectrum pretty well, a '67 SWB 2wd mild custom hot rod and a '72 3/4t 4wd well optioned original with a few modest personal touches. The '67 is a dormant project these days and the '72 is my driver. I even use it for work spring-fall.

I get the comments wherever I go, as usual. But I get a lot of people who seem to only appreciate perfect magazine quality vehicles. I get a lot who want to buy it thinking it will be cheap, like I must not know what I have since I'm driving with visible flaws. "Want to sell that? I've always wanted one. If I owned it, it would never see another day of work", is what one contractor said on the job. My reply was, "No, this is my keeper. I have always owned at least one. I use them for work and play". Then I get others who know their trucks fully get what it's about. Ones who appreciate it's exact state the same way I do. Those people usually compliment the fact that I'm still running around in it and the obvious bond we have.

I just went to my sandblaster yesterday in it. A nice country drive to pick up a bunch of parts I had done. I enjoyed every inch of that. Shot the bull a while and when I was leaving a guy hauls an Olds Cutlass chassis in. He was just stepping out of his truck as I was pulling onto the road and I heard him tell Terry, "Now there's a nice truck". I said "Thanks" and went on my way. I love doing a chore like that in my truck as much as, and probably more, than going to a show or joining a 'tour'. It's just a truck, the kind I like.

Re: My 72 c10 daily driver
 

You guys are so right...going to work everyday,scrap yard any trips basically in my beater 72 makes the trip more enjoyable.... been driving one of these things a few times a week since 1980..Its like a caffeine fix,,gotta drive the truck..

Re: My 72 c10 daily driver
 

You’ve got it right Bob. While I do certainly appreciate all the work and cash some guys dump into their vehicles I feel bad for them a little bit as they miss out on some of the enjoyment of jumping in the old truck and heading down an old country road paved or not or a trip to the store and not worrying so much about door dings and such. Just using a truck as it was built for ya know.
I’ve been down a lot of roads myself and the older I get the less a shiny truck means to me.
Right now I am working towards putting my 69 back together and driving it in primer. Go anywhere, park anywhere. My truck is mechanically sound with no electronics or OD trans to worry with. Simple. I’m just fine without high zoot techy gadgets on it. ;)

Re: My 72 c10 daily driver
 

Ya, the ls craze baffles me nowdays, i guess if you have money to burn its ok but its real hard to beat a 350 for 1/4 of the cost..... To each there own.

Re: My 72 c10 daily driver
 

100% on all statements. Being almost 65 and love driving when ever, where ever I want instead of being concerned of weather or where I park, but I very much enjoy seeing a total rebuild or the engines you guys install.

Re: My 72 c10 daily driver
 

I fully agree but I find myself with a foot in both camps.
I too absolutely want to be able to drive my truck around town without worrying about parking lots, gas mileage, a few boxes or a few 2x4's in the back or.....heaven forbid 'dirt' on the undercarriage detailing because of the rain.....lol.

However, I want mine to look relatively sharp...maybe in the condition that a 2-3 year old truck would have looked when it was new.
So when I had mine painted this past season, I set a modest budget to do it and stuck to it.
Not perfect, not show paint or polish...but I'm super happy with the appearance and I get a lot of thumbs up.
The original Highlander seat is going to be in need of a 'redo' here soon, and the great running (original) motor is going to need a refresh in a year or two. ....no problem.

Most of all tho', the truck is just one damn good, reliable, solid truck....easy to drive and fun to own and I don't have a boatload of money into it...nor does it ask for it.

All good
Coley

Re: My 72 c10 daily driver
 

I am right there with you. I progressed through the vintages then started going backward and now I am back where I started 35 years ago. Why didn't I just keep that 68 C10 I had back in the 80's?

I just want my truck to work as a truck. I don't care what anybody else thinks about it (or me for that matter) when they see it. It may look like a 50-year old beast of a truck on the outside but I have rebuilt every inch of it mechanically from bumper to bumper. I have made improvements to the systems along the way to correct a few deficiencies like the failure prone spare tire carrier that I just rebuilt & reinforced as well as added a locking mechanism. I have updated some systems to a little more modern technology like the hybrid A/C system that uses some square body and some 88-94 parts in conjunction with the original 69 pieces. Other places I have added options that should have been there from the factory like disc brakes, 1-1/4" sway bar, locking hood latch, retractable shoulder belts, etc.. but everything I have done looks as stock as is possible so only a well educated 67-72 fan would know they are not correct. It drives like a truck and looks like one too. Who cares if it scares women & children :lol:

Hey bob. I enjoyed your post on old original trucks and thought you might enjoy what I picked up last week.
Posted via Mobile Device

Re: My 72 c10 daily driver
 

Amen! I couldn't agree more guys. Trucks are made to be driven, used, worked and enjoyed. That's exactly why they were built in the first place.

I'll drool over a nice custom truck, as well as a nut & bolt restored one! And every truck condition in between.

I plan on keeping mine as stock and original as I can. I'll give her a good cleaning, fix what's broke, and leave/put back everything into as built condition as possible... Not restored, just loved for what it is in its purest form.

Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet! :metal: C10's, that is!!!:chevy:

Re: My 72 c10 daily driver
 

What's really funny is, you only see the body and general outward appearance when you see a truck. All original, old school high performance, LS, or missing on two cylinders with oil leaking is what you don't see. Yet... there are high dollar trucks with LS swaps or built SBC/BBCs, custom frames, and on down the line with crapped out paint and maybe some rust but that's ok, it's patina and people love it! What's wrong with not spending a bundle and having that look as long as it gets down the road and back?

My '72 is very upkept. It runs super nice and sounds healthy, too. The only really body issues are both outer rockers are rusted and one cab corner. I plan to fix that, have all the parts. But it will have to be over the winter so I don't miss out on using it spring through summer. I've had it since '01 and I know it has one repaint. It would look a lot better but the paint on the hood and front fenders is failing after all this time. It will develop a crack like a scratch, then start curling back and pooping off down to factory primer. I have fixed the spots as they have shown in the past, but it happens again in another spot. So now I now the hood has to be stripped bare and painted. Not worried about fenders because those will be replaced when I do end up doing the body and paint. I just need the time this summer to do the hood. I have another hood, too, so maybe swap that to give me the time or just paint that one white. Nothing wrong with a good looking paint job. I know how to run and work a truck without beating on it. My work trucks were always kept up nicely. Those custom Peterbilts on the hiway are working hard and looking good across the country, then there are semis that look like they never saw a sponge or suds doing daily local runs. It's about having pride in your ride, no matter how mint or ragged around the edges it is. Or, it can simple be about enjoying it no matter what.

Re: My 72 c10 daily driver
 

Newt,
THATS THE WAY I LIKE EM........... GOOD FIND PAL

Re: My 72 c10 daily driver
 

Your right on Bob its all about the driving. In the summer months i will use mine as a dd for a week or two then park it till the next time. I will haul just about anything in the box as i dont mind using the truck as it was intended. I've garnered a lot of personal satisfaction over the years learning about and working on the trucks. My truck has some scars but is 99.5 rust free and very reliable. I've done a lot of small unnoticeable mechanical period correct enhancements and plan to do more. I too enjoy talking about my truck with strangers at the gas bar or grocery store when peoople come to check it out. I like my truck to look good so have enhanced the exterior and interior over the years, Pics with white bumpers is from when I bought it and the second is from about 2 weeks ago.

Re: My 72 c10 daily driver
 

that's super nice for Canada and the chrome does make it more appealing.

Re: My 72 c10 daily driver
 

Its a US truck, I bought it in South Dakota.. Everything up here is rusty and this one has factory working A/C which I wanted.