The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network - View Single Post

JohnIL · 10-03-2022, 10:02 PM

Locking Door Handles
Because this is base-model truck, there was only one door lock (on the driver door). The passenger door could only be locked from the inside. The key for the driver door lock was long gone. I suspect the ignition switch was replaced at some point and because these trucks only had one key (for both the ignition and the doors), the original key went in the trash with old ignition switch. And, the original door handles were pitted anyway. So, I fixed all of these problems with new set of matching locking door handles from LMC. Now the truck can be locked up and safe from curious hands.

Sun Visors
More base-model cheapness. The truck only came with one sun visor on the driver side (nothing at all on the passenger side) and the original sun visor was unupholstered. It was basically just a chuck of pressboard on a swivel. So, I ordered up a new set of tan (to go with the intended future interior color) sun visors and a passenger side sun visor bracket. It was pretty nerve racking to drill a giant hole in the inner roof panel for the bracket, but the new sun visors are a vast improvement.

Arm Rests
The cheap original owner didn't bother to spring for armrests on the interior door panels. That's actually OK by me because the original optional arm rest were pretty crappy anyway. They were plain black plastic. I opted for 1957-1959 style arm rests from LMC. I went with brown vinyl. They look pretty lousy right now with the burgundy interior paint, but they'll fit in nicely with the future tan/brown interior.

10-03-2022, 10:02 PM	#7
JohnIL Registered User Join Date: Aug 2022 Location: Central Illinois Posts: 112	Locking Door Handles, Sun Visors, and Arm Rests Locking Door Handles Because this is base-model truck, there was only one door lock (on the driver door). The passenger door could only be locked from the inside. The key for the driver door lock was long gone. I suspect the ignition switch was replaced at some point and because these trucks only had one key (for both the ignition and the doors), the original key went in the trash with old ignition switch. And, the original door handles were pitted anyway. So, I fixed all of these problems with new set of matching locking door handles from LMC. Now the truck can be locked up and safe from curious hands. Sun Visors More base-model cheapness. The truck only came with one sun visor on the driver side (nothing at all on the passenger side) and the original sun visor was unupholstered. It was basically just a chuck of pressboard on a swivel. So, I ordered up a new set of tan (to go with the intended future interior color) sun visors and a passenger side sun visor bracket. It was pretty nerve racking to drill a giant hole in the inner roof panel for the bracket, but the new sun visors are a vast improvement. Arm Rests The cheap original owner didn't bother to spring for armrests on the interior door panels. That's actually OK by me because the original optional arm rest were pretty crappy anyway. They were plain black plastic. I opted for 1957-1959 style arm rests from LMC. I went with brown vinyl. They look pretty lousy right now with the burgundy interior paint, but they'll fit in nicely with the future tan/brown interior.