I posted this over on GMFS, so some of you guys might have already seen this!
About two years ago, I had been collecting pieces for a little while to do a minibuild on Dad's '95 K2500.
I always have to thank my friend in Philly for finding it for us! In the rust belt, there just aren't any clean 4wd 3/4 ton 5sp trucks!! This one is perfect for Dad, clean body and frame, acceptable but not nice paint and 146,000 miles so you just don't feel bad about using it!
Stats are LO5, NV4500, 3.73's and the 8600GVW package.
Before
A broken door handle was the reason his truck ended up at my place and I decided it was time to get to work on it.
I started by stripping off the side moldings...
and repainting the flares. I also added a front valance I had left over from his old '88
I then thought I scored a set of useable PYO's!
But they were a LOT more beat than I thought....
I stripped the clear
I wet sanded them with 400/600/800 and then hit them about 7 times with the power ball and they came out OK from 10ft, which is good enough for a beater truck that gets washed once a year!
I did have to trim the GMT400 caps to get them to fit. Because this is a budget deal, you've got to use what you have on hand!
I then started working on the cab markers. I found a complete set for under 10 bucks at our local Pick-A-Part! But the earlier wiring harness wouldn't plug into the powerbox under the dash..... I trimmed the plug to fit. Its ugly, but functional!
Then I started drilling..... The biggest issue I had was the tape I laid to mark my holes! This truck has paint delimitation issues and the tape lifted ALL OF THE PAINT where it was stuck!!! Well it IS just a beater truck! Krylon to the rescue!
I was at my local exhaust shop for a chunk of pipe and asked "hey, how much for that old tip in the scrap pile?" They told me FREE! I polished it back to useable shape and tucked it in tight to the box at an angle that I liked.
I smartened up and ditched the 4x4 stickers and finally got a chance to stick the PYO's under it.
The final piece was just a hint of lift. When Dad bought the truck he wanted a more aggressive tire than the street 245's that were on it. It has 3.73 gears and man, no offense to the TBI guys....but even with at good tune up and all the little TBI tricks, this TBI 350 is a SLUG! So I stayed conservative and put 265 BFG's on it, instead of 285's.
I wanted to lift it just a touch but was concerned that the 265's would look small. I ended up using a 1" block (zero rate AAL) and cranked the front an inch. It took 6 turns of the bars to get the inch that I needed for the front and I will say its It is RIGHT at the limit of what I'm comfortable with. There is still an honest inch of down travel....and then an additional 3/4 of an inch. But I think some of that is shock bushing deflection, because you can see the load coming off the tire while the upper A arm is still moving down.
Its a good thing I WANTED an inch of rake to compensate for the cap weight....because another inch of crank would have me almost sitting on the bumpstops. I wouldn't care, but its DAD's truck and I don't want him to have any issues.
It lined up fine, rides OK and its not like he ever wheels it. The most offroad it will see is a dirt road or side field trail...
I think it turned out pretty good. It sort of has a NBS HD flavor.
About two years ago, I had been collecting pieces for a little while to do a minibuild on Dad's '95 K2500.
I always have to thank my friend in Philly for finding it for us! In the rust belt, there just aren't any clean 4wd 3/4 ton 5sp trucks!! This one is perfect for Dad, clean body and frame, acceptable but not nice paint and 146,000 miles so you just don't feel bad about using it!
Stats are LO5, NV4500, 3.73's and the 8600GVW package.
Before
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A broken door handle was the reason his truck ended up at my place and I decided it was time to get to work on it.
I started by stripping off the side moldings...
You must be registered for see images attach
and repainting the flares. I also added a front valance I had left over from his old '88
You must be registered for see images attach
I then thought I scored a set of useable PYO's!
But they were a LOT more beat than I thought....
You must be registered for see images attach
I stripped the clear
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
I wet sanded them with 400/600/800 and then hit them about 7 times with the power ball and they came out OK from 10ft, which is good enough for a beater truck that gets washed once a year!
You must be registered for see images attach
I did have to trim the GMT400 caps to get them to fit. Because this is a budget deal, you've got to use what you have on hand!
I then started working on the cab markers. I found a complete set for under 10 bucks at our local Pick-A-Part! But the earlier wiring harness wouldn't plug into the powerbox under the dash..... I trimmed the plug to fit. Its ugly, but functional!
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
Then I started drilling..... The biggest issue I had was the tape I laid to mark my holes! This truck has paint delimitation issues and the tape lifted ALL OF THE PAINT where it was stuck!!! Well it IS just a beater truck! Krylon to the rescue!
You must be registered for see images attach
I was at my local exhaust shop for a chunk of pipe and asked "hey, how much for that old tip in the scrap pile?" They told me FREE! I polished it back to useable shape and tucked it in tight to the box at an angle that I liked.
I smartened up and ditched the 4x4 stickers and finally got a chance to stick the PYO's under it.
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
The final piece was just a hint of lift. When Dad bought the truck he wanted a more aggressive tire than the street 245's that were on it. It has 3.73 gears and man, no offense to the TBI guys....but even with at good tune up and all the little TBI tricks, this TBI 350 is a SLUG! So I stayed conservative and put 265 BFG's on it, instead of 285's.
I wanted to lift it just a touch but was concerned that the 265's would look small. I ended up using a 1" block (zero rate AAL) and cranked the front an inch. It took 6 turns of the bars to get the inch that I needed for the front and I will say its It is RIGHT at the limit of what I'm comfortable with. There is still an honest inch of down travel....and then an additional 3/4 of an inch. But I think some of that is shock bushing deflection, because you can see the load coming off the tire while the upper A arm is still moving down.
Its a good thing I WANTED an inch of rake to compensate for the cap weight....because another inch of crank would have me almost sitting on the bumpstops. I wouldn't care, but its DAD's truck and I don't want him to have any issues.
It lined up fine, rides OK and its not like he ever wheels it. The most offroad it will see is a dirt road or side field trail...
I think it turned out pretty good. It sort of has a NBS HD flavor.
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach