Sullii the 72 GMC 1500
 

Greetings everyone. I've been away from the forum for a while, but I'm back now with another build! My last one was a '68 C10 that I converted to a shortbed, amongst other things. You can catch up on that build here. It took me a few different projects later to realize it, but I should have never sold that truck! After clearing out my other projects, I started hunting for another truck to build, and eventually came across a '68 shortbed at a C10 restoration shop called Piedmont Traction in Mooresville, NC.

I set up a time to go check out the C10, but after inspection it wasn't exactly what I was looking for. Parked next to it, however, was a super clean 72 GMC that they just acquired which they planned to improve before reselling it. I decided to check it out anyway and it became evident to me that this was much closer to what I was looking for. I was given the chance to buy it before they started working on it, which was perfect for me since I wanted something I could put some work into.

After debating it for a few days, I decided this truck was definitely the next truck for me. So, we set up a time to meet again, and in short order the truck was loaded up and headed back home with me.

Welcome Home
 

I was able to get the truck home and test drive it around our property. One thing that was immediately apparent was I got spoiled with the power steering and brakes on my other truck! Upgrading the manual steering and brakes are the first things on my list. To be quite honest, the truck isn't much fun to drive like this, trying to maneuver it around the property. Plus, the three on the tree is new for me as well since my other truck had a powerglide. Overall, I loved the combo in my other truck, but the good thing is I got this truck to work on and improve and I intend to do just that! It sure does look good though against that Carolina blue sky.

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One thing I enjoyed most with my other truck was sharing it with my family. They loved the other truck too and always questioned why I sold it. Needless to say, they were psyched to hop in the bed and go for a ride around the property in the new truck. My daughter is adamant that I get the seatbelts sorted out so we can all go for a ride on the road!

The above two posts happened over the last week, and this brings us to present with the truck. Over the next several posts I will go through some of the more detailed aspects of the truck to give an idea of what I'm really starting with and what I plan to do to the truck. I hope you enjoy following along!

Re: Sullii the 72 GMC 1500
 

That is a nice truck! Glad to have you back on the board!

Re: Sullii the 72 GMC 1500
 

This is gonna be good! I loved your last C10 build. Subscribed.

Re: Sullii the 72 GMC 1500
 

Excited to see you back, and look forward to the journey!

Re: Sullii the 72 GMC 1500
 

I will be following along.

Re: Sullii the 72 GMC 1500
 

Looks like a dandy!

Re: Sullii the 72 GMC 1500
 

That is really a nice truck to start with. Just gotta love a four eye.

Re: Sullii the 72 GMC 1500
 

This happens to be a very low optioned truck as is evidenced on the SPID. It did come with the amp/oil/temp gauge dash which is nice. Other than that, manual everything. After inspecting the brakes, they are in serious need of a refresh and will be receiving a power upgrade as well.

The engine is supposedly a 307, but I need to verify this. It does run, but it also smokes a good bit on fire up. I plan to go through the engine bay to rebuild and retune everything that has been neglected over the years. The plan is to keep the drivetrain stock and in proper running order for now.

The frame and underneath is relatively clean and rust free, and this GMC came equipped with the truck arm rear suspension. The plan here, as with the drivetrain, is to clean this up and maintain it in stock form until I am ready to do suspension upgrades.

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The main reason I chose this truck was for its originality. Having OG paint was the top priority for me, and this truck delivers in that category. It still carries its original 510 medium blue with little to no rust. It shows it's scars from use as a truck over the years, but to me that adds character and I do NOT plan on painting any part of this truck. I did start the clean up process by polishing the LR bedside and I noticed that there appears to be a darker blue underneath the medium blue. The medium blue on top is an exact color match and has the same fade and wear as the rest of the truck, so if it was repainted it was done very early on. I just found this interesting because I am used to the typical black or oxide primer under the OG paint as seen on every other panel on this truck.

Re: Sullii the 72 GMC 1500
 

After giving the truck a once over, we decided to have a little fun with it before getting to work on it. A while ago, we found this old boat trailer back in the woods on our property, so my son pulled it out and has been refurbishing it. We threw it on the hitch and pulled it around the property to test it out. My son was thrilled to see his trailer in action. It is a bit of a challenge to finesse this truck around the property with manual steering/brakes/trans, but it is still fun to drive.

The interior is basic and lacking a few correct components like seat, steering wheel, and floor mats, but it is functional. Over time I will bring this back to stock as well. After playing with the truck a bit, it was time to get it in the garage and get to work. First up is replacing the dry rotted tires.

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As I mentioned before, the plan of attack is to bring this truck back to stock form and function, enjoy it and put it to work for a while, and then start making some suspension mods. My first change is getting rid of the tires that were on the truck. I do not like white letter tires, and these were also the wrong size, so they were throwing off the whole look of the truck for me. After getting the wheels off, I realized that they are not the original wheels either and they appear to be 15x7. Regardless, I had some 235/75s mounted up with the proper white line sidewalls which greatly improved the look of the truck.

Re: Sullii the 72 GMC 1500
 

Looks Great.

Re: Sullii the 72 GMC 1500
 

Nice truck! Is that the same pup from the old thread?

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Yessir it is, that’s Apollo!

Re: Sullii the 72 GMC 1500
 

I bet he's happy to have an old truck to ride in again. No more sad faces for Apollo!

Re: Sullii the 72 GMC 1500
 

Very nice.
Looking forward to see what you do with it.

Re: Sullii the 72 GMC 1500
 

Thanks for the updates

Re: Sullii the 72 GMC 1500
 

This weekend I had some time to get more acquainted with the truck, and the more I look at it the more work I find for myself. I was looking for a project, though, so that is fine by me. It basically needs all systems gone through since it appears to have been mechanically neglected in its past. So for now, while I compile a list of what needs to be done, I've been buffing on the original paint to see how it will shine up. So far, I am pleased with the results. The kids enjoyed taking it out into the sun to get a look as well.

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My original hope and perception was that this truck would be road worthy after a few quick fixes, but it has become evident that is not the case. The truck needs too many things gone through before I will feel comfortable driving it on the road, so for now we are just using it around our property. We are in the process of building a house so there is plenty to do. For this purpose, it is proving quite useful as a farm truck!

Re: Sullii the 72 GMC 1500
 

Glad you're back at it man, I've taken inspiration from your previous work for sure!

I'm placing my bet that in 30 years from now, if this site is still up and running, you will be posting pics of your latest build with pics of your grandkids in them! How cool would that be!:metal:

Re: Sullii the 72 GMC 1500
 

Yes that would be very cool! i’ve already learned my lesson from selling the last one that I simply cannot be without an old truck anymore. So chances are, I’ll be around for a long time to come.

Re: Sullii the 72 GMC 1500
 

Nice clean truck
Looking forward to start working on my trucks again this spring

Re: Sullii the 72 GMC 1500
 

It’s hard to be away from these trucks for too long. Great project, and it’s nice to see the kiddos into it too.

Re: Sullii the 72 GMC 1500
 

Looks like you found a solid replacement. Congrats, and welcome back!

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After using the truck around the yard for a week or two it started to develop an idle issue, so I decided to rebuild the carb. It was a good thing I did because it was filled with Georgia clay (which is where this truck came from)!

I also decided to do a full brake rebuild since the manual brakes were sub-par. I am going for a functional restoration at this time, making sure everything is working as intended and cleaning as much of the dirt and grease as I can. One day down the road I will tear it all back apart and do upgrades and painting.

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Another thing that was incorrect on this truck was the steering wheel. For some reason, someone put a Pontiac wheel on it. I want to go back original so I found a nice wheel from a board member here.

I also decided to paint the bumpers white since I've always loved that look on these trucks. Also from what I've seen, chrome bumpers are usually listed on the SPID but my truck does not show this option. Therefore, I believe mine might have had the bumpers swapped at some point. Either way, I prefer the white anyway so they are staying!

Other than that, I've just been continuing to scrape crud from the suspension. This is about 5 lbs of debris from a quick once over of the RF suspension!

Re: Sullii the 72 GMC 1500
 

I’m late to the party but glad I stopped by. Truck looks like fun and it is definitely kool. Glad to see you back on here.

Re: Sullii the 72 GMC 1500
 

Thank you! I'm glad to be back and have another truck. I now have a solid answer to my question at the end of my other build thread about whether or not I should sell my green truck. The answer was no! Oh well, live and learn. This GMC is pretty fun too. I'm going to check in on your thread and see how yours is coming along.

Re: Sullii the 72 GMC 1500
 

I’m glad you were able to find a way to have another old truck. Balancing family and fun can be hard. But the memories out weigh so much. And old trucks give you a feeling of honesty that new trucks sometimes lack. I like my daily because it’s a no frills truck. It suits me.

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After completing the brake overhaul it was time for the first real road test now that I had some brakes I could rely on. But first, a quick stop on the farm for a photo op.

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There is a great 5 mile loop around my house that I use for validation testing after completing a repair. It takes me through a small town called Turkeyfoot where I stopped to check the vitals. I only had time for one loop, but all seemed well on the maiden voyage. At this point, hopes were high that I would be able to start putting some miles on the truck.

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As I mentioned before, my intent with this truck was to get it to the point where it was a reliable driver in stock form and then use it as it was intended. After the validation run, I had to do some more work on the fence around the property so I put the truck to work.

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One thing a photo can't capture is the nostalgic feeling you get when seeing this old truck out in the summer sun on the farm. It really is timeless.

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After work, it was time to just hang out with the family and enjoy the afternoon.

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One thing I wanted to do before putting more miles on the truck was upgrade to an HEI distributor. I did this on my last truck and it really cleaned up the idle and responsiveness of the truck.

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After completing the HEI swap, I had a chance to take the truck out on a longer test drive, this time a 25 mile venture. To do so, it was time for the first fillup. I hadn't even come to a complete stop at the pump when someone came over raving about the truck and how he used to have one ages ago. These interactions are one of the reasons I love driving these old trucks.

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All was going well until about 15 miles in when I noticed the temp gauge was continuing to creep up. Then the motor started pinging so I knew the temp gauge wasn't lying to me. I was able to limp the truck home and by the time I reached the driveway the temp gauge was pegged.

On my last truck, I pulled the pan to fix a few oil leaks and replace the nylon timing gear. I figured this truck had the same, so I might as well move this maintenance item to urgent and inspect the crank bearings while I'm in there.

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Upon pulling the pan, it looked very much like my last truck complete with the oil pickup jam-packed with bits of nylon from the timing gear. Logic dictated that possibly this was starving the motor of oil causing it to overheat, but my oil pressure reading was correct.

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Ultimately, my brainstorming on what was causing the overheating was terminated when I pulled two of the crank caps off to reveal bearings that were very much at the end of their usable life. At this point, I knew overheating was the least of my worries and I was going to need a complete engine overhaul.

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After discovering the worn out main bearings, work on the truck halted while I contemplated where I wanted to go from here. In the meantime, the truck sat beside the garage, immobile and sad.

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I was at an impasse. Part of me wanted to try and preserve the originality of this truck as I intended upon purchase. The other part, seeing an opportunity through the necessity of repairing the engine, wanted to pick up where I left off with my last truck and complete what I never did. My other truck, ole Green Gus, was supposed to be an LS swapped, big static drop cruiser. Some things in life got in the way and I ended up selling it before completing it, but the desire to transform a truck in that manner still remains. I didn't buy this truck with the intent of going there with this one, but if not now, when? I'm realizing that I appreciate trucks in all their stock glory but I cannot be a faithful keeper of one. I enjoy modifying my vehicles too much.

So... with that internal debate settled, it was time to remove the boat anchor to clear space for a modern transplant.

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My son was all about helping on this project which made it even more enjoyable.

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This brings us to present again. I decided that the motor was not worth the hassle of selling, or scrapping. Those looking for a 307 to rebuild these days are very few and far between. Then I thought of a much better idea. This would make the perfect discovery project for my kids and to my delight, they are onboard. Over time, we will pull it apart while I teach them about the inner workings of a combustion engine. Then we will do a simple clean up and rebuild, replacing what needs replacing. One day, if time and interest allows, we will try and fire it up. The added bonus is that I will keep the engine which is original to the truck.

Meanwhile, in its place will go a budget friendly 5.3 LS swap. I have not procured a motor yet but I am on the hunt.

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While I'm in there I might as well take care of a few other things (haven't we all been there before?). The two main things I want to accomplish while the motor is out are cleaning/painting all the suspension and frame components, and sectioning the crossmember. For this thing to be a static low driver I need to gain as much available drop as I can. That includes the 1.5" you can achieve by sectioning the crossmember. With the plans I have for the rear (details to come) I should be looking at a 7/9 static drop. Yes I know that is "too low" and I've spent hours reading all the threads on the topic of static drops. To me that still isn't very low. I'm used to driving my aircooled bugs and Golfs 2" off the ground. I'll be alright.

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Re: Sullii the 72 GMC 1500
 

Really digging the original pictures. Thanks for sharing. I have a medium blue truck stashed away for a factory stock refresh, so this is great inspiration.

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I've not had much time (or motivation) to work on the truck recently, but I have tried to pick away at it when I can.

My lack of motivation stems from the work required at this stage. Degreasing, degreasing, and more degreasing...

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I managed to make some progress on the front frame now that most components have been removed. This is a quick spraypaint job because this truck will be a driver. I've spent countless hours cleaning up and painting a chassis before and the return on investment just isn't there for me. With how much I drive my projects, it doesn't make sense to have a meticulously detailed chassis.

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The next thing on the list is sectioning the crossmember. I've decided I want to go as low as I can statically, and the crossmember will help me get there. In the meantime, the truck is hanging out while I get all the front suspension components sorted out.

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It's been some time since my last update, but I have been making progress on the truck. It has been slower than I'd like since my family and I are also in the process of building a new house, but I am thankful that I was able to keep the truck through this process. Onto the updates!

After sitting outside on the cart for several months, I finally was able to drag the truck back into the shop to get the front end reassembled.

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The biggest change, and reason for sitting so long without front suspension, was that I sectioned the front crossmember 1.5" with the help of my friend. I realize now I did not get a pic of it after completion, but it was a very standard sectioning job. What made it easy was marking all the cuts with a laser level. I stole this idea from another member (can't remember who) that used this technique to mark the cut lines when he shortened his bedsides. Excellent idea, and the sectioned pieces fit back together nearly perfectly.

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As most others have experience, I ran into a few clearancing issues once installed. I had to notch the upper left a-arm for the steering shaft, and still need to add a filler piece there. I also had to clearance for the tierods. This required cutting the small lip off the bottom piece of the crossmember. Ultimately, I also had to trim the right side outside lower a-arm bolt flush with the top of the nut. Other than that, I was pretty lucky and did not experience any other clearance issues. Also not explicitly pictured here are the modified lower control arms. I incorporated the common practice of moving the lower arms forward 3/4" to increase caster and improve handling. This also has the added benefit of centering the wheels better in the wheel well.

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Along with the 1.5" crossmember, I also added 2.5" modular CPP spindles and 3" CPP springs for a combined drop of 7". The front is very close to where I want it and once the springs settle in and I get a motor in the truck it will be perfect. My goal was to get the fender just covering the top of the tire. For motivation, I pulled the rear springs out just to get a visual of where it will sit at ride height. I will update in a later post the surgery required in the rear to yield such a low stance.

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My truck still has the original spare under the bed, so for fun I threw it on to see what it would look like with the correct wheel/tire setup. If you hadn't noticed, my truck actually has OBS wheels on it and I plan to swap these out at some point.

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After completion of the front suspension, it was back outside for a short hibernation until the next time I can get it back in the shop to work on the rear suspension. At least it looks good while sitting there!

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Re: Sullii the 72 GMC 1500
 

Great progress.
I love everything you’re doing to this one.