So back about 2 months ago in November I had to cope with the unfortunate event of flipping my beloved 79 C10 Silverado. She was my first vehicle and although very rough around the edges, she saved my life and I decided that nothing more than another old Chevy could fill in the gap i felt for my now missing truck. Fast forward to early January and I've found an 81 Cheyenne that could use about as much TLC as my old truck, just in different places. The ceiling pad is torn to shreds, the bench seat is all but gone, she could use a few more gauges than the stock few she came with, the steering column is completely demolished, the door panels are a bit rough around the edges, and the carpet is shot.
While I know that the ceiling pad and steering column will transfer over just fine, I have a few questions about the other stuff.
1st, is it possible for the carpet out of my 79 to fit in the 81? I know that it shouldn't, or rather that it wont, but could it fit until I can get a new molded carpet to replace it with?
2nd, will a 79 gauge cluster fit properly with the 81 dash and bezel? I'd like to at the very least keep something from the old girl if possible, and I wouldn't mind having a full suite of gauges either.
3rd, my only knowledge about door panels among the different face-lifts, generations, and trims is a trim and/or style difference; what I don't know is whether they are compatible among the different gens/looks.
4th, and by far my most important question, will the bench seat from a 79 fit in the 81? I have heard that some early model year productions from 81 still used the 73-80 seat bracket but I don't know if the bracket even changed from 80-81. If it won't fit in the 81 normally, would it be effective to make a bracket adapter or would I be better off reupholstering the seat that's in it now?
Thanks for anybody's time answering any of my questions,
Josh
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