Need help :(

[KelseyCarson]

So my older sister got a 1971 chevrolet c20 custom for her 16 birthday in '95 and she recently passed away and left me the truck. I love the truck and want to get it fixed up, but i don't know where to start. I'm looking into getting new tires and brakes but i have no idea how to go about anything else.. HELP??

[Zoomin]

Sorry about the loss of your sister. It's cool you want to save a memory of her and you found the right place for help.

What do you want to do with it?
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[70c10stepside]

If you can, post some pics. Does it drive and operate properly? Also, how are the floor pans and rockers on rust? Weather stripping ok?

[KelseyCarson]

She runs, has an exhaust leak and some other surprises. I want to have her run, maybe my daily driver but I don't want to wear her out. I'll try to get some photos up. There is a lot of rust under the hood, original paint, one spot by driver door where the rust has eaten through the bottom of a side pannel..

[70c10stepside]

Trust me, that rust isn't bad at all.. I wish thats all I had.. Also, I understand what your coming from not wanting to wear it out but letting it sit will make it ruin quicker! The exhaust leak is probably gonna be fairly simple to fix.

Real sorry for your loss!

[special-K]

Welcome to the site. I'm sorry to hear of your loss. You came to the right place. We'll help you get it going and keep it going. You'll want to start with getting it in safe operating condition and the exhaust sounds like a good place to start. Once it's going,steering,and stopping as it should we'll see about that rust and other reliability issues. I can't wait to see pictures.

[mgkgmc]

Sorry to hear about the loss. This place is great to learn about these trucks. I used to know squat about these trucks but I got the bug to learn about everything I could from this site. Dont be afraid to ask you will get an honest opinion from these friendly knowledgeable people. Try to include pics with your questions if applicable and it will help with the reponse.

[Moline_Puller]

Hey Kelsey,

Welcome to the site...so sorry to hear of your loss. The guys on this site are a great resource...I've only been on here about a month and I've already learned a lot.

Put up some pics of your truck and I'm sure that you will get lots of useful hints and a direction for your truck!


Chris

[Longhorn 70]

She was so young. What a tragedy. Your loss is deeply felt.

The truck sounds like it has minor problems. The rust is in usual places. They make filler/replacement panels for them. Check out Classic Heartbeat, LMC Truck parts and others. They not only have parts but LMC has online parts catalogs that are barely short of assembly manuals.

[Ol Blue K20]

Honestly sorry for your loss, welcome to the board, post pics ask questions and you'll be surprised at the help you will find. Good luck my friend.

[Joesjunk]

Glad to hear you're fixing her truck. It will be a great memory for you. This is a great place, lots of great people here!

[hugger6933]

Welcome to the site sorry for the loss of your sister, I have lost both of my brothers,the last one being the very reason I got into this bodystyle of trucks because he loved them so and I bought him one once and helped him fix it up a little bit at my shop. I think it is a great honor to her memory to take her truck and make it hit the road again as a productive member of the auto society. if you seek help you have come to the right place, there are lots of people here willing to help with me being one. Everyone started out from zero at some time on these trucks and I feel there are no stupid questions so ask away. Jim

[72 Super]

Welcome to the board. Sorry to hear of the loss of your Sister. I am sure she will be proud that you are going to keep her truck and fix it up, I am sure it will mean a lot to her. As other's have said, you came to the right place for advice, questions and lots of good people.

Ray

[KelseyCarson]

[KelseyCarson]

More

[KelseyCarson]

And more

[KelseyCarson]

That's all

[Survivalist45]

That rust isnt too bad, but the door handle thing is actually pretty common..

2 ways to fix that, order a new door handle ($39.99) from LMCtruck.com

or take the door panel off, 4 screws at the bottom.

Dont forget to take the window crank and inner door handle off.

Reach up and you should feel the 2 bolts holding the door handle on, undo them and the handle should come off.. next reset where the button is supposed to be and bend the metal back so it holds it in place, make sure the pin in the center that actually releases the latch is centered.

Push the button a couple of times with your thumb and make sure it doesnt fall back into the handle and is smooth in its operation, if it is.. put the handle back on the door and it should be fixed... then youll atleast be able to get in and out of the truck easier.


And I am sorry for your loss, if you need any parts, post them on here, or PM me and ill see if I have anything lying around.

[Survivalist45]

Oh and the plate that keeps the button in place is probably somewhere inside the door, youll find it, so youll have button>spring>plate then the metal "folds" that keep the plate in place, that metal is very britle and will break so tap the corners down, instead of using pliars or something., hope this helps, if not I can take pictures to demonstrate

[hugger6933]

I don't know if I said in my earlier post but I own a body shop and those spots on your truck are not very bad at all and are quite common locations for "normal" rust to be on this year of truck. Actaally it appears to be in pretty good shape and the amount of rust I would classify as minimal. Every location that is damaged with rust, there are patch panels available for those places making repiars easier and cheaper as well. You have a great truck there and I can see why you would want to fix it up. Jim

[70cst]

Hey KelseyCarson ...

First of all sorry to hear about the loss of your sister. Its good your going to fix up the truck.

Also ..

to the forums and from Ohio