[Highcountrybulls]

This thread is to document the build of a truck that my grandfather-in-law purchased new and has been in the family ever since. “Grumpa” as he was called by most of the family for his ever delightful demeanor, handed the truck down to me in 1999 with a little less than 80k original miles on it. Shortly before inheriting the truck, I had rebuilt the engine for him due to a cam lobe failing. But otherwise the truck was pretty well bone stock save for upgrading the wheels away from the split rings that had been on it for many years and a Chevy bumper my father-in-law had installed after the original was damaged. Grumpa left us in 2002 after 89 good years, but he lives on in the old truck.

I started upgrading some things soon after, starting with the charging and ignition systems, then suspension and exhaust followed that. The truck was my daily driver for several years until I could afford transportation that was more suited to my needs at the time. I last drove the truck in 2008 and since then the truck has followed me around the country as an un-started project. In 2016, two years after I moved my family to Alaska, I brought the truck up here and stored it in my shop while deciding what to do with it. By now some rust had started to show in the usual places, and many other areas of the truck were in need of attention.

Knowing the truck needed to be preserved before it deteriorated further, but also wanting to improve the trucks performance and dependability, I decided that modernized powertrain and electrical systems were in order. Being in heavy equipment repair and maintenance all of my career, at first I really wanted to graft a Cummins into the truck but it just didn’t feel like this was the right direction for Grumpa’s truck. No particular reason, just sentimentally it didn’t feel right I guess.

After much contemplating and internet searching I got the bug to do an LS Swap. Many discussions with buddies who had done similar projects, and after seeing so many of the trucks on this site that had been swapped, I knew that the LS swap was the way to go. I wanted to do it right, and wanted a result that Grumpa would be proud of when it was finished. In October 2018 I finally found the right donor vehicle for the project, a 2007 Yukon Denali with 117k on the clock. The aluminum blocked L92 and 6L80 were just what I was looking for in terms of modernizing the drivetrain, yet keeping with a theme that would still reflect the trucks heritage. Hence the name for my project, Grumpa’s 72 GMC Denali.

My goal is to have the rolling chassis assembly largely completed by ‘Break-up’ (that is Spring in Alaskan). And then take the summer off from the project while we hunt, fish, and boat. Next year’s plan is interior, electrical and body work.

1: Throwback pic of the truck at my old place in Wright, Wyoming when it was still a daily driver.
2: Bringing Grumpa home to Alaska in 2016
3: Getting ready to start the teardown in October 2018
4: SPID: Many years ago I removed the second battery and discarded the battery tray for it, I regret that nearly every time I look under the hood. Per the SPID the truck originally shipped with bucket seats but I never heard what became of them, it had a bench seat for many years before I got the truck.