Enjoying "Nanad's" Old Yeller 72 LWB Fleet

[JamieGallien]

This thread will be just to share my family's enjoyment of my late granddad's 72 Chevy lwb fleetside pickup. Fixing up, driving, and just using it for what it was built for.

My granddad "Nanad" bought this old 72 off a farm in 1997. It had been purchased new just to be a farm truck. When nanad bought it it had about 50k original miles and even still had the plastic on the passenger side of the seat with the seat belts still folded like factory. According to the owner's widow, the truck had only been driven to the coop and back for supplies. It had been used to carry (and store) salt for his cattle among other things. There is rust everywhere, but it's still a solid old truck, runs well with a factory th350 as the only option purchased.

[JamieGallien]

Some paper work that was still in the truck...I know some of you guys would probably kill to have this documentation...lol

I have more that I'll get pics of later, original protecto plate warranty, dealer to owner invoice, and the dealer pre delivery check up sheet. Might be some docs that some of you could re-create for your restorations.

[JamieGallien]

Last week I drove the old truck to work, 75 miles round trip. Took it through a car wash and some of the weather seal in the roof drip rail got blown out by the sprayer! The inside of the truck looked like a faucet had been left on!


I found out why when I got home:


I haven;t had time to fix it yet, so I'm keeping it parked under the carport. THe old girl doesn't know what to think; first a car wash, now safe in a carport...what's next?

[JamieGallien]

The door seals were leaking pretty bad when it rains too. I picked up some seals from the junkyard, just experimenting to see what I could find.

The first pic is a seal from a 99 Dodge Durango. It had and extra flap on the inside to cover headliner, etc and was about 3-4 inches too short. For now, it doesn't leak which was my goal...


This pic is a seal from a 96 S10. It fit much better, was flat on the inside part, and only left about and inch gap at the bottom. Considering the roof leak, the gap will probably be good to let water out if I get caught in rain...lol

[JamieGallien]

I also added in a trio gauge panel to keep tabs on the engine...

[JamieGallien]

More documentation..

[JamieGallien]

I've also had folks ask about the "custom" tailgate...
The original was damaged so my Nanad bought this one from a company called Bimco...then proceeded to damage it LOL!!

[JamieGallien]

I also installed a pertronix ignition kit...and shortly after a new fuel pump...and shortly after that a new lower radiator hose. (You know how it goes with these old trucks...)

[JamieGallien]

I installed new plugs, wires, cap and rotor a few days ago.



And the previously mentioned new fuel pump and radiator hose...

[JamieGallien]

A few more documentation pics...



Anybody know what the chalk marks mean? I assume they were put there during assembly to tell somebody what to install...



From the drivers sunvisor..

[JamieGallien]

Used the old 72 to pick up a used 6.2 diesel for my dad's 85 K-5 Blazer today. I love using this old truck like it was meant to be used! Picked up a 2000lb engine stand from Harbor Freight and my dad and I put that together too. Tim, one of my 5 kids, proud of the work he did last night! Hopefully this engine swap will go quickly and I can get back to working on Old Blue!

[JamieGallien]

Found some pics from this winter, dropped the fender to install a new heater core. Dad "helped" a lot, lol!

The fender was a lost cause, most of the front portion was rusted away to nothing. I haven't replaced it yet.

I had a "few" leaves caught up in the heater core...lol!

[JamieGallien]

More pics from winter...

We finished the storage area in the back of the garage. Filled it up with all the priceless junk that was being stored inside the garage. Now I have room to work on these old trucks!

I had plenty of help...dad and the dog REALLY pulled their weight! (Actually I couldn't have done it without my dad's help, the dog however...)

[Justin@EntropyRad]

Pretty sweet truck, and killer story to go with!

[JamieGallien]

So, for thanksgiving weekend my dad and I worked on my grandad's old 72. The brake master cylinder let go internally and was just bypassing to the floor, so we decided to do a power brake upgrade in the process.

We used the $149 kit from summit that comes with the brackets, master, booster, and no proportioning valve (truck already had one).

It was pretty simple, just mocked everything up to get the pushrod length right and bolted on. The lines had enough flex in them to slowly and carefully bend them to connect back in (we left the prop valve connected and only disconnected the lines from the m/c).

The hardest part was getting the pin in the pushrod clevis on the pedal and adjusting the brake light switch (that was ridiculous). Removing the pedal stop (4 bolts under the steering wheel) and pulling the seat out made it much easier.

It was well worth the effort for the upgrade. No more bracing my knee between the steering wheel and brake pedal at stoplights, lol!

Pics for your pleasure...

[Low Elco]

Neat 'ol Truck! Don't suppose you'd have the PN of that brake kit? that's exactly what we want to do to ours this winter. Thanks!

[JamieGallien]

Sure. It may not suffice for all. The m/c did not end up exactly level, but it's very close. It did come with an adjustable pushrod which some kits don't have. You'll also need an aftermarket air cleaner or one of the offset factory air cleaners for clearance.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-760197

[68Gold/white]

The master cyl does not have to be level. Many vehicles do not have level m/cyl's.
Some are angled A LOT.
Keep up the great work!

[JamieGallien]

Originally Posted by 68Gold/white

The master cyl does not have to be level. Many vehicles do not have level m/cyl's.
Some are angled A LOT.
Keep up the great work!

Oh yeah, I know. It doesn't bother me a bit. I'm more practical. Some folks are persnickety about their trucks though. I didn't want anyone buying that part no thinking it would be perfectly level.

[Low Elco]

Thanks for the PN!