pwradder's new ride, '80 swb silverado

[pwradder]

the crew cab was getting a bit expensive to run at about $100 a week back and forth to work, so i decided a little more fuel economy was in order. since i refuse to be crammed into some rice burning econo-box, this is my alternative. now keep in mind this is a before picture i know its rough-but i have done more with less before, so its in good hands. as i get rolling on it with some pics and progress i'll set up a build thread, but for now-the specs:
original 350 with a 700r4 trans, a/c, p/w, p/l, p/b, p/s, tilt, cruise, dual tanks, factory slider, am/fm, cab lights and full trim package(shaved by p.o), 133k mile north carolina truck i bought last week with a blown up th350. plans for now are: body work and paint-might do the same color combo as my crew cab as a mini-me, 2'' lower all around, 4'' cowl hood, window tint, possibly wheels (cragers?), swap to the 73-79 heablights and bezels, long tube headers, edelbrock intake, holley carb, flowmaster exhaust.
i probably wont stop here, we'll see how much i can hold back lol. thoughts and opinions welcome.

[frog210]

i want those bezels lol
i like those compared to the round eyes

[rs74]

I think if you got the side trim back on and give it a repaint with the brown and maybe a tan in the middle with the rallies and roof top painted tan as well. Kind of like this one except 73-79 style. JMO. Looks like a good start.

[pwradder]

that's a good looking truck, i'm just not much for the color combo. so far it's a tossup between grey, grey-black, straight black, or hot rod black. who knows, silver might be a contender as well. picked up some parts today, getting ready to go put some work in-so i should have some pics and a progress report soon!

[pwradder]

goodies!
picked up a good used fender, some headlights and bezels and a one piece rear window to replace my leaking factory slider- it's got a/c anyway! the edelbrock intake came from a friend of mine in a barter for the labor on rebuilding his tilt column, and some window tint. i'm no tinter- in fact i cant stand it, but i am cheap! lol.

[pwradder]

set some time aside for the intake change-kinda necessary because of the leaking thermostat housing. i tried changing the gasket but, the housing bolts were locked in the intake- meaning i would've had to torch them and with the fuel line being where it is, that made it a project. i decided to just swap out the whole boat anchor. some before, during, and after pics- i was surprized how clean the lifter valley was!

[meatwagon83]

btw your shorty is the same color im painting my dually!

[pwradder]

got a little work done lately, rear window is tinted and installed, side windows are also tinted, straightened the front bumper out a bit-i'll try to get more out of it when i pull it off for paint. got the used fender and front valance fixed, primed and installed-also got the headlights and bezels swapped out for the early ones. next up is the pass. fender patch panels now that those came in, then the hood etc. speaking of the hood- i've been thinking about adding a 4'' cowl scoop and i'd like to get you're opinions on it.....

[rs74]

Hey I like the headlight bezel swap. Never been a fan of the 80 front. Looks good. Keep pluggin away.

[pwradder]

Originally Posted by rs74

Hey I like the headlight bezel swap. Never been a fan of the 80 front. Looks good. Keep pluggin away.

thanks- i knew i wanted to swap the lights from the moment i saw it, not a fan of the sguare lights either. time is kinda hard to come by but i can manage an hour before work and a couple hours after. thoughts on a 4'' cowl?

[rs74]

Are you talking about just adding a cowl to the existing hood or an actual cowl hood. I like cowl hoods. I have a harwood fiberglass hood with either a 3 or 4" cowl that I am thinking of putting on my truck. I guess it just depends on the overall look you are going for. My thoughts are if you want that hood then you should be considering dropping the truck a bit. If not then I would stick with the factory hood. JMO. What is your expectations of the truck in the end?

[meatwagon83]

4 inch hood would look great!

[jitteryguy]

looks good, for the look your talk'n about I vote for the slot's and stock hood.

your crew cab must get pretty bad milage if this what ya bought to save gas !

[rs74]

This is too far away to be feasible but here is a cowl hood for sale. http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/pts/3633625993.html

[83swb]

I saw this truck on craigslist a little while back! I think the guy selling it was a little clueless as to what he had.

[pwradder]

Originally Posted by 83swb

I saw this truck on craigslist a little while back! I think the guy selling it was a little clueless as to what he had.

yea-he was asking way too much for it, for the shape it was in. i've tied up a lot of loose ends on this thing with quite a few more to go! i thinks it's worth it though, after seeing what some others around the state think they're worth. and.....i'm saving another square in the process!

[pwradder]

Originally Posted by rs74

This is too far away to be feasible but here is a cowl hood for sale. http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/pts/3633625993.html

awwww man, i'd be all over that-if i could figure out a way to make it worth it...thanks anyway though.

[silvereagle07]

Originally Posted by jitteryguy

looks good, for the look your talk'n about I vote for the slot's and stock hood.

your crew cab must get pretty bad milage if this what ya bought to save gas !

I'm with jitterguy! Slot's and a stock hood. Or white steelies with dog dish caps and lower to the earth. I would add white bumpers if you go that route.

[pwradder]

Originally Posted by silvereagle07

I'm with jitterguy! Slot's and a stock hood. Or white steelies with dog dish caps and lower to the earth. I would add white bumpers if you go that route.

what width are those steelies available in? i dont mind the front on the narrow side, but i like some tire under the rear. would i have to widen them to be over 8''?


b.t.w- i appriciate all the feedback guys! more to come, i've got some free time this weekend.....

[pwradder]

Originally Posted by jitteryguy

looks good, for the look your talk'n about I vote for the slot's and stock hood.

your crew cab must get pretty bad milage if this what ya bought to save gas !

i'm leaning that way-it's a timeless bad@$$ look!
yea, it does get pretty bad milage-but i dont blame it, 4x4, aprox 9000 lbs, .30 over 396, 10.5:1 comp, big comp cam, hooker longtubes,2 1/2 flowmaster 40's, and a driver with a heavy right foot that loves all that wonderfull noise!
this little shorty uses half the fuel, and its a cool driver!

[R&K's71]

Love the truck, lotta good ideas being thrown around im a big fan of the steelies

[pwradder]

i was able to get the rest of the driver's side bodywork/ priming done over the weekend, also patched the pass fender, did the body work and filled all the trim holes- i like the look of these trucks with the trim, and i'd put it back on if the p.o didnt throw it away. but at about $260 for a trim kit i decided to just fill the holes for now, i could always re-drill them if i changed my mind later. started fixing the caved-in rh door this morning, got most of it out. might try to get that in primer tomorrow night. i think this thing's looking pretty cool in the primer black, can't wait untill its all the same color!

[57rookie]

You do really nice work. I admire someone that can do body repair like you can. I can do all the interior and mechanical work but I have not learned the body work and body shops are killing me $ wise. Keep going on it, I want to see it all in primer. Very nice look. Good job!

[pwradder]

Originally Posted by 57rookie

You do really nice work. I admire someone that can do body repair like you can. I can do all the interior and mechanical work but I have not learned the body work and body shops are killing me $ wise. Keep going on it, I want to see it all in primer. Very nice look. Good job!

thanks, with all the rust, dents, and holes this thing got-it's taking longer then i planned on. even though it's not gonna be a show truck by any standered, every panel still takes three times longer then i thought it would! all this body work stuff takes is a willingness to learn and a lot of patience-give it a shot!

i didnt get any body work done today, but i did get my cluster fixed-which turned into another one of those little projects that wind up snowballing. it started with replacing the oil pressure and water temp gauges along with swapping the gear indicator over to one with o.d, then i saw that the mount for the gear indicator was busted off- so i changed the entire housing over to a later one with no clock. that meant drilling a hole in the housing and switching over the printed circuit. what was supposed to take 15 minutes took over an hour-but my gauges work now so,worth it! hope fully i can get back to fixing that door tomorrow.

[pwradder]

almost all one color now! finished and primed the r.h door on thursday, took friday off from it. got an early start on it today and was able to get the hood, rocker, cab corner and bed side done. only things left now are the roof and tailgate, i'd love to do them tomorrow-but i ran out of primer (damn those hoods are wide!) too bad, i'm jacked up and ready to go- the finish line is in sight! i think i'm gonna leave it in primer for a while, i still need to figure out what color it's gonna be and theres a couple other things that i'm going to give priority to. i think the stance will be next, after that the long tubes and true duals. i have a question about lowering it though: i'm looking to go down about 2'', does anyone have an idea on how much of the spring to cut- will one coil do it? i know it's going to take some trial and error but i'd like to start close. here are the progress pics for this week.

also- if a moderator could move this to the projects and builds section, i'd appreciate it.