1972 k20

[jhiggy94]

So my dad and I have been trying to buy this awesome old truck off of an old friend of ours for a couple years now. It has been sitting in his workshop taking up space and earlier this summer he finally gave in. Best graduation present a 18 year old guy can ask for right? The older guy we got it from has done this sort of thing before and hopefully he will be willing to help total newbies like my father and i out. He has also replaced the wheel wells and the front fenders already and done most of the frame work. I am really looking forward to getting to work on my truck!

[jhiggy94]

So i tried to start sandblasting the flatbed yesterday with a sandblaster i borrowed from a neighbor. I didn't know exactly how to use it and probably ended up wasting about 2 gallons of sand So we are buying some new sand and trying to get my neighbor to come out and give me a little lesson. Hopefully ill have better luck.

On a unrelated note the first shots of the year with my bow weren't to shabby!

[jhiggy94]

After having the truck sit in the shed for a month or so we finally got our heated shop cleaned out and ready for the truck. I enlisted a few of my buddies and with some pushing and pulling we finally got it in there! Now the real work has begun

[jhiggy94]

I might be getting a little ahead of myself... But anyways i ordered a new wiring harness from american autowire and it came in the mail yesterday! Even though it will probably be a couple months till we can start putting it on.

[Mustard72]

Looks like fun. My Dad and I did quite a bit of work on my C20 back when I was in HS back int he late 80s, and it's held together all these years, and is finally being redone now. I wish mine was a K20, too, though. Looks pretty solid for a Wisconsin truck.

[jhiggy94]

Im not sure if it was a wisconsin truck its whole life or not. I'd have to talk to the guy we bought it from. and part of the reason it looks so nice is because the guy we bought if from replaced the whole floor of the cab and the cab corners and also both front fenders. So its got a lot of new parts. Its been a blast working on it!

[jhiggy94]

The cab is now off and im pretty glad that i decided to take it off. A couple of the cab mounts are rusted through so im gonna replace those. We finally also got both rear leaf springs off. So now im gonna go get those tested at a local shop. Pretty soon the flatbed will be taken to get sandblasted and then painted so little by little were getting stuff accomplished

[Mustard72]

Nice progress. Looks like you've got the rear mounted gas tank, too. That's not original, is it? Seriously considering that for mine, too, but I don't think I'll have the money this go around.

[Dieselwrencher]

Very nice truck you're starting with there! My first truck was a 70 Chevy, and then a 69 K20. It'll be hard for you to never have one of these now.

[jhiggy94]

The guy we bought it from already had the rear mounted gas tank installed. Its going to have a flatbed so im not sure how im going to have the fill mounted up yet. We know a guy who is a novice painter and we are hopefully going to get the cab and fenders to him next weekend to get sprayed. Here's a pic of the color!

[jhiggy94]

Also an update, the springs were pretty rusted so i got new rear springs. The rear axle is now at one of my buddy's shops getting the drum brakes re-done and generally getting a once over. next on the list is to get the frame cleaned off and the new cab mounts. Also possibly spray paint the frame. Does anyone have any input on what to do with the flatbed? it is very rusted so i know i would have to replace some of the metal. Im not sure whether to look for a used flatbed or to try and patch up the one i have. I am able to weld but i would just have to get back into practice. lol Im definitely having fun with the truck so far!

[Mustard72]

In looking at that flatbed frame, it appears as though you would put wood decking recessed into the frame, right? To me, I would think you'd want some sort of sides on it to make it more useful and keep your stuff from falling out. I had a flatbed on mine for a while many moons ago. Without the tailgate on there it was much easier to back up. So for trail running (I don't know if I read what the intended purpose of the truck was), the flat bed, especially without sides, might be an advantage. I'm guessing this reply wasn't exactly helpful.

[danw210]

Nice truck. I'll be following your progress as I'm doing a frame off restoration on my 69 K20. If you ever decide to get different wheels I'd be interested in your slots. Where in the heck is Birnamwood, Wisconsin? I'm in Illinois 10 miles from the Wisconsin Border.

[danw210]

I am not a fan of flatbeds but that one could be really cool! Deffinately looks like it needs to be wood, that's what I'd do, and leave it a flatbed without sides. Just my 2 cents.

[jhiggy94]

Thanks guys! Right now I'm just trying to get it back on the road fully functional again, I really like the flat bed mainly for the functionality. Both of the four wheelers can fit. Birnamwood is in central wi not too far from wausau. I have family in Rockford Illinois are you anywhere near there?
Posted via Mobile Device

[danw210]

Originally Posted by jhiggy94

Thanks guys! Right now I'm just trying to get it back on the road fully functional again, I really like the flat bed mainly for the functionality. Both of the four wheelers can fit. Birnamwood is in central wi not too far from wausau. I have family in Rockford Illinois are you anywhere near there?
Posted via Mobile Device

I'm about 30-40 minutes east of Rockford. Good luck on the truck! I'll be keeping an eye on your build thread.

[jhiggy94]

This morning before it started snowing my father and i took the cab, fenders, wheel wells, doors, and hood over to a friend of ours to get them painted. He is also going to touch up on any little body work that needs to get done. I'm really excited to see what everything looks like once it is painted. I also got new cab mounts and spring holders from a guy on the board. I probably won't be able to get to much done in the next couple of weeks because of finals though, but hopefully ill get the new ones on soon. I also talked to my buddy who is looking at the rear axle for me and he's been busy but he got the fluid drained and he said the gears look good. He hasn't got into the break work yet so it will still be awhile. I'm stoked that it seems that everything is starting to come together little by little

[jhiggy94]

The guy who is painting the parts is working two jobs so he doesn't have much time to do the painting but i talked to him the other day and he says it should only be a couple more weeks. Last night my friend and i also got the rear axle and springs back on with the two inch lift blocks. Im really excited to see how it looks with the flatbed back on it!

[jhiggy94]

Im also happy that someone told me i would still be able to use these tires even though there are large weather cracks on the sides. He said that i could take them and get tubes put in them. Does anyone have any experience with this?

[jhiggy94]

The next step is to roll the truck outside and pressure wash everything i can see. Then i will repaint some sections of the frame and undercoat everything that i can see to prevent rust. Does anyone know the best way to do this? I bought a large rattle can of undercoat from fleetfarm that seems like it will work but im not sure if there is a better way. Thanks guys!

[Mustard72]

Ended up with tubes in my 76 K10 back in the day. Without them, we'd routinely pop a retread off hte bead running around the woods with it. Fortunately, we never did that more than once per trip, as we only had the one spare. Our problem was mostly the crappy retread tires and the rusty old rims, I think. Not quite the same as your issue.

I'm not going to undercoat my frame, just the bottom of the cab, inside the pillars and maybe the doors. LMC and Eastwood sell undercoating, too, but you might have found a cheaper equivalent there at the farm supply place.

[jhiggy94]

Im hoping to keep the frame from rusting by using the undercoat. We both know wisconsin winters can be rough on vehicles...

[jhiggy94]

So finally an update, and this one is big. I got the Cab back!!! I am beyond excited to see it back up on the frame. The frame work is all done i undercoated the whole thing. Putting the cab back on the frame has been slightly delayed because i bought the complete body mounting hardware for a k20 from gmc pauls but it came completely without instructions. It also seems like not all of the hardware is there? But this is a minor setback and soon the cab will be on the frame!! I really like the color the cab turned out as well

[BruthaMan]

Looking good. Really like that shade or orange. Whatever you do, don't give up...that's going to be one sweet truck!

[Mustard72]

Looks awesome.

The LMC catalog or website shows the body mounts/hardware as an exploded view drawing. That might help. I'll be going through the same thing before too long with my C20, and my whole mounting "system" was rotted beyond description, so I'll be using the LMC info as a guide for mine.