Restoration this Spring

[Chuck Smith]

Well, it looks like I will be moving into a new house this Spring. It has a 3 car garage, and I will be parking my 77 Chevy K/20, and my 80 GMC K/25 in it. Then, I will be working on both of them over the summer, in between tasks around the house. (Realistically, I might not get to the trucks until the summer, but you never know. The house does come first though.)

This is going to be the first time I can work on the trucks, and not need to complete what I started so I can drive the truck the next day. Also, it is going to be the first time in 3 years that I am working on the trucks, and I can't wait.... I have been living in a condo for 3 years, and the trucks have been sitting elsewhere. :(

After living in a house for 30 years, and moving into a condo, it feels like I have been here forever, and I can't wait to get back to "normal".

The 77 Chevy, I cut the fenders and made a tilt nose, which there is pics of on my site.... I need to install hydraulics to operate it. I also want to make a tilt bed, which I know is very easy, because the truck has a 3" body lift on it. I have a spare Meyer E-47 pump that will power the hydraulics for the tilt nose, and dump. Both are for show, so the pump should be fine for this. Just need valves and plumbing. I need to replace a rocker and a cab corner. I replaced the one that is shot back in 1992.

My 80 GMC has seen better days. The body is pretty shot. I "sold" this truck twice already, though the deals never went through. I need to replace the doors, fenders, inner fenders, rockers, and cab corners, and floors, floor supports, radiator support..... The Meyer plow needs some work to tighten it up..... The pivot pins and sleeves are worn out. The bed needs some work thanks to a huge tree falling on it....The upside is, the frame and drivetrain is solid, as is the motor, trans, and T case.

~Chuck

[86SierraDually]

A condo, wow Chuck, that had/has to be tough for a truck man...storage for your tools, let alone your trucks had to be a hassle...all the best in the move and the large garage...

I've posted a couple of pics of my project for the spring/summer below...but first thing on the agenda, as soon as the snow melts off of it is to build the 'shop package' I purchased back in October...all the posts, 2x's and metal(roof and walls) still bundled under the white stuff for my 28x40 shop/garage...can't wait till the tractor work begins, hopefully by the end of the month...

Anyways, good luck with the move and the new house and keep us posted with the trucks...

Brad



http://www.route-6.com/trucks/86GMC/images/image011.jpg


http://www.route-6.com/trucks/86GMC/images/image005.jpg


http://www.route-6.com/trucks/86GMC/images/image002.jpg

[cat320]

Hey Chuck good luck with the new house and shop.It's got to be a pain to want to work on your trucks and no where to do it in the condo area.Sounds nice to just have a dedicated place to just work on the trucks.

86SierraDually Post some pics of your shop going up .

[flatbed]

congrats on finding a new house....i know the fealing we were in a mobile... before we got our new spred.........best of luck on the move....

[Chuck Smith]

Well, my 80 GMC in out in the garage now. Not sure when work will begin. I was surprised, only one mouse nest under the hood, and no bees!

Stay tuned........

~Chuck

[William B.]

Cool Chuck. Can't wait to see some pics of the progress.

William

[Tileman]

Glade you are going to have some time to start on the truck. Just tell me when to send the boys out to give you a hand :haha .

Rich

PS and please take lots of pictures.

[Pickering Snow]

Chuck

Glad you got one of your babys home once Jr arrives iam sure the truck resto will be good therpy on those nights when nobody gets to sleep lol

Been there when my 16 yr was a baby cant remember what project i had going on but i know me and the garage got really close sometimes a dads nature is to spend time in the garage you know preparing things so when Jr joins you to help out. I think when my second came along i told my wife i was out there perfecting the supreme breast pump once in a while i would bring the robin air two stage evac unit in the house with a makeshift hose hooked to it and let her here it run i think she really belived i was trying to bild her one :eek:

[Chuck Smith]

First the motor. A nice stock Jasper 350 with about 25,000 miles on it. Only has a 2bbl. The intake is pretty old. Not sure what it came off of, as it was on the truck when I bought it, but it only has 2 studs for the carb to mount. I had it off once, and there are only 2 mounting holes in the manifold :huh

Took off the air cleaner, no mouse nest....

Motor doesn't look too bad.....

~Chuck

[Chuck Smith]

Oil dipstick won't come out..... Tube looks pretty rusty, I'll probably just get a new one.

When the tree came down, it whacked the bed pretty good. It crushed the bed floor support channel, and bent the whole bed corner down about 3". It knocked the one side board off the bed, into the bed. So I ripped off the rest of them. They are still in the bed, under the leaves, the leaves that rotted into top soil, and the vines that are growing in the bed. I forgot how good the truck looks without the sideboards.

~Chuck

[Chuck Smith]

Here's a shot of the bed.

~Chuck

[Chuck Smith]

And another shot of the bed..... More "fun" to come later.

~Chuck

[Tileman]

Chuck you will have to find some place for all the stuff that is not part of the truck. Cant belive you have that 3 bay garage and it looks like mine, full of everything but big boy toys. :) So when do you want the boys come out!


Rich

[Chuck Smith]

http://chuckschevytruckpages.com/1980_GMC_restoration.html

Got the hood and fenders off. The hood I can salvage. Not much left of the fenders and inner fenders. I think the Ziebart is the only thing that made them last this long. 25 years is a long time for fenders on these trucks. Floors still seem solid. Rockers are toast. Found a hole in the cab floor, behind the passenger seat, near the center of the truck. That is an odd place. Never saw that before.

I think I am going to rewire everything under the hood. Lots of splices. Some from me, some from previous owners. Most done in a hurry. Time to do it right.

I'd like to do a cab off, but with Junior due any day now, and Chris not working.... we'll see what the future holds.

~Chuck

[Alan]

Chuck, I don't know how well you're tooled for rebuilding the cab but I've got a 120 volt mig welder that is just sitting here doing nothing. It could get assigned to temporary duty in NJ awful easy. Regulator for the gas bottle and everything but the tank.

[Chuck Smith]

Thanks Alan. I have a 120 volt unit myself. Just got a full bottle of CO² a few weeks ago. Nothing fancy, it's about the same as the old Daytona. In fact, they share many parts. I just picked up 6 nozzles, and 6 contact tips two weeks ago. The company I got the parts from even stocks the original guns. I like them. They look cheap. but work great. They have a trigger, not a button. When you squeeze the trigger, the gas starts to flow, fully squeezed, then the arc starts. So when you are welding sheet metal, you can ease off the trigger, and use the gas to cool the puddle. All the fancy expensive MIG welders I have used over the years have a button, not a trigger. Fine for heavy stuff.

~Chuck

[Alan]

I like the idea of being able to preflow the gas and get the oxygen out of the weld zone before the fire lights. I've never seen one like that. Both my migs have triggers, I've only seen buttons on the super-cheapie imports.

[William B.]

Looks like your making progress Chuck. Can't wait to see the pics as the restore goes. Congrats to you and your wife on your child as well!

William

[Thomas Petroff]

Good Lock, Chuck on your restoration. I just finished the restoration of a 47
Dodge WDX Power wagon. It was a lot harder than the restoration of my 77 K-30. Now I need to start a resto. on my 84 K-30
You can't beat old Iron. Keep us posted

[JCurtis]

that you used on that bed held up since the 1996 bed swap.

I would be interested in knowing or seeing pics whenever you get that far.

( I know you're a bit busy right about now :rocker )

[Chuck Smith]

Well, no pics, but I got my 77 Chevy running today so I can move it into the garage. I made a deal with the boss that it will be out of the yard by the end of the month. It ran when I parked it, oh 3 years ago or so. Had it towed here last month. First thing I did was make a fogger for the cylinders. IF I knew it was going to sit for 3 years, I would have fogged it sooner. I had a can of air for blowing dust off keyboards..... I had a tiny brass "T" laying around, and some fish tank hose. I also had a bottle of rust buster, with a tube that pulls out of the bottle. A little electrical tape, and I had my fogger. I mixed 10w-30 with the penetrating oil, about 50/50. Took the plugs out, 1 at a time, fogged the cylinder, applied Neversieze, and reinstalled. All the plugs came out easy, because I always use Neversieze on them, same as the lug nuts.

I have a clear fuel filter at the carb, and it was dry inside. Good sign, no bad gas laying in it. I cut the fuel supply and return at the fuel pump. The hoses were hard and would need to be replaced anyway. Went to the auto parts store (your favorite place Fred, the "ZONE" LOL) and got 6 ft of 3/8" and 1/4" fuel line. Had to argue with the kid who wanted to sell me FI hose. Told him plain hose is all I need. Tried to sell me clamps, again I told him all I need is the hose. Took him a while to return to the counter with the hose. All he had was 3/8" FI hose, but gave it to me at the price for regular hose, and he only had 5 ft. Same with the 1/4", he only had 5 ft. How can a store let the spools get down to 5ft? Anyhow.....

Hooked the hoses up and ran them up over the front crossmember by the radiator and let them hang down. Got the battery I started charging this morning in. Cranked the motor (a looooong time) until I had oil pressure. Ran the hoses into a gas can on the ground (since with 3 year old fuel I would be asking for problems) and she fired right up! Got out and fuel was pouring onto the manifold. Shut it off. Replaced the 3/8" line from the clear fuel filter to the carb. The braided steel line was leaking bad. Fired it up again, now the filter was leaking! Shut it down and tightened the filter halves. Fired it up again, and the braided steel line from the steel line to the filter was leaking. Again, shut it down, and replaced that line. Saw antifreeze dripping from the 5/8" braided steel heater hose. Loosened the radiator cap to prevent pressure from building up, hopefully slowing the leak so I could tinker. All I need to do is get the truck in the garage for now. I am going to hang the gas can off the bumper for the move. I am going to have to flatten the tires and the truck should just make it in. Have to take the lights off the roll bar, and the marker lamps off the roof. I am hoping I don't have to remove the roll bar, but it looks like I might have to.

The original plan was to raise the roof of the garage, and add one section of door. If I can get the truck in, that can then wait. I'll have to do it eventually. One I put the 36" Swampers on, I'll have no choice!

I was supposed to pick up a used nose off a 79 Blazer tomorrow, and any other parts I can grab. It is getting junked, so it is all free. The hood was replaced at some point, still has a GM sticker on it, and the fenders have no rot, other than a spot the size of a $1 bill behind the front wheels. Even the doors are good. I'll see what else I can grab. Going to have to wait though, Chris has a business trip tomorrow.

~Chuck

[Pickering Snow]

Chuck

Nice to see you getting to the Chev. Getting the other parts from the donor truck may be the answer to get the resto started you can repair them off the vech and once there primed then the bug will bite ya!!!!! .

I personally am about project out for awhile but would be glad to give any advice along the way. I think the key in any restore project is getting started once even a small part is tackled then intrest from within kicks in and your working like crazy.

One big piece of advise i would give anyone wanting to restore old iron is take your time plan out the project in phases , my 60 should have been a 1 to 2 yr project and i cramed it into 4 months right know iam soooooooooooooooooooooo burned out on it yesterday was the first Sunday in 4 months i didnt work on it i watched football all day :D

[William B.]

Just curious if you had had a chance to tinker with the old 80 anymore Chuck? Was this just a backup plow truck for you or do you work for someone else and use there equipment? I remember seeing pics of you an your brother pushing together and you using the 80. Just curious.
Merry Christmas

William