Where to start

[cedens]

Okay weather is getting nice so its time to start Brownies restoration, but i have no clue where to start.

Engine and Drive Train is Excellent.
Interior is junk, seats are ate up, dash is cracked the door panels are oxidized and i can spit tobacco juice through the hole in the floor-pan.
exterior she is showing her age, about half a dozen rust spots on the fenders and door skins. and the wheels need a good sandblast and powder coat.

I do need to pop a new Oil Press Sending Unit
The carb needs a little cleanup (Rochester Quadra Jet)
Not sure on the floor pan to order a kit (such as jc witney's)
On the body panels have a body guy fix the spots or start ordering new panels.
The interior needs a dash cover, the HVAC controls don't work (noticed new today)
No clue if the tank switch works
Seats need recover big time
new audio system all around.
and i can see through the floorboard
also the RH exhaust is ate off from the glass pack forward about 8"

[cedens]

Max Pic Limit on first post

Some pics of the rust spots and final a shot from the front, I do have the original back glass in a shed here in the box Dad bought the Slider in.

next time i'll clean the lens on the android

[cedens]

Okay actually starting with lubing up the spedo cable, finding a plethora of issues, the top row (3 of 5) bulbs do not work, not sure if its the sockets ($1 a pop) or the Cuircuit board (about $70) the bezel is good turns out i can refinish the silver coloring around the gauges with some testors model paint (cold winter hobby)

Now my biggest question can i go find a cluster from an 81-83 that had tach, and the small fuel is it all in the circuit board and pre wired or am i just wishful thinking.

[1979cstepside]

looks pretty bad man defiantly got your self in a big ass money! ha always check for rust when buying a car because it only gets worse over time!

[1979cstepside]

*money pit

Originally Posted by 1979cstepside

looks pretty bad man defiantly got your self in a big ass money! ha always check for rust when buying a car because it only gets worse over time!

[cedens]

Well when we bought it the price was around $18,000... again that was in September of 1982 at that time the Odometer had 400 miles on it

As for what has been paid, she's earned her keep around here, got me safe to and from school in all weather, hauled plenty of wood in the winter, not to mention all the stuck Tractors, Tow Trucks and Dodges it has pulled out of the mud. While only being stuck in the mud 3 times in her life.

Today she jump started a dodge!!!!

this is what happens when over the last 15 years it was started and driven a handful of times a year, mostly to run around the farm, if i was asked to put a price on it to sell... just you couldn't afford it.

If i need to just run to town or work out of i have my 06 GMC 2wd, if i need to pull the Goosneck I have the 2010 3/4 Silverado, quick trip to town the 2000 Stepside Reg Cab.... trip to anywhere else there is the 06 Caddy or the 11 cruze.

This is just a project to keep a loyal truck around for a long time, she's never been a problem, other than 2 ESC brains, and the spare coil in the puch behind the seat. At 128K miles it doesn't use much oil but does get gallons to the mile LOL

[Paul83]

If you are not going to use it as a daily driver I would do the oil sending unit, just to make it easier to move around then start on the outside first. Then take out the interior and do the floor board and do the rest of the interior as time goes. This way the rust stops then you can drive it around while doing the interior after the floor board that is. Good luck. I had to replace the whole cab on mine because of rust.

[cedens]

the floor rust is just a few inches from the kick pannel, and i noticed a kit that has the kick pannels and rh/lh floor pans, i can probably just use the part i need, i think the fender rust (that hole is about the size of a BB) i can patch with patch pannels

Rust on the LH door is on the surface it is possible i can get that out, the RH door is a bit worse (pictured under plastic trim) , behind and above the fenders may be a bigger fix.

[1979cstepside]

id defiantly cut the rust out and start getting patch panels for all the places hope your good at welding or know a good welder Lol

[DREAMER1]

IMO I'd start from the drivetrain. Freshen it up a bit. Then start on the exterior, get it rust free and atleast in primer, then go for the interior....that's the direction I'd go I to if it were me.
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[cedens]

Drive train is easy, little carb tune up maybe a set of gaskets on the valve covers, and eventually a/c system rebuild part 2 (we upgraded and rebuilt it once about 1994) Just don't ask me to replace the heater core again that was a bear of a project.

Gave an oil change today (its been too long) but hasn't used any oil, and we always kept the chassis lubed up.

I plan on repacking the front auto lockers (i know the debate but no problems in 30 years so they stay)

my biggest concern is nightmares on the interior electrical system and the typical Gut (fender) rot these trucks were notorious for.

I thought about going more custom, but there are a lot out there with crazy zany interiors so i'll make it somewhere between stock and classy,

[wraprail]

I agree with DREAMER1.

I would add that before you do anything else you should cut the cat off and hang the smog pump in the shed.

yup....

[cedens]

The smog pump was off either a 79 SWB or the firebird, the folks who were 22 at the time got a deal on two cars, the truck for dad and the Trans-AM for mom... would be awesome to still have either, that Formula 1 had the 400 Pontiac in it and 4 in the floor. It was one of those rare non Neutered 70's fuel crunch cars. Or if they kept the 73 Vic Hickey Blazer.... the 72 SWB, the 68 Vette, hell even the 87 S10 Blazer was neat.

Thanks for the pointers, glad my thinking isn't that far off.... i if i wanted a nightmare i seen a 72 in town at a used dealer that had some jacked up flat bed and about 15 colors of paint on the cab.... actually it may be fun to make a flat bed 72 pinch me quick!

[tucsonjwt]

Not trying to be a wiseguy, but have you considered getting a rust free donor truck with weak engine/trans? Check Craigslist in AZ and you will find a lot of examples for low $$$. Should save you a lot of time and increase value of the truck when you are done. You could sell parts not used on the restore and recoup some cost. Just a thought.

[cedens]

I thought about checking the local junk yards, but this truck the rust isn't all that bad, just the hole in the floor which i can easy fix with a decent patch.

As far as the cost on this one, the sentimental value will outweigh the real cost.

has anyone had any luck having rhino lining sprayed underneath?

[cedens]

Originally Posted by wraprail

I agree with DREAMER1.

I would add that before you do anything else you should cut the cat off and hang the smog pump in the shed.

yup....

She's been cat free since probably 1985, the smog pump was from the truck or the car they brought from cali when we moved back in 80

[Shyguy]

If it were me I would fix it up. My '67 was in far worse shape than yours and we either made patch panels or bought new patch panels. We used an old hood to make many of the patch panels for the floor.

My '67 was a father/son project and the time we spent together working on it was priceless. I learned a lot from my son and now since I bought the '75 C-30 dually I will be able to do a lot of the work on it myself.