'77 Camper Special
 

Hi I am going to post my first project truck today! My brother is whiteyandreddy and he clued me in on this site, and it's pretty sweet.
My truck is a 77 3/4 ton 4x4. I bought from a really nice mechanic who had to sell it because he needed a SUV. It has a 454 from an '85 rv, and a 700r4 (my favorite) trans. Everything underneath looks like standard stuff, but the guy put on a disc brake conversion kit, and magnaflow exhaust.
When I got it though it was a hodgebodge of different colored panels and I knew I had all kinds of bodywork to do. Anyhow here's a before and after pic!

Re: '77 Camper Special
 

Here are pics from when I got the truck. I think that is my nephew in the cab--where is he going?
Mechanically the truck didnt really need anything, so all I had to do was the bodywork. I was talking to my buddy Manuel (the guy with the Mater truck from my brother's thread) and he said his dad's body shop would do the work. So basically I just bought this truck and then hauled it off to the body shop. I didn't turn a single wrench. There are a lot of pro's to doing it this way :D
The deal I struck with Manuel, Sr. was pretty simple: he would work on it when his guys were idle. So he had the truck for like 4 months, but he did a super job. The truck needed a new bed, a door, fenders, corners. Plus it had those ugly mirrors! I think there may have been a hole in the floor too. But like I said the body guys did an awesome job. It was also cool to order parts from LMC and have them shipped directly to the body shop.
In these pics you can see the truck tore down, and where they tacked in a new rocker.

Re: '77 Camper Special
 

love it!

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here's some more pix from the shop. It was always exciting to get a call from Manuel Sr. and go over to the shop and see the truck. At this point they were jamming it and I got to see how the paint looks.

Some of the things I learned on this build:
I will never get a 2-tank truck again. Chevy was so high in the 70s! Having to park twice to fill up once is a pain.
4" lift just barely clears 35x12.5's. I had to go down to 33's. Which still looked good tho. But my next proj is going to have 5" minimum.
The factory acrylic paints are not available, like at all, and there isn't a good equivalent enamel. At least I think so. I only talked to the guy at Napa so there is probably other solutions, but in my case I had to look through thousands of paint chips to find the gold color. I love that gold from back then. My dad had a '75 3/4 ton just like it he used to take us camping in. So this truck is my homage to my dad :) I actually did get it to put a slide - in camper in it and go four-wheel camping. I really want to get an slide in and restore it too, but one thing at a time.

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More pix from the shop. Things were really starting to come together at this point. Me and my brother would shoot out after work and check it out. I think at this point i had him sold on the body shop :D

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more pix from shop. That's my brother in law there. I was like a kid at christmas at this point. The paint is a 2 stage, and with like 3 coats of clear it shined like justice. man it was sweet The pictures aren't very good, it looks like im taking them through the bottom of a coke bottle for some reason. But the paint did look awesome, they wet sanded it so it was super smooth

Re: '77 Camper Special
 

Almost done! Had to customize the bumper for some reason that's why it's not on there. Also had to put the mirrors on it still.
that's my brother (whiteyandreddy) and my nephew.
another lesson: do not let the bodyman screw in the chrome trim. They wind up puncturing the metal and it rusts from behind. I like the 3M double side tape for the chrome pieces.

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more pix! Also picture is my white F250. Yeah I am equal opportunity Chevy and Ford. I cant help it the ford is a good looking truck, and it runs like a stolen dog.

Re: '77 Camper Special
 

Nice truck it came out good.

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more pix!

Re: '77 Camper Special
 

Nice truck! Paint looks great.
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Re: '77 Camper Special
 

more pix this time I will actually attach them! Here is the bed, I had a line-x job done on it. I really like the way the line x came out, but it is kind of pricey. On my next project I am going to try to do it myself? Any suggestions? Also thanks for the compliments!

Re: '77 Camper Special
 

Here is my favorite part of the truck--I had a kid do a custom pinstripe job on it. He used window paint and did some scroll work on the doors, pillar, bed, tailgate, and hood using white, tan and brown. I had him paint the eagle design on the hood, and it really came out good. I am going to keep that as a trademark for every truck I paint, it is really cool

Re: '77 Camper Special
 

Here's a pic of the shine on the paint. I used Meguire's Gold Class and the reflection is miles deep. Also you can see a little bit of the scroll work

Now on to my second build! I just got another 77 4x4 and a 79 2wd. The body on the 77 is a wreck, but like Bird mechanically it is sweet. The 79 was a half-finished project that I picked up for a song. I am going to do a body swap over to the 77 frame. Pretty daunting but my buddy and I are pretty optimistic we can git er dun! For this one I think I may do the brown and white 2-tone or possibly the light blue and white 2-tone. One thing that will be different is that I am going to do all the body work myself. I really want to get in there and learn to do it, and I don't want a concours car, I like to drive em!!

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Dag gum thats a nice truck! LOVE those colors! Do you happen to have the specs of th paint you used? Also, is that a base clear setup or single stage?

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Hey thanks! OK so I have the following # for the gold: 60770. It's called Yellow Gold and it's like a pinstripe color from a subaru. Crazy huh. The white I do not have a code for, it is called Frost White and I was able to get it using the ppg paint chip for that model year. It was just the gold that was a problem. But like I said I just went to a Napa store to get the paint, there are probably other resources too

Re: '77 Camper Special
 

The truck turned out awesome - love the color choice!

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It's been a long time since I posted on my 77, but recent events have caused me to have to replace the carburetor! It is an edelbrock 1406 and was on sale for like 300 bucks. Replacing took all of 30 minutes. I didn't even have to get a fresh beer!
Also I decided to address all my fuel system problems. When the 454 swap was done on this truck, the way it sat in the cradles left no room for the bigger 454 mechanical fuel pump, so a 350 pump was swapped on. This pump can't keep up, so my truck has an electric booster that runs basically all the time. I can switch it off at times but I rarely did. So I finally pulled off the 350 pump completely and covered the opening. Also I changed all of my filters and all the rubber hoses I thought needed replacing. Also I put in a pressure regulator just to see if that helps.
Also this year I fixed my interior issues (like no dash panel or lights) and got a newer seat. My old seat had a huge hole where you sit, and I couldn't take it anymore.

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Well I have been driving it around more now that I am home, and it looks like after I timed it I am at 12mpg! Not too shabs for a big block automatic. Next item of business is to fix the leaky brake master cylinder clean up the wiring
:ito:

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12 mpg is great! That's a heck of a tune up you gave it. What kind of driving do you do the majority of the time?

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Great looking rig. It's funny how colors you might not choose for anything else can look so good on a truck. They stood out so much in the first photo that at first I though it was photoshopped. I like that it has the 454 too. Thanks for letting us see it.

LT7A

Re: '77 Camper Special
 

I live out in the country on the flatlands so it's 90% highway driving. To be honest I just put on the new carb and tuned it per the book, and try to keep my foot out of it. I am by no means an expert.

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Thanks man!

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So I damaged one of my wheels, and went to go get a new one. Turns out they don't make them anymore. Which is actually good, because I have been looking for an excuse to get steel wagon wheels for like 5 years. So I ran down to the ol tire shop and got these babies! Added bonus, 315/75's fit!

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Also I should say I got it aligned, and put new shocks on. And my brother and I installed new wheel bearings and rotors. I put on new front brakes and a new master cylinder. So she's running really well!