The story of my '72 Sprint begins back in the summer of '92. I was looking for a nice El-Camino as a companion to my Heavy Chevy. I found a '72 that looked good, had nice equipment and served as basic transportation for 6 years. During that time I spent a lot of time chancing down parts to begin a restoration on it. I soon found out that Mother Nature doesn't always play fair. I quickly realized I was on the losing side of the 8 ball. My Camino needed every piece of sheet metal imaginable including the frame. I managed to accumulate the sheet metal over time but ran into a brick wall when locating a frame. I soon waived the white flag and decided to put the Camino out of its misery.
Fast forward to 98. I began my search for a suitable replacement to my trusty rusty blue '72SS Camino. I scoured the local papers, Chevelle periodicals and word of mouth. Seemed most of what I was looking at was in the same condition as what I already had (some even worse). What wasn't a complete rust bucket was so over priced. I just couldn't find anything that was in good enough condition to start over with. The criteria were: At least an L-48 350 with a/c and preferably a stick. I gave up locating anything in MD or PA and soon began searching below VA. I had a friend search out west (Arizona first) for something rust free and solid enough to start work on. The search didn't yield anything in my price rang with the equipment I felt was mandatory. He called me one night and said " how about a GMC Sprint?" " Sure, why not" was my response thinking there wouldn't be much of a chance of finding something close. WRONG! The ad read "GMC Sprint 75k a/c 350 4brl, tilt, p/s, p/b and p/w. The truck was advertised in the Truck trader in the Alabama, Florida area. I quickly called the owner who informed me it was a garage kept all original truck. He sent me pictures and I got the details on its history. Seems the original owner bought the truck when he was 60 years old and special ordered it. He passed away in '94 at which time it was sold to a friend of the family who always like the truck. The second owner only kept it for about a year when he also got very ill and sold it to another friend. The third owner didn't know much about it and couldn't tell me much of it's past. During the conversation I had with the third owner I found out it didn't have power windows. It was a typo. Bummer. But I soon found out it sounded like it had good potential. The third owner, Rondall told me he had just recently had a starter installed on the truck at a local service station. The owner of the garage had expressed interest in the truck also. I got the number from Rondall and call the shop to help give me an unbiased opinion on what shape it was in to help me make the decision to make the purchase. The shop owner was very knowledgeable in Chevelles and gave me the low down the truck. He said as a matter of fact, I'll tell you exactly what shape its in, I've still got the check sheet near by. He rattled off a list of the normal items. Rusty muffler, needs brakes, rear main leaks, pinions seal. Etc. What kind of rear does it have, does it have disc brakes? I asked " Oh, its got a 12 bolt peg leg, with disc brakes, with tach and gauges." The shop owner's description was right on the money. He went on to describe minor rust on fenders and ¼'s with a spotless bed and undercarriage. Nothing on his list intimidated me so I arranged to make the 12 hour ride to meet Rondall in Atlanta GA. We negotiated the cost and a date. Feb 14 1998. (Valentines Day). It was time to put my SS El-Camino ('ole rusty) to its last and final test.
My friend Steve agreed to ride with me to Atlanta in 'ole rusty loaded to the top of the bed with spare tire, battery, belts, starter, fluids, tools and everything else one would expect for the 700 mile ride home. We meet up with Rondall and I quickly looked the truck over. Everything was as I expected from the conversations I'd had with the Rondall and the garage owner. Steve and I made the trip back home with 'ole rusty and the Sprint with out a hitch. It wasn't until I got the truck home that I soon found out what I had bought. The truck was virtually untouched and was completely original. Original spark plug wires, headlights, radiator, hoses, exhaust, shocks and interior. The condition of the truck was poor, but completely untouched as it left the assembly line. I soon found out the truck still had the original brakes all the way around. Even the original bias ply spare was in the back. The only thing that had been changed was sometime in its life it had been repainted the original color. It was originally equipped with: Gulf green exterior body with a green vinyl top. Interior was light covert bench with brown carpet and dash. 350 L-48 4 brl engine with a 350 turbo trans, 12 bolt 2.73 peg leg rear, disc brakes, tilt, column shift, tach and gauges, a/c, p/s, front bumper guards, interior and exterior light group. The truck was an early production '72 without the fasten seat belt light and earlier model seat belts. I soon began searching for a build sheet. The truck had all the criteria to be a "SP ". The fact that it had been repainted made me think that the decals may have been removed and never installed.
I soon began the cleaning process and fixing the minor rust and mechanical problems over the summer. It has been a daily driver for me since then. Over time I have done some upgrades/ updates to the truck. I traded the hood for a flapper cowl induction and painted it with the white stripes. I put late model cruise control and late model pulse wipers with wet arm washer nozzles. I've also added an AM/FM cassette w/ CD player and sub woofer. I've since had to replace the a/c components and have converted it over to R134a. I had a 700R4 in it for a time till I scattered it. I've since put the 350 back in it. I installed 373 gears and an Eaton positraction carrier. I've also converted the steering box over to the late model " Z " box and added a 1 5/16" front sway bar and 1" rear bar. I've also added a flow master system. I even located a power seat setup and installed it into the truck. Most of the other upgrades were courtesy of ' ole rusty blue.
About a year into working on the truck, I began trying to track down it's past. In a passing conversation I had with a Firestone shop in Alabama, I mentioned I had just bought the truck from Rondall. The Procto-plate was in the glove box and the warranty card was filled out. I mentioned the original owners name to the Firestone shop. The Firestone guy said I think that truck used to belong to a friend's father. I got the phone number and rolled the dice. It turned out this was the son of the original owner. The son was able to fill in the blanks of the trucks past. After reassurance from him that I was serious about taking good care of it and that I wasn't pulling his leg he mentioned that he recently found a bunch of paperwork on the truck and thought about throwing it out. Turned out to be the GMAC paperwork and the original bill of sale along with the PDI sheet from the delivering dealer in AL. As it turned out the son remembered his father waiting on the truck for what seemed like a long time. Dad owned a 1000-acre cotton farm that the truck spent most of the summers on. The rest of the year dad drove it to work at the local school where he was a teacher. It was garage kept and was his fathers pride and joy long after retirement. It was only after his father passed away when the family decided to sell the vehicle. The son agreed to send me the paperwork on the truck. I asked him if he remembered the SP decals on the ¼'s but he couldn't remember back that far. Seemed the truck was repainted after a minor fender bender back when it was still new. I've since only blended the minor rust repairs, removed the vinyl top and painted the roof white. Every stitch of interior has been replaced back to the correct color of light covert. It's been a nice driver vehicle and has just recently been put into semi retirement so I can begin striping the truck to bare metal and repainting it. Daily driving has put a serious strain on the undercarriage and I don't want to see this cream puff turn into 'ole blue.
Future plans are to start the restoration on the outside and possibly stuff a mountain motor under the hood along with another 700R4. I really enjoy the truck and don't have any plans on selling it. How many guys can literally say there vehicles can " haul ass"?
Chuck Greason (#051)