Need some opinions on a truck

[HotSauceZee]

Howdy all, I'm a new member to this forum. I signed up because I really like the look of these older Chevy's and may want to own one someday. Anyways, past myself, the real reason I have made this thread is because I need to ask y'all's opinions on an old Chevy my family has sitting out on our property. I believe it's a 1980 Custom Deluxe C30 Dually. I like the looks of it and I've been told if I want it I can have it so i figured why not? The catch is that this thing has been sitting out next to an old shop for approximately 8 years since it was last driven so I know there will be myriad of troubles with the thing. I've come to you guys so that maybe y'all could help me figure out at least some of the major things I'll need to fix. I'd like to steadily build it up to something awesome but I'm a poor college student so that'll take a looooong time. I'd love to give y'all some pics that could help y'all identify things but I didn't think to take pictures when I was down there last. :/

So what all will need to be done to this truck? I know it'll need a new battery, spark plugs, oil and fuel filters as well as new oil. The tires are all flat so those'll need to be replaced. Hopefully the rims aren't in too bad shape? The muffler will be more than gone most likely and who knows what the frame'll be up to? How about the fuel tanks? Engine?

As y'all can tell, I'm pretty inexperienced with this stuff but I think that the truck can serve as a great learning opportunity for me. So anyone have any ideas? I'd really appreciate y'all's input.

[nekkidhillbilly]

the tan one i sold had been setting for 10 years poured gas in it put a battery in it started it right up

[grayharville]

welcome from etx, ive dealt with starting vehicles that had been sitting for a long time, my 70 sat for 23 years!

I got it home, thouroughly cleaned it, poured ATF down the carb and let it sit for a day, cleaned the gas tank , new fuel line and filter, battery, and cranked it. after running it I did an oil change, plugs, wires, distributor, fluid flush, then wound up rebuilding the motor, transmission, and rear end.

If its a free truck I would take it. was it just parked or did it break down?

[HotSauceZee]

Originally Posted by grayharville

welcome from etx, ive dealt with starting vehicles that had been sitting for a long time, my 70 sat for 23 years!

I got it home, thouroughly cleaned it, poured ATF down the carb and let it sit for a day, cleaned the gas tank , new fuel line and filter, battery, and cranked it. after running it I did an oil change, plugs, wires, distributor, fluid flush, then wound up rebuilding the motor, transmission, and rear end.

If its a free truck I would take it. was it just parked or did it break down?

Ah well all hope is not lost then, especially if you got things going after 23 years!

As far as I know it was just parked. It used to be this guy's work truck before he moved elsewhere so not to sure if it was broken down or not. So you think it's worth going in and getting it out eh? I'd probably end up having to do everything you did to yours at some point. The first goal I guess would be just to get it to crank and run some.

[grayharville]

Just try to crank it, you could be surprised!

[FrankieD]

Before you try to start it pull the plugs and squirt some ATF or WD-40 in each cylinder and let it set a few hrs then put a socket (9/16) with a breaker bar on the crank and try to see if it will turn over if not squirt it up again and let it set over night. If the engine is stuck bad things can happen inside if you just hit the starter an you are in a pretty humid area so it would be a toss up on if it is stuck or not.. Pull the fuel filter off you might have to soak the fittings with some rust buster, more than likely it has 2 tanks with the filter off you can use a compressor with a blow gun and a rag in the fuel fill you can blow the fuel out of the tank into a coffee can to see if there is any rust in them (you will need a battery to switch them). If it looks good and the engine turns over by hand and there is oil in the engine and trans if automatic put a new fuel filter on it and some fresh fuel in it and try to start it more than likely you will have to pour gas in the carb to start it till it is primed be sure to remember which tank you blew out last and put the gas in that one. The fuel tanks are prone to rust out due to the rock shield that GM put on these trucks so check them before you put to much liquid gold in them. Sorry for the long post but this is how I would explain it to my son.

[HotSauceZee]

Originally Posted by FrankieD

Before you try to start it pull the plugs and squirt some ATF or WD-40 in each cylinder and let it set a few hrs then put a socket (9/16) with a breaker bar on the crank and try to see if it will turn over if not squirt it up again and let it set over night. If the engine is stuck bad things can happen inside if you just hit the starter an you are in a pretty humid area so it would be a toss up on if it is stuck or not.. Pull the fuel filter off you might have to soak the fittings with some rust buster, more than likely it has 2 tanks with the filter off you can use a compressor with a blow gun and a rag in the fuel fill you can blow the fuel out of the tank into a coffee can to see if there is any rust in them (you will need a battery to switch them). If it looks good and the engine turns over by hand and there is oil in the engine and trans if automatic put a new fuel filter on it and some fresh fuel in it and try to start it more than likely you will have to pour gas in the carb to start it till it is primed be sure to remember which tank you blew out last and put the gas in that one. The fuel tanks are prone to rust out due to the rock shield that GM put on these trucks so check them before you put to much liquid gold in them. Sorry for the long post but this is how I would explain it to my son.

No worries on the long reply. That's exactly what I wanted and needed to help kinda give me a picture of what I need to do. So on the fuel tanks I'll need a battery hooked up in order to switch between the tanks and then I need to use an air compressor to blow some fuel out so I can check for rust? Where will the fuel come out from in that approach? Sorry for the questions. I lack experience in this department and I want to be sure and get it straight.

[FrankieD]

There is an electric solenoid that switches the tanks and fuel gauge readings the ignition needs to be on to give it powered to switch them. When you take the fuel filter off the gas will come out of the line but don’t be surprised if the lines won’t come apart (another great GM design) even with soaking them (make sure you have a set of line wrenches they are around $20 at sears) you might have to cut them off . If you are thinking about getting into working on cars and trucks start buying tools you need as you need them unless there are tools there you can borrow. Questions are good that is how you learn and screw fewer things up. Is the engine a small block or a big block? Look under the hood there should be a emissions sticker it will say if it is a 350 ci or a 454 ci. How rusty is the truck?

[HotSauceZee]

Ok I see what you are saying now. Well hopefully the fuel lines will work with me. I'm not sure what kind of tools I will have available when I start looking at working on it this summer.

As for the engine I'm not entirely sure which one it is. I'm tempted to guess that it was a 350. The truck itself around the cab area is not too rusted on the surface. The underside may be a different story. Also there is a custom-made bed put on it seeing as it was a welding truck and that thing is pretty rusted out not to mention ugly. It may be a little better or worse than what I'm saying because it's been about 2 months since I went down there and saw it.

[Car'n'Guitars]

Go over the brake system, you'll want to buy some line wrenches too.

[Eyegore]

My son just started a 73 sitting for about the same period of time as yours, form experiece you may want to dump the tanks and clean them out. The fuel tanks were so dirty they blocked up the new filter and gumed up the fuel pump.

[HotSauceZee]

Originally Posted by Car'n'Guitars

Go over the brake system, you'll want to buy some line wrenches too.

Good idea. The brakes are probably pretty important. haha I'll definitely have to pick up some line wrenches then.

Originally Posted by Eyegore

My son just started a 73 sitting for about the same period of time as yours, form experiece you may want to dump the tanks and clean them out. The fuel tanks were so dirty they blocked up the new filter and gumed up the fuel pump.

Yeah the whole fuel tank thing has me worried. They have old fuel in them that I'm afraid will have caused some problems. How would I go about emptying the tanks and cleaning them? Any advice on that?

[FrankieD]

Yeah the whole fuel tank thing has me worried. They have old fuel in them that I'm afraid will have caused some problems. How would I go about emptying the tanks and cleaning them? Any advice on that?[/QUOTE]

You will have to drop the tanks and dump them out that is why I say blow them out first and see if rust comes out as far as the bed goes you can change it out with a pick up bed. But before you take it start adding the the cost free isn't always cheep and you can probably pick up a nice runner 1/2 ton short bed to work on and drive it too. I am sure there has to be a lot of late 70's & early 80's Chevy pick up's in your area for cheap. It is alot easier to learn on your driver than putting a lot of money in a project and get frustrated with it. I got my son a nice 93 short bed with a 350 5spd for $800, check out Craigslist.com for your area. Here is a start for you I put in a max of $2500 so it will pick up anything below that and not go over.


for the money this would be a cool project
http://collegestation.craigslist.org...939634372.html


http://collegestation.craigslist.org...k=&maxAsk=2500

[HotSauceZee]

Wow Craigslist does seem to have plenty of options. Thanks for looking some stuff up. I'll have to keep those in mind. I'm not too sure in which direction I'll head yet. I guess I'll have to see as the summer gets closer then I can make a solid decision.

[FrankieD]

No problem when you are ready just chime in plenty of guys here to help you.

[andrewmp6]

I would look around craigslist you can find some nice deals on it.The money it would take to replace the tires go over all the systems replacing what's bad it adds up.If you got around 2k cash you can find a nice truck if you look hard,Things you need to look for is rust its common on the rocker panels which is the sheet metal under the doors and the cab corners.Look at everything under the hood and truck for shoty repairs and look at the wiring under the hood if it looks patched up way away.

[N2TRUX]

Welcome to the forum HotSauceZee. It sounds like you may have a big project on your hands. As mentioned, you really need to consider how much you want the truck. Is it really a truck you would seek out if you had the cash on hand, or does it appeal to you because of the price?

Your in a part of Texas that finding fairly clean 73-87s is not that hard. I suggest you research what the cost would be to get the "free" truck road worthy, and compare that to buying a running truck.