What did I get myself into!!

[Yroc]

Hi everybody,

I am new to this kind of thing, not only the internet forum but also working on trucks. I was recently given my wife's uncle's 87 Chevy k20 Scottsdale after he passed away. Both my wife's mom and her uncle passed away from pancreatic cancer, so I would like to build this truck to show my wife that it is possible to take something ugly and make it beautiful again. The truck is probably better suited for the junk yard but I am willing to give it my time and extra money whenever I have it. It has been a year since the truck was last driven and when I went to check the fluids I noticed that there was no anti freeze in the system, and i dont know when there was any, is there a way to clean any rust out of the system or am I looking at a whole engine rebuild. Also the clutch only ingages when the pedal is pressed all the way to the floor, do I need a new clutch or do I just need to check the hydrolic fluid? Thanks for any help you can give. First step for me is getting the truck running and from there I will work on gussing it up. Besides the antifreeze what else should I check or replace before I wake the beast up from its slumber?


P.s. it is a 350 ci engine

 

[theblindchicken]

Welcome to GMSB. Sorry to hear about the family.

I'd flush it with new coolant, change the oil, check the condition of the trans fluid and the spark plugs and the gear oil in the diffs, and take a look at the brake fluid.

For the clutch, I haven't ever worked with a manual trans, but i'd check the fluid levels to ensure that it isn't low as well.

 

[PrairieDrifter]

For flushing the coolant system I always just fill the system up with mostly water and a little bit of antifreeze and run the truck till it gets warm, then wait for it to cool down and drain the fluid, and just keep doing it until you get clean fluid coming out. Then top her off with a strong mix and its good to go.

For getting a motor running, you should start with fluids and filters, oil change, new oil filter, fuel filter is important, and you will need to make sure there's no bad gas of course, just top off the brake fluid and power steering fluid. Be prepared to possibly have to change the fuel pump, then you can leave the other fluids like differentials and the trans for when you get it ready to drive.

Then spark and air. Spark plugs and plug wires, cap and rotor, and a fresh air filter. You should make sure your choke operates correctly also. Then after you get it running and driving decent you can gradually start replacing stuff like hoses seals and belts ect.

 

[Yroc]

Ok

Thank you for the advice, this will be a slow project I am going to be working on it with my son (he is two). But I do want to get it up and driving, it is always good to have a truck available.

 

[1973c10]

Welcome aboard

 

[Mr Clean]

from N.E.

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