1980 C10 Owner

[Confused]

Welcome from North Cackalacky.

Shore up all the maintenance and get her safe to drive first. The rest is what you want it to be and how much to spend.

 

[AlabamaDan]

Welcome from North Cackalacky.

Shore up all the maintenance and get her safe to drive first. The rest is what you want it to be and how much to spend.

That's exactly my plan.

 

[Ricko1966]

Are you losing brake fluid? Was the master dry when you got the truck? Just wondering if your front to rear brake line has rusted out,it's a common problem

 

[AlabamaDan]

Alright! Got the brakes working and she's roadworthy - sorta. After replacing the master cylinder, I ended up bleeding the brakes alone using the tube into a jar trick. It also allowed me to flush out about a pint of dirty and nasty stuff. I just kept pumping until the fluid coming out was clear or clearer anyway.

I took her for a drive to the gas station to fill her up and then across the street to the car wash. Much better. Now, I said "sorta" roadworthy. On the way home I noticed the front headlights were crap and the dash lights worked for a second and then nothing...

So, I replaced bought some new Sylvania Sealed Bulbs and changed them out. Who in the world decided that four of the six screws holding the bezel on would be torx head and the other two should be an alan head!!!! Was it like this from the factory? So frustrating. And, I think the alan head is metric! Finally got the new headlights installed.

Now, the dash lights... they were working a little and then went out. Wouldn't this be the dimmer switch probably?

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

Alright! Got the brakes working and she's roadworthy - sorta. After replacing the master cylinder, I ended up bleeding the brakes alone using the tube into a jar trick. It also allowed me to flush out about a pint of dirty and nasty stuff. I just kept pumping until the fluid coming out was clear or clearer anyway.

I took her for a drive to the gas station to fill her up and then across the street to the car wash. Much better. Now, I said "sorta" roadworthy. On the way home I noticed the front headlights were crap and the dash lights worked for a second and then nothing...

So, I replaced bought some new Sylvania Sealed Bulbs and changed them out. Who in the world decided that four of the six screws holding the bezel on would be torx head and the other two should be an alan head!!!! Was it like this from the factory? So frustrating. And, I think the alan head is metric! Finally got the new headlights installed.

Now, the dash lights... they were working a little and then went out. Wouldn't this be the dimmer switch probably?

Yes I remember, we had a '79 rental pickup for a few months in summer of '79, for our parts store. We had to replace one of the headlights and that's when we discovered that had changed. IIRC the headlight bezel is a torx T15 and the stainless steel retaining ring on the sealed beams is still Phillips head #2 or #1. The '81 s changed it even more, because you had to pop the hood to remove two of the headlight bezel retaining screws. That Sierra had the big #6052 square sealed beams with the flat face; that get cracks just looking at em funny. So I swapped a few of em out ....
We backdated the '79 Burb to the '73-'78 bezels; Dad wanted to make it into a '77 spec truck as it was not stock when we got it.

 

[AlabamaDan]

Are you losing brake fluid? Was the master dry when you got the truck? Just wondering if your front to rear brake line has rusted out,it's a common problem

The MC was leaking. I replaced it.