how did you get hooked?
 

I was wondering how some of us got into the 67-72 chevy trucks. personally i was looking for a nova,chevelle, el camino or camaro for my 406, then my friend told me his dad had a 68 truck at his impound yard, i saw it, thought it was perfect, bought it and have not turned back.
so in a nutshell whats your story?
--Scoot

My parents bought me one in high school. My first truck. It was a 68 longbed with the original 307 and 3 speed auto. They stole it for a whopping $800.00.
I drove it everday to school for 3 years till the motor finally died. So i built a new motor, painted her up just in time for someone to T-bone me and total it.
So I used the insurance money and bought a 72 pro street from a friend.2 years later i joined the Air Force and stupid me, I sold it. So 4 years drag by and the wife finaly lets me buy the one i own now. I've been hooked for quite sometime ever since the 68. hope this didn't bore ya to much.

2low72

My best buddy (highschool) and I used to go grouse hunting in his dad's 68 GMC longbox "babyblue" we were like 15 / 16 years old, great times!

My first vehicle was a 69 chevy swb stepside with the 250 and 3 on the tree. I beat the he!! out of that truck and it kept coming back for more. I wish I still had it.

I'd always wanted a pick-up truck after years of British and European classics and a few moderns, all of the trucks sold in the UK at my price range are either dirty concrete encrusted ex construction wagons (mostly Nissans and Mazdas) or a cute british classics like Mini's, Morris Minors with about 30 bhp and handling to match so I started looking at Americans. In the UK if it is pre 1973 then you don't pay the annual road tax of about £140 and you can get classic insurance, did some research ended up with my 67!

When I was about 11-12 my dad had a red 67 w/ side pipes. It was the loudest and baddest truck around. Since then I've always liked the body style. Fast forward 20 years, neighbor has the 70 GMC sitting in his driveway for 2 years, every now and then I'd ask if he'd sell it. One day (my birthday(31)) he tells me to take it for a spin and see if I want it or not. I told him it's not a matter "if" but how much he wants. Worked a deal and now I got 2!

I went to a GM dealer to purchase a new 1/2 ton. The dealer mentioned he was a collector and showed me a couple of his trucks. I asked if the GMC was for sale and he said 'everythings for sale" So... $40,000 cookie cutter or $5,000 head turner. The choice was easy

In '67 my Dad bought a new '67 LWB Fleetside, 6 cyc/ 3 on the tree. That was the first truck I remember him having. He died in it in '71. We moved to KY, & uncle Ron had a '69 SWB Fleetside 6 Cyc 3 on the tree that I learned to drive in. In '75 or so he put a 327 in it. I still remember the problems they had trying to get it in there. This BB would have really helped! Once they got the 327 in there it ran like a scalded dog!

Then in '84 I moved to Concord NC, There was a 69 SWB Fleetside (looked like Uncle Ron's old truck) that was a 350/400t a/c ps pb (21 options) truck on a lot. it had a set of 235/60/15's on 8" fake Cragers and was shining! Man it looked good. I had a POS Ford Fairlane (leaked oil from everywhere) that I had just about had it with. So I traded the Fairlane in on the 69. I've had it ever since. Best decision I've ever made.

Ah. Memories. In 1976 my family moved back to Ohio from Texas. My father was in the Navy. We moved alot so i never really got to meet my Grandparents until 1976. I was 9 years old. When we moved i ended up spending lots of time with my grandfather. Grandpa was 72 or 73 years old when i was born. So this dude was old now. But he knew everything. There were pictures on his living room walls of him and his buddies standing near large Steam traction engines,Thrashing machines. He built them from scratch. Well i started going with him and my grandma to Steam shows. What truck did we take? A 1968 Chevy 3/4 ton. Camper in the back. I learned to drive using this truck. And i still have it today. Grandpa is long gone. Dang that dude was cool. The rest aint hard to figure out. Once you get A Chevy. You will continue to own more.

My dad bought a 71 C10 new. I've been hooked since then. My first was a 71 K20 in high school. I still see my dad's old C10 running around town.

I was actually looking for an early Bronco or IH at first...then I saw a 1st gen Blazer with it's top off and that was it for me.

When I was a kid my dad owned a 21 acre junkyard, he primarily drove trucks back and forth, old panels, flatbeds, wreckers and lots of other neat stuff. One day a 59 GMC came in that need very little work to get it running and that thing hauled A$$. It had a 400 Pontiac with an auto. Since then I have always been into trucks. I have had several Chevy trucks from old to brand new. when I found the 67 I really wanted a 56 because I had preffered that supension over the new 60's styles. My 2 boys that are home 11 & 14 are into Covettes, Camaros, of coarse my Pontiac GTP and especially the truck. My 14 year old although he doesn't have his license yet is already bugging me about using the truck.

I inherited Grampa's 68 3/4ton with a 327 and 4speed. Learned to drive in it, first ticket, first auto accident, first date, etc... 15 years of muscle cars and motorcycles and realized needed a truck. New were too expensive and right deal fell into lap. Rest is history.

My dad had a 72. When I got my first truck at the age of 16, we bought a 67 work truck with a 283. About a month later, the t-stat stuck and I melted the engine to the ground. (Stupid kid!) We rebuilt the engine, painted it and then drove the wheels off of it. At age 18, I traded it even steven for a 1964 Impala SS convertable. I have wanted another truck ever since. 25 years later, when my son's are approaching 16, 17, any guess what I bought? 1970 SWB fleetside. I hope they have the same great memories with their that I had with mine.

My dad's 72 Cheyenne was about the only thing I was allowed to drive when I turned 16. All my friends called it the RNAV (RedNeck Assault Vehicle). I loved it, runs good and is a nice truck. I've got my own 70 now and am looking for a blazer or jimmy :D

I guess I'm a late bloomer. I've always been into cars and trucks, no matter who or what made it. I loved them all. I wanted to get back into a "toy" or project again and initially I was looking at the 48-55 type GM trucks. A friend at the church had his dad's old truck and debated on getting rid of it. I did not go head over heels for it, but when he decided to sell it to me the 70 had grown on me and now has matured to a full fledged something or other. It might even be a truck again once all the pieces get back together.:D

When I was born, my grandpa's '69 C-10 was already 3-years old. That was the first truck I ever laid eyes on. For the first 10-15 years, it was just "grandpa's old truck". Nothing special, just a truck. In high school I was all about my '52 Chevy truck. 327 with a powerglide. Bad as could be from redlight to redlight....sucked at anything over 60mph. After H/S, I sold it (mistake) and bought a Jap-truck (mistake). Found a '69 short/wide with a 350/350. Un-assed $1000 and drove it for a while....all the while, grandpa's truck was just sitting there under the 'truck-shed'. (he never had a car, so it was a truck shed instead of a car port). I was always told I could have it when he passed, but with that condition set on it, I really was not too anxious to get it. Well, the day came, and I ended up getting it the hard way. I titled it in my name, but left it in Arkansas for grandma to drive for something like 8-10 more years. I paid for all the tags, inspections, tires, maintenance, etc... She decided she was unable to wrestle the three speed, manual steering and manual brakes any more, so I hauled it home to Mississippi, and have driven it every day since. Not much of a story I guess, but that's how it laid out over the years.

How, Why
 

I'm a Blazer but, same, same.
My wife asked me to take my son for his first year check up which was out of town...saw the blazer sitting in a parking lot on the way down and stopped to look on the way home...yep, I bought it.
Ya think my wife wishes she'd made the trip instead...? :lol:

I've always liked trucks but what really hooked me on the 67-72's is my buddy Tony's 1 ton dually that he converted to 4wd. It's all his fault!!!

I was out looking for an older truck to buy and use as a daily driver and weekend hauler... Drove out to a garage that always had older cars and trucks for sale but they were closed. I didn't know the area that well but I turned off the main road and figured I'd make my way back by cutting through a residential area, turned a corner and there sat my 70 longbed in someones front yard. Pulled in the driveway to look at it and a week or so later paid for it and took it home.

the day my parents bought my 71 c/20 was the day i got the bug, i was and still am a very big fan of the 60-66 style as that was all that grandpa ever had and my first truck was grandpas 65 4x4 gmc v6, i sold it to my cousin when my dad moved the family over seas after we got back. i had found a truck in the next town, one day i was in school dad was on his way to buy the 71 ford swb 351clevland motor,4spd truck and saw my 71 at another dealer on the way to buy the ford, he turned around, bought the truck and surprised me at school with it that day.

when i was about 14 my dad wanted to get a father son project. he remembered seeing an old k-5 blazer at a local shop and thought it was really clean... well a few days later he saw one in the paper that met the discription of the one he saw, so we looked at it and bought it(middle of winter so we didnt look under it). We get it home and i start pulling it apart... to only find out the floor is rotted and the rocker boxes are 1/2 gone also. we got prices to fix them but he didnt want to put that much money into just floors. so i cleaned it up and we sold it for a couple grand more then we paid. i was pissed because my dad made me sell it, i loved it(besides the floor that '70 was mint).... so about a year and a 1/2 ago i bought my 71 long bed at carlilse and have been playing with it ever since.... one day i am going to get another blazer


Rat

When I was in high school there was a local guy that had a 72 GMC that was painted a metallic medium blue with a whole lotta chrome. When I saw that truck, I was hooked!!! It wasn't till about 7 years later that I actually bought one. It's a 72 Chevy that now has a 67 GMC front clip on it. I was addicted to the look of that big chrome GMC grille. But right after I bought the truck, I intended on just using it as a beater for the rest of it's life. That was until I found this site. Then the addiction got worse and worse and eventually I ended up tearing the truck down to a rolling chassis and treating the ol girl to some new parts. And here we sit today, almost back together and it will be ready to cruise this summer

Hi to eveybody
I bought my 67 C20 (with 327 engine and 3 on 3)couple of months ago. Unlike most of you, I didn't/don't have any previous history with old American trucks. I neede a pickup for my weekend project (I consider myself handyman!) and I like 67-72 bodies!. Couple of months ago I found this truck, which was the first one I looked at!, and I bought it!. It is very straight but everything on it need to be changed or upgraded. Although it is not running perfect nowand is not in perfect body condition, But I love it. You are gona hear from me a lot since I am in need of lot's of help.
I also want to take advantage and let you all know that this is great website and you are all a great help.
Thanks.

:lol: But how is it to drive when you are are on the wrong side of the road?

I started off in a 67 Mustang that broke down all the time. Well I was driving down the road one day and of course it started acting up again and died, I rolled it off the road and there it was a 72 Chevrolet Fleetside LWB just staring at me. The owner had been rebuilding it and lost interest in it. He had another frame for it where everything had been replaced and he also had every nick nack you could imagine for it to get it looking like it came off the show room floor. He made me a deal I couldn't refuse on the truck so I bought it, but I couldn't afford the rest of the parts yet. About 6 months down the road I guess he sensed I was wanting to paint the truck and he called me. Told me he would sale me all his parts and even put it together and paint it for me. Again he made me a deal I couldn't refuse so I bought the stuff and he painted my truck. It turned out awesome. Man I miss that truck, I still want to kick myself for selling it. Well at least I've got my 67 now.

my grandpa bought my green 72 new and when i was 12 told me i could have it. since i couldn't drive and i lived with my mom i couldn't work on it much but the next summer i got the bug to get it goin and me and dad pulled it out of the weeds. a year later it had an 8 inch lift. i just got my SWB 72 and decided that grandpas needs to get redone. so the white one is getting the lift and the green one is getting the bodywork. now for the next one.....
ryan

My Dad bought a GMC 920 Longhorn Custom Camper new in 69. It was light blue with a strong high compression 350 and a 4.10 rear end with a locker. When I turned 16 it became my daily driver. I bought a 71 Chevelle a couple years later and my uncle took the truck to use in his construction business. I never really appreciated it at 16 for the classic truck it would become but in my early 20's I longed for another truck. At 30 I found my 72 GMC with 62,000 miles on it. It has been a daily driver ever since(It sure looks it now too). I am really hoping to have a new body done by the end of the summer as I don't think the existing one will make it another year.

I was just lookin' for a truck to use to run to the dump! Found my 71 Longhorn C30 with a for sale sign in it in a little town about 30 miles from here. Thought it would do just fine, paid 1500.oo for it, and then I found this website. Once you hook up with you guys (and gals) you can't stop playing with your truck. See what you've done to me?

Lived on the east coast all my life and thought cars were the thing, till i moved out here to No. CAl after my Soph year in highschool. THen i realized trucks are by far the sickest. I ALWAYS wanted ... 4x4, Convertible, V8 (dual exhaust!!!). But what are you going to get these days that has all 3? That's when i started getting into the 1/2 convertible blazers. I always saw the 1st gens and LOVED the full convertible, but after searching far and wide - thought i would NEver find one, and if i did - not in my price range!!! Finally nearing the end of my junior year after just about a whole year of searching, and going car-less because i wanted THE RIGHT ONE....it showwed up. My 1971 Blazer k/5. LOcal too! right under my own nose!

A boy who goes to my school had his dad pick him up, in the blazer. Saw it with the 4sale and ran over. A week later, its mine! And at a steal too, Not a centimeter of rust anyplace...solid as can be,$4,500!!!!! - and a new windshield 'cuz the orig was cracked - he "knew a guy" and got a new one for me(+$200). The guy i bought it form had it for only 6months or so, and the son had NO intrest (HE thought the 63impala in dads garage was more his style - FOOL!) so the blazer became MINE! MINE MINE MINE MINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So here i am just about done with my Senior year...the trucks brought me better times then i'v ever had before since i'v owned it, and some real close calls(its faster then a crown vic, this i know!), and bad times too...i'll leave it at,....i'm sure many more good times are to come!

Back in '74 as I was walkin home from school my dad pulls up in a '72 Chevy CST with a camper shell on it. Blue with a white roof. We had it a couple years or so. Took it camping / fishing towin his bass boat around.
HE traded it for newer trucks over the years of course, but I always liked it. Well, in the past few years now I got the itch to get one like dads ole truck. My brother in law told me about a Gold 70 GMC near him that he knew the guy and was told it was for sale and it had sat for about 3 years cause it wouldn't start. So I go look at it and that was it. Since I was excited about the truck and obviously wanted it as a play toy, the wife didn't object. So we towed it home and less than $30 later it was running. Replaced the brakes shoes and a couple brake lines and it is my evening / weekend driver. Drove by the guys house about a week ago on my way to the brother in laws house and he was sittin on his tailgate of his Dodge Ram as I passed.
Looked like he about spit in his cup as I came over the hill and waved to him.
My brother in law says the guy isn't too happy that I got it running so cheaply and can now drive it. All it needed was a coil wire fixed and a tune up and it runs great.
QJet rebuild also. The wife is even gettin to like riding around in it. The only thing she don't like about it is no A/C. I told her it has the old style AMBIENT Air system - just roll down the window. I have everything working on it now, but it still needs alot of the typical body work. But its mine.

Sold a 73 a few years before buying the 71 and wished I hadn't but I rarely ever drove it. So I decided to by a truck and chose THE BEST LOOKING TRUCK I could find!!! it took some smooth talking but the old gal that had the truck never had a chance, paid $1000. In the last 2-3 years it's up to around 18k and I'm happy about it. The wife couldn't stand it, now she wants to drive it.

in highschool (I'm noticing a trend here) a buddy had a '72 camper special 4wd with 4" lift, exhaust cutouts, 350, a pretty tough truck! he rolled it in the mountains, bought a 2wd body to replace the rolled version and spent 8 months waiting for it to get out of body shop jail. my dad owns a body shop in the same town, but he thought since the insurance company told him to go to the other shop, he had to! not so, and he wishes he had taken it to my dad. the other shop did an ok job, but the paint sucked, and 8 months to swap a body?

anyway, i was sporting a 74 GMC jimmy my dad bought new. LOVED that rig! it was a monster! well, i thought so. stock sagged springs, 31" tires, factory exhaust, but it had a 350 (built in the late 70's by a local race car engine builder) with a quadrajet. massive bog, but when she started to eat all that gas, man! what a sweet sound! but, after 20 some years of never any maintenace (rode hard and put away wet - as my dad would say!) it lost third gear. continued to drive it. good to 80mph in 2nd. we looked around for a mid 80's 4wd chev with AC, but they were all hashed. then a beautiful orange 72 4wd came to a car lot my dad does business with. he sent me down there to check it out. no ac. i thought it would be a deal breaker, but the next day, there it was! at my dads shop. i fugured it was getting worked on. nope! it was there for me!

have never regreted it since! plan on keeping it forever, and want another! this is a sick disease!

I had said for years that I wanted a '71 or '72 Cheyenne Super 1/2 ton short wide box. When it came time for my wife and I to buy a "back and forth vehicle for work" I went looking in the paper. I went and looked at several torn-up Hondas and Toyotas and just when I was about to give up for the day...low and behold...there's a '71 C-10 1/2 ton longbox in the paper. I went and looked at it. Runs good, looks decent, price is good, and on top of that, it's a bullet-proof Chevrolet!! Since I bought that, I got hooked and I am now putting together a '72 Cheyenne Super 1/2 ton short wide box and driving my '71 everyday.

My Grandma and Grandpa had a 67. Probably first truck I ever road in. I still remember slamming my thumb in the door jamb. When I was about 14, we bought a 69 Camaro. Then a couple other Camaros and a Chevelle. Well, I was trying to think of a new project, and I thought of Grandpa's truck. One problem... My uncle still uses it as a daily driver (yes in WI - year round :whine: ) Needless to say, it's in rough shape. So I went looking for a 67-72 and found one in Iowa. I do plan on getting my Grandpa's one day, when it'll stop running I don't know :bowtie:

My uncle has a long bed with a 402BB. He took me cruisin alot when I was younger, that got me kinda hooked. It was when he pulled in my driveway in his K5 blazer about a year and a half ago that I got totally hooked and had to have one. SWEEEEEEEEEEEEET! :metal: I'll get mine done eventually. Right now its down to the frame. Got everything to do it, just gotta find the time.

I've always bought classic cars to restore, if I kept all of them I'd need a dealers lot to store them all. I always have been a truck man. Then one day I decided why not a classic truck (get the utility of a truck, with the benifits of a classic). I liked 4X4 off roading/mudding. Then one day I was paging through a truck trader magazine and found a 71 GMC short bed 4X4. Without knowing the first thing about these trucks, I bought it, and have been hooked there after.

my dad had a '69 when i was about five years old that i always liked.

when i was ~ ten one of my cousins got a '68 that was pretty trick, but had to sell it due to maint. costs and joining the military.

when i was ~14 another cousin bought a pretty sweet '67 with tilt front end, high-rise, etc. he use to take me out cruising the local drag all the time. he by far had the most *****in truck around and about that time is when i decided that model of truck is what i wanted.

shortly after my cousin that had the '68 moved back home and started looking for another. he picked up a '67 swb and started working on it. the truck was in many pieces and he sold it due to lack of time/money. this time i was the buyer. i spent two years and every one of my paychecks putting it together. after i got the truck done, my cousin was jealous and wanted me to sell it back to him :lol: yeah right!

he now has a 72 blazer project he is working on

Well I already had my 4x4 Ranger ( piece of crap) and was not looking at buying another vehicle. But Renée's brother was looking at getting a beater to drive around and he seen this one and I knew he would be the last person to take care of a vehicle. So Renée and I decided to go take a look at it and it was in the autotrader. Went for a 5 minute ride and within a week I had it at home. Then spent what I had to, to get it on the road and approx 2,500$ later I had the truck with all repairs done to it and it was on the road driving. But since it did not have PS I did not drive it much. I did use it for hauling stuff once and a while since my Ranger was so small and it was higher.

Then moved out of town for a couple years so it sat. Now that I want to drive it again I would have to get it re-certified. It needs all 4 cab supports, rockers and cab corners along with the front floor sections and the lower kick panels. So I really don't know how much more needs to get fixed so till I can get another cab or truck it will sit for longer. It already has the box off it since it pissed me off that I could not get the drivers side apart to cut the coil to level out the ride ( 4" drop coils in the rear). I was planning in working on it anyhow but I was not letting the truck win this battle, LOL. That way it looks like I am doing something with it.
http://www.friedpoodle.com/truck/images/may25th002.jpg
http://www.friedpoodle.com/truck/images/may25th003.jpg

See what I mean, LOL. Not bad LWB box with 2 people and one engine hoist, LOL and limited room as you can see.

I really wanted a 47-55 1st, but wasn't realistic with the outdated drivetrain etc. At the same time, I was looking in the auto trader and saw a 72 ochre/white lwb k10, with about 2 inch lift and 35's or so. I LOVED IT. It was 2500 bucks. I didn't get it though, cause I wanted a 2wd. That was the truck that go tme hooked on 67-72's though. I knew I had to have one, I would still like to get a 47-55, maybe next :D