1997 GMC K1500 - "White Prince"

[Nathaniel2g]

Hey guys,

Long time no post - basically had quite the run around with trucks and cars over the last year and finally got back into a GMT400 as a daily driver. Figured I should give you guys an update first; my original GMT400 that I had a thread about, the 1996 GMC K1500, is sold. I bought the truck for $1800 CAD and sold it for $3500 CAD, so no harm done there. I never ended up doing any body work to it. After that came the old farm truck, a 1985 Chevy C10, RCLB. Had a 350 with cam, long tube headers, tuned Q-jet and a TH350. Truck was quick and loud, plus a lot of fun, but way too much work and not a reliable truck for the winter. So that truck went out the door on trade for a 1997 Chev K1500, ECSB, 6.5TD. The 6.5TD was a bit of a turd, had a ton of little issues that I got around to fixing - stupid **** like inner and outer door handles on both sides, hood release latch, etc. Had a boost issue and found that it was converted to a manual waste gate and that spring pressure was off. A bit of tinkering and it was fixed; until I decided to do a massive burnout and blow the rear-end. In goes a new 14b SF and 100m later the forward apply clutch went in the 4l80E, so I gave up. Sold the truck as parts for $400 CAD.

So here I am now. I bought a 1997 GMC K1500, ECSB, 5.7l Vortec and 4L60E combo with 456000KM (now 480000KM). It's a heavy half with a 14b SF rear end and an upgraded leaf spring pack. Kind of an odd ball truck - factory Z71, factory SF, but no G80 locker. Truck is full load minus leather - but does have 7-way power driver's seat. I've had the truck for half a year now and it's been through hell and back. The list of things done is extensive and expensive, LOL. I don't have any pictures right yet but I'll have to get some organised here soon. Here's the list of work done:

1. Brand new Cooper Discoverer A/T3s, 285/75R16 on factory GMC denali wheels.
2. New outer tie-rods and adjusting sleeves on both sides.
3. New power steering pump and high pressure power steering line.
4. New front wheel bearings on both sides.
5. New lower ball-joint on the driver side.
6. New K&N cone filter (had a CAI from previous owner).
7. New oil cooler feed and return lines.
8. New trans cooler feed line.
9. Used 14b SF w/ G80 locker, sandblasted, painting, all new rear brakes and lines (not installed yet).
10. New front pads & rotors.
11. Fresh transmission service.
12. Fresh coolant flush/service.
13. Used 350 Vortec w/ 165k KM (spun a main bearing in mine).
14. Used GMC grille, painted to match w/ grille inserts, blacked out GMC & corner lights.
15. New Anzo headlights and LED signal lights.
16. New smoothie front bumper (not installed yet).
17. Gently used DeeZee truck bed box.

And that's about it off the top of my head. There's been so many various and little things that I can't remember it all. Stay tuned for pictures!

 

[Nathaniel2g]

I'm such a slacker, haven't put up a single picture yet. LED flasher and LED reverse bulbs are here. What a difference it makes when backing up.. In other big news, the Black Bear Performance tune is finally here. Installed it last night and wow. All around makes the truck feel totally different while driving. No more roughish idle, tons of power. The truck will float along at 110kmh at 1800RPM and doesn't even downshift while holding speed and going up hill. From a stop light or slow roll the power picks up almost immediately and the truck launches great. I used to have to give it 3/4 throttle to leave the line and keep up with smaller vehicles getting to speed. Now it has some get up and go, at about 1/3 throttle it'll scoot right along.

Overall very happy. I request a performance tune, 91 octane, 3.73 rear end with larger tires tune in. Rear oxygen sensor/cat delete, 3" exhaust and CAI in the tune.

 

[Nathaniel2g]

Still no pictures (my bad), but I did order a transmission temperature gauge and single pillar pod for the truck. Autometer parts, ordered from Rockauto which should get here next week. On top of that I ordered an entry level audio system for the truck. It already has a Pioneer/Alpine head unit (forgot which) so I have Rockford Fosgate door speakers (R1525x2), rear pillar speakers (R14x2) and sub (R2D4-12) on the way. There's a dual 12in sub box under my back seat, but I'm going to run a single 12" with the other side blocked off until I can afford a better amp. With the single sub setup I'm going to run a Kenwood KAC-5207.

 

[Nathaniel2g]

So I lied, again. Changed the audio system to be a little bit better. The sub box only has 10" ports so I needed to purchase a new sub anyway, so I just bit the bullet and got a better amp and dual subs. There's a Clareon amp and 2 Clareon 300W RMS (1k peak watt) 10" subs going in next Tuesday.

Besides that, I bought a $200 winter beater. It's an 02 Toyota Corolla, L4 base model automatic. No power anything and it only needs tires for my local inspection.

 

[Nathaniel2g]

Trying to figure out how to upload photos to Imgur from my phone. Not working out too well right now. Also, scratch the winter beater. Car needs more work than I originally thought. It's only a 98 as well.

Besides that, car is at the audio shop getting 4 speakers, subs and amp.