88GMCtruck's never ending 88 GMC build thread

[Supercharged111]

I test drove a 2012 GMC Denali with the 6.2 and even up here it ripped good and hard through 3rd. Seemed willing to hold OD too. I really wanted one but damn are they hard to find.

 

[88GMCtruck]

It's simply amazing how life gets in the way sometimes. Or at least in my case, life has been so busy that I have had zero time to update the forum as it takes a good deal of effort VS a quick instagram or facebook post.

So, one thing that wasn't really discussed during all of this, I had learned that the company I had worked for for 12 years was closing it's doors. Shortly after starting the paint, I begin a career at a new company, with new people, commuting more and working more. I'm currently on a "mega project" of which I currently can't name. I also had some water/ant damage to my house I had to repair, as well as my normal trips. So free time has been quite minimal. I spend most of my free time working on the truck, and I've actually made really, really good progress.

So, to that end, let’s get you caught up.


So finishing out May 2019

Painting: There was a lot of it. 3-4 coats of single stage enamel followed by 3-4 coats of acrylic clear. This thing really pops. Pictures don’t do it justice.

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Between all this painting, I also got the axles re-assembled, and under the frame on the old springs.

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[88GMCtruck]

So this brings us to June. At this point the fenders, doors, tailgate, hood and cab were all painted. Those panels were moved and stored in a storage unit. This is also the time where I ended up with my new “Work Truck” that you may recognize as my father’s old truck – The company I work for has a vehicle allowance to purchase your own vehicle as a work truck, so I ended up with my father’s 2009 K1500 SLT Sierra with the 6.2L and 44k miles. He got a new 2019 Duramax.

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A few generations

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Then we moved onto the bed

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Just look at that shine – mind you this is with zero alterations from how the paint was applied.

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[88GMCtruck]

We finished all the bodywork on the 4th of July weekend and off to storage it went.

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Now that all that was done and out of my dad’s shop, I could concentrate on the rest of the truck… or so I thought. This was about the time I found an ant infestation and water damage to the entire back wall of the master bedroom. So that took up the rest of July to completely rip down to foundation and rebuild that portion of wall. Then I had a planned quad trip (which I desperately needed), and a wedding to attend to. On top of regular day to day things.


At this point, its late August. Time to start sorting bolts, brackets, etc, etc, etc

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The plastic frame ID tag original to the truck. Still haven’t quite figured out the meaning behind each set of letters, colors or shapes I’ve seen.

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[88GMCtruck]

Moving into September, the frame was starting to take shape.

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[88GMCtruck]

Then sometime in October, I moved on to the powerplant.

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And began the Vortec transformation

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[88GMCtruck]

November I kept at the engine/transmission side of things. Wiring ensued, to remove things not needed on the 98 harness (auto trans, rear 02 sensors, etc). I also rebuilt and installed an offroad designs SYE for the NP241.

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[88GMCtruck]

Right after Thanksgiving, I flew a fabricator friend out to help me build custom exhaust – all from 3”, 304 stainless.

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And not too shortly after, it once again started looking like a truck.

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[88GMCtruck]

And between all the holiday madness, I was able to keep working on details here and there.

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After the arrival of 2020, I turned back to the underhood area… Cleaned and painted brackets, a new Sanden AC pump, and more power in the form of a Whipple Supercharger. Or as I like to call it, the “Whip Whip”.

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[88GMCtruck]

Also spent some rebuilding the hydroboost, and installing all the various lines and hoses.

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And just for fun, I installed the cab lights and harness with OEM Topkick/Kodiak LED inserts.

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And painted the D-rings up front red as an accent color

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