You might have seen this truck in the background of the 1950 Dodge video. It is a K20 4WD Camper Special. A very rare truck, but it has driven hard and been sitting outside for 13 years. Will it come back to life?
I think it's worth rescuing, personally. With the rust, it would definitely be a long term project, but worth it in the end. These square bodies are only going up in value. And it being a Camper Special, even more so. Awesome job getting it running!! 👍👍 The year can also be found on that silver emissions sticker under the hood , it will say "This vehicle comforms to emissions standards for (enter year) model year" if the driver door sticker is faded. Thanks for sharing! I'd definitely buy this truck if I had the money.
Hi David. The emissions sticker says 1979, but the air cleaner says 1978. Very odd. You are right, Camper Specials are crazy hot right now. Looking under it I can see why. There are heavy-duty parts everywhere.
@@whattherust It's possible the cleaner housing was replaced. Perhaps from a wrecking yard. Someone mentioned that was possibly a newer GM crate motor, due to the valve covers and the engine being black. And they do say "GM Goodwrench 350", so they're probably right. Coincidentally, the emissions sticker would also mention cubic inch displacement, which would probably have been a 7.4 or 454 for the Camper Special...again, I don't know why they would replace a 454 for a 350. It could have been for gas mileage considerations. It is intriguing!
1978 Chevrolet Silverado it's best class 4x4 head block needs everything battery full detail they don't make those anymore old school vehicle roll down windows clean inside the truck awesome video friend bless you
That engine sounds like my Moms Jeep Wagoneer when she came to visit me. I heard it and said I to check that. I got it down to her spark plug Wires and found two that were broken inside. Replaced them all and the engine was smooth and purring like a kitten. She was thrilled too. D
Buy it, clean it up and then decide based upon what rust and deterioration it has. It appears to have many useful parts if not a candidate for restoration.
Great start Richard. This might make a farm truck. But as a personal truck no way. Sounds like a overhaul on that 350. And transmission overhaul. Thanks Richard for this will it start. 💯👊❤️
hi there yet another awesome video i love watching you do your stuff she sounds like an awesome v8 beauty engine you are the man you got it right a work truck well done
Good chevy..you're lucky to have it. Cooling water you didnot show us putting in it. So all the time We were worry about getting hot .also the cooling fan cover was moving .it needs fixing. We were waiting diving it in roads..thanks.
It is great watching your videos Watching the revivals of Vehicles haven’t run or drive or even seen I think this one is worth a second chance maybe try to get it on the road that would be a good video to watch keep them Videos coming Dave from good old England
If I had the money or ability I would jump on that truck. I just don't and live to far away. Nice find man. Absolutely love these square bodies. Great vid.
@@whattherust WOW Trans for that Is not hard to get and fairly easy to replace. Would make A great farm truck but I am In S.C. and oh well. Still great truck and video. Loving watching your vids.
I used motor oil, trans. oil, Mystery Oil and some times in combinations. I soaked the motor in my 63 Riviera for about 6 months. I had about 1/2 to 2/3 movement in the motor. A gentle man I met in Trinidad, CO put me on to diesel and I mixed it with Mys./Oil. I let it soak for a few days. I went out to turn it like normal and made the most progress I ever had in one day. When it moved like that I thought that by the end of the day the motor would spin the whole way around. 15 minutes later the motor was entirely loose like normal. It starts and runs today like normal.
Hey Richard, awesome work as always. My Dad had a '76. Silver with white accents and a dark red interior. I think if someone has the time and resources it's worth the effort. I'm not really a fan of the square bodies, but to each his own..
My thing is to clear away the jungle, bug bomb under the car, and blow everythng the hell away. You are right about snakes, but the spiders, wasps, and ants will also get you. I bring plywood an jack stands if I can't pull it out to a clear spot. Try tbe DeWalt 64 volt blower. Really strong. Well done. That's a good crate engine.
Not a Chevy guy. But! Those older motors where tough. I seen Derek's video with the camper special. 454... Thanks for sharing my friend enjoyed it.....
I used the sea foam in the carb on my 1983 ford ranger last winter. It usually takes a few minutes to start it's magic. Tho it is worth every penny!! There should be laws against abandoning vehicles to rot away!
They built millions of them but the corrosion protection was so bad that even Southern trucks rusted out. If GM could do a limited run of the square body shape with a basic v6 & v8 offering they’d knock it out of the park. Obviously they would have to add additional safety items that the original square body trucks didn’t have but it could still be done without violating the original square body. I’d buy one. Would anyone else?
One of the fer-sher 'no fake' restore channels. Good work, dude. 10/10 on honest field restarts (there's some phonies out there - you know who you are)
How can you tell when a channel like this is a fake one? Are there telltale signs? I don’t think any of the ones that I enjoy are fake, but I’d be curious to know what sort of things to look for.
I had a 77 Scottsdale stepwise my dad had a 78 camper special we did a full body off resto off on it id love to have this truck it's begging to b rebuilt n shining again
i wish i was able to find one around here in that shape that is not really that bad could be a great fishing or hunting truck and cleaned up and running top shape would make a good cruiser truck
Hi from Scotland. It’s actually a decent looking truck. The underside looks a bit worse for wear, and I wasn’t sure if the leaf springs looked knackered ?. The engine of course would need a real good check also. Another excellent video,and great job in getting it unlocked and running. It’s a shame to leave it lying to rot away…. Cheers John
Hey John! It could be a useable truck. Underneath it was fine, and everything is heavy duty. The wild card is the transmission. There were empty fluid jugs all over, so something is up with it.
Hello hun the UK in Liverpool I'm collin I think my friend this truck deserves to be saved if I was you I'd buy it given the bodywork it's wel worth doing cos you wood get your money back probably a profit to think about it you no it makes perfect sense
I've always been a big fan of those generation Chevrolet & GMC fullsize pickups & SUVs. They were produced from 1973 - 1991 except the half ton & three quarter ton two-door cab pickups were discontinued in 1987 & the one ton two-door cab pickups were discontinued in 1989. 1973 was also the first year for the optional bigger cab pickups which were the four-door crew cabs.
fix exhaust full tuneup change fluids check breaks. and some love she will run wit the rest of um. those gm 350ci 4bolt mains are very reliable. shes one tough girl yet. thanks for the show,,
Well no more rush than what we see here in Michigan but it is a square body and they are popular so it would be worth fixing up if someone had the inclination.😁😁👍👍
That is a well apportioned vehicle. It has all the bells and whistles. The engine is a GM replacement engine you can see on the drivers side valve cover. Might tweak those idle mixture screws a tad. It does indeed have the usual "square body rust" but I have seen worse. Yes it could make a decent driver. It seems as though it is all there and those trucks are quite reliable when they are brought up to snuff with the usual wear and tear items.
Probably worth saving. For sitting that long and being relatively easy to get running says a lot for it's intrinsic quality. Buy it and at the least get it cleaned up and the basic systems operational. And I'm a Ford guy!
Nice truck! I think that might be a replacement engine, I think the factory engine color was blue in 1978, I noticed it was black with GMGoodwrench valve covers which I think are like replacement crate engines
dude definintly keep it it literally got back to running and the cylinders freed up after all that gunk n stuff on the plugs you know marvel mystery oil is really the best stuff out there to free up your engines and yeah that's a rareee find especially with that original paintjob not looking half bad and it's a 4x4 camper special you cant get anything better than that my guy deffo keep it!
Excellent video Parque :) find this nice condition GM truck in Camper Edition rare for sure 👍 and light heavy duty 20 3/4 ton also 4×4 plus 350 V8 4 barrel carb, Automatic transmission possible 700SR 4speed Overdrive or Turbo 350 or 400 of 3 speed types and 411 rear end gears too with 206 transfer case for 4×4 to ! Plus 2 chrome bumpers rare too get also and 4 core rad hopefully got too ! Also Parque hope you get to own too be nice too own it ! Also talk about tilt steering problems I had fix up my Cousin Nancey 1989 Cheverlot Astro van when gave use my car used back 2007 and was Winter Season months drive to my home 10 miles away ! What happened got patch of black ice heading my home also slip in small ditch also knock person mail off and yank Steering wheel right snap dash so had get tow truck to back home ! Thank goodness had my Tow Truck home to and tow to my work next day! Had get Good used Steering wheel whole from Wrecking Yard and all steering parts underneath plus rest my Cousin Nancey need done but she forgot tell me Steering wheel was in Repair to ! But did charge for Tow truck fees but Steering parts yes but she sorry accident happened too and she help me get new mailbox also pole fix up ran over to owner! But cops talk to Nancey about Accident and understand that Steering Wheel could happen to anyone no fine for unsafe vehicle too! But she got rid Van year late in 2008 and her Husband Steve said his Steering wheel went lose on his 1995 Chevrolet truck but got fix too in 2008 replacement parts did himself after told how easy do it also did together Lol! Also Parque I like any vechiles make or models to work on to Lol and seen lots them and rare ones never worked is LADA or Fiat but lots others have to! Funny part my truck 1978 GMC High Series 25 2 wheel drive truck my late Dad also uncle had farm it leak on motor bad but never lost much at all had tons miles on but always started old 350 4 barrel and never lost hp or torque too ! But ran like new had oil changes done 3 months or 3.500 miles with 10w30 engine oil no synthetic type with Fram small 8A or 13 A tall one to only quit was digits on speedometer but need worked after 15 years they had it!
Just discovered this channel and already subbed btw Vice Grip Garage recently did a revival on a similar truck I’m pretty sure it’s the same color model truck.
When GM's engineers were designing the hood for the square body trucks, both GMC and Chevrolet, they really showed how little they know about the consequences of not testing. They put a crimp in the middle on both sides and if the owners were not careful to keep the hood hinges well lubricated the hood would bend right at the spot where those stupid crimps were requiring a new hood or else some expensive body shop repairs to straighten it back out.
I think you want to see about buying it and then do a quick quick flip like fix the rust fixed add a little bit and maybe see about Sunday and see if maybe somebody will buy it if not use it yourself
I use Berryman b12 cemtool it’s instead of sea foam works just as good and it’s a hole lot cheaper I also on cars and trucks like these I pull the vacuum off of the power brake booster and put it in there works really good
I had a 79 K 20 back in the day only difference was mine wasn't 4 WD. The transmissions and torque converters were crap. GM used standard duty car transmissions, they didn't hold up, that's why I got rid of mine and went to a Ford and manual 4 gear box. This one your working on would make a good farm runner, if mine would have had the 4 WD, I would have kept it as it didn't bring much in trade back then. If mine I would install a newer heavy version trans and converter with lock up and over drive. Make a real truck of it. I wouldn't mind finding one like that again.
