Pitterpat's 84 C20 mild build

[pitterpat]

Got a new to me passenger side inner fender, my old one was really bad. The new one isn't perfect but it's way better than the old one.

[pitterpat]

The hole, I'm going to patch it with sheet metal and pop rivets. I think the metal of the inner fender is too thin to weld and too much trouble. I'll use seam sealer on the patch, the patch will be on the inside. After I seam seal it I'll use the spray on undercoating.

I washed it off real good today, tomorrow I'll get all the stuff.

No, this isn't washed off, I'll pic tomorrow and post.

[pitterpat]

Ok, I'm doing this all out of order, I should have made this as my first post but oh well. I'm doing a mild build on the 1984 Chevy C20 I inherited from my dad when he died in late 2010. The truck looked like crap then and still does but unbeknownst to me he had had about $2500 worth of work done on the engine and transmission a few months before he died. I didn't find that out until months later when I was going through a million papers of my dad's. It runs really good but looks like crap.

Also, I thought it ran like crap because it started like crap, just really hard to start. But a few weeks ago the starter finally went out, after 8 years of me owning it. If I would have like driven it once a week it would have gone out 7 years ago. Anyway, put a new big starter in and it cranks so much better, not faster but quieter.

Here's some pics, the right rear side got bent up when the tire on that side ripped/ blew out. Lost one of the hubcaps when that happened too!

[pitterpat]

The engine is a 350 with a Quadrajet carb. I looked it up this weekend and the Quadrajet was for a 1978 Pontiac. I'm going to clean up the engine and carb after it gets warm. Yes, the carb is a mess but it works. It's kind of an old mess, I blew out all the acorn shells and cobwebs this weekend.

[pitterpat]

I plan to just do a mild build, I'm not so concerned how it looks on the outside because right now I can't find the "real keys" (ignition and door separate keys), I'm using a copy of the ignition key and I've really never been in the habit of locking it.

I'm going to fix fix the holes in the floor. I picked up a new used mat and padding from the junkyard. Yes, that is a CB in the cab, I'm going to keep it. I'm also going to, I think, put in a modern single din radio. It has a 2 knob aftermarket radio with a cassette player in it now.

And yes, that is a behind the seat cardboard thing. Yes, I cleaned off the ants as soon as I took it out of the donor truck at the junkyard... There was also a wooden tool box behind the seat but I left it there, probably should have taken it but I just didn't want it.

My neighbor has this mini steamer thing I'm going to use on the interior once it warms up. I'll take the seat out and everything else in the cab and use the steamer thing on it. Also, instead of welding in patch panels in the floor I may just pop rivet those too, put some seam sealer and metal tape or the window metal sealing tape over that and just let it go. Depends on how much welding I want to do (none, I can).

[pitterpat]

This I inherited from my dad too. Makes it a heck of a lot easier to do stuff under the hood. I'm tall for a woman, 5' 9" but it's still hard to get to some stuff.

[pitterpat]

Yes, I'm going to take the cap off but I have to leave it on until the end of April, stuff stored in the bed of the truck.

[pitterpat]

Always wondered why there wasn't any antifreeze in the antifreeze recovery tank. Found out today poking around to remove the last 2 bolts for the inner fender. And this is the reason the front of that inner fender is rusted off, the antifreeze was leaking down on the inner fender bc the tank was pushed down on one of the bolts.

#1 - rusted out front of the inner fender
#2 - tank sitting on the bolt
#3 - the bolt
#4 - the hole where the stick is
#5 - the hole

Before I put the inner fender back in I'll epoxy up the hole. Where my dad had it mounted I'm not sure how it's mounted and I don't want to tear up anything. He had it mounted on the backside of the grill. After I get the inner fender back in I'll put an inch piece of scrap wood between the tip of the bolt and the bottom of the coolant overflow reservoir. Just figured that out by chance.

[pitterpat]

I have to tackle the floorboards and rockers too. Will patch in the floor pans and do something else with the rockers. I scored padding and a rubber mat for the floorboards from the junkyard. Both are in better shape than mine.

[pitterpat]

Yes, that is a CB mounted on the floor. I'm probably going to keep it in the truck. I also have a gun rack mounted in there too.

[Super_Dave]

Originally Posted by pitterpat

This I inherited from my dad too. Makes it a heck of a lot easier to do stuff under the hood. I'm tall for a woman, 5' 9" but it's still hard to get to some stuff.

I'm 6'3" and things on these trucks are still hard to get to!

I could use something like that!

[pitterpat]

Originally Posted by Super_Dave

I'm 6'3" and things on these trucks are still hard to get to!

I could use something like that!

Thanks Dave, my dad was about 5'8" when he died. But he had EVERY gadget you could have in a garage.

[pitterpat]

Scored these off of CL today. $40 Not perfect but not bad shape for $40.

[TKCR]

Those don’t look bad at all, for $40

[PAWS 72]

Those look good. A little aluminum polish on them and they'll look like new.

[pitterpat]

Got another set of hubcaps for $25 today. Pics later, not as good as the others but still pretty good.

[pitterpat]

Got another set of hubcaps for $25 today. Pics later, not as good as the others but still pretty good. They have a few more dings and I'll have to round them out.

[pitterpat]

Anybody know anything about the masonite under the floor padding? I got the rubber taken up then went to the padding and there was some kind of masonite underneath it. The padding I got from the junkyard there was no masonite underneath it, must have been changed once.

Also, here's the floor underneath the padding/masonite. Yes, it does look like masonite on the back. It's like they pressed it in because it is curved like the cab floor.

No, I didn't really look, feel the rust to determine how much. What's the best way to deal with that? Sand it off and then prime?

[TKCR]

It’s probably the tar mat

[pitterpat]

Originally Posted by TKCR

It’s probably the tar mat

Where was the tar, between the padding and the masonite? It just slid right out of the cab.

[pitterpat]

I always wondered about the speakers that were under the seat. They were marine speakers. The face comes off then they were screwed into the floor. Half the screws were rusted too Had to vice grip them out and whoever put them in drilled a hole in the bracket that attached to the floor and put the wire through the hole then put the spade attacher on.....so I had to cut the spade attachers off the wire.

I'll probably put them back in along with speakers behind the seat.

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by pitterpat

Where was the tar, between the padding and the masonite? It just slid right out of the cab.

I’m saying, what your calling the Masonite, is the tar mat. It’s that black mat, that’s in my truck pic.

[pitterpat]

Originally Posted by TKCR

I’m saying, what your calling the Masonite, is the tar mat. It’s that black mat, that’s in my truck pic.

Did you have padding on top of yours?

[TKCR]

Here’s what it is:
https://www.classicparts.com/1973-87...xoC_cwQAvD_BwE

It was installed from the factory. Most of the time, it falls apart with age. But yes, it was/is under the padding. There was more up front, but it’s already covered up with the padding.

[pitterpat]

Here's the seat I took out. It's in pretty good shape except for the driver's side. I'd just like to keep the old seat back with the vinyl that's on it, I like it. I'd like to just get new vinyl for the seat bottom. I have a seat I salvaged from the junkyard, it's bottom cushion is in good shape, I'd just have to replace the seat cover to blue. I think I'll try to find some kind of glue or something for the rip in the seat back.

I think the black marks are from the mice leaving their mark. When I took the seat out the mice had left their remnants under the seat. For a 35 yr old truck it was pretty clean under the seat...but I think I vacuumed under the seat last summer when I was trying to sell it...maybe.

@TKCR, is there anyplace I can get just new vinyl for the bottom?