Projects Overview :: Dash and Firewall
Windshield and Cowl :: Red Oak Interior

By July 2004, the truck had been with me for about five months. The exterior was just where I wanted it to be. I had the top off and was riding high with my dawgs. The interior looked good too with fresh black paint on the inner doors, nice CST-style bucket seats with little wear, good-as-new carpet and mats, and a solid rhino-lining job. As you might expect beneath the surface, or better said beneath the dash, were some problems I could not ignore.

RUST: A lot of rust on the backside of the Dash, on the Firewall, on the Brake Assemblies, and as I would discover in the Windshield Frame
PAINT: A mixture of brown primer, green laquer, black laquer, and rhino liner overspray on the Dash and Firewall
DRY ROT: The gaskets for the Cowl Vents and Heater/Vent Boxes were all dry rot (or absent) as were the Firewall Pads and most of the Firewall Grommets
SCRATCHES: The Heater/Vent Boxes where scratched or otherwise varied in their shade of black
FIBERGLASS: Portions of the Dash were it connected to the Windshield and Cowl had rusted out and been replaced with fiberglass
CUT: The Dash had been cut for a late-model radio

Dash and Firewall project

Remove the old, cut, rusting Dash and weld in a used uncut, rust-free replacement
Remove the Windshield and derust/recondition/paint the inner and outer Windshield Frame
Clean and paint inside the Cowl
Strip and rubberize the Firewall
Clean and paint the Heater and Vent Boxes
Recondition the Heater/AC Control including replacing the broken top Lever and adding the Cables, Wiring, and Switches used to control the heat level, the directional venting, and the fan speed
Replace all Rubber Grommets on the Firwall, Foam Gaskets for the Heater/Vent Boxes and Cowl Vent Doors, and Firewall Pads
Derust, primer, and paint the Main Brake, Parking Brake, and Throttle Assemblies
See all the pics from the Dash and Firewall project

Red Oak Trim Upgrade project

Move the Manual Choke from the lower-dash near the driver's left knee to right side of the Gauge Cluster just below the Wiper/Washer Knob
Replace the Interior's woodgrain "stickered" features with real red oak including the gauge cluster, radio and ashtray appliques, glove box, and doors inserts
See all the pics from the Red Oak Trim Upgrade project

The dash, as purchased, cut to hold a CD player and sporting woodgrain decals

Replacement dash with metallic paint, old school radio, and custom red oak trim

Relocated Choke knob below the Wiper knob, close-up of red oak's grain, texture on dash, and Delco AM Radio w/ chrome Chevrolet Bowtie bezel

Sterio Display and Upgrade project

Replace the CD player in the center dash with a Delco push button AM Radio branded with Chevrolet chrome bezel
Move the CD player into the glove box were the Audio/Visual can grow!

Door Update project

Replace all the rubber and felt for the door windows and vent windows
Replace pitted chrome handles and polish all other door chrome
Replace the rusted door hinges with powder coated replacements
Replace the door catches with chromed replacements

Tow Package and Wiring project

Bumpers and Winch project

Planning to make some changes (structural reinforcement and diamond plate surfaces) to this Warn winch bumper when I have some extra cash for the materials and more importantly a monster Warn winch

Mounted BBQ Smoker
1½ Ton Military Trailer

This trailer is huge! It's great for hauling stuff to the dump or body shop, or people in a parade. I plan to build a removable smoker big enough to smoke an whole hog.

Door Replacement project

These are some very solid 1972 doors that came with the Cheyenne Super C20. Many people don't know that the door was slightly different in 1972 than in 1967-1971. Go to Jim Carter' site http://www.oldchevytrucks.com/ click Tech Articles and look for the "1972 Door" under the 1967-72 column. My plan is to rubberize the inside of these doors, use all the attached hardware from the current Blazer doors, cut the window frame to Blazer dimensions, and install some custom speaker boxes in the lower door.

Longbed Trailer to match Georgia Red

For day-to-day hauling and all kinds of other fun, rebuild the longbed from the Cheyenne Super as a trailer to match Georgia Red

Remove, disassemble, degrease, depaint, derust, recondition, prime, and reassemble box and tailgate
Paint and rhinoline the box and tailgate
Separate the cab, front clip, tranny, exhaust, etc. from the rolling frame
Sandblast and cut frame
Weld towing package to frame
Powercoat frame
Install a solid axel with electric breaks
Install box on frame
Wire box for side and rear marker and brake lights to a 4 terminal connection
Install wood and chrome trim to match Georgia Red
Modify Georgia Red rear light circuit to include 4 terminal connection