What started it all...?

[N2TRUX]

Ok, I'll throw my story in too in the event that you haven't heard it before.

My passion for trucks in general came from growing up in the country around trucks, school mates that had trucks, my Dad that owned trucks, and working at companies that required driving trucks. Besides, I was born and raised in Texas. You just gotta have at least one truck parked in your driveway here. I "think" it's state law.

Fast forward a few years and I wanted a Blazer. I got that but it turned in to a looooong term project. In the interim I came across a post on this forum saying "hey, look what I found on eBay" and I located my 77 Cheyenne.

With some coaxing from my buddy Keith (n2billet) I bought it and built what I had planned to do with my 82 Blazer. I think y'all know the "rest" of the story.

[killthewabbit]

Ken might be a little shy, but back when I was writing for AutomotiveBlogger.net I posted his write up that he sent to Classic Trucks when they did the feature on his 77. They didn't use much of his write up, but I liked the story in Ken's words better, personally.

Here's the link to my post about his truck and his story.
http://www.automotiveblogger.net/aut...3th-19th-2007/

[abebummy26]

ttt

[Thumpin455]

Well my story is more utilitarian. I liked trucks and aircraft when I was in grade school, then my interests turned to cars and drag racing. Growing up on a farm in BFE Nebraska, I was driving by 8 and running the equipment by 10. My dad had Fords, an F250 2wd extended cab long bed was the workhorse of the farm. He was also into Dodge/Chrysler and liked Mopar muscle cars. So it makes everyone wonder why I am into Pontiac and GM trucks.

In 94 I went to a Pontiac show in Omaha, met a kid there who had a 76 swb step that was seriously rusted. I needed a truck to pull my street/strip car, because the track is 40 miles away from home and if I broke something I was stuck. Also it was 11:1 and ran on race gas, so driving would have been expensive, and I was on a tight budget. So I traded this kid a 400 Pontiac core and a transmission rebuild for the truck. You could say I got it for free, because I got the 400 in the trunk of another car, so it was pretty much free. I always liked the 73-79 style GM trucks so it was a no brainer when the kid showed it to me.

It was a driver with a 305, needed some work, but it ran. I drove it with a death rattle in the 305 until 2000 when I went back to the USAF. I flew home on leave in 01 with intentions to pull my race car to Charleston SC with my truck. The 305 wasnt going to make the trip, so I stuffed a 400 Pontiac in it.

Fabbed the mounts, used A body headers, and a Th350 was rebuilt and the tailshaft swapped for the truck style. I was on a tight schedule for getting back, its a 24 hour drive, and for some reason the trans would not go into reverse nor 3rd. I swapped cases, rebuilt another one, and got to where I could test drive it, and from the time I drove it into the shop I could have the trans on the ground in 8 minutes. Turns out the separator plate had a factory flaw, and I used that every time I rebuilt one.

So I went to town to find a truck. All the GM trucks were out of my price range, I wont own a Dodge, so I ended up with an F150. Well it died in 05, so I went back home and got my 76 last year. Father in law had 4 rusty suburbans, so I had some parts. Its drivable now with the 454, but I still have work to do.

Now what got me into drag racing and cars is an entirely different story...

[stepside454]

Im not really for sure where my thing for trucks comes from. Ive always been a muscle car nut, & still am. That may be why my truck is muscle car themed.
I think it may have started about 8 years ago when I bought a restorable 76 Chev short/step with a tired, but running 305. I had a mild 305 that I had built for somebody, & they never paid, so I thought Id buy that truck, put this fresh engine in & sell it. Well, I kinda liked it, & started fixing it up. One day my wife was driving it & got hit offfset/head on. wife was kinda beat up, lost some teeth, thankfully, shes fine now. The truck was totalled.
a few years later I bought the 75 GMC short/step factory 454 you see here. Its come along way since I bought it, but it has been a blast & I think It shows its muscle car influence well.
Earlier this year we we're involved in a wreck, sandwiched between 2 others, had damage , front , rear & the middle, nobody injured thankfully, & the truck is repaired. John

[EAST SIDE LOW LIFE]

What inspired me was the need to know how things worked from an early age, I liked to tinker then and I still do now. As far as wheels go an orange 59 Vette with a straight axle with the words "Beaver Patrol" gracing his trunk lid started the ball rolling and I knew I would own one of these cars one day and I still do. This guy was the cool dude of the block back in the day. ALso my neighbor Sonny across the street who was older then me came home one day with a new black with white rag and white interior 64 Pontiac Bonneville way lowered and that was it cars have been a part of my life ever since. I love wheels .... trucks, cars, bikes what ever. There are a lot of nice trucks on this board and that orange one is a very sweet ride.

esll.

[bigblock79]

it all started for me in 1977. my mama bought a 77 1/2 ton short bed with heavy duty suspension and 454 and turbo 400. it was black with red inter.
And we went to nagar falls right after we bought it. my dad and mama and six of us and i was the baby and i was 11 at the time . it had a cb with lond sperker too. and dad bulit a bed from the wheel wells back to the cab . and i would cral thru the sliding back glass. when i was 15 i drove it with the 454 a few times around the yard and it blew. then dad put a 400 and i drove it when i got my driver lic.
and about 5 mouths later my dad traded it for a 72 short bed thats had been fix up and i drove it. then i bought me a 76 and been tradeing ever since from one to another. i have owend a 76 and 84 and about 4 77s and 2 79s
and a 87 86 and a 76 dulley and a 84 dulley. and now i own a 73 and a 77 and a 79 and the 76 dulley. still finding more

[Bri87swb]

I was born in 76 and that was the year my father purchased a green '76 swb. From as early as I can remember anytime we were in the truck people would give us a thumbs up or tell us how nice the truck was. We used it primarily to haul our boat and dirtbikes and it always drew attention wherever we went. The truck was going to be mine when I turned 16, but long before that ever happened by uncle borrowed it and lets just say stuff happens. After searching for quite a while I came across an 87 swb 4x4 that was in great shape. I purchased it two years ago, drove it for a while and recently started the tear down. Most of the parts have been purchased and soon I'll post my build thread.

[killthewabbit]

Damn this is a good thread!

[streetstar]

This one is not a '73-'87 , but forgive me - the sentiment is the same, this ones just a tad older

Below, you will find pics of my first truck - promised to me when i was 14 by my dad (i'm 36 now). GMC long bed - at the time it had all the chrome and was maroon with a 307 2 bbl and th400 and not much else. It was a 1 owner truck when my dad bought it in the 70's and i remember him taking me to the local motocross tracks, hunting and fishing in this thing, -- and everywhere else you could think of

Had it running and looking good (fresh paint, chrome wheels, big rubber , 4bbl conversion, Alpine stereo) when i was 17 and drove it for a few years before i decided i had to rebuild it "better" and it has sat since 1995. The old "Life's A beach" logo on the back glass is evidence of how long it has sat. Now i have a little more space and a little more money to deal with this thing, but i lack time.

i am clearing some of the other projects out of the garage and i will start back on this truck in earnest. Plans are to pull the bed and glass, (i'm not gonna pull the cab) and POR-15 the frame and suspension after everything i can unbolt is sandblasted- then re-assemble as a resto piece, with the only deviation being a hot big block disguised as a factory 402 and a set of cal-tracs in the back. New upper and lower chrome moldings all the way around , proper emblems, etc-- blah blah, you guys know the rest.

My dad never was sentimental about vehicles, to him they are just there to serve a purpose -- but not me -- i hope to give him a ride in it when i have it looking '69 fresh again. Because i am not a lottery winner though, and my paint budget is tight this year --- i may put it together and spray it to be a replica of ESLL's (i love that truck) - as long as i keep it in the garage most of the time, i am hoping the DP-90 wont fade too bad -- but i hate creating double work for myself because i have a gleaming maroon and chrome showpiece in the one part of my mind ---- the other part of my mind just wants to get it running again. It takes as much work to "properly" primer one as it does to paint one - almost

[EAST SIDE LOW LIFE]

Originally Posted by streetstar

This one is not a '73-'87 , but forgive me - the sentiment is the same, this ones just a tad older

Below, you will find pics of my first truck - promised to me when i was 14 by my dad (i'm 36 now). GMC long bed - at the time it had all the chrome and was maroon with a 307 2 bbl and th400 and not much else. It was a 1 owner truck when my dad bought it in the 70's and i remember him taking me to the local motocross tracks, hunting and fishing in this thing, -- and everywhere else you could think of

Had it running and looking good (fresh paint, chrome wheels, big rubber , 4bbl conversion, Alpine stereo) when i was 17 and drove it for a few years before i decided i had to rebuild it "better" and it has sat since 1995. The old "Life's A beach" logo on the back glass is evidence of how long it has sat. Now i have a little more space and a little more money to deal with this thing, but i lack time.

i am clearing some of the other projects out of the garage and i will start back on this truck in earnest. Plans are to pull the bed and glass, (i'm not gonna pull the cab) and POR-15 the frame and suspension after everything i can unbolt is sandblasted- then re-assemble as a resto piece, with the only deviation being a hot big block disguised as a factory 402 and a set of cal-tracs in the back. New upper and lower chrome moldings all the way around , proper emblems, etc-- blah blah, you guys know the rest.

My dad never was sentimental about vehicles, to him they are just there to serve a purpose -- but not me -- i hope to give him a ride in it when i have it looking '69 fresh again. Because i am not a lottery winner though, and my paint budget is tight this year --- i may put it together and spray it to be a replica of ESLL's (i love that truck) - as long as i keep it in the garage most of the time, i am hoping the DP-90 wont fade too bad -- but i hate creating double work for myself because i have a gleaming maroon and chrome showpiece in the one part of my mind ---- the other part of my mind just wants to get it running again. It takes as much work to "properly" primer one as it does to paint one - almost

**********************************************************

Thank you for the kind word. I don't baby sit my truck and it don't fade. PM me when you get around to painting your truck [primer is tougher then you think.] Good luck with your project.

esll.

[chvtrkman]

It was definately the nostalgic aspect for me. My dad bought a 71 Blazer brand new when I was a kid and it was our family vehicle.My grandmother lived with us, and we went everywhere as a family in that ol' Blazer.........Mom, Dad, Grandma, and 4 kids.My brothers and I used to fight over who got to sit in the tailgate space behind the rear seat because for us that was the cool thing to do....way before the PC days of seatbelt laws.I have a ton of good,fond memories from those days, mostly vacations, but also everyday life. That Blazer was just plain old fun to ride in.

Back in 1997 I was scanning the classifieds in the local newspaper, a regular pastime of mine, and spotted a 69 fleetside pick-up for sale. I went to look at it,.....although it was kind of rough it was still in alot better shape than some trucks I had looked at, and, it was the same medium olive green as my Dad's Blazer.I bought it and driving it the first time was just like a trip down memory lane for me.What a kick that was, and still is....(grins,ear to ear) Only this time I was behind the wheel and Dad was riding shotgun. I've painted it twice since dad passed away.....presently It has that familiar "old man's truck" look to it.Pretty stock looking, not much chrome to speak of.(sorry, no pictures available yet)

I still have a soft spot in my heart for the 67-72 body style, but I'm also going to look at a 75 LWB with a 350 for my next truck project.

[AceX]

I just realized that I never posted my story, just pics of the truck that inspires me.

My story with my '85 starts in the summer of 2006. I was chest deep in yet another project. A 1986 MR2 that I had riced to no end (I was young and didn't know any better...)

My dad and I decided that once the MR2 had paint on it, that we should get another car for winter and daily driving. At the time, my uncle was liquidating alot of stuff from the recent sale of his shop and he wanted to get rid of his '85 Silverado at the same time. I wasn't particularly interested in the truck, but I know how well my uncle treats his vehicles and it only had 59k on the odometer.

I bought the truck from him on July 5th for $1000 and crashed my beloved MR2 on July 7th.

About a month afterwards, my dad and I were talking about the truck, trying to decide whether or not to make it a major project. He wanted to make it everything the MR2 wasn't. I wanted to do a few real simple things and leave it alone. I had my heart set on getting another MR2.

Well, as luck would have it, we were in Raley's one day and stopped at the magazine rack. We were looking through the truck specific magazines and I didn't see anything that I liked until my dad opened a issue of "Truckin'" magazine that he was looking at. On those pages was Cory Scott's slammed, orange '85. I couldn't stop staring at the pages and all my father could do was laugh. I cursed him for doing it.

Now I'm knee deep in my truck and I love every moment of it. Everywhere I go, no matter where or when, people have nothing but good things to say about the truck and alot of those people have stories of their own to tell.

[spudz]

I just like em.

[killthewabbit]

Sure is a nice truck, AceX.

[streetstar]

[QUOTE=AceX;2443568]Now I'm knee deep in my truck and I love every moment of it. Everywhere I go, no matter where or when, people have nothing but good things to say about the truck and alot of those people have stories of their own to tell.

QUOTE]



Driving a nice older truck is cool that way. People just strike up conversations with you because your truck reminds them of their old truck, or their uncle's old truck - or whatever.

Old trucks bring people together

[KMK454]

Well... honestly, I never liked trucks. I love speed, going fast, etc., and a truck ran counter to this. I grew up in the suburbs and I saw the rise of SUVs amongst the soccer mom crowd, which pretty much disgusted me, since a wagon or sedan would have done the job much better and more efficiently. Also, it's usually the busy mom in the Tahoe that almost kills me in my low 'vette while on the cellphone and disciplining her kids in the backseat...

Anyhow, I browse Hemmings.com for fun since there are usually some sweet rides there. I love Chevrolets, so thats why I was browsing them... I found a listing for a 78 Silverado with 17,900 miles, black on red. What a perfect match for my black Corvette with red accents! I went and checked it out, never intending to buy it... drove it, and sure enough, it drove like a truck. But it drove like an OLD truck, which is to say it had character and soul unlike the new trucks, which are just bloated cars with numb handling. Also, the classic good looks stunned me. I was in love... but didn't buy.

A few months passed, and the truck had been listed for a while, not selling. I threw some numbers around with the seller, and eventually he came down on the price. The truck was mine.

Interestingly, I bought it with the intentions of dropping it on big rims and doing a few other subtle mods (sport mirrors and bumper). But everytime I look at it with its silly whitewalls and old school original look, I continue to love it that much more for what it is.

I love the truck, just got back from cruising it. It hibernates most of the time in a garage, but I do play with it on the weekends!


Chevrolet all the way! My truck and my daily driver

[streetstar]

Originally Posted by KMK454

Well... honestly, I never liked trucks. I love speed, going fast, etc., and a truck ran counter to this.

You should've tried a Lightning back when they were newer. Of course that would go against your "All Chevy" mantra. I had an '03 ZO-6 and was surprised at how comparable the '03 Lightning i drove was from stoplight to stoplight. (it had a few mods, but nothing too extreme -- different size pulleys to increase the SG boost and things like that)

I have no preference when it comes to speed - whatever is fastest works for me.

[KMK454]

Originally Posted by streetstar

You should've tried a Lightning back when they were newer. Of course that would go against your "All Chevy" mantra. I had an '03 ZO-6 and was surprised at how comparable the '03 Lightning i drove was from stoplight to stoplight. (it had a few mods, but nothing too extreme -- different size pulleys to increase the SG boost and things like that)

I have no preference when it comes to speed - whatever is fastest works for me.

Lightnings are quick for sure, but they can't handle or brake. Road racing is where it's at... and street driving is best done in the twisties! Lateral Gs are the best

[stepside454]

thats just an issue of personal preferance, I prefer to get from A to B real quick...in a strait line. I dont enjoy twisties so much. just what I prefer.

[boatpuller]

i always drove trucks.my first car was a truck.my daily driver has always been a truck.i had one of the first lowriders around the area in 1975.so for me a lowered chevy is it.iv'e had lifted fords,lifted dodge diesels.but my heart has always been chevy. they date back to my grandad.so when i wanted a new project.it was a no brainer.just had to pick a year.i think these square bodies are real up and comers.

[streetstar]

Originally Posted by KMK454

and street driving is best done in the twisties! Lateral Gs are the best

Too scary for me - i prefer the safety of a closed course.

but then again, i'm the guy who wouldnt take his Vette out on an Autocross course because i didnt want to prematurely wear out the tires

[hotrodhomi]

Originally Posted by AceX

. Everywhere I go, no matter where or when, people have nothing but good things to say about the truck and alot of those people have stories of their own to tell.

I think I've seen you on the freeway (I-80). Here is my old truck (sold)

[AceX]

TTT because I'm bored, summer is approaching, and I need some motivation to get going on my truck again...

[harnalien]

it was this truck for me, something about it.