C20 New to Me
 

Well I started out looking for a '67-'72 then I stumbled across this listed in the "Trucks For Sale" section of this forum.

1979 C20 Longbed
454 / Auto
Mostly Original Paint
Runs and Drives nice.
Needs a couple of odds and ends but nothing too drastic.

Interestingly enough, I had this same color combo (in and out) on my 1979 Blazer.

I'd like to find out the history of this truck.
I bought it from a forum member in WV who bought it from another forum member in OR.
Unfortunately he does not remember the guy's name.

Does anyone know the prior owner of this truck?
Thanks

Re: C20 New to Me
 

don't know em.... but you got a nice truck...

Re: C20 New to Me
 

Have you got the truck yet? It is a good looking truck

Re: C20 New to Me
 

@mongocanfly: Thanks

@Joesjunk: Yes, this morning.Thanks

Re: C20 New to Me
 

I've been doing some work to my new acquisition.
I'm also still looking for the prior owner in OR.
First I wanted to tidy up under the hood a little.
I got rid of the chrome air cleaner and breather cap and put back the original air cleaner.
The engine now vents through the air cleaner.
(I took the before pictures after I already installed the heat riser tube.)
I stumbled across a factory fresh air intake tube on Craigslist for $10, so I put that on.
I also removed the unnecessary and ugly heat shielding from the fuel lines.
Unfortunately, I need to leave the fuel regulator because the PO put on an Edelbrock carb and it does not like too much fuel.
I'll find something less conspicuous later.
Here are before and after pictures.

Re: C20 New to Me
 

I also added a semi-old school snap tonneau cover.
The snaps are on a rail that clamps to the bed so no drilling.
I then gave the truck back its original "Camper Mirrors"; fitting as it is a Camper Special.
I threw in a 1/2" thick rubber bed mat.
Lastly, the truck came with 2 brand new tires on the front and 2 really bad ones on the rear.
I bought and installed the exact same new tires for the rear.
Here are some pics:

Re: C20 New to Me
 

Truck and engine compartment look great! Nice attention to detail.

Re: C20 New to Me
 

Nice

Re: C20 New to Me
 

Looks great, I don't like that Chrome air cleaner either. Glad you fixed it back to stock.

Are you going to get rid of that edelbrock, the FPR, and get back to a quadrajet with stock fuel lines. That will make it look even better.

Nice work and looking forward to the updates.

Re: C20 New to Me
 

The truck looks great, I like the camper mirrors too

Re: C20 New to Me
 

Thanks guys.
I really dig the stock look on all my cars/trucks.

@Wwes: I'm not sure what I'm going to do about the carb at this point.
While not factory, it really runs great.
But, I know that not having the original will most likely drive me nuts.

I'm looking forward to spring and warm weather so I can detail the engine compartment.

@Joesjunk: The camper mirrors were a lucky find. $25 each at a junk yard.

I also got a spare tire holder and spare rim/tire which I will be working on this week (time permitting).

I'm also waiting on a rebuilt factory AM/FM radio with a hidden AUX plug under the dash.

Stay Tuned....................

Re: C20 New to Me
 

and would that rim have come from beautiful down town Line Lexington by chance?

Re: C20 New to Me
 

Nice work and a nice truck.

Re: C20 New to Me
 

@GM72K10: Yes, it did!
Thanks Gerry!

Re: C20 New to Me
 

Cool, nice truck!

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Trial fit the spare under the truck this morning.
I mounted the tire on the wheel by hand but did not put air in it yet as I have no valve, so it's a little loose and too close to the exhaust.
I just wanted to make sure it fit with the after market hitch.
It does, perfectly.

Re: C20 New to Me
 

I had a little time today so I installed my newly acquired jack and associated stuff.
Fortunately, the patina matched my trucks patina.
Looks like it's been there all along.
Before & After Shots are below.
I also put a valve in the spare, inflated it and mounted it again.

Re: C20 New to Me
 

Glad that truck is working out for you. I like it

Re: C20 New to Me
 

Thanks Joe.
I am having fun with it.
Plus, it's very useful when I need it.

Re: C20 New to Me
 

I finished installing my "new" radio tonight.
I was lucky and found the 3 factory wires neatly cut and taped off behind the dash.
This will hopefully be my only one of two deviations from the way this truck came from the factory.
This truck originally came with an AM radio with a single speaker in the dash.
I installed a refurbished AM/FM factory radio.
I put two 3.5" speakers in the original dash 4"x10" speaker hole and 2 small box speaker behind the seat.
The box speakers fit perfectly in the rear cardboard tray with no drilling or screws.
The guy who refurbished the radio also installed an 1/4" AUX plug for connecting my phone, MP3 or whatever.
I ran that to the glove compartment.
He also provided all 3 factory connectors and an original bracket so everything is done right.
If anyone in interested in a rebuilt radio the guy that did mine is a great resource.
His name is Frank and I found him on eBay; his user name is "arctic63".
Sounds great!

Re: C20 New to Me
 

I also swapped out the ugly plastic wipers for something more correct.

Re: C20 New to Me
 

Hey! Nice tuck! Love this paint combo on squares. Like how you’re getting all the odds and ends to make it look even more original. Looks great.

Re: C20 New to Me
 

:agree:

Nice looking truck and really like that color combo

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I love the attention to detail

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Not sure, but I think that is a 1/2 ton jack. I have the same one for my 83 C20 since my C20 jack froze up. I think it will lift your truck fine but if you have it loaded to max cap then maybe not. I carry a bottle jack behind the seat anyway.

Re: C20 New to Me
 

@tucsonjwt:
The guy I bought it from said it came out of a C20 but who knows.
It will never be used.
Hail Roadside Assistance!:metal:

Re: C20 New to Me
 

Today I decided to try and address the sagging headliner.
The first picture is how the PO decided to deal with it; not great.
I removed the headliner and found a nice clean metal roof.
The factory vinyl peeled off in 1 piece and I plan to reuse it as it is in great condition.
The fiberboard is also in excellent condition with the exception of the area near the drivers visor hole.
I'll fix that with something before I re-glue the vinyl.
Now I need to figure out how to effectively re-glue the vinyl to the fiberboard without the glue seeping through the perforations in the vinyl.
Stay tuned......

Re: C20 New to Me
 

Really nice truck, and it's a pleasant surprise to see it being fixed to original.

When I saw the post about the radio and the uncut dash I started to cringe at the thought of it being cut, but was really happy to scroll down and see a stock radio go back in. :c2:

I'm going the stock radio route in mine as well since the dash isn't cut. I had a flashy new DIN head unit in a different truck (PO cut the dash) and it just seems really out of place.

Re: C20 New to Me
 

@Pyrotechnic:
Thanks, I'm all about original.
I can appreciate mods others do, but it's just not for me.

I did a little more work on the headliner this afternoon.
First Picture Below:
I brushed off what I think is the remains of the foam and glue from the fiberboard with a coarse rag.
Second Picture Below: (Back of original vinyl headliner.)
I then removed the same remains from the vinyl by using a steamer.
Both came off very easily.
I now feel the surfaces are clean enough to re-glue.
My buddy suggested using brush on contact cement and doing it in sections rather than all at once.
I'm going to give that a shot unless I figure out something better to use.

Re: C20 New to Me
 

I have never seen someone try to re-use that vinyl after the foam rotted. You might be able to use spray adhesive to stick the vinyl to a thin sheet of new foam.

Re: C20 New to Me
 

I've never tried, I guess we'll see soon enough.
I'm not using the spray stuff because I think it would be better to put the adhesive on a little thicker than a spray would allow.
I want the glue to catch on the fibers of the fiberboard.
It will stick to the vinyl.

Re: C20 New to Me
 

I looked into headliner re-gluing and the main concern is the ability of the adhesive to last through heat and time. Use a weak contact cement and you do a lot of work for nothing. From what I could gather, the best two contact cements are:

DAP Weldwood with a red label, available at home depot, lowes, etc. You can brush it on. This is the flammable stuff with all the good chemicals in it. Apparently the water based with the green label doesn't work as well.

DAP Weldwood Landau Top and Trim. This is industrial stuff, meant to be used in a spray gun and it's what an upholstery or convertible top shop would use. I read this was the best, but probably have to be ordered from a industrial supplier.

Either way, try a small bit of glue on a hidden spot to make sure it doesn't react badly with the vinyl.

Re: C20 New to Me
 

Since the vinyl has separated from the foam, I would think your going to regret trying to re-use that vinyl. It only takes a yard of new new headliner material, to recover the fiber board. Why don't you just get new, it will have the thin layer of foam on the back, which is what your going to need to glue it to the fiber board. There are a few places that still offer the headliner with the perforated holes.
When I did mine, I bought new material. But I also changed my interior color. I also did a friends "Ferd" headliner that was sagging. Here are a few pics of both headliners.
https://www.yourautotrim.com/auheclvifa.html

Re: C20 New to Me
 

@Pyrotechnic:
The DAP from Home Depot is what I had planned to try.
IMHO the foam is unnecessary; probably just part of the original product that GM sourced.
My fiberboard substrate is solid as a rock and the vinyl is simply vinyl.
It doesn't know that the foam ain't there.

@TKCR:
I understand your point, but I need to take a cut at using the original vinyl.
Mainly because it's the original vinyl.
Worst case I ruin it and need to buy new.

Will advise as I plan on giving it a try tomorrow.
EDIT: Actually, I won't be trying this until the warmer weather gets here. I just read the instructions and it should be 65 degrees to use the DAP.

Re: C20 New to Me
 

When I was looking at headliner material yesterday, I did see some Vinyl without the foam, so maybe it isn't needed. I would think it would make it easier to install, but I don't know how think that vinyl is.
Good luck, I hope it does work out to where you can reuse it.

Re: C20 New to Me
 

@TKCR
Thanks, me too!
It appears it's going to be a ***** to do but I hope if I take my time it will work out.
It's supposed to be in the 70s here Tuesday, so I'll give it a shot then.

Re: C20 New to Me
 

Yeah just take your time, it really isn’t that bad doing headliners. I always felt the prep work was the hardest, and you got that part out of the way already.

Re: C20 New to Me
 

Here’s another one I did 96 Civic. Even had to recover the sunshade & visors.

You might have already done this, but watch some YouTube videos on how to’s for recovering headliners.

Re: C20 New to Me
 

Ok, I've been working on the headliner on and off the last couple nights and today I reinstalled it.
I'd give myself a B- to a C+ on the job.
It is way, way better now than it was before.
Has a couple unwanted wrinkles but nothing horrible.
All and all I'm happy with the results.
FWIW: The vinyl without the foam was royal PITA to work with and if I was not hell bet on keeping the original vinyl I would not have done it.
For this application the Weldwood Red can stuff from Home Depot was horribly useless.
I ended up using a heavy duty spray adhesive that I had left over from another project.
It worked like a champ.

Re: C20 New to Me
 

I think you did pretty good. it does look way better than before. I give you a B+