1980 K20 Wood Truck Project

[Ryan_S]

I wouldn't really call this a "build", but it will be a little project that could turn into something.

About a month ago I stumbled into this truck in a parking lot. Any time that I see an older Chevy truck for sale I always have to take a look. The truck is in OK shape and long story short I bought the thing, making it my 4th square. My last 3 all got cut up and trashed as 4 wheelin' rigs and I'm at a point that I'd like one to drive and use and not thrash on the trails. (I don't really wheel anymore anyway)

The goal for this truck isn't anything super ambitious as I don't have the time, budget, or talent to do anything special. I'd just like to make it a good functioning truck to haul wood to heat the house and drive around.

Here is the truck as I bought it:






First things first, I changed every fluid in it and had a look around. It's an old ranch truck, and there has been PLENTY of rancher wrenching done on it. The first things that really jumped out at me though were a wheel with 13 oz. of weight on it, a badly sagging door, the hood starting to fold, and a large leak from the rear pinion shaft seal.

So, I ordered new wheels, got a hinge pin kit, had the pinion shaft seal replaced, and tossed on some hood braces. I'm really not a fan of the way the hood braces look, but it's cheaper than a new hood for now.

[straight6chevyguy]

Nice truck! should haul wood real well.

[Ryan_S]

I got a little bit more work finished on the truck this past weekend. I got all four shocks replaced. The fronts were well past their useful life.The bushings were falling apart and once I got them off the truck, I think they would have made better slide hammers than shock absorbers.



The rear shocks weren't in much better condition. They looked like they had oil that had leaked out of them. Could have just been mud packed around the shock body, but oh well.



I didn't put anything special back in the truck. Just some run of the mill Monroe's from the parts store. I really just wanted to smooth out the ride on the old wood truck. I also wanted to put regular shocks in the back. I don't really need the extra load capacity of the helper springs. It may be placebo, but I really do think that taking them off softened up the ride a little.



The best thing that came out of the weekend though was just spending some more time under the truck. I found a few more things that I feel need attention. I added them to my list of things to do, and have been thinking a lot on what I want to prioritize. Next up for sure though is sorting out the problem with my fuel gauge, and getting the dual tanks to function.

[dmack91]

I doubt it is the placebo affect. Everything I have read on the coilovers is that they are very harsh. Congrats on the new project.

[1967KaiserM715]

I don't know if you did this, but removing the hood hinges and springs, completely cleaning and greasing; white lithium works good, but there are other options; can do major wonders for the hood. Most of the time a stiff hinge and spring is what causes the hood to start to fold in the first place.

Coil spring shocks are a poor excuse to increase load capacity, they are rough riding for sure, I've done better with the helper springs that bolt to the leaf pack, the good ones don't apply extra load to the springs until the truck is loaded.

Good looking truck.

[Ryan_S]

Originally Posted by 1967KaiserM715

I don't know if you did this, but removing the hood hinges and springs, completely cleaning and greasing; white lithium works good, but there are other options; can do major wonders for the hood. Most of the time a stiff hinge and spring is what causes the hood to start to fold in the first place.

Coil spring shocks are a poor excuse to increase load capacity, they are rough riding for sure, I've done better with the helper springs that bolt to the leaf pack, the good ones don't apply extra load to the springs until the truck is loaded.

Good looking truck.

Before I installed the hood braces I did go ahead and clean up and lube the hood hinges. It made a world of difference, but the hood had already started to crease on the drivers side so I went ahead and threw the braces on for now.


Also, thanks for the compliment. I'm really proud of it and very happy to be working on a square again.

[82Diesel]

Nice truck! Especially being an 80 V22 Optioned truck, I don't see many of those around anymore.

[LT7A]

Cool truck. I definitely call this a build and honestly it's probably my favorite kind of build. Take an old truck. Get the fluids up to spec. Start fixing things. And enjoy each new change. I have no doubt that it rides better with new shocks and removal of the helper coils.