Pitterpat's 84 C20 mild build

[pitterpat]

Got a new to me passenger side inner fender, my old one was really bad. The new one isn't perfect but it's way better than the old one.

[pitterpat]

The hole, I'm going to patch it with sheet metal and pop rivets. I think the metal of the inner fender is too thin to weld and too much trouble. I'll use seam sealer on the patch, the patch will be on the inside. After I seam seal it I'll use the spray on undercoating.

I washed it off real good today, tomorrow I'll get all the stuff.

No, this isn't washed off, I'll pic tomorrow and post.

[pitterpat]

Ok, I'm doing this all out of order, I should have made this as my first post but oh well. I'm doing a mild build on the 1984 Chevy C20 I inherited from my dad when he died in late 2010. The truck looked like crap then and still does but unbeknownst to me he had had about $2500 worth of work done on the engine and transmission a few months before he died. I didn't find that out until months later when I was going through a million papers of my dad's. It runs really good but looks like crap.

Also, I thought it ran like crap because it started like crap, just really hard to start. But a few weeks ago the starter finally went out, after 8 years of me owning it. If I would have like driven it once a week it would have gone out 7 years ago. Anyway, put a new big starter in and it cranks so much better, not faster but quieter.

Here's some pics, the right rear side got bent up when the tire on that side ripped/ blew out. Lost one of the hubcaps when that happened too!

[pitterpat]

The engine is a 350 with a Quadrajet carb. I looked it up this weekend and the Quadrajet was for a 1978 Pontiac. I'm going to clean up the engine and carb after it gets warm. Yes, the carb is a mess but it works. It's kind of an old mess, I blew out all the acorn shells and cobwebs this weekend.

[pitterpat]

I plan to just do a mild build, I'm not so concerned how it looks on the outside because right now I can't find the "real keys" (ignition and door separate keys), I'm using a copy of the ignition key and I've really never been in the habit of locking it.

I'm going to fix fix the holes in the floor. I picked up a new used mat and padding from the junkyard. Yes, that is a CB in the cab, I'm going to keep it. I'm also going to, I think, put in a modern single din radio. It has a 2 knob aftermarket radio with a cassette player in it now.

And yes, that is a behind the seat cardboard thing. Yes, I cleaned off the ants as soon as I took it out of the donor truck at the junkyard... There was also a wooden tool box behind the seat but I left it there, probably should have taken it but I just didn't want it.

My neighbor has this mini steamer thing I'm going to use on the interior once it warms up. I'll take the seat out and everything else in the cab and use the steamer thing on it. Also, instead of welding in patch panels in the floor I may just pop rivet those too, put some seam sealer and metal tape or the window metal sealing tape over that and just let it go. Depends on how much welding I want to do (none, I can).

[pitterpat]

This I inherited from my dad too. Makes it a heck of a lot easier to do stuff under the hood. I'm tall for a woman, 5' 9" but it's still hard to get to some stuff.

[pitterpat]

Always wondered why there wasn't any antifreeze in the antifreeze recovery tank. Found out today poking around to remove the last 2 bolts for the inner fender. And this is the reason the front of that inner fender is rusted off, the antifreeze was leaking down on the inner fender bc the tank was pushed down on one of the bolts.

#1 - rusted out front of the inner fender
#2 - tank sitting on the bolt
#3 - the bolt
#4 - the hole where the stick is
#5 - the hole

Before I put the inner fender back in I'll epoxy up the hole. Where my dad had it mounted I'm not sure how it's mounted and I don't want to tear up anything. He had it mounted on the backside of the grill. After I get the inner fender back in I'll put an inch piece of scrap wood between the tip of the bolt and the bottom of the coolant overflow reservoir. Just figured that out by chance.

[pitterpat]

I have to tackle the floorboards and rockers too. Will patch in the floor pans and do something else with the rockers. I scored padding and a rubber mat for the floorboards from the junkyard. Both are in better shape than mine.

[pitterpat]

Yes, that is a CB mounted on the floor. I'm probably going to keep it in the truck. I also have a gun rack mounted in there too.

[PAWS 72]

Those look good. A little aluminum polish on them and they'll look like new.

[pitterpat]

Got another set of hubcaps for $25 today. Pics later, not as good as the others but still pretty good.

[pitterpat]

Got another set of hubcaps for $25 today. Pics later, not as good as the others but still pretty good. They have a few more dings and I'll have to round them out.

[pitterpat]

Anybody know anything about the masonite under the floor padding? I got the rubber taken up then went to the padding and there was some kind of masonite underneath it. The padding I got from the junkyard there was no masonite underneath it, must have been changed once.

Also, here's the floor underneath the padding/masonite. Yes, it does look like masonite on the back. It's like they pressed it in because it is curved like the cab floor.

No, I didn't really look, feel the rust to determine how much. What's the best way to deal with that? Sand it off and then prime?

[TKCR]

It’s probably the tar mat

[LT7A]

I'm glad that you decided to keep this truck, and welcome!

I have a similarly outfitted truck and am keeping both the CB and the canopy. You may consider some options for a radio that don't require cutting the dash -- it's always nice to keep that intact if it has survived this long. There are options if you want input.

TKCR is very well qualified to help with the interior questions you are asking. I also think you are referring to the bituminous sound dampening that was installed at the factory when you say masonite. It may not be in every truck if it was installed as part of an option package -- I don't know. You can leave it in place or remove it and replace it with other products. If it's in your way, there are some products that can be lighter and still be effective, just ask.

Good luck and do what you need to do to save the truck. Some times the simple fixes are the best because many vehicles have perished while the owners waited to have enough money and/or time to fix it with nice or new parts. Thanks for telling us about your process. We'd be up for hearing whatever history of it that you care to tell. We pretty much all like to hear when someone saves their dad's truck.

[pitterpat]

Originally Posted by LT7A

I'm glad that you decided to keep this truck, and welcome!

I have a similarly outfitted truck and am keeping both the CB and the canopy. You may consider some options for a radio that don't require cutting the dash -- it's always nice to keep that intact if it has survived this long. There are options if you want input.

TKCR is very well qualified to help with the interior questions you are asking. I also think you are referring to the bituminous sound dampening that was installed at the factory when you say masonite. It may not be in every truck if it was installed as part of an option package -- I don't know. You can leave it in place or remove it and replace it with other products. If it's in your way, there are some products that can be lighter and still be effective, just ask.

Good luck and do what you need to do to save the truck. Some times the simple fixes are the best because many vehicles have perished while the owners waited to have enough money and/or time to fix it with nice or new parts. Thanks for telling us about your process. We'd be up for hearing whatever history of it that you care to tell. We pretty much all like to hear when someone saves their dad's truck.

LT7A, thanks for reading and responding. Our weather here in Indianapolis has been much like the Pacific NW, lots of rain. The weather has impacted my opportunities to work on the truck, it sits out side and I'm just trying to do some basic stuff but it's been raining so much I can't get a lot done...hopefully better in July.

I don't have much history on this truck. I know my dad bought it used in May of 1995. He had rockers put in like in 2002 and had the motor and transmission rebuilt in the summer of 2010 (for like $2500). He died in the November of 2010, sudden death, he just fell over dead at 85. He lived a good life, was retired with no job for 23 years. Man of the depression.

I hope the rain stops in July. I'm trying to get the inside clean (too much humidity to clean and get it to dry). Then put some floor padding down, old cleaner oem pad and a new to me rubber floor covering. This truck was the model without carpet. It has a manual transmission. I'll put the CB back in, I have a used oem GM radio, new speakers and an amp setup to run my smart phone from (like the setup in Sweet Pea). I'm not concerned about it looking bad on the outside but want it to be good on the inside as best I can.

Thanks again.

[pitterpat]

Tonight I finally had the time and correct weather to get the cab cleaned up. I
used some stuff called Awesome (diluted of course) a small detail brush, sponge couple of small buckets of water and a lot of elbow grease. Is it perfect clean, NO, but it is clean enough. Much cleaner than it was.

1st 2 are b4.
Last 3 are after.

[TKCR]

Lookin good Pat!

[pitterpat]

Originally Posted by TKCR

Lookin good Pat!

Thanks.

[pitterpat]

I'm looking to put this felt under the padding of my truck on the floor boards. It's really extra, extra thick landscaping felt. Since I'm not going to put sound deadening because I don't want to peal it off in a year I thought this felt would do the trick, it's about 1/8" thick? Thoughts...

[Tsoptich83]

Looks like you are making some decent progress. Were you able to get the seat bottom fixed? You seem to have a good project truck on your hands. Good Luck.

[pitterpat]

One big problem. When taking the seats out broke off a bolt, need to get it out. What is the best way? It is the front drivers side bolt, hard to access on the backside.
Pics, bolt readily accessible from in the cab, not so easy on the backside. That is the broken off part on the cab side.

[TKCR]

Drill it out. Use a smaller drill bit, smaller than the bolt and threads of the weld nut. Once you get most of the bolt drilled out, you might be able to knock the rest out. Then you can tap the hole and it’s ready for a new bolt. Had this happen in my truck. I had 3 out of the 4, break on me. And the 4th, the whole weld nut broke off!

[pitterpat]

Originally Posted by TKCR

Drill it out. Use a smaller drill bit, smaller than the bolt and threads of the weld nut. Once you get most of the bolt drilled out, you might be able to knock the rest out. Then you can tap the hole and it’s ready for a new bolt. Had this happen in my truck. I had 3 out of the 4, break on me. And the 4th, the whole weld nut broke off!

Thanks, I started that but I think the drill bit was too small. I don't care if the weld nut comes off, actually I hope it does. Probably will, it's rusty enough.

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by pitterpat

Thanks, I started that but I think the drill bit was too small. I don't care if the weld nut comes off, actually I hope it does. Probably will, it's rusty enough.

Yeah, I did the drill bits in stages. Started small and worked up to a bigger size. Just never got bigger than the bolt itself, so the threads didn’t get damaged. It took awhile just to do one broken bolt.