17 and Buying a Truck! '72 C20 4X4

[mechanicalman]

Originally Posted by Cam-Shaft

Yes, it runs and drives. The engine is missing some hoses and small parts, but it runs and drives.



I'm know you are all right, I just have a hard time when I see a little rust... I've had so many tractors with holes through the frames mutilated body parts, I just can't get over the feeling that this is a beauty.

And yeah, that's about all I'm hoping... that I can learn some body work. If worst comes to worse, he has a spare cab off the same model/year truck (except stepside) that has no rust up there that he said he'd sell.

Get a body and fender man to go with you and evaluate the cab, and if it's too bad then have him evaluate the other cab the guy said he would sell you. You sure the floor is really solid? Look real hard at the windshield pillars too in case of roll-over.

REMEMBER, it's illegal to remove a VIN tag. Hard to get the rivets to do a disguise, and best to cut away your entire cab leaving just the driver's side door jamb and replace the rest of the cab. Also, best to have the title to the donor cab to prove ownership, you don't want to take possession of something that has liens against it or is stolen.

Even better if you used more of the original cab.

No matter what, if you are going to fix that thing up, you are going to need a good wire feed welder and the ability to use it, some bondo skills to cover up the metal imperfections after you install all the numerous steel patch panels and bedsides plus clamps, nibbler, air compressor, paint sprayers, grinders, too much to list.

Might be a good learning experience if you want to become a body and fender man yourself.

At your age, you might just consider going to auto body school and make this a class project. Shoot, the cost of the class would probably be cheaper than the labor to fix it if you hired it out. But keep plenty of cash aside for supplies, they add up faster than you can imagine. And check with a school before you sign up to make sure they allow class projects and the terms of the projects.

[Grumpy old man]

WoW ! Lighten up a bit ! He's 17 and this is a dream project !. Let him run with it at least for a while !! Just because it's something you may consider to hard or to expensive for you to consider let the kid have his dream and stop bashing his "find " i rebuild trucks way worse than what he is considering so just back off and encourage his dream !Just because you may not have what it takes to start from scratch maybe he does !

[catch2otwo]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

WoW ! Lighten up a bit ! He's 17 and this is a dream project !. Let him run with it at least for a while !! Just because it's something you may consider to hard or to expensive for you to consider let the kid have his dream and stop bashing his "find " i rebuild trucks way worse than what he is considering so just back off and encourage his dream !Just because you may not have what it takes to start from scratch maybe he does !

No one is bashing his future project. People here are just making sure he has a realistic expectation of whats to come. He seemed green so more experienced members are giving him advice on what to look for an what kind of effort it will take to fix it. The last thing anyone here wants to see is OP get discouraged and sell.

[72chevyk10]

as someone who got my truck when i was 17 i absolutely wouldnt get one of these trucks as a daily driver ever again. UNLESS you (or your folks) get it when you are like 12 and build it up correctly with nice parts and fix the rust. my rig was a nightmare for the first 3 years or so and now ive got to where its only broken once every 3 months or so. i wont trade this truck for anything but i will never get another one

[oldertruckfan]

buy it . it's a learning thing. you'll hate yourself later if you don't. 4 speed , NP205, and dana's will part out for a return on the money you spend.

[Vintage Windmills]

Originally Posted by oldertruckfan

buy it . it's a learning thing. you'll hate yourself later if you don't. 4 speed , NP205, and dana's will part out for a return on the money you spend.

This truck is a combo of at least 2 trucks. As others have said, it looks like a T221, and probably a SM420 in front of it, maybe hooked to a closed knuckle D44 front (although the OEM spicer lockouts look like 70+). That said, if the frame is good, it would still part out for enough to get that $800 back and a little more. I personally wouldn't mind a spare T221 and SM420 laying around. They are good units and guys are looking for parts for them, especially the coupler. Just a little hard to find parts for but a T221 is damn near bulletproof from what I've read.

In addition to the rust mentioned, the firewall lip above the engine may be rusted through.

[Omaha68C10]

I would say go for it! Yeah, it is rusty but its an old truck and cheap. It would be a good project for a young person to learn on. You can always do a body swap in the future!

[Cam-Shaft]

Wow, thanks guys! It's been good for me to hear to hear the good bad and ugly so I know what I am in for. I was always taught to value to input of others, so thanks everyone!

I look forward to the continued input and advice. I have written down most of you comments on my to do list, I look forward to starting on it

[57taskforce]

The biggest thing to remember on any project is have fun. If your not having fun and learning along the way than either something is wrong or this hobby isn't for you. Also just be patient, often times these old hunks of junk dont cooperate when we want them too. My best advice for build planning is what I do. I take a composition notebook and first off name the truck on the front of it. Then write down the vision you have your truck, parts,tools and supplies needed to accomplish this. I've found when building my trucks that this ensures I stay focused in my build and things turn out the way I plan. A build without a plan is a sure path to failure. Update your composition book as you accomplish pieces of your plan. Mine are full of checklists from parts needed to phases of the build. If your organized and make good plans and build around those plans you won't fail. That goes for life in general for the most part.

[dmartin1]

i am 21 currently, but when i was younger like 15 or so, i was in your same boat.

despite every family member(all chevy truck hot rod gear heads) telling me the truck was a complete crap,and money pit, i bought my first truck. 1978 k20 4x4

dam thing looked to be drug from the bottom of the river here. it was disgusting.i thought it was amazing when i bought it,but as i look back now i have no idea what i was thinking.

i drove it before fixing/restoring it for a year as a sophmore in highschool. the engine had so much blow-by it seeped from the edges of the hood and i always thought it was on fire, it leaked so much oil it was pour over my exhaust and fumigate the inside of the cab.liquid oil was actually starting to accumulate on the floor pan lol.

every single ody part was creases, dents and rot. cab bushings were so gone when i hit a bump i could feel the cab bounce up and down, interior was a sin to even look at.my windshield wiper switch shot sparks and burnt up when touched. lights never worked.





ANYWAY- by middle of junior year/beginning of senior year me and my dad had put new body parts,wiring,all new interior pieces(lots of quality junkyard finds) all budget. rebuilt/sealed axels yada yada yada. new engine.

the truck i now 90% restored sits on 40's with a 355 sbc, and is really nice.i love it. go for it dude just be safe

[dmartin1]

cam-shaft, i will post you some before(when dragging home) and in process pics i have of the truck as some inspiration later

[Cam-Shaft]

Sweet! Thanks guys, thank you so much for the encouragement and advice!

dmartin1 : Looking forward to the pics!

blue 72 GMC 4X4: Thats what I'm thinking, a solid frame that I can work off of at the least

[farmallboy15]

I would agree to go for it! But I would keep my eye out for a better cab... I'm 20 and this was my first project truck. I've restored tractors since my freshman year of high school and this was A TON more work and money than expected (~$20,000 and I didn't rebuild the trans or engine yet) and I didn't have nearly the rust that you do... With that being said I absolutely love my 70 and drive it about every sunny day during the summer but would not want it as a daily driver. Here are some before and afters..

[Sicklajoie]

^^^ Nice GMC!