 |
This is the 1972 Chevrolet Cheyenne Super C20 longbed pickup truck that I found and bought for $1,000 on eBay. During the dash and firewall project, I cracked Georgia Red's windshield in an uninstall attempt. A new one was $300 installed and buying new parts in general was killing me. I couldn't find a parts truck that I wanted anywhere close, and this truck appeared. I couldn't afford $300 so I spent a grand?? Motor oil in the veins I guess...
Not bad for an old work truck
The truck was in New Jersey, it had a 400 small block, a Dana 60 posi-rearend, and it ran!!! "Good enough to drive to New York," Mark, the seller, said, "but Georgia I'm not sure about." It had been parked and run sparingly since 2000 and had been a worker for 14 years before that. The rear main seal was broken which manifest as a backfire from under the hood at higher RPM's, but it ran well otherwise. The cab floor was rusted out as were the doors. The bed has come from another truck some time ago but was obviously in better shape than the cab's bottom. The underside of the bed and box had been sprayed with a heavy duty coating to fight the salt it saw each winter. One fender was busted up.
The bad side of the box
That's the high level about the truck itself. Then comes all the extras… you see… Mark was cleaning out some of his shop and sending me on my way with all the stuff he had intended to use to restore this truck. That's okay for Mark because he had a beautiful 1967 Chevy C-10 shortbed (his first vehicle fully restored), a very rare 1968 Camaro Z28 pulled from a junk yard as a total rust bucket still in restoration, and another bad-ass 197* Camaro in his garage. He also had a 1972 K5 Blazer that he used as a snowplow around his place. Mark is a very cool guy in my book!
Mark and I just before we set out for Georgia
Mark included with purchase:
- GM 350 smallblock (the truck factory installed engine)
- V8 engine mounts
- Heads, intake, and balancer
- Compressor and brackets
- Power steering setup
- Hood hinges and hood latch
- Grille brackets
- Turn signal assemblies/lenses
- Two a.m. push bottom radios
- Truck vent window
- Pre-72 and 72 door panels
- Wiper Motor
- Carrier bearing
- Rear brake shoes
- Drums and hubs for Dana 60
- 4 floor/cab supports
- 2 rocker panels
- 2 inner rocker panels
- 2 cab corners
- Set of solid, rust free 1972 doors with glass and all hardware
- Right-hand longbed side panel
|
 |
And
ONE EXTRA WINDSHEILD - Yeppp... there was a good windshield in the truck and an extra one for Georgia Red.
I borrowed my bosses two axel trailer, my dad Dodge Dakota Quadcab, and a bit of my girlfriend's time and headed out for 15 hours of driving, 3 hours of early morning sleep in the truck at a truck stop, and 2 more hours of driving to Mark's place. He assured me that the truck would drive right up onto my trailer, and it did. Once up there, it towered over the Dodge, so much so that I'm surprised I didn't get pulled over on the way back.
We crawled through rush hour in DC. We stood at a standstill for 45 minutes as we watched a Medivac helicopter lift someone from a wreck on the interstate below Baltimore. We went through blinding, heavy rains in North Carolina that left me driving 15 to 25 MPH with my flashers on. To add to the misery, the trailer would fish-tail anytime I drifted over 50 MPH, so it was slow and focused all the way back. After an 18 hours drive up, it took us 23 hours to make it home.
Probably a bit too much weight up in the air for the Dodge, but we made it...
Once the Cheyenne Super was home in Georgia, it did a little work hauling dogs and stuff around town while I finished up Georgia Red's dash and firewall project. At first, I thought I would do the complete frame-off restoration. It seemed like a great idea. I had the original numbers-matching 350 block, the factory tranny and rear end, and it was a 1972 Super. The 350 had been running when Mark replaced it for more power with the 400. By using the 350, the numbers would all match and I could pull the 400 for a rebuild and install in Georgia Red.
After scoping the complete restoration project, I decided not to proceed for two reasons. One I was a total novice to body work didn't think my "project" work would hold the dollar value I would have to put into a restoration. I was seeing nicely redone trucks going for $2500 to $4000 on eBay and I find a logical reason to get started on a money pit. Secondly I didn't need another truck just the extra bed space. I started thinking about…
Once I had the Blazer on the road again, I started in the Cheyenne Super with a new plan for the 1972 Chevrolet Cheyenne Super C20 longbed pickup:
Should this 400 smallblock be rebuilt for Georgia Red or maybe an El Camino??
For a future rebuild and install into Georgia Red…
- Pull the 400 cid smallblock
- Pull the Dana Spicer 60 / 35 spline posi-traction rearend
For day-to-day hauling and all kinds of other fun, rebuild the Longbed Trailer to match Georgia Red
|
|
|
