"Gerald" the 81 GMC.

[aggie91]

Looks good. Just need some GMC hub caps now.

[BIGglaSS]

Originally Posted by aggie91

Looks good. Just need some GMC hub caps now.

These?


I got some weight on this rear end. 2" of frame clearance. Looks like these springs are saggier than (fill in the blank).


Today has been nothing but drama. I decided that I may have to replace these saggy springs some day. So I removed all the spring and shackle nuts and applied obscene amounts of anti-seize. Then torqued them.

Moving on to the shock bolts. The last bubba that replaced shocks used a 7/16" bolt on the lower mount. So the holes were elongated and too sloppy to even fit a 1/2" bolt. The shocks are KYB 344055 for Toyotas and Nissans. The isolators are 5/8" and the bushing is 12mm. So, I opted to drill out the lower mounts for a 5/8" bolt with top-lock nut.

Passenger side, a 3" bolt is too long and hits the u-bolt. 2.5" is too short. Pulled it out and shortend it 1/4":


Drivers side nut was pinched in the u-bolt axle plate. Had to remove it, and re-torque the u-bolts. I will have to get into there with the die grinder and clearance the plate.


I'm desperate to get this driving again. I need it out of the garage. I have the rest of the month off for vacation. I was planning on using this time to get my 57 pickup sprayed with primer. Hopefully the GMC will be out of the garage by tomorrow!