73-87chevytrucks.com
General Site Info => Welcome => Topic started by: EngineeringSquatch on April 28, 2017, 05:09:08 PM
-
Hi Everyone!
This is my first time posting so I may be in the wrong board, please move me if so. I need help! I was given a 1980 c30 pickup truck 292 I6 4 speed. It is a long story about it but it has a lot of sentimental value to me. So I have decided to start fixing it up and getting it semi-restored. This is my first truck build ever. I am currently in college for engineering, money and time are fairly tight. The problem I have been having is the more I work on it the less it makes sense. It is 4 wheel drive which it is my understanding it should be 2wd because it is designated "C". But the biggest thing that doesn't make any sense is it being a dually. It doesn't have the correct dually front-end. Also I noticed that the rear-end seemed to be shifted to the left about 4 inches. I crawled under it and found someone had cut and lengthened the drivers side of the rear-end about 3 inches and didn't do anything to the passenger side. I believe it was originally a SRW before bubba got a hold of it. I want to swap it back to SRW if it isn't to difficult. My knowledge of cars is limited, but I am fairly mechanically inclined. I attached a few pictures if you need more to answer the questions I can get them.
So here are my questions:
How can I figure out the gear ratio in the rear-end and the front end so I can buy a new rear-end for it?
Can I pull the dually fenders off the bed without any problem?
If I wanted to do a 3 inch left what do I buy a lift for a C30 or a K30?
Is there any way to salvage the rear-end I have?
-
welcome from maryland. yeah that thing looks like bubba got a hold of her. the visor doesnt look like it belongs and if it is for a chevy it should be back further on the roof but the clearance lights. have to wait for others to chime in but not sure when that trim started. thought that front clip got the old style of two pieces one top and one bottom. its hard to say whats all been done. the vin might even be swapped or cab
-
Welcome from Ohio. Seems like you have quite the project goin on! I don't know,but it would seem to me that a guy who would have a "c" series would be more apt to rig it up to a "k" series,than visa versa. I'm not exactly sure bout the rear end ratio,but wouldn't one count the revolutions between the drive shaft and the revolutions of the rear wheels? I don't mean any disrespect...you said this truck has sentimental value,but,in my personal opinion,whoever gave you this truck,be it a family member or a close friend,if no one can give you good history on it,thatd be a misjustice. Good luck brother
-
Have you decoded the VIN to see what you have? Welcome from the St. Louis, MO area
-
What part of Ohio? I am around the Portsmouth area. The truck was given to me through a will, I didn't even know I was getting it until I got a call about it. The man that owned it was my neighbor and whenever he would haul hay with it I would ride around with him as a kid. He passed away from cancer 2 years ago and had no children of his own and left it to me because of how much I enjoyed it. So there's my sob story about it. The history I do know on it was his father bought it in the early 90s to pull a camper out to Colorado elk hunting. I am pretty sure they were the ones to bubba'd it lol. I also got a 454 motor with the truck they had planned to swap into it. I also know who bought it brand new and I am trying to contact them to see what it was originally, but so far no luck.
I have been considering the wheel rotation technique. but I was hoping there would be some for of identification on the rear-end or front-end
Of course someone messed with the hood before I got it and Bent it.....
-
I decoded the Vin and this is what I have got:
C - Chevrolet
C- 2wd chassis
T- 292 I6
3- 1-ton
4- Pick-Up
A- 1980
1- Gm of Canada OSHAWA
Does this seem valid? And I was reading that the gear ratio is posted inside the glove box? is that true?
-
This is the interior when I got it. On the bright side all the lights work great. The brakes work and it only took about 60$ in parts to get it running
-
Posting Picture on here is a struggle lol
-
I decoded the Vin and this is what I have got:
C - Chevrolet
C- 2wd chassis
T- 292 I6
3- 1-ton
4- Pick-Up
A- 1980
1- Gm of Canada OSHAWA
Does this seem valid? And I was reading that the gear ratio is posted inside the glove box? is that true?
May have the code but really not reliable since someone made it a 4 wheel drive. Best thing to do is identify the front axle, get a new differential gasket and change the gear oil. See what number is stamped on the ring gear. Common ratio's for 3/4 T- 1 Ton is a 4.10
-
Also I wanted to ask about the 4x4. It doesn't have locking hubs? Is this conman? Does it mean its always spinning the drive shaft?Another question is about the grill. I haven't seen one quite like it before in all my searching online
-
Full time 4 wheel drive was common in 1980. If the VIN was replaced one has to wonder why. Has the floor been welded on to add the transfer case clearance needed? (common when a 2 wheel drive cab is used) or someone just made the existing C30 a K30 (look for bolted on spring and front end 4x4 suspension components). A little detective work to determine what was done or maybe it is best left a mystery and continue on.
-
I have to look today and get some more pictures. I found an entire interior in good shape for 100$ and the guy has two 14 bolt rear-ends 3:73 and 4:10 225$ a piece. Are these fairly good prices? At this point I think I am just going to buy which ever rear-end makes the most sense for what I want. I want to run either 33 or 35 inch tires. Max round trip will be 100 miles with it. Ill probably just pull goose neck with hay, car hauler, and maybe a skidsteer. Which ratio would you guys recommend?
-
Which ratio would you guys recommend?
You need to determine what ratio is in front or you will run into major issues. They need to match
-
are you keeping the dually fenders? if you go the srw you have to get a new bed unless you keep the fenders which will look a little weird. you can pull a goose neck with a srw and the gvwr will only be a few numbers off but it wouldnt matter to DOT what axle it has but what its tagged for and the rating on the trucks sticker
-
also on the price. ive gotten a matching set (front and rear ¾ ton) for either 200 or 300 (its been about 10 years ago) at a junk yard
-
My plan is to pull the dually fenders off and drive it as is for the mean time. I know the bed has been cut but I will either put bushwacker fender flares over it or replace the sides eventually. I also got a bunch of pictures today which may help with the diagnosis a little better. The 4 wheel drive system still baffles me.
Below you can see the side that was widened and how the other side hasn't been. I was wondering how bad of an idea it would be to just buy a 3" wheel spacer slap it on the one side and forget about it.
-
here are some more pics
-
and more
-
and more
-
"...the guy has two 14 bolt rear-ends 3:73 and 4:10 225$ a piece. "
IMO, those prices seem okay if they are full floaters. And, as said, determine what ratio the front axle has so they match.
"I was wondering how bad of an idea it would be to just buy a 3" wheel spacer slap it on the one side and forget about it."
IMO, I would not do that. They were likely trying to correct a perceived problem by jerry-rigging a solution. It's a poor fix at best and a safety hazard at worst. I would recommend one of the two axles you have located if in otherwise good condition.
I think it's worth fixing. Keep up the good work.
-
I live around the Marion county area. That's good you're tryin to contact the original owner. It does seem weird that your truckd be a doully w only a 292. I took my dash off to replace the dash lights and redo the heater duct seals(foam) and my bare dash looked similar and mines an '86. Keep tryin the old owner man. I actually wouldn't wanna be in your shoes.lol
-
That is a pretty cool story btw
-
the 1 tons came with the 4.8 for years, think till the late 80s
-
Sorry I havent posted for a while. Been getting settled into my new house and back to work. Anyways I picked up some interior parts and fixed the inside up a little bit. The dash I bought was all cracked but nothing a little bondo and bedliner couldnt fix. Thought I would share the results. I bought the entire interior of another truck for 100$ so I thought I did pretty good
-
Oh man does this look like all kinds of fun, based on what you've posted your truck started life as a 1 ton C30 2wd and was "bubba'd" into a dually (Bubba'd lol i think i gonna steal this) by way of what appears to be a NP205 part time transfer case a Dana 44 front axle from a full time 4x4 (np203) single rear wheel truck and the original Corporate 14 bolt full floater rear axle appears to have been widened to the width of a Dana 70 DRW pickup truck axle. If you want to pull the dually flares you can but you will have massive cutout wheel wells as if you were trying to fit massive tires without lift not the small square wheel wells of the dually flares or the front end, if your going to go back to SRW than by all means i would find a replacement SRW axle (I would replace that axle just because someone widened it and i don't know who did it or how well and wouldn't be able to trust it) with the gear ratio matched to your front axle unless you find a matched set (front and rear axles from the same truck) for a good price. I would also recommend you look into getting a set of manual locking front hubs you will get slightly better MPG and have less wear and tear on internal front axle components, however to turn on 4x4 you would need to get out and turn the hubs on as well as shift the transfer case.
I never realized that Oshawa trucks got sold in the US, I always figured that with all the plants in the US the Oshawa plant just built trucks for Canada, learn something new everyday.