Swap Shop Chevy K20

[usernamessuck]

I found a feller on Craigslist that has an enviable amount of these trucks and parts for these trucks. I drove over the mountain to look at a bed to replace the total dumpster fire of the one that is currently on the truck. He had a pretty nice orange bed that had a metal floor and a couple of bullet holes. We struck a deal and he showed me around his collection. Buried deep in a sea of trucks he had a super nice survivor 72 C20 in ochre without an engine. It was an electricians truck from Cody and still had some of the sign paint on the door and bedsides. I dismissed the yellow truck and headed home to return with a trailer at a later date to grab the orange bed. I started doing the math in my head as to how much paint would cost me and how long it would take and the price of the yellow truck started looking better and better. I called the guy back and we made a deal on the yellow truck. I drove back a couple weeks later and bought this truck for myself for Christmas. He loaned me the chassis as all I wanted was the body, helped me load it up, and sent me on my way.

[Low Elco]

Nice progress! Interested in the paint to come!

[usernamessuck]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Nice progress! Interested in the paint to come!

No paint, but wait until you see how this cleans up!

[Dieselwrencher]

Dude, sweet score and good decision! It even has the painted stripe on it. That's cheating. Does he have anymore?

[usernamessuck]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Dude, sweet score and good decision! It even has the painted stripe on it. That's cheating. Does he have anymore?

He has so much stuff! PM me and I can get you his contact info. He has a nice hustle selling all of the correct hardware / little misc. parts for these trucks. Super nice knowledgeable guy. I love the pinstripe also!

[usernamessuck]

Spent a few minutes and pulled the body from the yellow truck. Almost feels like cheating. I was going to push the truck up on the trailer with the forklift when I remembered I have a crane. If you have the ceiling height I highly recommend getting one!

[usernamessuck]

I set the yellow bed on the good chassis just for storage and got to work on some body work. About this time the new sneakers showed up!

[usernamessuck]

I'm a total amateur at bodywork but getting better. I figure I'd start with the inner fender. I made one from two and it turned out better than I thought it would. I hammered all of the dents I could out of the outer fender as well. The original paint can take a surprising amount of abuse!

[usernamessuck]

I bead blasted the slots and was shocked at how good they look. Took the whole lot down to the tire shop and had them mounted. I scoured the web for 33x12.5x16.5 radial tires and there are surprisingly few. I settled on Super Swamper TSL's. I assume when I wear these out I'll have to upgrade to 17" wheels but these ought to last me a few years.

[usernamessuck]

When I dropped off the chassis I picked up an exhaust for a C10. With a little pie cutting and some tweaking I got it installed on the truck. A little foreshadowing, this was a total waste of time and money but that's kind of how this whole project has gone.

[usernamessuck]

This was the biggest day so far in the project. This was the day that it actually felt like it was going back together and there was light at the end of the tunnel. I bought new cab mounts and set the cab on the chassis. Everything was lined up and tightened down. I se the box on for storage again and stood back to take it all in.

[usernamessuck]

I have decided to go grey with all of the interior bits, eventually. I started with the dash pad. I pulled everything out of the cab including three miles of extra wiring and used an entire bottle of Simple Green cleaning 50 years of dirt out. Getting to the dash pad was a pain but not as bad as reading on the www made it out to be.

[usernamessuck]

I got all of the rust cleaned off of the core support and got it painted. I ordered these headlights because we put them in my daughter's 71 and they are AMAZING! Not quite street legal according to Hella but I won't tell if you don't. I took the radiator to a buddy here in town and he did his thing cleaning it up and making it shiny and black for me. It's a cheap replacement that one of the previous owners installed in place of the high quality stock one. I added some zazz because Murica! And to finish it off, a nice new battery tray to replace the pile of rust that was the original.

[Captain X]

How are you doing the emergency brake(s)?

[usernamessuck]

Originally Posted by Captain X

How are you doing the emergency brake(s)?

My original plan was to not to I guess. I was maybe going to try make my own transfer case mounted disc or something to that effect. Once I get caught up to where I am currently you will see the plan. It involves another trip with a trailer over the mountains.

[landarts]

In for the ride, love where the truck is going. Keep up the great work!

[usernamessuck]

The only loose part I could find in the steering linkages was this drag link end. Quick replacement and the steering is super tight. I added some add a leaves to the front springs. This is probably the worst way to get a little extra lift but the price was right and I was curious how it would ride with them. Turns out I think one of the leaves is bad because the truck still sits slightly crooked. I'm going to buy a set of new leaf springs (2" lift). Do any of you have any recommendations? The front end in the truck must be out of the same truck as the rear and it had the sway bar attached. I still have to build some mounts for the frame but haven't gotten around to it yet. I also added a steering stabilizer while I was up there.

[usernamessuck]

Since I bought the yellow truck I have been messing around with the paint and body work. It looks pretty good as long as you don't get too close. It has some real trouble areas that are definitely out of my skillset without removing the paint. I'm doing the best I can without disturbing the paint but there's going to come a time that some of it will have to come off. I have a buddy that does Riddler level body work that is going to help me out, so we'll see how it goes at that point. I beat all of the dents out of the front fenders and polished them up a little. I was worried about burning the pinstripes off so I covered them up with some masking tape. Turns out the compound I'm using isn't coarse enough to really touch it much. I still have some work to do but the paint looks really nice with minimal work. I washed everything first with some CLR and white Scotchbrite and the results have been pretty good.

[usernamessuck]

I was really hoping the paint on the door would show up a little more after the polish. It's not bad but a little thin. These pictures don't really show it well, but I'm really happy with the results.

Also, I have another problem that maybe ya'll can help me with. The cab and fenders aligned very poorly and I didn't know how to remedy it other than to build some spacers for the body. I raised the back mounts of the cab 1/2" and it made everything line up just right. Maybe the mounts aren't right. Has anyone else had this problem?

[Dieselwrencher]

Very nice work on the truck! I have the same dillema as you with 16.5s. I'm not ready to give in yet and ditch my wheels. I should have purchased a 2nd set of tires and stored them in the basement when I bought my last set. I'm still hoping BFG will put more out but I hear the molds were destroyed. How dumb.

That body work you are doing is turning out great! It's really looking great. As far as the body alignment, I had similar issues on my orange truck. I found out later that my rear cab bushings weren't as tall as they were supposed to be and it was a supplier issue and it was over looked. The shims wouldn't bother me if your gaps are good. You might have to shim the bed to match though.

[usernamessuck]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Very nice work on the truck! I have the same dillema as you with 16.5s. I'm not ready to give in yet and ditch my wheels. I should have purchased a 2nd set of tires and stored them in the basement when I bought my last set. I'm still hoping BFG will put more out but I hear the molds were destroyed. How dumb.

That body work you are doing is turning out great! It's really looking great. As far as the body alignment, I had similar issues on my orange truck. I found out later that my rear cab bushings weren't as tall as they were supposed to be and it was a supplier issue and it was over looked. The shims wouldn't bother me if your gaps are good. You might have to shim the bed to match though.

I wondered about the height being wrong. When I added the spacers it made the bed line up better as well. I guess that was how I justified just doing it and not worrying about it.

[usernamessuck]

Not a lot of progress in these pictures. I tried to beat the dents out of the grill surround but it was a lost cause. Some of you might have the skill, but I do not. I bought a bunch of new outside parts for the truck. Grill and grill shell, door handles, lenses, and trim.

[usernamessuck]

New grill.

[usernamessuck]

I drew up a front bumper a couple of years ago for my daughter's 71. It looks pretty good on here truck, but there was a couple of things I thought I could do to make it look better. This is that attempt. I don't like the changes I made and I'll probably eventually take this one off and sell it. I have a grip of pictures of the process used to make this if anyone is interested. I also have all of the plans and models as well.

[Dieselwrencher]

Dude, that is a nice bumper. How much for one?