pwradder's new ride, '80 swb silverado

[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 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.....

[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.

[pwradder]

well, it looks like i'm almost finished with the '80 for a little while-the to do list has gotten a lot smaller and i'm happy with the way it looks for now. i've been driving the crap out of this truck and i love it! the few things i have left popped up on me today while i was messing with the suspension, looks like i have to do upper and lower ball joints on both sides, front and rear brakes and i got a new tank selector valve for it- but i'm not gonna bore anyone with pics of that stuff. i'll start an actual build thread for it when i pull it apart for paint...or get new wheels, whichever comes first. made quite a bit of progress this week, painted the ralley's dark grey, got the roof into primer, got the rear shackle kit installed, and cut a full coil off the front springs, also swiped the tailgate from the crew and started the surgery on it. oh also a pic of the collateral damage. what do you guy's think- how's it lookin?

[rusty76]

I like it looks good to me!

[pwradder]

Originally Posted by rusty76

I like it looks good to me!

thanks,i think it's gonna stay looking this way for a while for a couple reasons. first-i can't pick a color, second- i've been neglecting the crew cab and i really need to get that finished up.