Re: My Dusty 71 GMC a Mother & Son Project
 

so swung by my moms this afternoon and showed her how to remove the old seats

Re: My Dusty 71 GMC a Mother & Son Project
 

and then we instalized them buckets, looks like we got ourselves room for a 12" center console

Re: My Dusty 71 GMC a Mother & Son Project
 

we also tinkered with the driver door

and at first I thought it just sagged 1/4" too much so I loosend the 6 hinge bolts at the door and gently lifted it up with a jack and then I could force it shut but I noticed the bottom still wasn't right,

so I took the striker plate off completely and just tried shutting the door, now I got brand new weather strip on there but the old '72 door would shut easily with it on this one is being stubborn

after further inspection it looks like the bottom corner by the B pillar sticks out at least a good inch away from the cab, the rest of the darn thing is perfectly flush with the cab, any ideas how to fix that, do I need to take off the front fender to loosen and readjust the hinge bolts that hold the door to the cab?

Re: My Dusty 71 GMC a Mother & Son Project
 

Christmas in October

Re: My Dusty 71 GMC a Mother & Son Project
 

I just had to run over to Mum's Garage LLC and try these beauties on

Re: My Dusty 71 GMC a Mother & Son Project
 

Mandatory Stare and Compare

Re: My Dusty 71 GMC a Mother & Son Project
 

Houston, I think we have a problem!

I am not giving it a Thumbs Up ha ha I am using my thumb as a precision measuring instrument to point out only 1" of clearance between the new 17x8 rim and the edge of the truck bed, no bueno!

Re: My Dusty 71 GMC a Mother & Son Project
 

Top Tip: to all the Young Padawan's new to the sport!

Guys and Gals, don't trust anything on these 50 year old trucks to be matching, even, or perfect. In other words in a case like this, try that new wheel on both sides, as things may be polywampus! As observed in People's Exhibit B below

and don't ask me why this side of the axle and hence the rim sits/drops below the bed line, unlike the other side, ha ha, let's tackle one major malfunction at a time please

apologies about the poor pic quality the Intern left the blinds opened on the South facing garage window

Re: My Dusty 71 GMC a Mother & Son Project
 

so what have we learned, well based on the thumb vs three finger salute I am going to go out on a limb and say my bed is sitting crooked and since we just threw it on there the best we could it very well could be, so a 1/2' shift to the passenger side is in order

I threw up some measurements and it sticks out approximately 6 1/2" inches away from the frame to the lip of the wheel well on the driver side and it's hard to see (because of the camera angle) but only 6" away from the frame on the Texter's side

Re: My Dusty 71 GMC a Mother & Son Project
 

Alright folks, time to do some tire size math

our new rims are 17x8" so first 8" is 203 millimeters (that gives us a reference)

second 215 is the minimum tire width recommended for an 8" rim

third our stock wheels are 235/75R15 which computes to a 28.9" diameter so essentially we are currently running 29" wheels

if we were to keep the same wheel height we would need to get a 215/70R17 set of tires which is an odd size and not very popular therefor expensive

so we step it down a notch to a 215/65R17 tire size which ends up being a 28" tall wheel and so be it, there is a huge selection of tires in this size

GOOD YEAR
ASSURANCE FINESSE - SIZE: 215/65R17
Passenger All-Season

Re: My Dusty 71 GMC a Mother & Son Project
 

This is going to sound odd but is the axle centered on the frame correctly. The PO may have done a swap and been off on his measurements when he welded in New hardware

Re: My Dusty 71 GMCe Electruck
 

That is a great point and I am the dingleberry who mounted it in haste in the sellers driveway to get that rig on a trailer relying solely on only my eyecrometer in the dark a few beers in, so anything could have happened, will check for sure

Re: My Dusty 71 GMCe Electruck
 

TireRack oh how I love thee

Re: My Dusty 71 GMCe Electruck
 

One of these has got to fit, if only I marked it somehow

Re: My Dusty 71 GMCe Electruck
 

got a chance to try the new rims on the front and now I know that at least the rims clear the drumulators and any linknesses around that general area, pleased with that knowledge I set off to get the tires mounted

Re: My Dusty 71 GMCe Electruck
 

man tire mounting has gotten expensive here in California they wanted $120 (cause of new stems) I offered $100 cash and we had a deal

by the way I love how these tires fit, they have just a 1/4" of meat past the rim

Re: My Dusty 71 GMCe Electruck
 

mandatory stare and compare

Re: My Dusty 71 GMCe Electruck
 

so here's the driver rear and how much clearance we got

Re: My Dusty 71 GMCe Electruck
 

passenger rear and how much clearance we have on this side

I think once we wiggle the rear axle a little bit and center it we should be OK

Re: My Dusty 71 GMCe Electruck
 

and then we moved on to the passenger front

Note the obligatory Chevy drip pan

Re: My Dusty 71 GMCe Electruck
 

and we finished on the driver side

and oh by the way we do have the center caps and some nice black acorn lug nuts, this was just a trial fit

Re: My Dusty 71 GMCe Electruck
 

I can't wait to charge the battery and roll this beauty outside to take a better look

Re: My Dusty 71 GMC a Mother & Son Project
 

looks like, winter is [ahem] rolling in

I got these rollpans (both front and rear on eBay for $80 bucks each and FREE shipping) and I must admit I totally missed the part about them being fiberglass, not sure I would have pulled the trigger had I caught that, I just thought they were cheap cause they was used

any of youz running fiberglass rollpans, any thoughts/feedback?

Re: My Dusty 71 GMC a Mother & Son Project
 

Nice new wheels and tires! My onion on the rear not being centered is you might need an adjustable pan hard bar now that you have lowered it. Measurements change when that suspension geometry changes. That bar is fixed and the only thing that would move would be the axle housing since that's the other end. I could be wrong but I'd check that.

I've used glass roll pans before and never had any real problems with them. I want to get steel ones for my wife's burb so I can weld them all in and have no seams. But that makes me question front clip removal later down the road. :lol:

Re: My Dusty 71 GMC a Mother & Son Project
 

I'm in for this build.