SRobertson

I was at a Superbowl party and the host had this 69 C20 Camper Special. Being a truck guy I had to check it and and essentially bought it a week later. 61k original miles on the 350 th350 drivetrain. One small pin hole of rust behind the passenger rear fender... none in the cab corners or rockers. The outside is in need of paint, but the trim is all in pretty good shape. Needs new wood grain tape on the lower trim and polish and paint on the upper. It has the CST package, no AC but power steering and brakes. Drives and runs excellent but is only geared to run about 55 or 60.

Wood bed is original and the interior is cherry. He gave me three original radios plus I have the original metal stamp plate and warranty paper work from 69, shop manuals and owners manuals.

My thoughts are just a repaint of the outside as the rest is in excellent shape. Looking for opinions as this is a rarer truck and I want to keep it original.

Thanks guys,

annabelle

I restored and converted a 70 GMC camper special to 4X4.......plenty of parts.........good looking truck,

kthiemann

That's a sharp looking truck!!! Personally I would just fix the cancer spot and paint it. The only other thing I can think of is maybe some better gearing, but that would depend on how you intend to run it.

annabelle

Factory tach......nice. You can add an after market A/C......easily.

Bark

That is nice! Is the camper shell from the same era?

SRobertson

Thanks guys,

Sounds like what I had planned a mini restoration / partial restoration as it is so clean and all original.

I am not sure what era the camper shell is from, but it fits the bed really well. I was told it is hard to find a shell to fit these trucks as the beds are a bit of a odd shape. Haven't verified that information... All that said I think it is a newer shell as it has a 3rd brake light and felt on the inside which indicates to me a 80's or 90's model.

I need to find a local shop and get some bids on matching the paint. I might pull the bed and lift the cab off just clean the frame up a bit and protect it from rust down the road.

Too many project, too little space and money.

patdaly

I am having a hard time accepting the factory TH350 in a 3/4 ton CS.

Not to say it wasn't done, 69 was the first year of the TH350 and GM had high hopes.......

BEAUTIFUL truck, keep her clean and I think you are on the right track with your plans.

cbrahs

LMC Truck has all the parts you may need. I have bought a lot from those guys and the catalogs are FREE

I had a 69 stepside in high school. 350, muncie 4 speed. built it with a cast on my right wrist. was a cool truck and have always loved that bodystyle.

annabelle

X2 on LMC

SRobertson

I need to confirm the Turbo 350 but it was a guess, 3 speed with no overdrive so I was assuming, I haven't had a chance to get underneath and check the tags, but they are there.

Sounds like a repaint with some touch up on the jams is in order.

When you get in the inside it looks like it rolled off the showroom yesterday so i am pretty pleased.

Greguw

You have to watch some of the stuff you get from LMC ... in there pics of there products they what looks like the part ... buddy was ordering a fuel fill hose for the feed neck .
Though it was going to come custom molded like the original ... not the case they sent out a hunk of marine hose . The electric parts are not the highest quality to say the least , some of there switches are new old stock , but you have to ask .

patdaly

Easier to just pop the hood and look at the throttle linkage, if it has a cable running down to the trans, it is a TH 350, if not, it is a TH 400 ( electronic kickdown ).

SRobertson

Patdaly...

Thanks for the info, it is a TH400 as it has the electronic kick down.

I drove it over and we were looking at why it would have that electronic switch on it, you confirmed what it is there for.

Appreciate it... So its a 69 C/20 Camper Special with the CST package and a 350 TH400 drivetrain.

Learn something new everyday.

15 Digger

I had 2 C10's A 67 or 8 and a 72. Neither had wood beds. Was this just on the C20 models? They are great trucks and anything you want from stock to improved aftermarket is available for them. Enjoy it.

soulezoo

I know you want to keep it original, but a overdrive unit will make it much, much nicer to drive.