71 C20 Build - Road to Reno

[COoverwatch]

Hi All,
So I have been slowly working on a 64 Riviera to take to Hot August Nights this year and finial came to the realization that I would not have her finished in time. As I was pondering the option for the trip the wife asked if the C20 that had been sitting next to the tractor would be an option. HUMMMMMM...

So I tossed in a new battery and the beast came to life. drove it down the driveway and soon realized that this just might work. Needs breaks and some clean up but it is better then eating the entry fee.

with a new spring in my step we set out to rebuild the breaks and in a day we had a new break system minus new break lines. so we threw some cinder blocks in the truck and down the drive we went. hit the breaks and we went sliding off our make shift seats. At that time my wife noticed the holes in the floor and said that those will need to be fixed if the kids were going to be in it. Also, could we do something about the dent in the fender and the color... White was to boring. "well why not. I have nothing else to do and we have 4 weeks before we leave."

another day and I had the front end disassembled and a plan to repair the holes in the floor. I was going to just do a temp patch and fix it right after the show. However, with doing a new paint job I was already stripping the truck down and didn't want to do that twice... especially with new paint.

when I bought the truck I had purchased a new fender, rocker panels, toe kick and inner floor metal. With parts in hand and the truck stripped I laid out for the cuts.... more to follow...

[COoverwatch]

Cancer has been removed and repaired. Time to start sanding. Because of time I am only going to shoot the exterior. I will come back and take care of the interior after the show.

have to see if I can salvage the Grill. was not expecting a replacement to cost $500

[COoverwatch]

bed is ready for primer and block sanding. Have a friend that is helping my out by shooting the truck while I do all the body work. bed is now off the frame and ready for transport to his shop. built the dolly a little high but not much I can do about that right now.

over the next two weeks I will be feeding him body panels and bring them back to my shop for finial assembly. 3 weeks and counting. going to have some late nights. Also, we will have to do the interior when we return from Reno.

[uxdesigner]

Good luck and great progress!

[COoverwatch]

thanks. Sanding is so much fun. Cab is just about ready for primer as well.

[COoverwatch]

sanding continues. friend that was going to help by shooting the parts as I finished the body work has been MIA. took time out to build a "booth" to start getting things into primer and paint. Good news in the new inner wheel wells and new grill came in. forgot to order new door seals and marker lights and gaskets. have them on the way.

[COoverwatch]

shot primer yesterday on the bed and tailgate. things are moving along. hood, 1 fender, and a second coat on the tailgate today. then back to sanding the cab.

[68Gold/white]

Looking Good!!!

New Color???

[COoverwatch]

Thanks.
We were going to go with a darker Blue however paint was going to run $1650ish. Wife said that was not in the budget for this vehicle unless I wanted to change the color on the Riv.

I have some Mercedes White left over from another project so it will be going back to White. We will do some graphics or pin striping when we get back. Right now I just need to get it presentable.

2 weeks to go.... better sand faster....

[68Gold/white]

If the body work is good, the paint color is not all that important, to me. Slick smooth and straight makes any color look awesome!!!

[COoverwatch]

with all the time sanding things are looking pretty straight. Just cause I am on a tight time line doesn't mean I will cut corners. (too much). Like I said.. there is some rust on the toe kicks that will have to be addressed when we return. then I can paint the interior and call it good, unless I drop the LS into it. :-

no pictures yet. color will go on today. Have to juggle parts around.

stay tuned.......

[COoverwatch]

and we have color... one run but that can be fixed. Fender and hood later today. want to give the bed and tailgate most of the day to dry before I start moving things around.

[COoverwatch]

hood, cowl, and fenders are in color now.

working on the doors and cab. hope to have them in primer Monday and paint Tuesday/Wednesday. Then to put it all pack together.....

[COoverwatch]

paint boot is now high on the must have list.... also, has anyone used or have knowledge of the 3m/Festtool sanding station? looking at this to keep the dust down in the shop.

a bit $$$$$$$...

[COoverwatch]

cab is now in primer. had to shoot two coats as I found some area's I didn't like and needed to rework a little. color should go on tomorrow...

[COoverwatch]

forgot to post these the other day. cab is now in color. have two blemishes, one on each door just above the door handle. will have to blend that and do some touch up.

Now on to putting everything back on.

[COoverwatch]

got the inner fenders and fenders on today. took awhile... the inner fenders don't fit to good. had to remove the front 3 bolts to get the fenders to fit. now I have to figure out what to do with the 1/2" gap in the front where the inner fender bolts to the radiator core support.

[Devil Pup]

Wow lots of progress in a short amount of time. Good luck on the deadline. Trucks looking good!

[allchevy58]

Looking good, I'll look for you. I have my 1958 Impala entered in Hot August Nights.

[68Gold/white]

Are the inner fenders or core support new?

[COoverwatch]

thanks all. have done nothing but work on the truck to get it ready. we were going to take the 64 Riviera, however ran into a problem with the heating and air conditioning that was going to take to much time to fix.

there is still some interior work that will need to be done and the driver side toe kick and floor will need to be taken care of. just was not enough time to do all the work before the show.

The inner fenders are both new. they were rusted out where they bent to meet the core support. figured it would be faster to get new. think I might have to cut them so the will bend and fit.. and then weld. will take a picture of the gap and post a little later today.

[COoverwatch]

here are pics of the gap between the fender well and the core support. might just see if I can run some longer bolts up there. also need to see how I can align the two middle fender to fender well attachment points. the are a little off on both sides. guess I should have ordered the inner fenders when I order the new fender AND fit it all up then!!!. have to log that one for the future.

also got new Bling for her. missing the side lights for the bed . will have to order them today and rush delivery. might order new door locks to go with the shiny new door handles..

[COoverwatch]

Also, I was surfing around while drinking my coffee and coming up with a plan for today when I cam across a post from 2015 that stands to be mentioned again....

from CooperHW - "Actually you have done exactly what we recommend new enthusiasts "NEVER DO". Probable over half (maybe 85%) of first time builders jump in the deep end like you have done and at some point after thousands of dollars and hours have been spent, realize that they no longer have the passion or determination to keep going. I HOPE this does not happen to you and your name is added to the list.
When you bought it two weeks ago it was a truck. It no longer is a truck. It is now a project or a pile of parts. Please, make this thing a truck again. Keep putting in the hours. Keep putting one foot in front of the other.
All of us that have done many restorations over the years also started with "Our First". That's where you are at. We also had to struggle with firsts. and try to avoid the "While I am at it I might as well",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
You might want to remind yourself that this is your trucks "first incarnation". Get her back on the road and being a vehicle that can once again put a smile on your face before it's too late. If it sits for any length of time without moving towards the finish line it will taunt you or haunt you. Show it who's boss."

I have two projects that have fallen into this category, the 64 Riviera and 68 Pontiac LeMans. as I was starting out on them I was just going to "fix" a few things and fell into the "While I am at it I might as well" category and got myself to a point of "what should I do first" and not having a plan they just sat.

I bring this up as the 71 almost fell into the same category. However, I had a set goal in place before I even moved the truck into the shop.
1. make sure it is safe to drive. (moves and STOPS)
2. fix the rust that has exposed the outside to the inside
3. make it all one color and pretty. leave the interior for another day.
4. have as much completed before Aug 4th for Reno. We leave Aug 5th.

For the most part I am pretty happy with the outcome given the short deadline. the wife keeps reminding me that this is not a SEMA build and that it looks 100 times better then 3 weeks ago.

SOOOO.... to all out there... come up with a plan and STICK to the plan.

[COoverwatch]

got the bed back on and leveled it out. was leaning to one side. It lost the bushings sometime in the past. to late to order them. again.. should have made a list of what I was needing.

removed the Chevy logo from the grille as I have a new one that I need to assemble. Any suggestions on what to use to clean it up... and what to use to fix the scratched blue parts?

[COoverwatch]

big progress.... had a friend stop by this morning to help get the hood on and align the panels. 1 hour later and everything is looking good. now to finish assembling the new grille, and tighten everything and we are good. Rest of the new marker lights should come in today and install the bumpers and seat and we are ready to go.