Brothajack93

Bought a 1997 gmc 1500 rwd to have the opportunities to make my own money doing side jobs. I chose an obs Chevy because I’ve had one before and I know that they will not only take a hell of a beating and keep running strong but anything that I may abuse in the line of duty is reasonably cheap to replace. I can’t afford a mechanic and I’d like to save myself the money by doing most of the work myself. Unfortunately I live in a northern climate that uses salt on the roads in the winter so I’m in for more work than I bargained for but I’ve already invested too much to write it off and I’d hate to see one of these great trucks that I love so much die. Plus where I live trucks are more valuable than gold right now. I live in an urban and extremely liberal part of the country so I find myself struggling to find any parts I need readily available due to wanting these old gas guzzlers off the road and find myself stuck scrolling the web for hours and even contacting friends across the country where these trucks are still very common and daily driven. So far I’ve managed to locate what I need online and have it saved so I can invest over the next couple months and get it road worthy and put to work. By the time I take it to be safetied I will have replaced the entire front suspension and brakes as well as 100% new lines all around. I’m hoping I can sweet talk a mechanic into letting the body mount brackets in the bed slide for a certification under the promise that I intend to hire a welder to come spend a day or two on some downtime in the spring at my works shop getting new ones welded in as well as any other weak spots patched up before I clean and undercoat. Never was much of a mechanic mainly because I never had the opportunity to learn so forcing myself into doing this work for myself is a good way to learn so long as it don’t cost me too much if I mess up too badly but I’ve done well so far and have pretty good skills and attention to detail. I’ve found a lot of useful information on these forums that has helped me to either order the right parts, tools or materials needed for the job or just what to expect when doing some of these repairs. I have much more to learn but it seems like there are a lot of wise and experience guys on here who grew up driving these trucks and have worked on them for years who are happy to help. From my first vehicle when I was 20 (92 sierra 1/2 ton) I have loved these trucks and am well aware of the simplicity and reliability they offer that you don’t get from trucks today. Though these trucks are as old as I am they are what I know and love so I’m going to give my rusty old farm truck the love it deserves cause I can count on it to be reliable as well as cheap and easy to fix should something go wrong. Any and all help I get from you guys on here is greatly appreciated and has been better than YouTube in some cases