Re: Huck's 85 GMC shorty
5 Attachment(s)
Here's those master schematics in case anyone needs them. Might've found them here, can't remember what forum I found them on. If the upload quality sucks and you want a copy, PM me your email and I'll shoot over the high quality version
Attachment 2328532 Attachment 2328533 Attachment 2328534 I love how these turned out, they look OEM+. I don't mind the regular Dakotas but these just knock it out of the park. Super simple to get set up the way I liked as well Attachment 2328536 Attachment 2328537 |
Re: Huck's 85 GMC shorty
2 Attachment(s)
So at that point, I went up to our local driveshaft shop to see about getting a shaft built. He gave me 2 different yolks to try. Went home, figured out which would work best, took a measurement and gave him the specs of the truck. He build a stout 4" shaft with 1350 joints on either end.
Attachment 2330557 Then I took a couple pieces of pipe from my Speed Engineering builders kit and clamped them to the headers so we could bust it off and have the rear o2s be happy. We got it to run for about 30sec before the fuel pump died. This would begin a long saga.... Attachment 2330558 |
Re: Huck's 85 GMC shorty
5 Attachment(s)
That was an AC Delco EP381 that my tuner buddy swears by. Couldn't find another, so used a Dephi equivalent to replace it. Did that, loaded the truck in the trailer and took it to C10 Fall Revival in Oakboro, NC for it's unofficial debut in our AMD booth. Busted it off a couple times to listen to the thunder and all seemed good. Brought it back home and back into the shop it went. Had to drag it with the tractor since it still wouldn't drive at all. That turned out to be a bad TCM that wouldn't communicate
Attachment 2330559 Attachment 2330564 Tinkered with it some more, got the TCM in it and flashed and got a basic start up tune loaded in. Went to pull it out to trailer it to the exhaust shop and it made it ~100yds before it ate another fuel pump :waah: So we winched it in the trailer again and had to push it into the exhaust shop. Attachment 2330561 Attachment 2330562 Attachment 2330563 |
Re: Huck's 85 GMC shorty
I feel your frustration....
I did AC Delco pumps for my dually. Ist one failed before it made it out of the parking lot (drivers side tank @ <6wks old). Put a Delphi in its place. The 2nd AC Delco (pass side tank) failed about 2months later. Luckily it was on my return trip from Conroe & I had the drivers side full to keep me moving. The Delphi in the drivers tank failed within 2yrs. For the 3rd round, I bought some Carters based on how the 'go-to' pumps did so well. |
Re: Huck's 85 GMC shorty
Quote:
|
Re: Huck's 85 GMC shorty
2 Attachment(s)
So at that point, once the exhaust was done and that fuel pump had died, I pushed the truck into my buddy's shop and didn't touch it again for several months. I had burnt myself out on the truck and needed to regroup.
My tuner kept telling me the Delco pump had to be a fluke and that the Delphi was an inferior pump. So I ordered another Delco, threw it in and trailered the truck down to his shop to start tuning. Well guess what... Attachment 2330571 We only got it to fire a couple times, it would idle like crap and then die again. Then wouldn't fire at all. So back in the trailer it goes to get it out of his way. Around this time, my position at work changed and I now have access to our work area in our R&D center. So that's where I took it this time, so I'd have more room to work. Dropped the tank and threw in another Delco. This time, I also wired in a better relay and located it back at the tank. Re-ran a new, heavier gauge wire as well. I don't know what made me do it, but when I went to change over the sock, I turned it over on my tailgate and wouldn't ya know, pieces came out! The Spectra sending unit I bought came with a sock that had one of those little plastic pieces in it to keep it from sucking in on itself and the plastic had started to come apart. That must've been what's been eating my pumps! So I grabbed one of our AMD senders off the shelf to rob the sock from and threw it all back together. Attachment 2330576 FINALLY! I cranked it up and it would idle like it's supposed to and for the first time ever, I actually drove the truck! Only back and forth a few feet but still! That was a huge victory. |
Re: Huck's 85 GMC shorty
2 Attachment(s)
My tuner offered to come to work this time rather than having me trailer it down to him. So I let him do his thing. He worked on it for a little over an hour and said "Man it runs good but it's got a dead miss at idle". Got my temp gun out and sure enough, #1 was cold. Swapped injectors, swapped coils but still nothing. Popped the valve cover off and I'd missed the intake rocker bolt, the rocker was just flopping. D'OH. Torqued that one back down, checked the rest and we finished up WOT tuning at that point.
After all the fuel pump issues, I was very leery at this point to beat on it, worried it might lean out and blow up. So I started daily'ing the truck back and forth to work, slowly getting more comfortable with it. The guy that travelled with me to shows doing our marketing started harassing me to take it to Battle in Bama that May. That was only a couple weeks away at the time and I only had ~400mi on the truck, I didn't want to take the chance. Well, he finally harassed me enough that I loaded up my entire toolbox and spares and made the trip. 6.5hrs later, it made it with no issues and knocked down 22mpg! I was beyond happy with that. Attachment 2330589 Even had to put her to work moving our display around in the soft ground :lol: Attachment 2330590 Drove it to and from the show every day that weekend, made it home (10hr trip thanks to traffic) and pulled down 18mpg on the way home. Never turned wrench one. Was a very successful maiden voyage |
Re: Huck's 85 GMC shorty
Well, I found out that the AC Delco's were 'made in mexico' but the Delphi's were still an OE tier supplier & made in Michigan thus my decision to switch to them.
Once it failed, I figured I'd give Carter a shot. I still haven't done the passenger side tank. It's had 20gals of gas sitting in it for >4yrs now so I bought a whole new tank just to make life easier when I did the work. Glad your start-up voyages went well for you. Looking forward to more details as you get us caught up. |
Re: Huck's 85 GMC shorty
Quote:
|
Re: Huck's 85 GMC shorty
5 Attachment(s)
Before the show, I'd been wheel shopping and really liked the look of these US Mag Bullet's. Throughout the weekend though, I saw these on EVERYTHING. Chevelles, S10s, C10s, mini-trucks, newer stuff, EVERYWHERE. So that was a no-go
Attachment 2330874 Got home and immediately started shopping again. Found the US Mag Roadster and knew that was the one. I grew up helping my dad and his friend work on and race air-cooled 911 Porsches. These wheels kinda have that Fuch's look to them but also fit the truck being a similar color to the original rallies. Plus the rears were available all the way up to a 10.5, so that was nice as well. Got them in and started test fitting Attachment 2330880 Attachment 2330879 Attachment 2330881 Attachment 2330882 |
Re: Huck's 85 GMC shorty
5 Attachment(s)
Attachment 2330886
You can see how close the wheel was to the inner rear wheel tubs and those bolts. I went back and forth on tire size for a week or so before I said YOLO and ordered 315/35/20s in the back and 255/40/20s up front. Yeah yeah, they don't match. They couldn't get the matching set, but they're both Toyos. One Proxes 4s and the other Proxes Sport or something Attachment 2330891 Attachment 2330892 Attachment 2330893 Attachment 2330894 |
Re: Huck's 85 GMC shorty
5 Attachment(s)
Backed it out and man I couldn't take my eyes off of it
Attachment 2330895 Unfortunately, one of their guys didn't know what he was doing and had ruined the rear wheel with the tire machine. So they had to order me a new pair. I still have these stashed for someday when I build a matching truck bed trailer Attachment 2330896 So at this point, I just drove the truck for a while and enjoyed it. Wasn't long after this that I sold my daily NBS and this was all I had. This would've been around the time that gas was down around $1.20 or so, so running around in a premium swilling hotrod didn't hurt too bad. I daily'd it, took it to several different shows and just enjoyed the hell out of it for several months this way. The first C10s in the City in Atlanta Attachment 2330902 Hanging out at Howe's It Doin Garage with my buddy Rick (SQRBDY, he sells cool merch) and his LS swapped '86 Attachment 2330899 On our way to SETN '21 Attachment 2330901 |
Re: Huck's 85 GMC shorty
huck, enjoyed the build & looking at a nice truck!! I too have had a few "dealings" with the AC D pumps (EP 381) I installed 2 in my '86 LS SWAPPED truck (build on here) and one failed after about 3 startups. I grudgingly replaced the bad one with same like and kind, so far I THINK both are operating correctly. my issue is that I get "lean pops" at initial start up - for about 1-2 minutes, then it seems to run fine (no codes) my tuner thinks my FP needs to be more (currently steady around 52-55PSI). he thinks I need to replace the delcos with Whalbros and separate filter and regulator.... aarrggg. anyways very nice truck & maybe catch you out here "in the desert" soon... C10 reunion maybe! :metal:
|
Re: Huck's 85 GMC shorty
Quote:
Your fuel pressure is definitely just a touch low, you should be at 58psi. For my setup, I'm running the Walboro in tank 255 in a stock '87 TBI sending unit. I ran hose along the driver's frame and mounted an '06 Corvette fuel filter/regulator where it's easily accessed. Then a return line goes from that back to the tank and a supply goes to the motor. That filter/regulator combo is set at 58psi for the stock Corvette. I stick with either AC Delco or Wix though, I've had issues with off brand filters and so has my tuner. Something to think about. |
Re: Huck's 85 GMC shorty
6 Attachment(s)
So like I said, I drove this thing everywhere, even drove it all through winter '21/22 cuz that was my only vehicle. It was around this time that we started using my truck pretty regularly for test fitting of new parts at work. The first one being bumper brackets for the sport bumper. So off comes the nasty ole dealer bumper
Attachment 2331048 Attachment 2331049 Attachment 2331050 Attachment 2331051 Attachment 2331052 |
Re: Huck's 85 GMC shorty
4 Attachment(s)
Took a little maneuvering to get everything square. I debated tucking it like all my buddies do but decided against it. The bumper already doesn't flow with the side of the truck well and it really looks weird if you push it forward 2-3"
Attachment 2331062 Attachment 2331063 So I harvested some gravel pans from one of our parts trucks and threw those on. I'll make a cover that goes all the way across eventually. Attachment 2331060 Much better, just waiting on a tag bracket Attachment 2331061 |
Re: Huck's 85 GMC shorty
3 Attachment(s)
Quote:
|
Re: Huck's 85 GMC shorty
5 Attachment(s)
One thing I forgot to mention when I first got the truck was, I rebuilt the whole front end and the front springs were too soft so I swapped in some 454 3/4 ton springs with 1 coil cut. Well, once I put the aluminum LS in, they were too stiff. Truck sat too high and rode too rough.
So after I got the new wheels, I put the stock 1/2 tons back in and trimmed 1/4 coil at a time till I was happy. Ended up going a little too far and I rubbed like a MOFO with the 255/40/20s lol. There was a point on the hwy that I swear they stopped when I hit a bump doing 70, awful noise and smoke lol. Since I liked the way it sat (I figure I'm ~5-5.5" up front), SloshTubz were needed. I got Mike's MildAC Tubz since I planned to keep the factory AC Attachment 2331099 What sucks was, he didn't give me the template :lol: So I had to sneak up a little at a time and just go by the picture he sent me. Used a HoboFreight body saw for all of it Attachment 2331095 Attachment 2331096 Attachment 2331097 Attachment 2331098 |
Re: Huck's 85 GMC shorty
5 Attachment(s)
First test fit. There were many, many more after this trying to sneak up on it
Attachment 2331100 Up front by the battery tray Attachment 2331101 Back toward the firewall Attachment 2331102 Driver's side Attachment 2331103 Finally done after 2 days. Ignore the intake, had to make due with what I had till I could order some more pieces and build a new one Attachment 2331105 |
Re: Huck's 85 GMC shorty
5 Attachment(s)
It was around that same time that we had developed a bedfloor that was already made to work with our 4" wider wheel tubs that we'd been selling for a couple years at that point. So I got the nod to test fit the 2nd prototype (1st came in damaged) in my truck
Thank god for equipment lol. Spent a couple hours after work for 2 or 3 days working on getting everything separated and the seam sealer cleaned off Attachment 2331111 Attachment 2331112 Attachment 2331113 Attachment 2331114 Attachment 2331115 |
Re: Huck's 85 GMC shorty
5 Attachment(s)
Attachment 2331116
Attachment 2331117 Attachment 2331118 So then I laid the new floor on the forks to start building the bed back up. First step was to hang each bedside. I'd used wheels and tires to give me some balancing ballast Attachment 2331121 Attachment 2331122 |
Re: Huck's 85 GMC shorty
4 Attachment(s)
One problem I ran into was, my bedsides were too short! Only by ~1/4" or so but apparently when they cut the truck down, they didn't measure very well. I'd always thought my bed gap looked larger than others but I wasn't certain. AMD didn't want me to slice and dice the bedfloor so I made a relief cut in each bedside to allow it to pooch forward a touch through the front panel. Basically just made some larger drain holes, no BFD
Attachment 2331127 Attachment 2331128 Attachment 2331129 Attachment 2331130 |
Re: Huck's 85 GMC shorty
Quote:
|
Re: Huck's 85 GMC shorty
Quote:
I was initially intending to use Epoxy Satin Black on the top side w/the stainless hardware but once I was doing the final mock-up, I liked the look of the DA'd surface so I left it bare instead. |
Re: Huck's 85 GMC shorty
5 Attachment(s)
So once the bed was back together, I pulled it and the truck outside to wash the front bed panel and back of the cab before putting them back together
Attachment 2331879 Attachment 2331880 Attachment 2331881 Attachment 2331882 Attachment 2331883 |
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 11:03 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright 1997-2022 67-72chevytrucks.com