Hello All- New here with a new project!

[xXxPARAGONxXx]

I didn't, and probably should've. I didn't document any of it. I was ok with excess to trim on the sides, but I will tell you cuss words will be had over getting the excess in and around the center tunnel and accelerator pedal and the rear seat brackets. I wish they would datum their carpet off the accelerator pedal position so you don't have to trim to make the fit around the HVAC vents. The floor mats will cover the slight wrinkles in the back. They are almost gone after a few months. Its been in the garage since I bought it. Hoping to have it on the road by summer.

As funky as the carpet is that I just removed from my truck, I'm glad I didn't toss it. I think I will in fact use it as a template to cut the new carpet. Thank you for the feedback on the ACC carpet.

 

[johnckhall]

I'm Dan and I'm a GMT400-aholic.

Now that we have that out of the way, I'm embarking on a new journey to "restore" an old truck. I got hooked on these things after not being let into prom in 2002 because I busted out a sweet parking lot donut in my uncle's 97 (still discussed 20 years later- worth it)! Nobody in the mustangs or vettes would do it... my date was pleased. They eventually let me in after I promised to help clean the next day.

I picked up this 99 OBS last fall in Idaho. This is my third GMT400. First one I sold with 350k on it and my dad is still driving my last one with 250k. Got a fairly decent deal on a mostly rust free (surface only) truck with 230k miles. Jumped in, topped off the oil, and fired it home on the scenic route to Indiana 2000 miles. All-in-all a good trip, but for whatever reason at altitude in Yellowstone, she was a little down on oil pieces. Had a knock and some clatter for 70 miles at low RPM . Hit lower elevation and everything was great, so I did the right thing and sent it around 90mph across Wyoming and Iowa. When I got around to changing the oil, I noticed some coolant in the oil. A gasket set is in order... The 5.7 will likely be swapped for an LS variant at some point, so not terribly concerned.

This one is the one I've always wanted. Pewter Metallic, "Heavy Duty" suspension and axle, third door, grey interior. It was a little bit more beat up than described/expected (good from afar, but far from good), but overall a really decent starting point for a "restoration". Not going for a show queen, just a decent looking every-other daily driver that I'm going to try to keep out of the salt. I'm restoring the interior, mechanicals, and exterior. I'm planning to do a panel-by-panel repaint after working dents as time allows. I've not done body work, so that will be a new challenge for me. I spent 10 years as an engineer at Honda, and have wrenched on everything under the sun, so the rest will be an easy undertaking.

So far I've put a decent, mostly not cigarette-burned, 60/40 split front seat in for the family, new carpet, insulation, and sound deadener. Headliner is next, and trying to track down a driver door panel in good shape. The dash isn't cracked (yet), so I have that going for me!

I've started sanding the bedsides and will be cleaning and POR-ing the frame when the bed is off for paint.

I plan to chronical the journey here. Wish me luck! Any suggestions on decent parts (bumpers, trim, etc.) would be greatly appreciated. Planning to stay with the sto

Welcome aboard

That's certainly a great looking truck! THe underside has much less rust than the truck I picked up about a year ago (and I thought mine was pretty mint). Thankfully no rust on the body panels. I'm still scraping, sanding, treating. and painting the underside if mine so it will look as good the rest of the exterior. Except for your engine swap, everything else will be pretty easy for you. I've found LMC Truck has most of the parts I've been looking for. I just picked up new color matching door sill plates and they look OEM.

 

[Danimal08]

That's certainly a great looking truck! THe underside has much less rust than the truck I picked up about a year ago (and I thought mine was pretty mint). Thankfully no rust on the body panels. I'm still scraping, sanding, treating. and painting the underside if mine so it will look as good the rest of the exterior. Except for your engine swap, everything else will be pretty easy for you. I've found LMC Truck has most of the parts I've been looking for. I just picked up new color matching door sill plates and they look OEM.

Red is an eye catcher! You have a nice ride too. These are tough to find anymore. The road salt is one thing, but the brine they put down days before storms creeps in everywhere and rots from the inside out. I've found that the Northwest is the place to go for more of the rust free examples. I just saw a 30k mile version of my truck go for $32k on bring a trailer. These are definitely the next collector trucks. I'm partial to the mid 90s Fords too. Shh, dont tell. I'm pretty indiscriminate with rides. Good luck with your refresh!

 

[Dropped88]

Welcome. And nice truck doesnt look bad at all

 

[johnckhall]

Red is an eye catcher! You have a nice ride too. These are tough to find anymore. The road salt is one thing, but the brine they put down days before storms creeps in everywhere and rots from the inside out. I've found that the Northwest is the place to go for more of the rust free examples. I just saw a 30k mile version of my truck go for $32k on bring a trailer. These are definitely the next collector trucks. I'm partial to the mid 90s Fords too. Shh, dont tell. I'm pretty indiscriminate with rides. Good luck with your refresh!

The GMT400 is the platform that most people my age wanted in their early years, but couldn't afford. I was lucky to be able to purchase a '94 just like mine (indigo over light autumnwood) brand new as a 26yo. I regretted getting rid of that truck for the next two decades+. The '94 I purchased last year was a one owner with only 52K miles. I don't mind saying that I paid $21.5K for it. It has definitely increased in value in the last year. 40-50 year olds now have the disposable income to purchase their once dream truck from back in the day. I won't be letting go of this one.

 

[Danimal08]

The GMT400 is the platform that most people my age wanted in their early years, but couldn't afford. I was lucky to be able to purchase a '94 just like mine (indigo over light autumnwood) brand new as a 26yo. I regretted getting rid of that truck for the next two decades+. The '94 I purchased last year was a one owner with only 52K miles. I don't mind saying that I paid $21.5K for it. It has definitely increased in value in the last year. 40-50 year olds now have the disposable income to purchase their once dream truck from back in the day. I won't be letting go of this one.

Mine will be around for awhile too. I travel a bit for work and did a job out in Montana and was in awe of the condition of old trucks. I started looked on Marketplace out that way and found mine. I paid $5500 for it, anticipating that Id put $5k in it to get it where I want it. That number now might be a little low- but looking at stickers on new trucks, I'm still sitting pretty.

 

[sewlow]

After shots of interior work and clean-up so far... Sorry, no before shots. Went with ACC carpet from Rock Auto. It left a lot to be desired. Would have been nice to know a definitive datum as a starting point. Also, jute padding (absolutely nowhere near stock thickness) was glued with gaps that caused wrinkles (I was able to fix), and folding left wrinkles in the middle of the floor in the rear. I had to trim an awful lot for a "direct fit" replacement...

Thinking about going with the suburban Weather Techs- Trying to decide between grey and black. I think black might be a nice contrast to match the meter bezel, but grey wont show dirt.

Id like to have the driver seat repadded and recovered, but I doubt any of this material exists anymore.

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Nice. Clean truck!

Not that it helps you now but,
For some reason 3rd. party vendors sell ACC carpets cheaper than buying direct from ACC. WTF?
Even then, I'll still order direct. Paying the few extra bucks allows for individual order specifics.
The 3rd. party guys just carry stock of, or order the basic standard generic versions.
Going right to ACC, I'll get them to NOT glue the jute to the carpet.
Include it separately.
That way, I can glue the underlay down to the floor first. Ensures it's in the right spot. Then...the carpet gets glued down.
This is the way I was taught w-a-y back before aftermarket molded carpets even existed. Back when any replacement carpet was cut-n-sewn by hand. Custom made to each individual vehicle. A day's work.
Yes, their basic underlay (jute) is on the thinner side.
There are thicker versions, but only in roll-stock & not from ACC.
The thin has it's place, though. That thickness comes into play when a whole lot of sound deadening has been put down first.
Also, when upgrading to their thicker 'Ultra Plush' Essex carpet, thicker underlay can create even more fitment problems than what the Essex already creates.
Sound deadener + thicker underlay + 'Mass Backing' + Essex = an exercise in frustration.
The prob is not the fitment so much when laying all that down. It's the probs with everything that is attached to the floor on top of the carpet. Suddenly, screws & bolts are too short. Consoles don't fit quite right. Kick panels can't slide all the way froward into place. Crank the bolts down for the seats & the carpet starts to pull in from the side as all those materials compress.

The wrinkles will fade over time. A week of hot summer sun with the windows up will help. Wrinkles can be lessened by laying the carpet out for a day or two in a warm room or in the sun before the install.

Better too big than too small.
There are tricks to deal with all that extra, though. Cutting reliefs (kerfs) down into the corners in order for the bulk to lay over itself helps instead of creating those bulky folds. Always cut those shorter than actually required. They can be made to be longer if need be.

I dread doing the driver side of carpets. Always have. Even more so now that I'm (*ahem*) 'somewhat' (*cough*) older. I'd gladly teach someone just to do carpets for me. The floor isn't that far down, but sometimes it sure can be a long ways back up.

That seat material is non-existent. My network of contacts over the various auto upholstery forums, including some former GM trimmers, have no lines on any stock.
But...there is a way!
Those front seat covers are not symetrical driver to passenger.
It's the material that's the same. The material from a passenger seat can be utilized to repair the driver side.
A rear seat's cushion is too short for front seat repairs.
A rear seat backrest will work for front backrest repairs.
On those buckets, there is a slight difference on the faces (The parts you sit on) between the Dr. & Pass. seats. The outer wings are shaped/cut differently in order to allow for the working of the hinge on the outer side of the seats. Material from that back seat backrest can be used to get the seat covers presentable.
Grab a backseat B.R. cover & a passenger side cushion cover outa the local pick-n-pull & any decent upholstery guy/girl will have more than enough to make that driver seat look purdy again.
If they know how to do that, then they'll surely have the know-how to fix that foam up properly. It's just not a matter of laying more foam over top of the old broken down original. The outer edge breaks down for a reason & done right, the cause can be somewhat alleviated. At least enough for the next 20 years.
Outer-edge foam repairs are not uncommon. These trucks aren't that bad. The foam seems to have stood up over time better than most. Depends on the owner.
I was seeing Dodge trucks start to show up at my door for driver side outer edge seat repairs when they were 6 months old. 2-3/month.
There can't possibly be that many Dodge owners that all beat their seats up in exactly the same manner so that they all break down in exactly the same spot!

 

[Danimal08]

Nice. Clean truck!

Not that it helps you now but,
For some reason 3rd. party vendors sell ACC carpets cheaper than buying direct from ACC. WTF?
Even then, I'll still order direct. Paying the few extra bucks allows for individual order specifics.
The 3rd. party guys just carry stock of, or order the basic standard generic versions.
Going right to ACC, I'll get them to NOT glue the jute to the carpet.
Include it separately.
That way, I can glue the underlay down to the floor first. Ensures it's in the right spot. Then...the carpet gets glued down.
This is the way I was taught w-a-y back before aftermarket molded carpets even existed. Back when any replacement carpet was cut-n-sewn by hand. Custom made to each individual vehicle. A day's work.
Yes, their basic underlay (jute) is on the thinner side.
There are thicker versions, but only in roll-stock & not from ACC.
The thin has it's place, though. That thickness comes into play when a whole lot of sound deadening has been put down first.
Also, when upgrading to their thicker 'Ultra Plush' Essex carpet, thicker underlay can create even more fitment problems than what the Essex already creates.
Sound deadener + thicker underlay + 'Mass Backing' + Essex = an exercise in frustration.
The prob is not the fitment so much when laying all that down. It's the probs with everything that is attached to the floor on top of the carpet. Suddenly, screws & bolts are too short. Consoles don't fit quite right. Kick panels can't slide all the way froward into place. Crank the bolts down for the seats & the carpet starts to pull in from the side as all those materials compress.

The wrinkles will fade over time. A week of hot summer sun with the windows up will help. Wrinkles can be lessened by laying the carpet out for a day or two in a warm room or in the sun before the install.

Better too big than too small.
There are tricks to deal with all that extra, though. Cutting reliefs (kerfs) down into the corners in order for the bulk to lay over itself helps instead of creating those bulky folds. Always cut those shorter than actually required. They can be made to be longer if need be.

I dread doing the driver side of carpets. Always have. Even more so now that I'm (*ahem*) 'somewhat' (*cough*) older. I'd gladly teach someone just to do carpets for me. The floor isn't that far down, but sometimes it sure can be a long ways back up.

That seat material is non-existent. My network of contacts over the various auto upholstery forums, including some former GM trimmers, have no lines on any stock.
But...there is a way!
Those front seat covers are not symetrical driver to passenger.
It's the material that's the same. The material from a passenger seat can be utilized to repair the driver side.
A rear seat's cushion is too short for front seat repairs.
A rear seat backrest will work for front backrest repairs.
On those buckets, there is a slight difference on the faces (The parts you sit on) between the Dr. & Pass. seats. The outer wings are shaped/cut differently in order to allow for the working of the hinge on the outer side of the seats. Material from that back seat backrest can be used to get the seat covers presentable.
Grab a backseat B.R. cover & a passenger side cushion cover outa the local pick-n-pull & any decent upholstery guy/girl will have more than enough to make that driver seat look purdy again.
If they know how to do that, then they'll surely have the know-how to fix that foam up properly. It's just not a matter of laying more foam over top of the old broken down original. The outer edge breaks down for a reason & done right, the cause can be somewhat alleviated. At least enough for the next 20 years.
Outer-edge foam repairs are not uncommon. These trucks aren't that bad. The foam seems to have stood up over time better than most. Depends on the owner.
I was seeing Dodge trucks start to show up at my door for driver side outer edge seat repairs when they were 6 months old. 2-3/month.
There can't possibly be that many Dodge owners that all beat their seats up in exactly the same manner so that they all break down in exactly the same spot!

Sewlow- I appreciate your experience in this reply... Slowly getting back to this truck after another project jumped in front of this one...bought a boat (I pull it with a 1500, so I think this is relevant topic )

As a trimmer, you'll have to rate my work as a first timer...bought a sewing machine, read stuff, watched stuff, and made it happen...tickled pink with the results. I had an absolute blast dabbling in the trade. I have a great amount of respect for anyone who does this for a living, and wanted to say a genuine thank you for the experience you share on this forum.

Way down the list is repairing my driver seat. I did snag on some rear cover material to repair mine. We will see how it goes...

 

[Danimal08]

Houston, we have a problem...

Took the project out yesterday to wash the dust off and let it run...

Checked the oil- over full. Checked the coolant. Empty. Runs fine-ish. Gonna change intake gaskets to start...we will see...

 

[Danimal08]

Welp, got some motivation to work on the project. Bad news... no sign of leaking intake gaskets. Also signs of copper leak stop so guessing the old girl had some secrets. Anyone need any peanut butter?

Time to make some decisions...SBC vs LS. I have a perfect LM7 donor for this that owes me nothing, and has 140k miles. I've had it since 65k miles. I Like the torque of the SBC. But looking at torque curves of l31 and lm7, they really shouldn't be that much different...but they sure feel different. The LM7 truck hunts gear a lot, even with 4:10s. Guessing a lot of torque management on the lm7 tune‍

I love the SBC. I dont love the idea of replacing spider, or intake gaskets down the road. From a mechanical viewpoint, it's a weak design. Thinking better cam in the lm7 and a good tune. Thoughts? Would love a 383. Not in the cards due to price. GM is nuts on their crate motors anymore.

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