Project Blue Truck: '83 C20 - Rolling Chassis

[FrostBite]

I bought this '83 C20 while I was home from school during Christmas break in 2009 and drove it around my family's farm for a bit until the carb started leaking, so I tore it down and have been collecting parts and tinkering with it ever since then. I graduated from college on the 14th, so now that I'm back home, I should be able to move more quickly on it.

Since I just drove around the farm, and got tired of pulling the truck out with the backhoe, the first modification was a set of tractor tires for the back.

I started the tear down in the field beside my house, and wound up leaving the cab there for about 8 months while I worked on stripping the frame and cab down during my visits back home. This may have lead to the cab being in the shape it is in now rotwise.

Then during spring break of this year, I put the cab back on the frame and moved the whole shebang over to my grandpa's (he passed away 2 years ago) truck shelter, which is right down the road from my house.

Concrete & roof >>> Field beside my house

With the truck set up in its new home, I stripped all of the suspension off of the frame and chopped out the rockers. They were in pretty rough shape, which probably resulted from existing rust advancing after I left the cab in the field.

And this is all of the dirt and crud, including a plastic spoon and a baby rattle, that came of the rockers.

The sliders are 2 x 6 x 3/16 tubing and will be mounted 16" from the outside and 1.75" from the top of the frame.

The mounts are made from the same tube and will also serve as the body mounts. The bottom will be boxed in and drilled/tapped to hold the skid plate.

Preview of what the finished product should look like.

Once I get the sliders in I will use patch panels to bring the missing sheet metal back down to them around the doors. The rest of the floor is going to get cut out and replaced with a 1x1 tube/sheet combo.

 

[FrostBite]

Parts collection began shortly after the initial purchase with a 2WD SM465

Then I had a Ford divorced 203 rangebox shipped to my from California.

I've got 2 Ford 205s and a GM 203, so all I lack now is a short shaft 400 205 to make my Doubler.

I've got several other things that aren't really picture worthy, like a 88-91 hydraulic bellhousing and some 12 bolt H1 wheels.

My most recent acquisition is a 8.1L I picked up for $650. I was planning on using a 6.0, but this was cheaper, and it's an 8.1L

My only other purchase is a set of rockwells and some Boggers of the 44" variety.

 

[y5mgisi]

Oh my lordy! This thread got good fast! Looking forward to more! Are you keeping the fuel injection on the 8.1L?

 

[FrostBite]

Thanks!

The plan for the 496 is to use a harness from Howell Engine Development; they claim over 400 HP and 550 ft/lbs using one of their tunes, but I've never seen dyno sheets to prove it. The 8.1 was used by Mercury and they claim 420 HP, but I'm not sure what, if any, internal differences there are between the boat and truck motors.

The reason the motor was so cheap was because it didn't have a harness, AC compressor, power steering pump, or alternator, which all worked out great since I was going to have to heavily rework the stock harness or buy a new one anyway, will probably be running a different PS pump for hydraulic steering, can get an alternator cheap, and won't have AC.

 

[Nazarethk5]

awesome

 

[gotblazers]

country done came to town . Whats the trucks final intended purpose?

 

[ryoken]

Thanks!

The plan for the 496 is to use a harness from Howell Engine Development; they claim over 400 HP and 550 ft/lbs using one of their tunes, but I've never seen dyno sheets to prove it. The 8.1 was used by Mercury and they claim 420 HP, but I'm not sure what, if any, internal differences there are between the boat and truck motors.

The reason the motor was so cheap was because it didn't have a harness, AC compressor, power steering pump, or alternator, which all worked out great since I was going to have to heavily rework the stock harness or buy a new one anyway, will probably be running a different PS pump for hydraulic steering, can get an alternator cheap, and won't have AC.

gotta love CC's...

the Merc motors difference is the cam... and obviously the intake, ECM and exhaust are different.. all factoring into the power equation....

the 420 version is a steel crank too.. not that that's adding any power, but it's still cool....

 

[jekquistk5]

Nice!!! subscribed!!

 

[76zimmer]

frostbite in GA????
Looks alot like NC also, but I see your in SE GA.
The pines and sandy soil look alot like FT. Bragg, NC

Anyhow, truck is looking like you have a good plan, and execution is coming quick with it. You have a ft axle yet?

Keep the pics coming, we like pics here!

 

[FrostBite]

country done came to town . Whats the trucks final intended purpose?

It will basically be a trail truck to cruise the woods in and just ride around in. I'm planning on running Rockwells with the front linked and the rear on 64" leaves with a beefy antiwrap bar. Then later on down the road I will link the back and swap out the rear axle for another front so that I can have rear steer and not need 6 acres to turn the truck around. It probably won't see too terribly much street time, especially considering that Georgia's suspension laws state no more than 2" +/- stock height. Although the white truck you see in the pictures is lifted 8" and I have never been pulled over for it.

gotta love CC's...

the Merc motors difference is the cam... and obviously the intake, ECM and exhaust are different.. all factoring into the power equation....

the 420 version is a steel crank too.. not that that's adding any power, but it's still cool....

Thanks for the info. I never thought to ask you, even though you are the resident boat man. I've been reading your build thread since I registered on the site.

frostbite in GA????
Looks alot like NC also, but I see your in SE GA.
The pines and sandy soil look alot like FT. Bragg, NC

Anyhow, truck is looking like you have a good plan, and execution is coming quick with it. You have a ft axle yet?

Keep the pics coming, we like pics here!

The screen name is from when I registered on my first forum way back when and was in reference to the white Z71 in the above pictures. I just stuck with it to make logging in to all the forums I visit easier.

I'm down on the coastal plain, so all that we have is sand and pinetrees. If global warming would hurry up and melt those ice caps I could have some beach front property.

And as far as axles, I am still looking for both of them. The 14 bolt is for sale since I am planning on running Rockwells.

And no pictures today, all I did was haul off some scrap from the truck and finish up the driver's side front slider mount.

 

[magik235]

Nice build. I will be following it.

 

[FrostBite]

The slider is just sitting on the mounts so that I can figure out how I want to do the rear mount since there seems to be 19 rivets per side holding the rear most body mount on and the top of the frame is 5 1/4" higher there than under the front of the cab.

All my time with the grinder and a flap wheel did pay off though as the slider is perfectly level.

Now, the following pictures are rust spots that worry me; they are above all 4 of the doors.

Pass rear.

Pass Front

Driver front

Driver rear

Would I be better off to find a better cab or are those holes repairable? And on the topic of fixing sheetmetal, I need to order the new rockers to affix the cab to the slider. Would THIS be my best bet, or do better alternatives exist? Also the bottoms of the B pillars are pretty chewed up, are there patch panels made for that area? TIA.

 

[jekquistk5]

everything is repairable, its just do you want to spend the time and money thats about it. Odds of finding a six pack though are limited.

 

[rfda_454]

Wow it is amazing to see the shape of cabs in some places.
i pulled a 91 CC out of a junk yard that had been sitting for 5 years n it had NO Rust! Just the climate i guess n the fact that they dont use that much salt on the roads here

 

[y5mgisi]

Depends on how readily available another cab is. If you can get a rust free cab for $500 or less, then in my opinion it would not be worth it to fix yours. If finding a rust free cab in your area is next to impossible, then it would be best to repair. Also really depends on if you have more time, or more money. Got more time then money, fix it. Got more money then time, buy a new cab.

 

[ryoken]

you can prolong it, but it is inevitable... rust up high in these trucks is bad juju, mainly due to the double paneling and abundance of seams... rusted seams are the deathnail of a vehicle..

if you want to attempt to save it, plan on pretty extensive surgery, an abundance of sandblasting and ALL custom patch panels... you could get 10, 12 yrs if the effort was made, but eventually it'll start coming back due to the seams...

 

[FrostBite]

Thanks for all the replies; the humidity here is what kills things. Everything is constantly covered with moisture so it is just inevitable I guess. Many trucks of this vintage don't have any bed floor or floorboards left at all. It is especially odd since the doors, fenders, hood, bed/tailgate, or frame don't really have any rust, but the cab is eat up with it. That's my luck; the main reason I bought the truck (the cab) is the worst part of it. I know where another cab is that seems to be in better shape, so I will call and see what they want for it.

 

[FrostBite]

I found a cab for $250 so I'm going to go check that out and see what kind of shape it is in. I already bought new rocker panels and rear cab corners, and that was $110, so hopefully the new cab is in good shape and I can just return the patch panels.

 

[ccarley]

I can't wait to see it sitting on Rockwells

Clay

 

[Chevy305]

i would love to see more of this build