[dagnabbitt]

So I began the story by mentioning that I had a couple other trucks, both 67 GMCs. One - the black rattle can one - I had high hopes for, it was a runner and the truck I thought I would make a project out of. I put a new rad and fuel tank in it, as well as a bunch of little things under the hood like a distributor, plugs, wires, etc. I had it running really well, but it sat for a few years in the parking lot of the place I worked at. One day I took it for a cruise and found out that something happened to the brakes, because there were none. Foot to the floor, terrifying. Luckily it had a working emergency brake, which I had never tested before.

I decided that it was time to put some time into this one. It ran good, just needed brakes, right? I drove it to my buddies shop with no brakes, slowing down with the 3 on the tree and feathering the emergency brake as I went: the cables snapped as I pulled in. And when we got it on the hoist... it was simply too far gone. Frame was bent, rivets were popped out of the rear suspension, driveshaft was bent, leafs were broken, shocks were broken, and there was definitely something wrong with the steering. I think someone had jumped it Dukes of Hazzard style, this thing was trashed underneath. And that was basically the tip of the iceberg, I knew as I looked at it. It now had no brakes whatsoever and besides, it wasn't like it was well-optioned or even nice to look at.

THAT was when the C20 looked like it might be the "base" of this project I wanted to embark upon. Nothing wrong with the undercarriage of that truck. Big and solid and beautiful and it had that 292 and the chrome package. Maybe I could use a 3/4 ton, I thought. Lots of parts on the 67 GMC that the 68 C20 could use.

So I did something that I have never done before, I chopped up a truck. A couple buddies and I removed everything we could from the 67 GMC, one friend of mine even cut the floor out of it. Then we sent it to the crusher, which was not as bittersweet as I thought it would be, since we did use every part of the buffalo. The new fuel tank and rad went in the C20 immediately, as well as the box, which was nothing to write home about, but at least it had one now.

I had never heard the C20 run, but after jumping the starter it became clear that we needed a fuel pump. We stole one from the GMC's 250 and what do you know, it fit. The 292 fired right up. Once I installed the ignition and door locks from the other truck, it fired right up with a key. Sounds great, like a sewing machine.