My 94 GMC SL 1500 Long bed

[98BlackSierra]

Rockauto sells different brands, but TYC would be your best bet if you're going with a stock replacement headlight assembly. They sell for $25 a piece.

 

[94SL]

I unplugged the electrical connection for the blend door actuator on passenger side floor. That stopped the clicking noise. Ordered a new one from O'Reillys, supposed to get here Thursday. What does this thing do, control the source of air intake, inside vs outside? Not looking forward to swapping this thing out.

 

[94SL]

Wednesday it was 103 degrees here. I smacked my rear view and it came off. Got it glued back on this morning. Washed the truck this morning, and got out the rubbing compound for the roof. Didn't seem to do much good. Then I used some wax/polish Eagle One combo that I've had for a good 12-15 years. It was kind of dry, so kept adding water to it and shaking it up. My wax job was definitely so-so. Not sure if it was lack of upper body strength, my out of date wax. It seems odd, best part of my paint is the hood, it is fairly shiny. worst part is the roof, that paint seems pretty dead. Maybe the PO waxed the hood cause it is easier to get to and skipped the roof because you have to stand in the bed to reach it? Or maybe the paint job was better on the hood than the roof? Who knows.

 

[94SL]

As an update, took my truck to a local garage a coworker with a 74(?) Malibu recommended. They fixed a couple leaks in my a/c system, got it charged up and is working pretty good now. Hopefully it lasts.

On to other topics, waiting for a replacement 3rd brake/cargo light assembly from amazon. Bought some Maguire's rubber, vinyl & leather product, want to give the soft parts like seals, dash pad, etc. some attention as they are in good shape and would like to keep them that way. Also thinking about hitting the pull a part type yards this weekend and look for some various parts I can use. Some I don't really need but just sort of want if I can find them reasonable.

 

[blacksport]

What is the quality like on the Rock Auto parts? I have seen replacement lights at AutoZone & O'Reillys but not sure of the quality. Of course, the OEM stuff might not be that good either.

not a long bed guy but that truck is a cream-puff.....nice buy!
i'm old schoolish i think composite headlights suck on almost all cars i did the 89 quad headlight swap cost me 20 bucks and they will NEVER cloud up.

 

[94SL]

Thanks Blacksport. Paint needs some work, and the PO got some dents in one bedside. But yeah I'm reasonably happy with it so far. Interior is very clean. A short bed would have looked better for sure, but hoping to buy a house soon so the long bed might work out better for the time being.

 

[94SL]

Topped off my fuel today, I got 15.1 MPG over 178 miles. Mostly in town driving, with a couple times of extended idling while messing with the a/c. The price of gas keeps going up 3 or 4 cents a gallon about twice a week the last month or so.

 

[Eveready]

Thanks Blacksport. Paint needs some work, and the PO got some dents in one bedside. But yeah I'm reasonably happy with it so far. Interior is very clean. A short bed would have looked better for sure, but hoping to buy a house soon so the long bed might work out better for the time being.

You won't have to move many 2 x 4's or 4 x 8 sheets of plywood for that long bed to become your friend. In my not so humble opinion if I had wanted a sports car I would buy one . When I bought my truck, I wanted a truck that could actually haul stuff. The utility of your long bed will far outweigh other considerations if you are fixing up a house.

 

[94SL]

Eveready, Your certainly right about that. I have had long beds, short beds and a couple S10s and even a ranger in the past. There are definitely times when having a full size truck with a long bed can make a job like hauling building supplies and appliances and furniture much easier. Hauling a queen size mattress in a short bed S10 doesn't fit so well, and leaves little room for something else.

 

[Andy L]

So, picked up a new truck yesterday. 1994 GMC long bed. 4.3, Auto, and that's pretty much it. Is just shy of 80K on it. Has a/c (not working). Still has the original am/fm cassette, still works, time to find some old cassettes. Drove a little over 100 miles to get it home and if the fuel gauge is accurate, used about a half a tank to do so. I filled up with 24+ gallons yesterday, plus some fuel system cleaner. Need to work on the MPGs.

I will need to decode the sticker in the glove box door, but guessing its the 25 gallon tank.

Anyhow, it drove well. Handled the hills getting home pretty well. actually was hard to keep it below the posted speed limits, seemed to want to cruise at 70. Looked down once and was doing almost 80 per the GPS. Need to work on controlling that to help on the gas bill. Steered and rode decent considering it's age and no weight in the back.

Head & tail lights are fogged up, so either need to try and polish or replace them. Guess I will have to look in the forums for some write ups and that. Never had to do this before any other vehicle. Noticed my 3rd lite/cargo box light gasket is shot so need to replace that I guess.

Interior was pretty dusty, but dash is not cracked, bench seat is not ripped and only has one stain I can find. One little piece of speaker grille is snapped of, but have the piece. maybe I can glue it back. Weather stripping seems soft and pliable. headliner is starting to drop and has some tears near sun visors. sun visors are bare cardboard. drivers door armrest/pull handle is on it's last legs, passenger is a little bit better.

No rust to speak of. Paint is not the best. Pretty sure the color is gold metallic. I have some polishing compound so maybe give that a try and see if it comes back a little.

First things I guess are to get the lights buffed out or replaced. Then the a/c working. It also has that annoying clicking or knocking under the dash on start up or shutting it off. Thinking about a dash mat to help keep the dash from cracking. Comments and suggestions welcome.

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I kinda like the color, it won't show dirt as much. Just clean it up and detail it, nice find with a lot of life left in in while you figure out what you might want to do with it. I just replaced all my suspension rubber/ball joints and steering parts (at 179K). Drives like new again.