LUVTruck.com

Hi all. I just acquired a 1972 Luv Pick Up that I'm trying to restore. Anyone have any ideas on where I can find the big orange rear turn signal lenses? They are about the size of a grapefruit with "HANKOSHA IND. L12-31 SAE I 68" molded into the plastic. How about the front floor pans? Any suggestions besides making them from scratch? I also need both door seals and driver's side window regulator.

Hi JudyB welcome to the site,

Ebay is your friend for '72 parts. I have a '72 and you should know that some stuff is one year only, and I think the tail lenses are in with that (might be for 73 also...not sure). Right now there is a lot of new old stock 72-75 stuff on Ebay. There are posts on here about door seals, and I'd imagine the floor pans you could just cut out of another LUV of any year. If you can find non-rusty ones.

For the tail lights, if you just need to get legal I suggest looking at the lights semi trucks use, they are of approximately the same diameter and you can get LED ones or anything else. Maybe you could replace all 4 (2 red and 2 orange, or 4 red) and make it look cool.

I tried E-Bay but found only a complete vehicle for sale. The lenses I have are OK, but they have pieces broken out of the rims. I really want to restore this truck to original which is why I'm trying to find replacement parts. The '73 changed to square lenses, which means I have to find ones from a '72. The only rusty areas on the truck are the floor pans which are non-existent at this point. A previous owner put some sheet metal down for the pans, but the job was done by an amateur and won't stand up to much use. Ironically, the spare is original to the truck and looks like it's never been used. Got it cranked down from under the bed with no problems, put air in it, and it's still holding pressure. I don't need any engine parts - I have another complete G-180 basket case that I'll rebuild for a spare. Thanks for your input - I'll check E-Bay again later this week.

Cool. If you got the cash you could jump on the hubcaps listed in this post by jeffulmer:

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=20380

There are usually many LUV parts on eBay, there's even a thread on here somewhere about search terms that find good stuff.

Body parts seem a lot harder to find than engine parts, and I don't think I've ever found tail lenses.

where are you from... i have floors but shipping would be $$$$

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My old but now gone Luv...

Now you got me interested in getting some spare lenses, since you can't buy them

Go to http://www.car-part.com, use the menu on the front page to select 1972 Chevy LUV and search for a 'tail light." Set the region to USA if you live in USA, and you will find some dismantlers that have them for $20 or so. Of course not sure of condition, but I bet if you get one not cracked you can polish it up with one of the headlight reconditioning kits from Meguiars or Mothers.

Now all you guys on there that sell parts don't go buying all of them up before I can buy some for myself!

You are doing the right thing. If you don't see it for sale in the classifieds just start a new thread and ask for it. Many of us members have parts laying around and forget about them until someone asks for them, just happened to me today on some left over 72 parts I have. Best of luck on the LUV, we will help you as you go. Many of the parts on E-Bay are being sold by members here, if you see a part you want you may be able so save a few $$$$ and make a deal here so no one has to feed the Fee-Bay machine. If you wonder about a members reputation on doing business here just find a old timer (a couple would be better) and ask for a referance. I have given a few people here refs on me before selling parts to them.

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Certified pilots, looking down on people since 1903.

Thanks for all your help. I am pleased to say I did get the original hub caps with the truck, and they're in mint condition! I'm in the midlands of South Carolina, and this truck came from California. It was driven to Atlanta where the next owner bought it, and I got it from him. It's in really good shape except for the floor pans and a few small cosmetic issues on the body. It appears to have been primed but not painted with the final color. I have done upholstery for years from furniture to airplanes and everything in-between, so building up the old seat and making the carpet and new headliner won't be major problems. Somewhere along the line, the tires were changed from the original to P205/75R14's - BTW the spare tire is still holding air! At some point, I'd like to get all the tires back to original, but that's not #1 on my list.

There's a starting list of parts I will need shown below, so if anyone has a source for any of the parts or a picture of the original '72 truck that I could use as a guide for the restoration, I'd really appreciate it.
L & R floor pans
accelerator pedal
L & R door seals
driver's side window regulator and guides (guide is broken off at the bottom)
emblems and body trim
dash (black) - this one is split at the vents
rocker panel trims (looks like these have been removed, but there might not have been any on the original model which is why I'd like a pic.)
interior light cover
headlight trim ring - outer passenger side

FOR 'ctmandu' - check out the shipping charges to 29127 on those floor pans you have and let me know - OK? If the total is too high, I'll have to make them myself. Not a major challenge for an A&P mechanic, but it would save a lot of time and effort to replace them with the right parts.

i can check shipping but to give you an idea , for one side to CO. it over $100
the 72 headlight doors i was told are 72 only but look close to 73/77
emblems are 72 only
if you go to the picture page here there are a few 72 to look at until someone get the pics you want
http://www.luvtruck.com/ownreg_full_pic.php

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My old but now gone Luv...

After you look through the picture pages at the '72s, give me a shout out for any other pictures you want. My truck's had one thing done to the tailgate area but other than that is very original and in decent condition. I also have an article in an old Petersen book talking about the LUV with some pics, and lastly the factory shop manual has a surprising amount of useful photographs.