1970 heavy chevy!

[shelby987]

well, this weekend I went on a road trip, 200 miles south to ohio where I bought my first 4x4! I got a 1970 3/4t 4x4 ....plain jane as they come! The option sheet reads olive green paint, black vinyl trim package, and a heavy duty clutch....and thats it!

Stats: Very little rust, one bad cab corner, other than that, everything is very solid, some bondo to cover dents (rather than pop them)
3/4ton running gear with manual drum brakes and manual steering (to be upgraded soon)
full time 4wd (no manual hubs, also to be upgraded soon)
3 on the tree and I6 (250) under the hood, was a farm truck in PA, currently has what I have been told, 41k original on the clock (seems plausable for the condition)
The truck has been painted orange, but the interior is still green, I think the exterior will be stripped and repainted the original olive green.....the interior is very sparce, but in really good shape....transfer case pattern sticker still on glove box door, and in awesome shape!
I know...i know, this thread is useless without pics, and you will have them, but I have to get the truck first....left a deposit....the owner wouldnt hand over the title for a personal check....and at 4pm on a sunday....no banks are open.....so i have a road trip on wednesday night to secure the beast!

I have two questions though, what does the silver knob that you pull on the far lower left of the dash do? (it looks like a silver push pin)...the owner didn't know, and neither did I
second, did these trucks originally have a backup light switch mounted to the dash (next to the mystery silver switch) or is this a rigged up job?

This truck has a couple of basic upgrades in its future, but for the most part it will be a driving project.....a list of near future upgrades I will have questions on
1. Hubs (what to use on a 3/4 ton)
2. 250 tuning, is it worth it, specs for header, intake, and cam swaps
3. Power brake booster (what to use, and what needs to be fabbed up)
4. disc brake swap (dana 44hd front axle, anything easily found in j/y).
5. power steering (same as above, any easy donor rigs)
6. 3 point belts, (heard s-10 belts work well, any specific year? can I use the same female buckle already in the truck?)

thanks all, and I promise pics are on the way!!!

[chevyfarmer]

Sounds like a good start, would really like to see pictures. I have never heard one of these trucks with out locking hubs. I didn't think full time 4wd came out till later. Anyone else heard of this? Post some pictures of the silver knobs you are refering to as well I can't think of what they would be.

[FormerMember]

Knob on the dash sounds like a choke?

They should have a back up light switch on the transmission. Sm420 in 1967 was the first of the manuals to get them. By 1970, the Sm465 had it as well.

[shelby987]

The choke is a black pull knob mounted below the dash and to the left of the steering column, and to the best of my knowledge, being as its a 3 on the tree....its not a Sm465....which leads to another question....what transmission is this?

I was wondering, could the silver switch be for the cab dome light? (possibly a burned bulb?).

I will have pics to post hopefully thursday morning/afternoon....the anticipation is killing me.

with respect to the hubs, I am not sure if I am using the term full time 4wd correctly, as the transfer case still has 4lo/n/2hi/4hi on the shift pattern, but there are definately no hubs to lock or unlock.....could this be an axle that was swapped in? (being as this is such a no option plain jane rig, i just figured that the manual hubs were an option, that everyone else opted for, and this one didn't get)

[shelby987]

one more question, the truck has c/20 emblems on it, but unless someone went through the trouble of installing a glove box door with the correct build sheet and stickers, after doing a 4wd swap, shouldn't it have k/20 badges on it???

[chevy71super]

Sounds like the knob is an add on. My dad had a 72 with a throttle knob on the upper RHS of the dash. Pull it out to increase RPM's for feeding cows. (Well that is what we used it for!) I believe the C20 badges are correct for 1970 even though the truck is a factory 4wd.

[shelby987]

which knob are you refering to, the silver one on the dash or the black under dash knob that I was told was the choke?

Also......increase the RPM's for feeding cows???? explain please??

[FUNMUDDER]

If your bound and determined to stick with a 6, I'd go out and find a 292. They are real truck engines that were made for working trucks, from 1/2 tons to 2 1/2 ton trucks, and would work nicely (and sound damn cool!) if you put a souped one in a K20 with headers, four barrel,intake, and a cam. If your not set on having a six, go find a parts truck with a good running small block and power steering, so it won't cost you an arm to steer the darn thing, or a leg to buy a new conversion . JUST MY OPINION....

[truckster]

It's not full-time 4wd. What you have are automatic locking hubs. If you put the truck into 4wd, the front hubs will engage as soon as you start driving. To disengage them, take it out of 4wd and back up a short distance.

[Robert1970C20rstbukt]

The knob sounds like it might be for a PTO(power take off) for running hydraulic pumps and stuff.

[Long Roof]

I'm not sure that any trucks came with 'K' badging on the exterior. I think only the Blazer had 'K' badges.

Aaron

[69TowRig]

My '69 Blazer had the manual locking hubs listed on the options sheet, so I would say it's possible that it could have come with drive slugs instead of locking hubs. No biggie to have the front drivetrain spinning, lots of trucks of all vintages do this even without a full-time t-case, everything from early jeeps to late model DC trucks and new Jeeps.

The backup light switch is mounted on the front side of the column near the firewall. Two wire plug goes into it, I just ordered a replacement for my "3-on-the-tree". Sounds like you have a ghetto replacement, much like my truck had for the horn before I fixed it right.

The factory manual choke knob was part of the dash cluster on the right side by itself where the windshield wiper knob usually is. Someone correct me if I'm wrong?

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by 69TowRig

The factory manual choke knob was part of the dash cluster on the right side by itself where the windshield wiper knob usually is. Someone correct me if I'm wrong?

'67s and '68s have the Wiper knob above the Lights switch on the left, and the Choke [and Throttle-- if any] on the right. Under the dash might be an aftermarket choke or fuel tank select switch.

[special-K]

Lock-out hubs were an option.Yours are just in lock all the time(old-fashioned "shift-on-fly",I call it).Locking "out" was a new feature to save wear`n`tear on axle parts.C/20 was the base model in`70.I think you may have a 292.What options are listed on the VIN-spec sheet?BTW,sounds like a nice find,pictures?

[shelby987]

the option sheet doesn't specify the engine, at least not that I noticed.....like I mentioned before, there were only 3 options....and two of which were paint and interior the other was a heavy duty clutch....can someone tell me how to tell if the engine is a 250 or 292?

I think I will be upgrading to manual hubs for the very reason of saving wear and tear on the axle components.....it should also help with mpg if only a little.

I will have pics to post thursday morning....just for my knowledge, is there a link that shows me how to do this, or someone who would like to offer to post/host these pics for me in advance?

[FUNMUDDER]

The side covers on the engine. If its a 250, they will be four inches wide. If its a 292, theyll be 6 inches wide, i think.

[FUNMUDDER]

Go to advance reply. Once yor done typing, if you type anything, go to the bottom until you find Manage Attachments. Click on that, and click browse in the box that comes up, and load the pictures on from your computer.

[Joesjunk]

It should be a 250. a 292 was an option and would be listed on the option sheet. Does it have lockout hubs??? Lockout hubs have been listed on all the option sheets I have ever seen, but since they are listed it makes me believe they were an option??

[70 shorty]

Also a 250 has the motor mounts across from each other where a 292 has one mount in front of the other.

[special-K]

I have owned one Blazer without lockouts/not listed.It`s one of those options that 90+% had.I think they became standard in`73 or so.

[FUNMUDDER]

ttt...........Any pics yet???

[shelby987]

As promised, here are the pics of the new truck. I think everything mentioned above can be seen in the pics, except for the non-manual hubs....what do you think of the glove box option sheet??

Can anyone tell me what the red light at the 50mpg is suppose to do/mean?

Sorry for the lateness of the postings.....had some problems with the seller not getting in contact with me.....but I drove her home in the rain last night, 200+ miles at 65-70mph the whole way, with no problems....except for the AM radio that has a short, and can barely put out enough power to make the static audible....let alone loud enough to overcome the wind noise!

let me know what you guys think!

[special-K]

I think you forgot to "click" something?No see`um pictures.The light top center of your speedo is the low oil warning.j/k,it`s the hi-beam indicator.

[shelby987]

ok, I have screwed up, when I saved the pics, I saved them a little too large to post......can someone host these pics?

heart skipped a beat with the low oil comment.....i checked it before i left, and both times I stopped.....but I didn't stop again, after I had to turn the lights on......high beams....that makes sense.....think there must be gunk in the switch, because sometimes they work and other times they dont....not that there seems to be much of a difference between the two settings!