My 1980 SWB Project Truck

[1980c10]

here are some pics of the seat for heavychevy91 and some other misc pics.



[imghttp://i686.photobucket.com/albums/vv222/titera1/DSCN0438.jpg]http://[/img]

[Irish_Alley]

i wonder how hard it would be to get mud off that carpet sometimes i wish mine look that clean but then i wouldn't try to get it dirty or maybe as dirty

[1980c10]

i pretty much have to vacuum it almost every time i drive it to keep it that clean.  so its never actually been dirty

[1980c10]

I'm not sure if I should include this all in one project post but that's how I am going to complete the project so here is the beginning.
there will be some questions along the way.
transmission is rebuilt and waiting in my garage.
engine is rebuilt and also waiting in my garage.
we are in the dead of winter here, so my truck is in storage so I can park other vehicles in its spot. i will get it out sometime in the next few weeks depending on the weather. In the meantime I will finish the engine details. the specs can be found on my previous thread "350 build".
my goal is to make this a very clean install and also be ready for the first good cruising weekend.

I am considering removing fenders or possibly the front clip entirely. for the record this truck doesn't have a scratch and I really want to keep it that way. How difficult will it be to reinstall the fenders and hood and get them straight as they are now-toughts on this?
currently the largest challenges should be converting the clutch to hydraulic from mechanical linkage
the other will be the speedometer and my short amount of time to do this.

[Layne]

On my 82 and the 77, I just popped the hood off and slid the motor and trans out.  Get some fender blankets, too. Just my opinion.

[1980c10]

forgot to add that the backs of the fenders were Painted body color with the rest of the truck, i also want to clean and partially smooth the firewall and hide or eliminate any wiring that I can. I pretty much want this to be nice-show ready quality if possible. I kind of don't want to have to climb over fenders or the radiator to do this. almost everything will be painted at a minimum some stuff will be removed other stuff will just be moved.

[Layne]

Maybe could make some marks with a grease pencil. I had most of the front clip off on my 77 when I put new fenders on. It's not too bad, just tedious

[fitz]

    I've had the motor in and out of my camaro (and other Chevy's) more times than i can count. I think your best bet would be to do as Layne suggested, just remove the hood after marking the hinges and use fender blankets. I've done this many times and never had any damage.
   Personally I would be more worried scratches/chips caused by removing and re installing the front clip (I have run into problems doing that).

[1980c10]

I also want to repaint the inner fenders the header panel firewall and pretty much everything from the firewall forward. the grille will be coming out for this as well. so i am thinking it will be easiest to just remove the fenders as well intead of trying to protect them, mask them etc.

[1980c10]

Some progress made;
I brought the truck home to begin the engine and trans swap today.
I removed the 250, drive shaft, clutch linkage etc pretty much everything except the crossmember.
To start the clean up, I removed the washer fluid tank and hoses and they will not be going back in.
I also hid the entire head light wiring harness inside of the header panel and inside of the fender.
For the battery i will turn it around so the post are pointed toward the header panel and run longer cables inside of the header panel and inside of the frame along with the wiring from the starter, I installed a mid mount alt bracket to keep the wires low and they should be hidden fairly well.
I removed the heater box as well  along with some other items on the fire wall

I want to install a newer fan from a 94 chev, Is this the right year to get?

What is a good way to remove the tar like rubber coating on the firewall?

btw I am leaving the fenders on.


 

[1980c10]

Made some more progress this weekend. I removed the transmission, crossmember, I also ran a new fuel line on the engine, mounted the alternator, starter, new pulleys and some other misc parts.
I also took some photos of where I am at as of now.
A little fuzzy because they are from my cell phone.
heres a pic coming out of storage

some pics of the underhood clean up




I made some covers from rubber to cover between the inner fender and frame rail



 

[Grim 82]

I want to install a newer fan from a 94 chev, Is this the right year to get?

That's what I used, and it works great. If you can, bring your old one with you and compare. They should be dimensionally the same, but the newer motor must have more windings in the motor, and it comes with the new plastic fan.
That truck is clean and beautiful.

[mats1985gmc]

super nice!

[1980c10]

 Grim-I got the 94 fan and it is too deep for the housing, I don't have a/c so maybe that's where I went wrong. Anyway I am going to the u pull it yard and i will look for a deeper housing.

I am also looking for a hood cable that is long enough to pull through the fender and header panel, How are newer cables than my 80's routed? (Mine lays across the inner fender).
I'm also getting a hydraulic clutch pedal assembly out of an '85 so i can convert mine.
Up next after the clutch cylinder install will be paint.
Then the rebuilt engine will be bolted in. (the one I said i wasn't going to do)
Then I will complete the 5 speed install.
Once that is hooked up I want to do a lot of rewiring to clean it up.

[1980c10]

Today, I enjoyed a day off of work and made it out to the u pull it yard.
I ended up grabbing a longer hood cable from a dodge truck-going to try it anyway.
I have the clutch and brake pedal assembly from an '85 c10
I also grabbed the brake booster, master cylinder and clutch cylinder from the same '85.
I also found a pretty decent radiator shroud from an 86.
anyone know how much if any of this will be a direct bolt in?