New Guy From Mississippi

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brockstar15

I'm Awesome
Joined
Nov 6, 2013
Messages
280
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Location
Mississippi
Hey I'm Brock. I'm 18 years old and I own a 1989 GMC 1500. Story is my parents had a huge falling out so I moved in with my grandparents when I was 13. My grandpa was and still is the biggest gearhead I know so I eventually picked up on the craft. I'll never forget the time I helped him change the complete ignition system on his 73 Camaro Z/22 because that's the day I got hooked. I was about 15 at the time and I was slowly getting closer and closer to getting my license so me and my grandpa starting looking for something to fix up for my first truck. We looked for about 3-4 months until we found a 1989 GMC 1500. Single cab, short bed, fleet side...it was perfect. It didn't have any rust, no shine, flat tires, and no tailgate but I loved it! My grandpa told me he'd get it for me and we'd work on it as long as I done everything he asked and keep my grades up in school, so we had a deal! We loaded it up and brought it to the house that evening, which was a Friday, and started working on it that day! We took the wheels off, the bed off, the cab off, the drivetrain out, the front cap apart, and the suspension out from under it all that weekend. We went the next weekend and bought a motor and transmission from a friend of my grandpa's for $300 because the tbi350/th350 weren't any good, the motor had three spun main bearings and the transmission case was cracked. The motor we bought was a 1993 Gen V 454 big block, and the transmission was a 1993 4L80E, both out of a C3500. We got everything back to the house and starting tearing it apart. My grandpa had worked on transmissions before and my uncle knew a good bit about engines so us two stayed in the shop practically all weekend taking the engine apart, inspecting it, rebuilding it, cleaning it up and painting it, and putting it back together. My grandpa on the other hand took the transmission apart, rebuilt it, put a shift kit in it, and had it cleaned, painted, and put together all in one day lol. Once we got all that together we put the drivetrain back in the truck. We then started stripping the stock baby blue/brown paint off until we got to bare metal. The truck had no imperfections at all, it was straighter than we had even thought it was so we bolted it all back together and hauled it to the paint shop. They added a rollpan, shaved the bed holes, and converted it to a 94 GMC front end; billet grille, headlights, parking lights, corner lights, and all the filler pieces, and bumper brackets. They then layer down the paint which is three different GM colors: velocity yellow and machine silver off an 08 Corvette and imperial blue metallic off an 08 Colorado. We brought the truck home about a month after we took it to the painter and started on steering. We replaced the entire front end with MOOG components, replaced the steering box with a brand new AGR box, and bought a new power steering pump, stock replacement. Next we started on the suspension. We started by putting the stock control arms back on. Next we installed the stock spindles along with 3" lowering springs we bought at the local parts house. After that we installed the stock sway bar and 3" Belltech drop shocks. Before we installed anything we cleaned it up and painted it with Rustoleum black engine enamel. Next was the rear suspension. We decided to go with a 4" drop so we bought some drop shackles and hangers and installed them along with the stock leaf springs and 4" Belltech drop shocks. Once again before we installed anything we cleaned it and painted it with the Rustoleum black engine enamel. After we got done with the suspension we started on the brakes. We bought new rotors, calipers, and pads for the front and completely new loaded drums for the rear, which was my grandpa' sides because he had a wreck before because of bad breaks. Next we installed a brand new booster and master cylinder from Cardone. We replaced the hoses with Russell braided lines and installed everything. The next thing thing that happened my grandpa done. He went and got a driveshaft that would work with the new 4L80E and the stock GM 8.5. We got all of that installed and started on the interior. I didn't get anything for my 16th birthday but for Christmas that year I got a whole new interior. All was factory replacement but the seat, it was a 60/40 bench seat with the flip down console out of a 96 Tahoe. We got everything installed and running just before the end of the year but I still couldn't drive it yet. Me and my grandpa both loved music so I got a job with a friend of my dad's helping him frame houses. I saved for about 3 months and then I bought me and my grandpa a complete sound system. I got a new Boss headunit, four 4x6's, two 12" subwoofers, and a 500 watt amp for my truck and I got him a new headunit, two 6x9's, two 3.5's, and a single 10" subwoofer for his Camaro. We installed all of our stuff the weekend after we received it and man did it sound great! After that we started on the exhaust. My grandpa had Flowmasters 40s on his car and I loved the way it sounded so that's what I wanted to get. We bought some stainless piping from a family friend and started working on it. I couldn't find headers at the time that would clear so I just stuck with the stock manifolds and from there we ran true duals with dual Flowmaster 40s and dumped it over the axle. The last thing we done, and this was my 17th birthday present, was drove it to a shop about 2 hours away and got the bed Line-X'd. Ever since then we haven't done anything to it except replace the starter, computer, and locking mechanisms. I absolutely love this truck and I will NEVER get rid of it no matter what happens because me and my grandfather built this truck together. I hope you like it because I sure do love it! The only plans I have is to have the front bumper repainted, change the interior color to all grey instead of blue and grey, replace the headlights with non projectors, and install a 6K HID kit in my high and low beams. EDIT: If there is something you'd change please let me know I'd love the feedback and ideas!! Enjoy and God bless!
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EXHAUST IDLE CLIP:
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95C1500

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Welcome aboard! That is one clean truck!
 

ShadowRejects

I drank the Kingpin koolaid
Joined
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Welcome! Great looking truck and amazing story. I remember growing up and working on my truck with my dad before he handed me over the keys when I turned 16. Its awesome how attached we can be to our trucks. I wouldnt trade mine for any other vehicle.
 

95C1500

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I got mine from my grandpa as well... truck was custom ordered in 94 by my grandpa and I got it when I was 15... unfortunately, he didn't get the chance to see it today.
 

brockstar15

I'm Awesome
Joined
Nov 6, 2013
Messages
280
Reaction score
21
Location
Mississippi
Welcome! Great looking truck and amazing story. I remember growing up and working on my truck with my dad before he handed me over the keys when I turned 16. Its awesome how attached we can be to our trucks. I wouldnt trade mine for any other vehicle.

Thank you! I'm glad I'm not the only one who got to experience such an awesome thing. And you're definitely right about not trading it for anything else! Thank you, again!
 

brockstar15

I'm Awesome
Joined
Nov 6, 2013
Messages
280
Reaction score
21
Location
Mississippi
I got mine from my grandpa as well... truck was custom ordered in 94 by my grandpa and I got it when I was 15... unfortunately, he didn't get the chance to see it today.

It makes things so much more special when you get them from someone who's such an inspiration to you, I'm absolutely positive your grandpa would love the way it looks now and wouldn't mind helping you out with it! Thanks again!
 
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