I just became the owner of a 31 year old Chevy C20. It was found 10 years ago in my neighbors yard when he bought his house, my neighbor has kept it running but decided he didn't want to keep it anymore, as he was only using it a few hundred miles a year for trips to take yard waste to the transfer station. So on impulse I said "I'll take it, and you can borrow it back from me for runs to the dump".
SO, my very first truck! On further investigation, seems I did OK for an impulse purchase. Body seems solid - no rust in floor pans, doors, wheel arches. Some dings and scrapes on the tailgate, and the paint on the cab roof is starting to peel, but only to the undercoat, not to bare metal. Engine is a replacement crate 350 with less than 5,000 miles on it, transmission has been rebuilt and brakes and shocks replaced. Starts and runs well.
Thats the good news - on the downside, she's been standing out for 30 years and all the door and window seals are perished, the dash is sun-rotted, the guages don't work and a replacement guage panel is now where the radio was (I guess slapped in when the engine was replaced in '07), Steering is very vauge with a LOT of play. The whole interior smells of ?? IDK .. cat, dog, mouse ?? - no droppings, but "phew" - can only drive with the windows open. Seat is filthy and the cover is ripped.
My intention is to keep her as a work truck, not to convert to a hot rod or pretty her up to be a trailer queen. I work two jobs - as a photographer, so she'll come in handy as a photo backdrop (though not as iconic as a rusted out '50's truck) and also I make custom props and sets for theater, so she'll be hauling materials and delivering finished props.
Why did I join?
Looking for resources to help me navigate the truck owing experience. What jobs can I do myself - as a carpenter I'm pretty handy, but I'm not a mechanic. What sources of parts and spares are reliable and what are junk. I read a whole section on replacing or covering the dash, and got very confused with which of the several suppliers of after market dash covers were good to do business with.
Looking for community - I'm out east from Seattle in the PNW.
What's next? Get that steering looked at ... safety first, right? Then the cab interior has to be next: window and door seals, strip and recover the bench seat, clean or replace the flooring, do something with the dash. Then, hopefully before the winter, get a grinder to the rust spots, primer and a couple coats of rattle can to stop them getting any worse. Considerations like installing a radio, maybe getting the original guages working or replaced, can easily wait.
Anyways - glad to be here, looking forward to getting to know all y'all.
Riona
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