Bang for the buck Functional Renewal of rust belt '99 C2500

[Road Trip]

454cid, I like your style. I remember once upon a time where there were
stores where you could come up with just about any o-ring that was
ever made. During this past slump, Syracuse has become a bit of an
o-ring desert. I seem to strike out more than I connect?

On the other hand, if you have a source and/or a part number we
could post it here so that others can benefit from the good fix
for short money.

 

[Road Trip]

The Final idle & driveability optimization -- replace the 'failed open' engine thermostat (Pass #4)


Well, through all of the above the gauge package always looked like this:

You must be registered for see images attach

The temp needle was so still, and the engine seemingly running so well
that I had half-convinced myself to ignore the gauge reading & instead
troubleshoot the faulty gauge itself.

But as winter arrived, the lack of heat in the cab made me rethink this
approach. What if we've been driving/EFI'ing on an engine stuck forever
in warm-up mode due to a failed-open thermostat?

Gauge cluster display post engine thermostat replacement

You must be registered for see images attach

Hmmm. After replacing the thermostat, not only did the heater
exceed expectations, but the temp gauge started working
as you would expect. Duh.

After all this, I made it a point to put some highway
miles on the finished product. The more I drive it
the better it seems to run. I know that the
engine is working as the designers intended,
for no matter where I drive the engine just
feels as if it's always running downhill. (!)

Smooth idle, effortless acceleration, and
the 400+ ft/lbs of torque makes chasing
down all these details well worth the effort.

And finally, no Check Engine light AND
no detectable engine misfire.

Life is good.

Cheers --

 

[dave s]

Like my favorite aircraft (F-106 & SR-71) the GMT400
series has the same kind of classic 'form follows function'
styling that never gets old -- I actually prefer this less
busy look to today's offerings?

Nice looking truck! And I worked on F-106's back in the day. Nice aircraft!

You must be registered for see images attach

But in order to truly appreciate what a (relatively) rust-free unicorn
that this truck is here in Salt City, take a look at three other trucks
still on the road that I picked at random, all within 5 minutes of where
I'm typing this in:

Mechanic's daily driver at my favorite tire store. (Note: Photo taken late November '22 -- a frosty commute)

You must be registered for see images attach

Local Plow Truck:

You must be registered for see images attach

(Neighbor's newer lashed-up pickup)

You must be registered for see images attach

The Moral of the Story? Anything > 10 years old in Syracuse
is rarely seen. And almost always, if seen they aren't clean.

So...if my following posts seem to show successful old truck
ownership as an unrelenting focus on stopping rust before it turns steel to dust...
remember that I have no fear of mechanical issues, but at the same time these photos
definitely keep me up at night. :0)

Who'da thunk? Neil Young was right...

 

[Komet]

Nice job peeling back the mystery problems. The Sun 1115 is a pretty vintage unit, I take it you've fixed a car or twelve back in the day?

 

[454cid]

454cid, I like your style. I remember once upon a time where there were
stores where you could come up with just about any o-ring that was
ever made. During this past slump, Syracuse has become a bit of an
o-ring desert. I seem to strike out more than I connect?

On the other hand, if you have a source and/or a part number we
could post it here so that others can benefit from the good fix
for short money.

I have to go and look each time. I just go to the plumbing department of the Menard's (regional big box home improvement store). They have all kinds of sizes and I take measurements of old and new and buy the closest. The plumbing o-ring may or may not be made of the same kind of rubber, but they seem to do the job.

 

[Road Trip]

Eventually getting painted Rawhide Metallic to match the body, or the aluminum 8 lug wheels the 800s used.
Picture is my truck at one of my favorite wrecking yards.....

That's a sharp looking machine -- every time I find myself back in TX
(or anywhere in the southwest) I am in awe of all of the 'vintage' super clean
machines still in daily usage.

Not only is the CCLB configuration already rare enough, but
that Rawhide Metallic makes your truck further stand out from the
primarily monochromatic fleet of white/black/silver/gray pickups on
today's roads. (No offense to those who are enjoying one of these --
I'm looking at HotWheelsBurban's truck from the 'driving different' perspective.)

If I'm not mistaken your CCLB boasts a 168.5" wheelbase? Must be a dream out
on the open road in TX...but I know for a fact that you would need a team of
spotters to help squeeze that 1-ton sheetrock stretch limo through some of
Boston's side streets. :0)

****

Re: The wheel thing. All things being equal, I prefer & enjoy driving
different. It's like a secret handshake, in that those who are in the know
will strike up a conversation at the gas pump or the Lowe Depot parking
lot, and the reminiscing begins. ("Hey, I used to have a truck just like
yours...it was my favorite, wish I'd had never sold it blah blah blah." :0)

Personally, I always notice a vehicle that really shows pride of ownership.
And anytime I stumble across a vehicle that manages to Underpromise
yet Overdelivers, well I find that a special treat. (I love sleepers,
they fit my sense of humor.)

Back to your truck. If this was 50 years ago (where almost all of the
trucks & 90+% of the cars left the showroom rolling on steel wheels)
I'd tell you to get the unique/upscale aluminum wheels.

Now in 2023 I'll bet that ratio has flip-flopped, so choosing
aluminum wheels would tend to make your truck blend back in with
the rest of the traffic. Even so, since stock steelies are almost
universally silver from the factory, running stock steelies is akin
to running factory alloys.

Given all of the above, painting your steelies to match your body color
would be a subtle touch, but helping to make your ride look even more
unique. Done right, I bet you would have people at the local
show & shine ask if it came that way from the factory? To me, that would
be a home run!

Anyway, that has got to be a keeper. Be sure to enjoy that supersized slice
of Americana. Nice!

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

That's a sharp looking machine -- every time I find myself back in TX
(or anywhere in the southwest) I am in awe of all of the 'vintage' super clean
machines still in daily usage.

Not only is the CCLB configuration already rare enough, but
that Rawhide Metallic makes your truck further stand out from the
primarily monochromatic fleet of white/black/silver/gray pickups on
today's roads. (No offense to those who are enjoying one of these --
I'm looking at HotWheelsBurban's truck from the 'driving different' perspective.)

If I'm not mistaken your CCLB boasts a 168.5" wheelbase? Must be a dream out
on the open road in TX...but I know for a fact that you would need a team of
spotters to help squeeze that 1-ton sheetrock stretch limo through some of
Boston's side streets. :0)

****

Re: The wheel thing. All things being equal, I prefer & enjoy driving
different. It's like a secret handshake, in that those who are in the know
will strike up a conversation at the gas pump or the Lowe Depot parking
lot, and the reminiscing begins. ("Hey, I used to have a truck just like
yours...it was my favorite, wish I'd had never sold it blah blah blah." :0)

Personally, I always notice a vehicle that really shows pride of ownership.
And anytime I stumble across a vehicle that manages to Underpromise
yet Overdelivers, well I find that a special treat. (I love sleepers,
they fit my sense of humor.)

Back to your truck. If this was 50 years ago (where almost all of the
trucks & 90+% of the cars left the showroom rolling on steel wheels)
I'd tell you to get the unique/upscale aluminum wheels.

Now in 2023 I'll bet that ratio has flip-flopped, so now choosing
aluminum wheels would tend to make your truck blend back in with
the rest of the traffic. Even so, since stock steelies are almost
universally silver from the factory, running stock steelies is akin
to running factory alloys.

Given all of the above, painting your steelies to match your body color
would be a subtle touch, but helping to make your ride look even more
unique. Done right, I bet you would have people at the
local show & shine ask if it came that way from the factory?
To me, that would be a home run!

Anyway, that has got to be a keeper. Be sure to enjoy that supersized slice
of Americana. Nice!

Thanks! I do like this truck! It is easier to drive something this big if you have a couple of spotters, to look beside and behind you before attempting to change lanes.
As far as the alloys, I'm considering it for two reasons: the lighter unsprung weight and aluminum wheels should help dissipate brake heat better than the steel ones. Those big rear drums don't have a lot of air flow space between them and the wheels. Actually the latest set I've seen at my local yard is on a 400, not the GMT 800 series they came on.
My truck has been in two videos on YouTube,one for Lone Star Roundup show in Austin and one at the Conroe swap meet this February. And it won "truck of the month" in March.

 

[Road Trip]

Re: (dave s)

"Nice looking truck! And I worked on F-106's back in the day. Nice aircraft!"

Small world, ain't it? A couple of old F-106 maintainers named Dave crossing paths
decades later in an old truck forum. Happy to make your acquaintance!

****

Since few folks outside the air defense community have even heard about this
speed demon , I thought I'd post some of my favorite photos of the fastest
thing I've ever had the privilege to have taken a tool to:

* Photos #1 & #2 show F-106s from my old unit. (102 FIW, Otis AFB, Cape Cod)

* Photo #3 captures the moment when a F-106 launches the 'Genie'.
(So glad this never happened outside of training.)

* Photo #4 is a group photo of the Mercury 7 astronauts in front of the F-106
that was flown by them...so that they didn't lose the flying chops that got
them into NASA's Mercury project in the first place.

* Photo #5 is an old Pratt & Whitney advert bragging about their engine pushing
this interceptor to an official world speed record. (By the way, the Delta Dart still
holds the single engine speed record 64 years later -- it really was one fast
mamba jamba!)

****

(OK, got that out of my system, back to our regularly scheduled programming. :0)

 

[Road Trip]

Nice job peeling back the mystery problems. The Sun 1115 is a pretty vintage unit, I take it you've fixed a car or twelve back in the day?

Greetings Komet,

Your positive feedback is appreciated -- after discovering so much
actionable info in here over the past year or so, I'm attempting to
pay it back/pay it forward by (hopefully) allowing those new to the
old truck hobby look over my virtual shoulder as I match wits with
the old gal who's draggin' my heart around...with her shenanigans.
:0)

To answer your question, if you haven't seen my introduction ,
I briefly touched upon my workload/productivity there.

I got to fix cars for a living for a couple of years until an opportunity arose to
move to the East Coast & start a new career in the computer industry
for a (technical term) eff-ton more money. Besides, the lingering
smell of 90-wt from the day's toil at the garage was putting a
serious crimp on my attempts to put together any kind of nightlife
worth writing home about. :0)

So, mo' money + less stanky job = a tearful farewell to automotive
professional wrenching. Even so, I've kept my hand in it as
a semi-serious hobbyist. Some simply to minimize what it cost
to commute to work...and the rest was helping my buddies break
their piggy banks while in the pursuit of the Holy Grail.

If I had to sum up my experience, I haven't fixed the most, or
ever fixed the fastest...but I always prided myself on fixing the deepest.

I was always in pursuit of "The Fix that Sticks" since first picking up a wrench
in anger around the time that Nixon handed the presidential reins over to Ford.
(Yikes I'm getting old! :0)

Thanks again, Komet -- nice to meet a fellow GMT400 devo...

 

[Boots97]

Wow I had heard the 800 series trucks were bad about rusting...
And amazing that the Ram, in a generation known for rusting, is in better shape than the two newer GM's.

Definitely New Yuck.....

I think that's more of just not caring about your vehicles.

I live in MN so rust is all too common here, but I RARELY see trucks, especially that GMT800 pickup and suburban look THAT bad. Although I've seen a Dodge or to look that rough. Chrysler is not well known for build quality.