1978 Chevy Silverado

I went in today after work to register the truck for tags and whatnot.  I left work early to get to the county clerk on time which means I had to cut lunch a bit short, and I’ll have to go in extra early tomorrow to make up for it.  All for naught.  I handed the clerk the title and explained what I was there for. She told me that we had signed the title in the wrong spot.  I would have to get the other owner to sign it AGAIN approximately 2cm above where he signed it.

Let me explain a bit about TN titles.  What you have is a green sheet on which anything printed is impossible to read – but they tell me it has details about the vehicle such as VIN etc.  On the back of this sheet are four little boxes, all of which look identical.  In fact, the only difference between the box we signed in and the one that we e supposed to have signed in is an extra field that says “Make, VIN, Value of trade-in”.  Since I had no trade in (I was buying from an individual), I left that line blank.

You’d think that since that was the ONLY difference (it isn’t like there were fields on the other box that we had omitted) that they would just say “No problem” and let it on through.  But no.  Fortunately, the guy I bought it from is pretty cool and let me drive out to his place (an hour away) and re-sign.  Plus, while I was there he gave me a sweet catalog of restoration stuff.

So.  I’m set back a day.  I will have to go in extra EXTRA early tomorrow to make it to clerk.

I drove the truck over to my friend Brian’s house despite the fact that I have no plates yet (or insurance, for that matter).  He lives on the other side of town.  On the way back, I went through downtown. Stopped at a crosswalk to let a bunch of people past.  Now, there is no AC, so I had the window down of course.

I guy walking across the crosswalk looked up at my grill and nodded in approval.  Then he said “Hey man – I like your Chevy.”

Awesomeness.

I took some photos to document the current state of affairs.  I am not an expert on anything having to do with automobiles, so most of my assessments are just guesses, but I figured I would note them anyway.

In all Her glory.

So this is the truck as she sits now.  The paint job looks remarkably good in this picture for some reason, but I swear it is a lot rougher up close.  Honestly though, I’m really glad the previous owner did it.  It may not be pretty, but it probably kept some of the rust at bay.  I think his intentions were to preserve, not to really go for a show finish.

Rot on the driver side cab support.

This is the worst of it.  This is under the driver side cab – from what I read, this is THE classic spot for rust to form on an old c10.  I was not surprised to find it.  In fact, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I was afraid I would find.

Rot on the rear outside of the cab, driver side.

This is a bit of bad rot behind the driver side door.  I hadn’t seen it till I went underneath to take pictures.

Rusted doors

Both doors are like this.  No way I’m paying to fix that – it would cost more than new doors.  I’m already going to get eaten alive for the welding job on the cab support no doubt.  I’d like to minimize the amount of metal work that will need to be done.

The keys, as I recieved them.

If there was ANY doubt that this truck is a piece of Americana, here is my final proof.  These are – I swear – the keys as I received them.  I got two sets and they both have Budweiser key chains.  How cool is that?!

I am tempted to keep them on, but I’m afraid I would get pulled over someday and that keychain would garner me a sobriety test.

Next up: registration, tags, and then windshield.

There are really only a few rusty bits on the chevy (considering the age).  There is a bit of rot on the underside of the driver side floor panel.  It will have to have a repair panel welded in place.  There is also rot on the underside of both doors.  The floor panel will be done when I take it in for body work and paint.  The doors are a different matter.

The rust is not the only thing wrong with the doors.  The other major issue is that the driver side vent window has rusted out on the pivot pin.  Reaplcing that window is more expensive than buying a whole new door.  Also, both the door card look like crap.  So I plan on replacing the doors.

Fortunately for me, the door shells didn’t change on the c10 from ’77 to ’87.  That is a whooooooole lot of doors to choose from, some of which are only a little over 20 years old.  So I’m determined to find a set that is just right, and for the right price.  I’m willing to give a little on things like the door card, or what kind of mirrors they have.  I will not wiggle on the color: black.  That will save me oodles of money come paint time (and will at least have it looking reasonable in the meantime).  I also will not wiggle that the windows must be in proper working order.  Finding doors in good nick will cost me just as much as doors in ‘almost there’.  The only difference is time.

I’ve sent emails out to all the pull-a-part places in the area.  I will continue to do so every few weeks.  A set will come along – I’m figuring I will pay around $150 a door.

I bought a truck today.  Originally, I was saving my spare cash for a ’65 MGB.  But it was starting to look like it might really be a while before I snagged one, so I moved on to Plan B.

Plan B is a 1978 Chevrolet Silverado Fleetside.  It is currently painted-ish black-ish.  The paint was not professionally done, so it is more of a “faux-finish”.  Mostly bumpy.  Think “rustoleum over sandpaper”.

But the engine is nice.  By which it sounds nice (very guteral and manly) and also I have been assured by my truck expert friend that it is a solid engine.  The engine is a rebuild, and is only about 3 years old.  19k or so miles on it.  It has a lot of torque I’ve been told – but I normally drive a Corolla, so I’m not personally a good judge.   I will say that it drives nice!

I’m very glad I bought it.  I think I will enjoy this much more than the MGB in fact.

I bought it on a Saturday (7/25/2009), so the county clerk was closed.  I’ll take it in on Wednesday for registration and to pay my taxes on it (which should be about $50).

I did get a chance to get new tires.  The ones on it were dry rotted.  So I got 4 new 31″ Firestone Destinations.  They look good on it!

I’m going to make a list here for my own reference of all the things left to do on it.  This list will probably span several years, and honestly, most of it I may never do.  But I’d like to.  this is pretty much in the order in which it would need to be done.

– Front end work (tie rod and bushings)  Probably be around $700, but it needs to be done.
– New windshield
– Weld work on rot under drivers side cab
– Weld work/ Replacement of doors (they have some rot)
– Strip and paint (that will cost an arm and a leg)
– New Dash and instrument cluster

A lot to do.  And the list will no doubt grow.  But this truck reminds me of growing up for some reason.  No one in my family ever had one, but I sure remember seeing them around.  It was made the same year I was born, which is part of the reason I like it.  I like the idea of “bringing it back” from the brink as it were.

Plus, it is big.  And it sounds cool.

And it’s black.

And has shiny bits.