volunteerff21
8 Lug Hoarder
Been on here for a while and I figured I need a build thread. This is for one of my two trucks, the one that's currently running.
Well here she is. A 1994 Chevy C1500 RCLB. 4.3L, 4L60E, 10 bolt rear w/3.42 gears. Not sure on the mileage because I had to swap out the original cluster. But it's around 320,000 miles.
What's been done so far (alot).
I'm the 4th owner. Bought it off of my dad. When he owned the truck he had the transmission and rear rebuilt. Motor also lost compression in one of the cylinders so in comes the Jasper crate engine (with Vortec heads!). He also installed the diamond plate bed caps.
I started driving the truck in high school. It was bone stock when I got it aside from regular maintenance stuff and the above mentioned stuff.
Here's the list of everything I did too it (sorry I don't have many pics of anything)
Rebuilt the front end suspension and steering. Unfortunately in my stupidity I cheaped out on parts and now it all has to be done again 2 years later. That will be an upcoming project.
Installed a 2" rear block, 3/4 ton coil springs, and coil spring spacers. The truck was level front to back but rode like a lumber wagon, had no suspension travel, and couldn't be aligned. So it all had to come back apart to remove the coil spacers (currently for sale by the way). So now it's lifted 2" but still has a rake from front to back.
With coil spring spacers
Without
Picked up a set of Impala cop car wheels w/tires for $100 at a garage sale. Resprayed them with Rustoleum black and polished up the center caps and beauty rings. Backspacing was just a hair too small up front. Rather than spending the money on wheel spacers, I broke out ye oldie grinder and went to down on the calipers! (Before anyone starts bashing, I ground maybe a 1/8" of material off the upper lip of the caliper, no harm done).
The tires that came on the rims had good tread. But only one of them was an A/T. The other 3 were cheap H/T that wear like iron but can't grip anything besides dry pavement. So I went down to Walmart and picked up 4 Goodyear Wrangler Radials, size 235/75/15. Mounted and balanced them myself using the high school shops equipment.
Ended up scrapping the stock rims after not being able to give the damn things away on Craigslist. And sold the old tires for $120, score!.
Got tired of not being able to see at night, so I installed a set of Walmart special driving/fog lights. Light output is good, but the mounting system is the worst I have ever seen. I keep contemplating making a better one, but I'd rather invest time and money in a better set of lights altogether.
The paint on the grill was coming off and looking awful. I wanted to paint it, but I didn't want to go back to gray. So I chose silver instead. Looks awesome IMO. Just enough difference between it and the original to make people give it a second look.
The A/C pulley had been going for some time and was beginning to make some very interesting noises. Having almost no cash at the time I simply removed the whole compressor assembly and installed a bypass pulley. I'd much rather drive with the windows down anyway.
The tailgate, like the rest of the truck, was very rusty. Rusty to the point where I didn't trust it so support any kind of weight. So off to the junkyard I went. Managed to find one in the lighter blue color. Close enough for now. One of these days I'll paint it to match.
The fender wells were also getting pretty rusty. Rather than dive into a bunch of body work I chose the easy way out, fendr flares!!! Cheap Ebay ones that don't fit worth a crap. I know it's just a band-aid but it keeps the truck looking respectable for now.
The truck came with a POS bumper hitch. After some minor persuasion with a 20lb sledge I got the sucker off and installed a full frame hitch.
Rust Carnage
New Class III hitch installed
A few other things I've done to 'er.
Replaced heater core
Replaced blower motor resistor
Replaced A/C control unit for one with working lights
Replaced all brake lines
Replaced gas tank, sending unit, and all fuel lines
Rebuilt front and rear brakes
Installed aftermarket radio w/4 new speakers
Rebuilt TB with Ultimate TBI mods stage 1
Installed TB spacer
Installed V6 flex hose (mine had the short hose and silencer box factory)
Installed K&N air filter
Painted the frame and wheel wells with Rustoleum gloss black.
Replaced exhaust from the manifolds back, new bolts and springs, no cats, stockish muffler, dumped over rear axle
Replaced ALOT of sensors. TPS, IAC, ECT (gauge and computer), O2, etc.
Replaced EGR valve
Replaced power steering pump
Replaced radiator
Replaced tensioner and pulley
4-HI Brakelights
New groundstraps
Big 3 mod
I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting.....
And of course all the regular maintenance stuff like oil changes, tune up stuff, belts, hoses, etc.
Now for the bad. She's rusty, very rusty. Rockers, cab corners, and wheel wells are all toast. I'm about a year away from having Fred Flinstone brakes lol.
Truck also has her few share of dents and dings. There's a good one in the driver's side bedside. Rear bumper also lost in a battle with a concrete barrier after hitting a patch of black ice so that'll need replaced at some point.
I'll post up some more pics of the rust and damage tomorrow.
Sorry for the long winded intro. Any questions or comments have at it!
Well here she is. A 1994 Chevy C1500 RCLB. 4.3L, 4L60E, 10 bolt rear w/3.42 gears. Not sure on the mileage because I had to swap out the original cluster. But it's around 320,000 miles.
What's been done so far (alot).
I'm the 4th owner. Bought it off of my dad. When he owned the truck he had the transmission and rear rebuilt. Motor also lost compression in one of the cylinders so in comes the Jasper crate engine (with Vortec heads!). He also installed the diamond plate bed caps.
I started driving the truck in high school. It was bone stock when I got it aside from regular maintenance stuff and the above mentioned stuff.
Here's the list of everything I did too it (sorry I don't have many pics of anything)
Rebuilt the front end suspension and steering. Unfortunately in my stupidity I cheaped out on parts and now it all has to be done again 2 years later. That will be an upcoming project.
Installed a 2" rear block, 3/4 ton coil springs, and coil spring spacers. The truck was level front to back but rode like a lumber wagon, had no suspension travel, and couldn't be aligned. So it all had to come back apart to remove the coil spacers (currently for sale by the way). So now it's lifted 2" but still has a rake from front to back.
With coil spring spacers
You must be registered for see images attach
Without
You must be registered for see images attach
Picked up a set of Impala cop car wheels w/tires for $100 at a garage sale. Resprayed them with Rustoleum black and polished up the center caps and beauty rings. Backspacing was just a hair too small up front. Rather than spending the money on wheel spacers, I broke out ye oldie grinder and went to down on the calipers! (Before anyone starts bashing, I ground maybe a 1/8" of material off the upper lip of the caliper, no harm done).
You must be registered for see images attach
The tires that came on the rims had good tread. But only one of them was an A/T. The other 3 were cheap H/T that wear like iron but can't grip anything besides dry pavement. So I went down to Walmart and picked up 4 Goodyear Wrangler Radials, size 235/75/15. Mounted and balanced them myself using the high school shops equipment.
You must be registered for see images attach
Ended up scrapping the stock rims after not being able to give the damn things away on Craigslist. And sold the old tires for $120, score!.
Got tired of not being able to see at night, so I installed a set of Walmart special driving/fog lights. Light output is good, but the mounting system is the worst I have ever seen. I keep contemplating making a better one, but I'd rather invest time and money in a better set of lights altogether.
You must be registered for see images attach
The paint on the grill was coming off and looking awful. I wanted to paint it, but I didn't want to go back to gray. So I chose silver instead. Looks awesome IMO. Just enough difference between it and the original to make people give it a second look.
You must be registered for see images attach
The A/C pulley had been going for some time and was beginning to make some very interesting noises. Having almost no cash at the time I simply removed the whole compressor assembly and installed a bypass pulley. I'd much rather drive with the windows down anyway.
The tailgate, like the rest of the truck, was very rusty. Rusty to the point where I didn't trust it so support any kind of weight. So off to the junkyard I went. Managed to find one in the lighter blue color. Close enough for now. One of these days I'll paint it to match.
You must be registered for see images attach
The fender wells were also getting pretty rusty. Rather than dive into a bunch of body work I chose the easy way out, fendr flares!!! Cheap Ebay ones that don't fit worth a crap. I know it's just a band-aid but it keeps the truck looking respectable for now.
The truck came with a POS bumper hitch. After some minor persuasion with a 20lb sledge I got the sucker off and installed a full frame hitch.
Rust Carnage
You must be registered for see images attach
New Class III hitch installed
You must be registered for see images attach
A few other things I've done to 'er.
Replaced heater core
Replaced blower motor resistor
Replaced A/C control unit for one with working lights
Replaced all brake lines
Replaced gas tank, sending unit, and all fuel lines
Rebuilt front and rear brakes
Installed aftermarket radio w/4 new speakers
Rebuilt TB with Ultimate TBI mods stage 1
Installed TB spacer
Installed V6 flex hose (mine had the short hose and silencer box factory)
Installed K&N air filter
Painted the frame and wheel wells with Rustoleum gloss black.
Replaced exhaust from the manifolds back, new bolts and springs, no cats, stockish muffler, dumped over rear axle
Replaced ALOT of sensors. TPS, IAC, ECT (gauge and computer), O2, etc.
Replaced EGR valve
Replaced power steering pump
Replaced radiator
Replaced tensioner and pulley
4-HI Brakelights
New groundstraps
Big 3 mod
I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting.....
And of course all the regular maintenance stuff like oil changes, tune up stuff, belts, hoses, etc.
Now for the bad. She's rusty, very rusty. Rockers, cab corners, and wheel wells are all toast. I'm about a year away from having Fred Flinstone brakes lol.
Truck also has her few share of dents and dings. There's a good one in the driver's side bedside. Rear bumper also lost in a battle with a concrete barrier after hitting a patch of black ice so that'll need replaced at some point.
I'll post up some more pics of the rust and damage tomorrow.
Sorry for the long winded intro. Any questions or comments have at it!
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