nineno
Newbie
Hello GMT400 friends,
I’ve been a lurker in the forums for several years (with a few posts along the way), but I figured it was time for me to come out of the shadows to share my project.
The truck is a 1989 regular cab, short bed W/T that I found on Craigslist. It was originally a 4.3L/700R4, but when I found it it didn’t have an engine or trans (as evidence by the faux-lift in the first picture). This was nearly perfect for me, because I wanted to have some flexibility when it came time to pick an engine and transmission.
I purchased the truck in the late summer of 2020 for $800 – yes, a COVID-era project. The leaves are literally flying in the picture above, taken in the fall of 2020. (The slow pace of my project and the fact that I bought it as a roller, not a driver, is the origin of the build thread title - in case anyone was wondering.)
The first order of business was to gut the entire truck – nearly every nut and bolt. I had no idea what I was going to find, but the short story is that it was in pretty good shape, aside from:
Once the truck was gutted, I bit the bullet and bought a DJM Suspension 4/6 drop kit. In the height of COVID, that took several months to arrive. I also sourced a pair of 1500HD spindles from a salvage yard. The HD spindle castings were glass bead blasted and painted with POR15, then outfitted with OE-style rotors, calipers, and "performance" brake pads. (To be clear, I did not bead blast the bearing surface, etc. Those were covered with a rubber hose during the process.)
I know the brakes on these trucks are marginal, so I may revisit this setup once the truck is moving under its own power. For now this was a cheap option that is at least equivalent to how it was built 35 years ago.
To be continued...
I’ve been a lurker in the forums for several years (with a few posts along the way), but I figured it was time for me to come out of the shadows to share my project.
The truck is a 1989 regular cab, short bed W/T that I found on Craigslist. It was originally a 4.3L/700R4, but when I found it it didn’t have an engine or trans (as evidence by the faux-lift in the first picture). This was nearly perfect for me, because I wanted to have some flexibility when it came time to pick an engine and transmission.
You must be registered for see images attach
I purchased the truck in the late summer of 2020 for $800 – yes, a COVID-era project. The leaves are literally flying in the picture above, taken in the fall of 2020. (The slow pace of my project and the fact that I bought it as a roller, not a driver, is the origin of the build thread title - in case anyone was wondering.)
You must be registered for see images attach
The first order of business was to gut the entire truck – nearly every nut and bolt. I had no idea what I was going to find, but the short story is that it was in pretty good shape, aside from:
- cab corners
- bottom edge of the doors
- a wonky hood (something heavy fell on it)
- the driver side rear wheel arch
- some surface rust on the floorboards (thanks for the **radio edit** OE rubber floor mat)
- a busted out 4-panel slider rear window.
Once the truck was gutted, I bit the bullet and bought a DJM Suspension 4/6 drop kit. In the height of COVID, that took several months to arrive. I also sourced a pair of 1500HD spindles from a salvage yard. The HD spindle castings were glass bead blasted and painted with POR15, then outfitted with OE-style rotors, calipers, and "performance" brake pads. (To be clear, I did not bead blast the bearing surface, etc. Those were covered with a rubber hose during the process.)
You must be registered for see images attach
I know the brakes on these trucks are marginal, so I may revisit this setup once the truck is moving under its own power. For now this was a cheap option that is at least equivalent to how it was built 35 years ago.
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
To be continued...
