Re: The Hawaiian Blue 1978 GMC.
 

Looks good! After I figured out I seen you out driving it, I have to say that blue is beautiful pictures don't do it justice!

Re: The Hawaiian Blue 1978 GMC.
 

FORGIVE ME for the lack of updates. I have had a lot going on for the last couple of months and have struggled to find time, or energy really, to update the post with my new job. I still have a lot of content to update, but not much progress has been made on the truck.


So, when I posted last SEPTEMBER. (i'm so sorry) I had just posted about taking the truck on it's first test drive. I had an array of wiring problems. The passenger side tank's walbro wasn't working, there was a loose ground wire under the dash, and more importantly.. the battery wasn't charging.

THE SOLUTION, was to beat the walbro with a hammer. It worked. The ground wire that lost contact on left turns was reconnected, it worked. We added a small light that lights up my gauges in a warm yellow while the fuel is priming. If this light is present, it means the battery will charge and I won't be on the side of the road again. Being dead on the side of the road gets old quick.

Re: The Hawaiian Blue 1978 GMC.
 

So, Blue was sitting a little low. Some may say lower is better, but Blue was TOO low.. and riding like crap with the mcgaughy's drop coils and the big block. We found out why pretty quick.


I was now riding on the bumpstops and my control arms were banging on driveways and curbs. We did some research, and we decided to go with the MOOG 454 springs for a big block truck. I don't quite recall the part # but it does have 454 in it. We swapped out the drop coils for the stock big block coils. IT LIFTED ME UP LIKE 6 INCHES IN THE FRONT. Soooo... we took it back apart and cut off a coil. Truck sat exactly where I wanted it to, so my setup is now 2.5" drop spindles and a stock big block spring with 1 coil cut.

Picture order here is the mcgaughy 2" drop coil next to a stock replacement 454 coil(1), the 454 spring installed with no cut coils(2), and the 454 springs with 1 coil cut(3.)

Re: The Hawaiian Blue 1978 GMC.
 

At this point, it was piddle a little there.. piddle a little here and everywhere. We slowly chiseled away at the air conditioning over the course of multiple days. The vintage air system was a good idea, and I'll have to thank mom for pushing me towards doing AC later. I wasn't going to.

Re: The Hawaiian Blue 1978 GMC.
 

Here's a picture of the boy enjoying the AC on a hot day. :lol:

https://i.imgur.com/ZaxTyjz.jpg?1

Re: The Hawaiian Blue 1978 GMC.
 

Looking good!! It looks like your passenger approves.

Re: The Hawaiian Blue 1978 GMC.
 

Very very nice! Love the blue and the stance is just right. Mike

Re: The Hawaiian Blue 1978 GMC.
 

Love the truck, love the build...

Re: The Hawaiian Blue 1978 GMC.
 

my gosh i love your truck. My very first truck, or vehicle for that matter, was a Hawaii Blue 79 2wd long bed GMC. I was the second owner, we keep that pickup in the family after i left and moved to Minnesota to finish school, but that truck stayed in the family for total of 18 years. It's long gone now....but some day hope to find another

Re: The Hawaiian Blue 1978 GMC.
 

Thanks for all the kind words!

Re: The Hawaiian Blue 1978 GMC.
 

Great build and thanks for posting it. I’m on the fence for buying a Vintage Air setup and I think this is going to make me pull the trigger. Looks so clean!

Re: The Hawaiian Blue 1978 GMC.
 

Neat truck.

Re: The Hawaiian Blue 1978 GMC.
 

Could you possible post a few pics of how the lines for the a/c are ran in the engine bay? Curious how Vintage Air runs them. Thank you

Re: The Hawaiian Blue 1978 GMC.
 

I'll get some pictures for you, mine's going to be a little different than typical because I am using the aluminum serpentine brackets off of a 1990 model Chevy V6, which moves the AC compressor to the passenger side. It's typically on the driver side. I also crimped my own lines with a mastercool line crimper I purchased second hand on eBay.

Re: The Hawaiian Blue 1978 GMC.
 

I’m more interested in how the hard lines are. I will also have my compressor on the passenger side. Just debating on getting the kit for the truck or doing my own lines including hard lines. Thanks

Re: The Hawaiian Blue 1978 GMC.
 

Is this more or less what you're looking for?

https://i.imgur.com/7XbkZgH.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/u4L1khb.jpg?1

Re: The Hawaiian Blue 1978 GMC.
 

Re: The Hawaiian Blue 1978 GMC.
 

So, one of the things I decided to do was install a wamrod kit. I have my original hood hinges which are a bit sloppy and worn out. I also didn't want to worry about bending my hood when I got the freshly painted repop put on there.

So, those of you who aren't familiar with the wamrod kit, it's a simple kit that allows you to install struts on your original hinges. They lower the hood quite a bit when opened, so forewarning. You'll hit your head on it a few times before you learn. The struts easily pop off and the hood can be propped if needed.

I personally think they're a little expensive for what comes in the kit, but it does save you a lot of time and can be done with basic tools in your garage in an hour.

Re: The Hawaiian Blue 1978 GMC.
 

Re: The Hawaiian Blue 1978 GMC.
 

The pic is exactly what I wanted. Thanks!

Re: The Hawaiian Blue 1978 GMC.
 

Just curious, any news ? Impressive built !

Ron

Re: The Hawaiian Blue 1978 GMC.
 

A couple of smalls, I was laid off due to covid-19 so I will probably post an update here soon. I was diagnosed with cancer early 2019 and hit pause on the truck. I then later bought my first house and now I'm engaged. The truck runs and drives great but is temporarily not priority, and is not done... yet. I'm unable to allocate the funds to finish it right now.

Re: The Hawaiian Blue 1978 GMC.
 

I wondered where you’ve been. So sorry about the C news, hopefully they can take care of it. But the good news!! Engaged and bought a house, wow! That’s awesome news.
Keep you chin up, everything will get better and turn out ok. Looking forward to the updates. :metal:

Re: The Hawaiian Blue 1978 GMC.
 

Yeah, just chugging along as best I can. The house is as much as a project as my truck ever was. I've stripped it down and attacked it about the same way. Making great progress, though!

I sold the subaru and picked up a Jeep XJ as well. It was from Cincinnati and super rusty and I've done a lot of work to get it back on the road as my new daily driver. It's been the best cheap vehicle ever. Picked up a trailer to haul all my accumulated debris from home demo for $100 too. I think the squarebody guys will like it!

https://i.imgur.com/ExS3GFq.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/NeQsbjl.jpg?1

Re: The Hawaiian Blue 1978 GMC.
 

Just read through this whole thread. Great work! I know how much work goes into a frame off like that and it is no easy feat. Everything looks beautiful and detailed. Very nice.

Sorry to hear about the bad news, but glad to hear about your new home and soon to be wife!

Good luck in the future!