Zseventy-one
I'm Awesome
Another dead build thread?! Hell No!
I see my last post was 6 months ago, so here is a quick bring to date. Winter sucked and the old man and I both caught COVID on Xmas! We survived that thankfully and things are starting to get back to normal. Last weekend was finally able to put some solid wrench time on the rusty girl.
Replaced the dry rotted tires with some Wally World mud tires, re-sealed the windshield and rear windows, patched the hole on the floor with some sheet metal and a rivet gun, sprayed some rust converter and paint to seal it up, reassembled the cowl, old wiper arms I painted with new blades, attempted to install the running lights and side markers with the new grill and bolted the bench seat back in so we could go for a short test drive.
New tires felt great, but in our short seat-beltless backroad run about, we encountered a crazy hail/Ice/Snow/rain squall storm. Driver's side wiper blade wouldn't stay attached (murphy's law) I hate those damn pin type wiper arms. Going to try and replace them with the 94 hook style wiper arm so fingers crossed they work!
Truck was NOT happy. She seems really down on power and was constantly shifting in and out of overdrive, steering was sloppy, and the defroster/heat quit as soon as the storm hit. When the wiper blade fell off that was the best LOL!
Got back and changed the oil /filter and primed the oil pump before starting. Heater started working and she was idling a lot better which was a good sign. Will post photos of everything mentioned above soon!
Next set of repairs and/or things to do:
1) Replace pin wiper arms (88-94) with 94+ hook style wiper arms so the blades stay on better. Hope the arm fits, LMC sells them for $20 so going to chance it.
2) Buy/rent a steering wheel puller to fix the upside down steering wheel. (Thanks Uncle Eddie)
3) Replace the mid-pipe with a cat less JBA y pipe, run a 3 inch intermediate pipe to a 40 series FM muffler. Will likely run it out the pass side before the rear wheel with a 45 degree elbow and a resonator tip.
4) Repair the shift indicator so it lines up again.
5) Install sound deadening mat/insulator on the floor and start piecing back together the interior.
6) Install the side markers, missing the bolts that hold them into place...the new grill doesn't fit that well just fyi...
Things on my mind:
* Need to get all the front lights secured properly so might change up the grill plan. The new one doesn't fit well. There is no inner housing that's needed to bolt in the lower running lights. The GMC emblem is over $100 bucks and removing the old one without damage is daunting even for PB blaster. The new side markers need retaining nuts and overall the shinny chrome looks a little goofy considering how rough the rest of the truck is. Going to freshen up the old grill and save the new one for later.
* The stock mid pipe is rotted off right after a large cat/resonator and is blocked by a chassis crossmember. It is terrifying loud and sluggish, I'm almost certain that it is being choked and would bet that this partly why the trans keeping shifting in and out of OD.
* Truck has been sitting for many years so all the fluids should really be changed. This is a budget build so will probably do the trans and rear diff next.
* Should probably try to remove the rusted spare tire from underneath. Don't want it falling off and hurting someone.
NOW FOR SOME PICS!
I see my last post was 6 months ago, so here is a quick bring to date. Winter sucked and the old man and I both caught COVID on Xmas! We survived that thankfully and things are starting to get back to normal. Last weekend was finally able to put some solid wrench time on the rusty girl.
Replaced the dry rotted tires with some Wally World mud tires, re-sealed the windshield and rear windows, patched the hole on the floor with some sheet metal and a rivet gun, sprayed some rust converter and paint to seal it up, reassembled the cowl, old wiper arms I painted with new blades, attempted to install the running lights and side markers with the new grill and bolted the bench seat back in so we could go for a short test drive.
New tires felt great, but in our short seat-beltless backroad run about, we encountered a crazy hail/Ice/Snow/rain squall storm. Driver's side wiper blade wouldn't stay attached (murphy's law) I hate those damn pin type wiper arms. Going to try and replace them with the 94 hook style wiper arm so fingers crossed they work!
Truck was NOT happy. She seems really down on power and was constantly shifting in and out of overdrive, steering was sloppy, and the defroster/heat quit as soon as the storm hit. When the wiper blade fell off that was the best LOL!
Got back and changed the oil /filter and primed the oil pump before starting. Heater started working and she was idling a lot better which was a good sign. Will post photos of everything mentioned above soon!
Next set of repairs and/or things to do:
1) Replace pin wiper arms (88-94) with 94+ hook style wiper arms so the blades stay on better. Hope the arm fits, LMC sells them for $20 so going to chance it.
2) Buy/rent a steering wheel puller to fix the upside down steering wheel. (Thanks Uncle Eddie)
3) Replace the mid-pipe with a cat less JBA y pipe, run a 3 inch intermediate pipe to a 40 series FM muffler. Will likely run it out the pass side before the rear wheel with a 45 degree elbow and a resonator tip.
4) Repair the shift indicator so it lines up again.
5) Install sound deadening mat/insulator on the floor and start piecing back together the interior.
6) Install the side markers, missing the bolts that hold them into place...the new grill doesn't fit that well just fyi...
Things on my mind:
* Need to get all the front lights secured properly so might change up the grill plan. The new one doesn't fit well. There is no inner housing that's needed to bolt in the lower running lights. The GMC emblem is over $100 bucks and removing the old one without damage is daunting even for PB blaster. The new side markers need retaining nuts and overall the shinny chrome looks a little goofy considering how rough the rest of the truck is. Going to freshen up the old grill and save the new one for later.
* The stock mid pipe is rotted off right after a large cat/resonator and is blocked by a chassis crossmember. It is terrifying loud and sluggish, I'm almost certain that it is being choked and would bet that this partly why the trans keeping shifting in and out of OD.
* Truck has been sitting for many years so all the fluids should really be changed. This is a budget build so will probably do the trans and rear diff next.
* Should probably try to remove the rusted spare tire from underneath. Don't want it falling off and hurting someone.
NOW FOR SOME PICS!
