1974 C20 Soon to become a project...

[Super_Dave]

For the seat, I have two choices. At at 6'3", comfort and getting the friggin steering wheel out of my lap and face is a priority:

1. Reupholster the existing seat with new foam that has lumbar support built into the contour and thigh area and a lower section under the arse, similar to the images below.

2. Find a 60/40 split bench and have it reupholstered. What I save in foam and additional labor at the upholstery shop with the 60/40 is off set with the time delay looking for a good 60/40 that just needs new threads and the cost/time modifying the mounts.

Shooting for Black Leather and Gray Tweed look.

For the steering wheel, I am finding either 14", 16" or 18". My '98 Silverado has a factory 15" wheel. The 14" aftermarket wheels are too small and the 16" and 18" are going in the wrong direction. Push comes to shove, (not a good phrase to use in a build... bad JuJu!) I can go with a 16" and let the contoured foam compensate for the additional inch.

Still have time before I need to pull the trigger. . .

[midnight rambler]

jealous look great

[Dads79GMC]

Originally Posted by Super_Dave

Thanks Mike!

Just need to keep my head down and not look at the time and ignore what's been spent so far. That will be less of an issue once it's back on the road and I am behind the wheel again!

Very very very TRUE!!

[Super_Dave]

Originally Posted by Dads79GMC

Very very very TRUE!!

Yeah, I will really be tested if the passenger door needs to be replaced with a used OEM door, smoothed and painted. . . But I can't abide an ill-fitting and/or leaking wing window.

Ironically, the old wing window was fine. . . just needed a complete rebuild. Thought for sure these rebuilt OEM's would be killer. I am hoping when I get the truck back home, I can solve the issue the old guys down south are wrestling with. I might even take it to a local bodyshop to get their opinion. Might be less costly than a full scale door swap.

Like Gone With The Wind. . .“I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow.”

[Super_Dave]

Well, it's been a hectic few weeks. Since my last post, we buried three family members and now I am dealing with a possible torn retina in my right eye.

As for the truck, things have been somewhat quite during the cold months. I was informed that we had some wrong weather stripping for the doors. . . go figure. Need to order replacements. At least Summit is good about taking back product from a year ago.

Need to order up a grille as my OEM is cracked in a number of places now. . . could have been preexisting. In any event, that needs to get ordered soon.

The gas tank and neck should be fitted by the time I get down for my next visit.

Rear glass and new gasket installed. Hush Mat installed, along with firewall pad and new carpet and felt. Tilt column installed.

Will be picking up a new windshield locally in a couple of days, in preparation for a 180 mile trip to pick up the wrong weather stripping.

On the way, I will be stopping to pick up a used OEM passenger door in an effort to use the nice rebuilt OEM wing window that doesn't want to work in the crappy import door that was already on the truck. Hopefully Greyhound doesn't beat the crap out of the replacement door.

If you look back through the thread, you will see where there is a dent in the cowl behind the where the rear fender meets up with the door. . . clearly an accident at one point and hence the crappy import door.

So. . . more body-prime-paint expense. When it rains it pours. Hopefully more current photos when I return from the upcoming road-trip.

Wish I had some Ruby Work Boots so I could click my heels and be somewhere else. . .

[Super_Dave]

Well, the door deal didn't happen. The seller, who had the ad listed on CL for over a month, apparently decided not to sell the door and became a ghost. No dig deal, as after I got down there, we wrestled the wing window in good enough to get the screw holes to line up. I will deal with it more, after I get it back to my shop.

I looked over the '90 Blazer electric mirror problems and the glass on both mirrors was damaged. One shattered from a pointed object impact and the other seriously scratched. I have tried replacing the mirrors in the first set of used mirrors that I got hosed on from AZ, and they just don't fit like OEM.

So, If I decide to actually do this modification down the road, I will be ordering a full set of new mirrors online... most likely imports, but I am tired of messing with Pick-N-Pull mirrors. The damage to this last batch occurred at the current shop but I didn't want to get into a pissing match 100 miles from home.

The guys actually cut the $150 Blazer Harness to install it! Didn't call first. . . kinda pissed me off. They didn't get it installed because the drivers side harness connector was male and the passenger side connector was female. . . and both mirror connectors are male. . . have to research what I bought from a forum member and try to get the right connector for the passenger side.

Got the windshield delivered and had all new door weatherstripping ordered to arrive last Friday.

The Flat Black LMC mirrors actually look a lot better than I thought they were going to look. Decided to leave the metal housings and trim Flat Black. I think it will look nice against the gloss paint.

The hood looks really nice and is ready to bolt on, along with the stiffeners to prevent potential bending of the hood down the road.

The door panels are cleaned up, repaired and painted black. I will be using a Flat Black on the wood trim inserts.

The flip down license plate and pop-up gas cap was just getting mocked-up. Looks like it's going to work without any major surgery.

I am seriously considering ordering a '77 grille insert. I am told by most distributors, that I need to notch the top of the grille insert to make room for the hood release. I like that the '77 has fewer "egg crate" openings and that the insert is more flush with the front of the hood and trim and not recessed. I am not sure what all is involved with this mod, and if the mounting holes are the same count and line up. . . would love to hear from someone who has done this swap and see some photos.

Got down there and my 35MM Digital Camera had two dead batteries, so I was left with my military grade flip phone. Below are a few photos I was able to take before heading back home.

The truck bed was dusty and fingerprinted pretty good from the install. The carpet is laying down nice and the sound deadener went down great. New threshold trim is on order and will finish of the work on the floor.

[Super_Dave]

These are the two connectors on the harness I bought. Driver side is male and passenger side is female. . . and both plugs are different style connectors.

Both mirror connectors are male, so I need to get this resolved so I can use new '90 Blazer mirrors down the road if I decide to follow through on that swap.

[Super_Dave]

The Gas tank was lowered another 1.5" to make a better angle for the gas nozzle to fill the tank.

The pop-up gas cap is installed in the new license plate and light assembly, behind the Camaro fold-down license plate holder.

Everything turned out great and exactly as I envisioned it. If only the rest of the build would have gone this easy.

[Super_Dave]

The truck is assembled and doors, fenders, hood are all gap adjusted. The bed will be removed and repainted and rubbed out.

The Flat Black mirrors will be okay for the time being while I noodle on the '90 Blazer electrical issue.

The interior is the next major piece. Time to get the Indian Blanket Seat Cover out and something else in the cab.

It will need a thorough cleaning and shining up.

I also had an issue with the "new" windshield and gasket.

I got a new windshield locally and delivered it to be installed. I thought it felt a tad lighter than the chipped OEM we took out. Come to find out, it's about 20 thousandths thinner. We mocked it up against the chipped OEM and the dimensions are the same, just thinner.

However, the gasket is another issue. After putting it on the drivers side of the new windshield and working it along the top and bottom, we had a butt load of "extra gasket" left over. . . like 1.5"+ gap worth of gasket! That shouldn't have anything to do with the thinner glass. So until we get the correct gasket, we can't tell if there is an issue with the glass fitting the opening and having the stainless steel trim reinstalled.

Anyone seen this thin glass issue before and have any input???

The guys want the beaded gasket with the black beading. Said it's easier to install and might adjust better to the difference in thickness in the new windshield. Whatever. I'll get what they asked for.

So, it seems that not only were we sent the wrong door weatherstripping, we got the wrong windshield gasket too. . . PITA. Now I have to paw through a bunch of receipts looking for which of the dozen or so vendors, screwed up yet another order.