85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"

[N2TRUX]

After the trip to the muffler shop Chris came over and we got started on the wiring harness. We rerouted the harness to hide it under the filler panel. Chris worked on routing and cleaning while I soldered old splices.

Chris hung the headlight buckets while the routing was decided on. We used mesh loom to cover the system. It's much cleaner, and no chance of malfunction due to poor quality splices

I had a family function to attend so we thrashed till I had to leave. We cleaned shop and called it done for the day.

[N2TRUX]

Sunday was not Funday. I got up early and did Pool maintenance then rotated tires on my wife's Denali. It had a vibration issue and this resolved it. The sun came out and I headed for shade in my shop.

Chris finished his Sunday chores and got back on the headlights. With the lights installed we could start the tedious process of mocking up the new Grill surround trim. This is not a job to rush so allow ample time and take breaks often.

The kit came from LMC Trucks and it's moderate quality at best. It doesn't fit well and takes a lot of adjustment to get to a pointwhere you have to accept what you have. The best advice I can offer is run the PAL nuts down on the clips before you put them in. It's darn near impossible to cut threads with the clips in place.

[N2TRUX]

Once we had the Taiwanese thin tin installed we worked on the grill. The grill and headlamp bezels were new, but the park lamps were not. I ordered a set from Amazon Prime but one was back ordered.

While we were at the muffler shop Chris took me to Outback Truck parts in Spring. We picked up a set of bumper bolts and the missing Park light housing. I ended up paying more for the housing but Outback carries much better quality parts.

[N2TRUX]

With the grill installed we moved on to the bumper. The bumper bolts we bought from Outback Truck were correct, but needed polishing. Chris worked his magic on them while I pulled the bumper and brackets from storage.

We spent a couple of hours mocking up the bumper and brackets trying to figure out why we were so far off. We now know that one side had been replaced and it appears to be a bit longer. We enlarged the bolts holes enough to get fairly close. The entire front end needs fine tuning on the fitment, but it's all back together now.

[ztk123]

Very nice work! After reading your build threads I think I'm inspired to build a 1987 GMC Sierra SWB. Bought the truck a few months ago, 60,000 original miles, 1 owner, base model, rust free work truck. I have a 71 2wd Blazer and had been partial to the 67-72 gen but wow the squarebody trucks are really coming on strong. I've also a Scott's Hotrod IFS, 14" wilwoods, Bonspeed billet wheels, accuair air management system with shockwaves, and 4.8L LS engine that I've already put a new cam in. Kinda hard to Hotrod the original 4.3 v6. It's pretty plain for sure but gots potential. Thanks again for the inspiration!
Mike

[superdav]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

The kit came from LMC Trucks and it's moderate quality at best. It doesn't fit well and takes a lot of adjustment to get to a pointwhere you have to accept what you have. The best advice I can offer is run the PAL nuts down on the clips before you put them in. It's darn near impossible to cut threads with the clips in place.

Is it worth buying?

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by ztk123

Very nice work! After reading your build threads I think I'm inspired to build a 1987 GMC Sierra SWB. Bought the truck a few months ago, 60,000 original miles, 1 owner, base model, rust free work truck. I have a 71 2wd Blazer and had been partial to the 67-72 gen but wow the squarebody trucks are really coming on strong. I've also a Scott's Hotrod IFS, 14" wilwoods, Bonspeed billet wheels, accuair air management system with shockwaves, and 4.8L LS engine that I've already put a new cam in. Kinda hard to Hotrod the original 4.3 v6. It's pretty plain for sure but gots potential. Thanks again for the inspiration!
Mike

I'm pleased that my builds offer motivation to inspire you. I have found that by taking on small achievable tasks each evening it goes much better. Good luck with your building. Keep me posted on your progress.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by superdav

Is it worth buying?

It's not horrible, and probably doesn't fit much worse than the stock trim, it's just very thin. I don't know that there are many options so yeah I guess it's worth buying.

[aggie91]

Great to see it coming together. What are you doing for the GMC emblem on the grill?

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by aggie91

Great to see it coming together. What are you doing for the GMC emblem on the grill?

Karl I think I am going to paint them the same red as the body color. The correct color for the 85 is very close to the orange thats on them now. It was brush painted and needs restored so I'm going with what I think will look good even if its not correct.

[N2TRUX]

Chris and I celebrated Labor day with by laying back and relaxing under the truck. He really wanted to get started on the interior, but I suggested we coat the exhaust. I pointed out that the interior wont be even close to completion for C10s in the Park, but we could get the exhaust finished up in a day.

I found a couple of partial cans of Dupli-Color high temp ceramic paint I had on the shelf. I really like the look of true ceramic similar to the high end finishes that I got from a spray can. Unfortunately it appears that its no longer on the market. We tried to buy an extra can, and couldnt find it anywhere.

We used our foil and cardboard strips method of masking and spent the afternoon laid on our back painting. I'm sure there are some thin spots, but its coated and we will hit it again when we get to the headers.

[N2TRUX]

The mufflers are Borla with a stainless housing. We painted the ends and Chris polished the bodies to add a bit of sparkle. It's no custom build with mandrel bends, but its a whole lot cleaner that what we started with.

[86454k30]

Very nice progress! I am excited to see how the tach works and fits, I've been eyeing them for awhile now.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by 86454k30

Very nice progress! I am excited to see how the tach works and fits, I've been eyeing them for awhile now.

Unfortunately your going to have to wait a while for that. I will be working on the interior next, but won't try to rebuild the cluster till after my trip to C10sinthepark on the 17th

[N2TRUX]

Yesterday had had to play catch up for taking Monday off. That means my work day was long and my shop time was short. I focused on a small job that needed to be done.
The GMC letters from the grill had been repainted and needed restored. I researched the correct color and decided it was to orange for my liking. I decided to go with the International Harvester red I had used on the bed end panel. It's not correct, but I think it will look better.

I made a jig to keep them flat, then stripped all the old layers of paint off. Next I wet sanded the surface smooth. Some tedious time with masking tape and an Exacto knife got me ready for the first round of paint. Once this cures I will add chrome silver around the edges.

[LDO]

Love the attention to detail and how you break things down into 'bite-sized' chunks, keeps things moving forward and keeps you positive.

I use the same technique.

Love the allen bolts on the rear diff. cover.

I have used some of that ceramic paint made for header wrap, I think pep boys sells it (others might) and it is a pretty nice finish as well. Like yours too.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by LDO

Love the attention to detail and how you break things down into 'bite-sized' chunks, keeps things moving forward and keeps you positive. I use the same technique.

Love the allen bolts on the rear diff. cover.

I have used some of that ceramic paint made for header wrap, I think pep boys sells it (others might) and it is a pretty nice finish as well. Like yours too.

I have found that I have to do small tasks through the week that can be accomplished in a night or tow. If not my ADD overpowers my OCD and I loose interest. My tailgate band is a perfect example. I know I will get it done, but its going to be a longer process than I had anticipated.

I really like the clean look of the stainless button heads as accent pieces. They give a bit of sparkle on an otherwise boring component.

I will give PEP boys a try for the ceramic paint. I hit Advanced, Oriellys, and Auto Zone with no luck.

[mcbassin]

Nice progress Ken, Looking forward to checking it out up close in Texas soon.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Nice progress Ken, Looking forward to checking it out up close in Texas soon.

She looks a whole lot better from a distance, but things are improving.

[N2TRUX]

Tonight I wrapped up my GMC letters project. I didn't realize the edges of the letters were chipped so much till I tried to mask them for the chrome silver paint. I decided it would be better to paint freehand. It was a time consuming task that required stopping to clean my mistakes, but the task is done.

[N2TRUX]

While waiting for paint to dry between coats, I took on another small task. I had a horn button that had stress cracks in the clear bezel.

I bought another one with a good bezel but the plastic prongs that hold the button in place got broken. It also had some thin spots in the background color.
I pulled the good bezel and repainted the back side. I installed this in the good button housing after a thorough cleaning. The finished product looks great. Now I need to do the same on my steering wheel.

[rustytruck50]

Wow...I had a level of detail that I kept on a '86 IROC-Z years ago that I regularly showed and did quite well with & this is easily a step above...

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by rustytruck50

Wow...I had a level of detail that I kept on a '86 IROC-Z years ago that I regularly showed and did quite well with & this is easily a step above...

Thanks you sir. Just trying to bring it to the next level on a sensible budget.

[N2TRUX]

What I have, and what I need. The #gmc hood ornament on Scarlett is toast. I have been searching for a better one but been unsuccessful finding one. Message me if you have one available.

[sambrutay]

Originally Posted by ztk123

Very nice work! After reading your build threads I think I'm inspired to build a 1987 GMC Sierra SWB. Bought the truck a few months ago, 60,000 original miles, 1 owner, base model, rust free work truck. I have a 71 2wd Blazer and had been partial to the 67-72 gen but wow the squarebody trucks are really coming on strong. I've also a Scott's Hotrod IFS, 14" wilwoods, Bonspeed billet wheels, accuair air management system with shockwaves, and 4.8L LS engine that I've already put a new cam in. Kinda hard to Hotrod the original 4.3 v6. It's pretty plain for sure but gots potential. Thanks again for the inspiration!
Mike

Mike,
What happened to the green square you had?