1980 Chevy K20 Farm Truck

[Getter-Done]

Originally Posted by willem445

Oh and I bought a Go Pro to start filming some truck content. There really isn't a whole lot of squarebody towing videos out there so I'm going to try to fill that void. Here is my most popular video so far:

(I'm not sure how to embed so here is a link)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GxcQ_LzzXw

Great progress.

I think I may post some of my Crazy projects on the Tube.

You have inspired me .

[willem445]

Well its been roughly 8 years since I wanted to full exhaust on my truck. Installed headers and some bolt on glass packs and it stayed that way since. Finally pulled the trigger and bought a dynamax pre bent kit. I had to adjust one angle but over all fit on quite nice.

This is a huge improvement. I still have yet to drive it on the highway but just in my garage it was SO MUCH QUIETER! Sounds great revving too. As I'm getting older, the super loud exhaust no longer appeals to me, I want nice and quiet in the cab but rowdy when I step on it. Other plus is I no longer reek of exhaust in the cab since the exhaust doesn't dump right beneath the cab anymore.







Video of me starting it up for the first time with everything installed:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qpZo_VHYeBQ

[willem445]

I forgot to mention this in previous post but I also installed a new passenger side tank (with baffles) and got the dual tank set up operational again. 40 gallons of fuel will be nice!

[willem445]

On a more disappointing note, I'm pretty sure my SM465 to NP205 adapter is cracked. I've been noticing a real slow drip in that area and upon inspection, I'm pretty sure it's cracked. More to come on this.

Might be spending the big bucks on the ORD adapter at some point.

[willem445]

Sticking with the disappointing theme...

Every once in a while, usually with both windows down, I would get a gross mousy smell, likely from the airflow kicking up dust. Never was a problem in the past as I mostly drove the truck on the farm below 30 mph but now that I'm driving it more, I want to get this taken care of once and for all.

The only place left that was untouched was the heater and air ducts. The heater/blower was shot when I got the truck so I just left it alone. Well today I decided to pop it apart.

I found a friggin mouse apartment complex, talk about YUCK! (very thankful for my 3M half respirator!)









All of the firewall insulation had mouse crap behind it and I'm sure was soaked in mouse pee so I've ripped nearly every last bit of it out. Unfortunately I'm trying to save some money lately so I'm going to clean everything up the best I can and bolt the blower back up to seal up the firewall. I'll leave all the ducting out for now. At some point I'll redo the air in this truck but basically everything needs to be replaced so I'm sure it will be moderately spendy.

[Getter-Done]

Nice work on the exhaust.

I had dual tanks on a 78 and I really like being able to run either tank out of fuel if I chose too.

Those adapters come up for sell on the parts forum every once in a while.

I have had trucks that I have purchased that had the same issue.

Those mice love that heater box.

[willem445]

Changed my mind on the heater. Decided to at least properly clean up the duct work and re-install it. Will have to decide how much I want to spend right now buying replacement parts. I originally thought I would have to buy a new air box ($350 on ebay) but mine cleaned up nice. Painting the metal components now.

[willem445]

Some misc updates..

Got 2 tedious projects happening at once, rust repair and deep cleaning the cab. Trying to get every bit of dust, dirt, and mouse residue eliminated. Slow going as I really don't like doing it.





Took some parts off the '78. Parking brake assembly is in great shape so I'm excited to get that replaced. Heater control assembly needs cleaning up and the faceplate is broken but I might be able to piece together a good unit for a different project. Not sure if radio works. Might try to clean it up but might also just buy a retro head unit later on.



Heat box is coming together nicely



New clear cover for the gauge cluster. All the ones I had were foggy or too poor to use. Crazy being able to see the gauges so clearly!



And today picked up another SM465 and NP 205 for $180. Couldn't pass it up at that price. Was supposedly gone through prior to being replaced with an automatic transmission. Of course it looks like the adapter casting is broken at one of the bolts. That leaves me with 3 cracked adapters lol. Fleabay wants $300 for OEM and so does ORD for an improved one. At some point i'll have to order a couple of those

Up to 4 SM465s and 3 NP 205s. Just gotta find the time to get all my projects together to use them!

[Lokin4AReason]

its coming along nicely . . .

[willem445]

Made some pretty good progress the last couple days, just powering through.

Some rust repair. Actually managed to fit the floor pan without giant gaps. Getting better at this!











Discovered a crack when scrubbing out dirt. Got that welded up.





Making good progress getting this cab completely cleaned out. Compare these to pics posted earlier. Still need to do the drivers dash area but I got sidetracked pulling out the parking brake assembly.







I splurged a little and bought AAC carpet with the mass backing ($450). I figured I might as well finish the interior while things are ripped apart. Anxious to get things put back together.

And a bonus picture of picking up a tractor my dad bought (not my truck).

[willem445]

Well some more major progress...

Inner rocker welded in





Floor patch welded in





Rocker welded in





There were a couple spots in the floor where paint was bubbling so I wire wheeled and painted







Applied seam sealer to all of my interior welds









Also put some primer on the replacement parking brake assembly



Very happy with the progress I'm making. Tomorrow I'd like to get a bad crack in my engine cross member welded up and some more painting / cleaning finished. As of now I still need to do the cab corners and passenger bed wheel arch but those can wait a bit. Definitely tired of welding!

[Getter-Done]

Nice Work

I really like Eastwood products.

[willem445]

Quite a few updates since last post. Chugging away, starting to wrap up this stage of upgrades.

Got another 27" US General toolbox. I quite like it!



New firewall insulation installed







Got the heater all put back together. Tested it and it works (at least the blower and doors work, haven't tested with coolant flowing yet)!





New heater hoses:



Pulled out all of the seatbelts to clean them.

Before:


After:




Finished painting parking brake and got that installed:



New window seals for door and washed all door components. I totally forgot to add some insulation and sound deadener so I guess that will have to wait until the next time i pull off the door panel.



Got the dash reassembled, first time the dashpad has been installed in years!



Cleaned up and painted any rust on fenders. This fender from my '78 parts truck was damn near perfect. Still on the lookout for a really nice driver fender.



I LOVE this blue color



New coolant overflow. Oldworked but was getting pretty crusty



Floor all prepped for carpet



And carpet is going in. Still fitting everything up.



And finally mocked up the fenders quick





I really want to paint this truck but that will have to wait until at least next year, just don't have the time for it right now. Plus i still have a little rust repair left.

I'm pretty sure the '75 donor truck (doors, bed) was paint code Crimson Red and my '80 paint code is Cardinal Red. I honestly prefer the Crimson Red as it's a little closer to orange and seems to "pop" more. It's close enough to the original color that I can tell people it's the original color lol

[Shifty One]

Here's me hoping that you'd leave the paint alone....(I'm sure I'm one of the few)

[willem445]

@shifty Do you mean leaving the paint completely as is or repainting the factory color?

To be honest, the brown fenders really grew on me. But the blue is just too different for me. At the very least I think I'll somewhat paint match the fenders.

[Shifty One]

As is, it looks great to me!

[willem445]

Interior is complete! Only thing I did not do was a new head unit. Other than that, the entire interior was completely restored.









I also went against Shifty One's suggestion and took a crack at painting the brown fender. It needs replacing anyways so I figured "what the heck, lets try it".

Surprisingly turned out nice. I used 500 degree high temp engine paint since the orange matched the closest. That stuff coats terrible and smells bad but after some clear coat it looks pretty good!

[willem445]

So here is the truck at it's current stage! This time I'll actually be done for a while besides some minor stuff. Paint is the obvious next big stage but that will wait. Other than that I still need to put the inner fenders in & fix a bit more rust. The next biggest item is addressing the slowly rotting wood bed.

[willem445]

Also gave it a good scrub down which helped shine up the turd!

[willem445]

I obviously took it for a drive when I took those picture. Wow, this stage of upgrades REALLY changed this truck! Totally upgraded driving experience. Sounds amazing inside with the quieter exhaust. And no more disgusting mousy smell! Tested the heater out and works great, it will get the true test this winter.

I am REALLY happy with this truck. It's come a long ways.

EDIT: Here is a quick video of the Borla ProXS exhaust accelerating! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EP0Y0Hwxhg

[willem445]

And for giggles, this is side by side of start to now:

[Getter-Done]

Great job.

Excellent placement on the camera for the video.

Those mufflers sound good.

[Shifty One]

Still looks excellent!

[willem445]

Some updates since I last posted.

Moved the blue '78 with the K20 (See video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gk73S9jlWw)


Took my truck on it's longest trip (80mi) in years (See video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIcNl1d-0e0)


Hauled out some junk



Replaced a cracked/leaking transmission to transfer case adapter (See video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh612vcmh24)




And now yesterday/today I got another project! A 1986 Chevy K30 3+3 dually! Lots of work ahead. Pulled it with my K20. Video coming soon!

[Shifty One]

4-doors, more....er, friends....