'71 Chevy C20 Blue

[Davids71C20]

I just wanted to say hello. My name is David and I'm 24. Want to start posting my project on here. I've already done some things to the truck, which I will post pics of that.

Let me introduce the truck.

1971 Chevy C20 3/4 ton long bed (8ft) 2wd basic-1 model CS20934.
Engine - 250 inline 6 numbers matching
Trans - 3 speed manual on the column (three on the tree)
Differential - 10 Bolt, 5200 lbs capacity (H052?) full floating axle. I'm unsure of the ratio and/or if its a positrac. It's definitely not a Dana.

With the truck came the original sales receipt from Whiteman Chevrolet in Glens Falls, NY. The truck's tailgate still has the dealer decal on it. It was sold Feb 10, 1971 and paid for on Feb 18 by check for $3025. Added optional accessories were Flare Kit, Camper Cap, Step/Toe Bumper and there's another code below all that MV50 H497815. Not sure what that is.
It was manufactured in Tarrytown, NY. It was purchased by a man from Ninilchik, Alaska. I have it in North Pole, Alaska.

With the receipt, the truck also has the dealer Warranty booklet and plate and a brochure about the new front disc brakes that had become standard that year. It also has 3 copies of the build sheet.

I purchased separately a reprint owner's manual and shop service manual.

Here is what it looked like when I bought it.




And then after a lot of shoveling


Home in the garage. Probably the first time it was indoors in a decade.


That wonderful 250 L6


I hope you all enjoyed my post and enjoy the posts to come.

[daves72C10D]

Welcome. I did enjoy the first post. Looks like you will have a good truck to start with.

[Davids71C20]

Thanks Dave. That is a nice '72 C10 you have. I'm not sure if my miles are original or if its turned over. Probably turned over. My plans for the truck is to restore it original. If it didn't have all the paperwork I have for it, I'd probably get creative and customize it. I love original but I also love a good custom.

Oh I forgot, the truck doesn't have power steering. Has a manual steering gear. Lots of fun to steer when it's cold out. Up in the Fairbanks area, it's -45 degrees today. But I'm not driving it right now, I'm currently rebuilding the Monojet carburetor which was flooding on me. Not sure if it was the float or the needle and seat but both are getting replaced.

[Davids71C20]

Here are some more pics of the truck after I bought it. Cleaned the tree sap off the paint on the cab and tried to brighten it with some rubbing compound. I forgot to put the wiper arms back on before taking these pics.

Feb 14,2012









The windshield was pretty bad and definitely not road legal.




Dealer decal just above the gate latch.


Disc brake decal


More pics coming.

Enjoy

[Davids71C20]

Here's some pics of what I have in store for me. This is also after I scrubbed the rest of the truck off. When I got the truck the exhaust was leaking really bad so it was loud. I got a manifold from a friend that had some parts from an old '66 chevy 292. I only had 3 original hub caps at the time.

May 6, 2012



Has the original radio filler plate















The right bed corner has seen better days



Looks much better without all that tree sap

[Davids71C20]

May 28, 2012

I took the heater/vent system out and apart and took the rust off the repainted all of it. I should have painted the heater box too but oh well, another time. Also cleaned all the mice nest out of the heater system.

I also pull that gouge/dent in the right side of the grille out and then took it off and repainted the lines around the grille.











On the truck. Also has 4 hubcaps now.







Refurbished outer heater box

[Davids71C20]

The carburetor is finished and back in the truck. I just need to tweak the idle and mixture screws.

[RRC]

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[RRC]

Love the snow!!!!
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[Davids71C20]

I think we got more this year. Hopefully we got enough to keep the fires out this summer.

[Davids71C20]

So I took the engine out to rebuild it and the shop found a crack. I've been told that you can weld cracks but I guess this shop doesn't do that and didn't mention it as an option. So I decided to find an old beat up truck with a 350 for a swap. So far I've pulled the engine, cleaned and painted it along with my bellhousing and covers. I decided not to paint the transmission yet. I'll do that when/if I rebuild it. I just want the truck running.

My donor truck is a 1981 C10 305orig/350crate with a Turbo350 2wd. The truck originally had a 305 in it but the PO put a 350 crate motor in it. I checked the casting number. It still has the 305 intake, carb (2bbl), and Air cleaner. For now I'm just going to leave all that on it and see how my gas mileage goes. I'm working on getting everything I need for a Quadrajet upgrade though. I have the throttle cable and bracket so far.

I'm keeping the 3-spd Saginaw. The 71 is also getting the Power Steering from the 81 c10 since my manual steering box has play issues.

I've read a lot about this swap and there is a lot of info out there. I'll be posting a list of things that I had to do for this swap.





Partially painted motor. Still need to paint the valve covers and intake manifold.

[Davids71C20]

So I decided to go quadrajet. Found a non-EGR intake manifold at the graveyard off of a '75 gmc. Had it cleaned off and then I put some paint on it. Unfortunately after I got this all together and coolant filled, I found a crack/leak . I do still have an EGR intake manifold off of an '85 gmc from which I also got the carb.

Not sure if I want to setup the EGR, I read it helps gas mileage and then I read it's bad for it. Who do I listen to? And I'm pretty sure I would have to modify my fuel tank to hook up the vapor canister. I would have to put a hole in and braze a fitting onto it for the canister vent.

Anyway here are some pics.

Last pics are of my two crossmembers. If you get the stock V8 engine mounting towers instead of keeping the inline 6 mounts, this will move your block and trans forward about 3 inches and you will need a deferent crossmember. The rusty one is the L6 and the painted one is for V8. Notice the dip on the L6.

[Davids71C20]

These pics also show the long water pump setup that was on there from the 1981 c10. I have since switched to the short pump setup. More original and I didn't have to rewire/relocate the alternator wires. I had enough to do with the distributor wire change from the resistor wire. But mostly because I really like to have original equipment. Yeah, I'm one of those guys...

Once I'm all done, I want to put a good list of all the changes I did on this swap. Every build is different depending upon where you're going with it but a good total list of what's involved would've really helped me decide whether to just rebuild another inline 6 block and stick with what I'm setup for vs. changing to a V8.

Granted, I have learned SO much during this swap that I'm kind of glad I am swapping to the V8.