New wood hauler!

[MofoG23]

I finally found the truck I've been wanting for awhile (3/4 chevy from the 70's). Searched craigslist for the last 6+ months and found this one 250 miles away. Drove out there and drove it home without an issue - very solid truck that runs great!

1976 K20 (350 w/ NP205-SM465) also has the HD brakes and suspension options with 71k on the clock! The truck came with a replacement front fender and a new passenger side door. Once I get those installed, its off to see the brother in law for a quick paint job.

I've been using my fathers 2010 Silverado to move wood around - this thing feels like a tank compared to that. I can't wait to get the first load in the back (most likely going to remove the box when hauling wood).

:greenchainsaw:

 

[Ductape]

Wow, pretty solid looking truck !

A friend of mine has a 75 with about 60 original on the clock for sale. Unfortunately, none of the sheetmetal is useable..... and I need another project like i need a hole in the head. I look forward to seeing pics of that one loaded with wood !

 

[NorthernOntario]

Dad's still got a '78 F150 4x4 tucked away in the barn... essentially rust free too! (Which is hard to believe with all the salt they use on our Ontario roads). IIRC it might need a spot repaired on the rear panel behind the wheels, and the rear bumper is a little rusty.

Of course, it's in such good shape that he can't stand to part with it... but uses so much gas that he can't stand to drive it! It was his first "new" vehicle he ever bought... was there the day it was delivered to the dealership.

Would be a shame to turn it into a firewood hauler though... it's just in too nice of shape... but would be a perfect truck for it. Most of this vintage are beat to heck, cause they could stand up to the abuse of being farm/firewood trucks!

 

[Deprime]

Nice find! That will be a sweet wood hauler. Love those 70's chevys, they just keep on going.

 

[beerman6]

nice!

 

[Medman]

sweet truck, It brings back memories of mudding when I was a kid. awesome find.

Tim

 

[WetBehindtheEar]

Looks a LOT like my Father-in-Law's truck - how's the transfer case on it?

 

[MofoG23]

Looks a LOT like my Father-in-Law's truck - how's the transfer case on it?

Transfer case works great - no issues. I plan to drain all of the fluids over the next week. I'm sure most of them are original to the truck (rear end, transfer case, tranny...etc).

I do need to get a new bell housing though - looks like someone may have dropped it during a clutch change or the clutch blew apart at some point - there is a small hole on the bottom of the case.

 

[WetBehindtheEar]

Also check the front lockouts - he had an awful CLUNK! When it happened, I would look behind us to see if there were any parts laying in the road.

:jawdrop:

 

[MofoG23]

Thanks for the heads up. Down the road I wanted to pull them apart and service them (check bearings and lube 'em up).

 

[Crawfish]

nice wood truck. Congrats!

 

[Big_Al]

Nice looking old rig! Don't see many of those anymore, lost a lot of them to the cash for clunkers fiasco. Not a fan of the newer chevies but like the older ones! Built like tanks.

 

[audible fart]

Nice find! You couldn't give me a new chevy truck. You talk about clutch: it's a manual trans? If so that's awesome. Hell, you can't even buy new chevy pickups in manual trans. Which of course is pathetic, and one of many reasons I'll never buy another chevy unless it's an old one like yours.

 

[HD-tech-NH]

Man guys are buying trucks left and right here! good looking rig! I started hauling wood with a chevrolet G30 van. Big block power super heavy duty truck! We called that one big red too!

 

[chopperfreak2k1]

if it's pre '78 you should have a dana 44 front axle, in my mind better than the 10 bolt corporate that came in '78 and newer trucks. you also have the 9.5" ring gear 14 bolt semi floater corporate rear axle, which is much stronger than the 12 bolt half ton rear, but not as stout as the 10.5" 14 bolt full floater corporate. also if you ever wanted to both your axles can be converted to 6 bolt hubs.

the sm 465 is a bullet proof tranny. i love 'em and they are all i'll run in my trucks. they will safely handle 465 lb/ft of torque input so with a 350 enngine you have no worries.

the np 205 transfer case is all hellical cut, gear to gear drive and virtually indestructable. also the only t-case that goes in my trucks. MUCH stronger than the np 203 or anything else offered at the time. even today that tranny and t-case are considered very strong and very desirable for off road use.

your front drive hubs are your weakest link and i would leave it that way. you can change a lock-in lock-out hub pretty quickly and you don't even need a jack. give her all new u-joints including axle u-joints and you shouldn't have to mess with anything for quite a while.

i have been running chevy's all my life and wheeling them for about 18 years now and i can say the set-up you have is VERY strong. there are many aftermarket t-cases that are not as strong as yours and some of the better ones are modeled after the np 205.

people give their eye teeth for the components you have, it is a very desirable set-up indeed, at least for hard core off road use. you almost couldn't have got a tougher truck, congrats!


btw, LOVE your avatar!!!

 

[MofoG23]

Nice looking old rig! Don't see many of those anymore, lost a lot of them to the cash for clunkers fiasco. Not a fan of the newer chevies but like the older ones! Built like tanks.

Yep, that damn cash for clunkers took quite a few nice trucks off the road... also made it hard to find a decent truck from this era (hence my 250 mile trip to get this one).

 

[MofoG23]

Nice find! You couldn't give me a new chevy truck. You talk about clutch: it's a manual trans? If so that's awesome. Hell, you can't even buy new chevy pickups in manual trans. Which of course is pathetic, and one of many reasons I'll never buy another chevy unless it's an old one like yours.

Yep, its a manual - Muncie 4spd w/ granny gear. I love it!

 

[MofoG23]

if it's pre '78 you should have a dana 44 front axle, in my mind better than the 10 bolt corporate that came in '78 and newer trucks. you also have the 9.5" ring gear 14 bolt semi floater corporate rear axle, which is much stronger than the 12 bolt half ton rear, but not as stout as the 10.5" 14 bolt full floater corporate. also if you ever wanted to both your axles can be converted to 6 bolt hubs.

the sm 465 is a bullet proof tranny. i love 'em and they are all i'll run in my trucks. they will safely handle 465 lb/ft of torque input so with a 350 enngine you have no worries.

the np 205 transfer case is all hellical cut, gear to gear drive and virtually indestructable. also the only t-case that goes in my trucks. MUCH stronger than the np 203 or anything else offered at the time. even today that tranny and t-case are considered very strong and very desirable for off road use.

your front drive hubs are your weakest link and i would leave it that way. you can change a lock-in lock-out hub pretty quickly and you don't even need a jack. give her all new u-joints including axle u-joints and you shouldn't have to mess with anything for quite a while.

i have been running chevy's all my life and wheeling them for about 18 years now and i can say the set-up you have is VERY strong. there are many aftermarket t-cases that are not as strong as yours and some of the better ones are modeled after the np 205.

people give their eye teeth for the components you have, it is a very desirable set-up indeed, at least for hard core off road use. you almost couldn't have got a tougher truck, congrats!


btw, LOVE your avatar!!!

Thanks - great to see a fellow Steeler and GM fan!

Here is a picture of my rear axle - from what I have seen on the net, this is a full floater. Do you have a picture of the 14 bolt 9.5 semi floater?

 

[MofoG23]

ok - I just answered my own question. I found a picture of a 14 bolt 9.5 SF - see attached picture.

Without a doubt, my truck has the 10.5 FF.

 

[chopperfreak2k1]

i was wrong and i apologize for the bad info. i did some reading and found the 10.5" 14 bolt bible. everything you ever wanted to know about your rear end is here-
http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/14b_bible/index.html