1980 Chev Ideas

[new2chevs]

I have acces to a 1980 chev 3/4 ton 4x4 for pretty much free. It has a 305 and an auto tranny. The body is shot. I am not looking for a streetable rig but i just want something that i can have fun in and not cost me alot. I was thinking i could ditch the bed, weld the 14 bolt up, remove doors, roof, rear window. I would leave the windsheild and a pillars though. Then build a cage over the cab. Maybe use the roof skin to give some protection form the elements. Any suggestions you guys could give me would be great. I am not really a chev guy, more of a dodge guy but this truck is cheap. I was also wondering what if there is any way you guys could tell what diff. gears it has. I cant get to the truck right now to look. And what t case and tranny does it have? And can i run just tractor style tires. do they come in 15", 16" or 16.5". Im not afraid to cut anything but i dont want to kill power. Any info or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[87BlazerK5]

i've always heard to ditch the 305 and get a 350 or bigger because the 305 doen't have the power. you could bore it out if you want then it would be fine. i believe your gears are 4.10s but the best way is to pop off the cover and cound the teeth on your ring and on your penion and devide the 2 and thats your gear. also a 4" lift and some cutting you could fit 38s and then you should be ready to hit the trails. thats just my thought, but i'm not an all pro so i dont know whats a good idea and whats not.

[TEX]

Sounds like your idea should work. Odds are, you have 4.10 gears, could be 3.73's. Do just like you said, strip off everything you don't want, weld the rear, slap on some better rubber, & go play.


TEX

[new2chevs]

so because its a 3/4 ton would it have a th400 and a 205? i know its a 14 bolt rear, but what would the front axle be?

[mudslinger99]

The front is a 10 bolt and the th400 and the 205 should be correct..

[new2chevs]

thanks for that info. Does anyone know about the tractor tires? what size would be best, what rims they fit, etc? thanks

[mudslinger99]

You can get tractor tires in just about any rim size depending what size you want to run..

You can search Google and it should pull up a lot of info.. If you search tractor tires here there have been a few threads with some links to places that carry them..

[Urban Wheeler]

Put an s-10 body on like WhiteKnight did, or strip it down to the firewall and floorpan and cage it.

[new2chevs]

I like your second idea better. Thats sounds good. Is there anything wrong with using square tube? I think I will use it for the intial cage over the driver ans passenger, and after i get a bender and some more experience and money i will make a full cage

[tlspeed1]

i would recommend not to use square tube for the cage ove the driver and passengers. Only thing i used square tube on for rollover protection was my head ache rack that replaced my box, but I also had an orginal cab that was solid and not rusty. Round is better and safer. Get some DOM for you main hope, and maybe some HREW for the rest. Not as cheap but safer than square