My daily driver/beater : How I turned lemons in lemonade

[Tx Firefighter]

I appreciate the dialog from everyone on the rear shock mounting.

I looks like the project is going to keep moving forward soon. I lit off the fresh engine in the 4x4 today. It seems good so far. I didn't have antifreeze in it so I only ran it a short time. No funny sounds and strong oil pressure. Now I just have to cross my fingers and hope the TBI tolerates the vortec roller cam without any further tuning or chip burning. I've heard it both ways on the Internet.

I still have to round up a few serpentine drive brackets for the 4x4. It has the steel horseshoe type on there now and of course they're cracked and bent so I'm going to swap to the 91 and newer aluminum brackets. That's my project this weekend, to find the brackets I need. Hopefully only two or three more paychecks and the 4x4 will be driver quality and I can dig back into the stepside.

Also, another member on here just offered me some front bag plates that he had laying around.

[Tx Firefighter]

I can see the light on the 4x4 engine job. As soon as I get it finished up completely it will be my daily driver and I can work on the stepside.

Finally got the brackets I needed for the 4x4



And, as I was removing the brackets off the Craigslist guys truck, I noticed the new radiator. Wound up buying it for 40 bucks. Very fortuitous since I was planning on stopping by OReilly and spending 120 for a radiator on my way home anyway. You can see the old leaky radiator in the picture along with the new/used Craigslist radiator.



Pretty much all finished up. The engine sounds good and solid. Nice and smooth. No leaks, seeps, or drips. Just a few things to tidy up, set timing, etc. what you see there is a 350 4bolt main TBI engine with higher compression pistons and a full Vortec roller cam swap. I have about 450 dollars invested in the engine. I did a lot of closely inspecting used parts and rounding up other, better, used parts, to get it all together. The important stuff is all new like bearings, rings and stuff.



Yes, the engine stuff could stand some detailing but I wanted to push through and get this thing on the road rather than spend another month fussing over restoring little parts in the engine bay. Priorities....

[Low Elco]

Congrats on the running 4X4!

[Sodell]

Glad you got it running! Any issues with the TBI/ECU?

[killthewabbit]

You know, I'm pretty sure Rustoleum comes in a cream color that's a decent match for the factory cream. Would make a good candidate for a rolled on job

[Tx Firefighter]

I've been pushing on the 4x4 lately. I can't do serious work to the stepside without having another pickup to drive around while its torn apart. The 4x4 needs tires and I've been mulling over my options. I followed this thread .....click here....and want a similar look to my k2500.

Pic from above link.....



And I was trolling Craiglsist at the fire station yesterday.....



So when I got off work this morning I took a detour on my way home....









I didn't really have the money on this paycheck cycle, but I made it work anyway. That was a very good deal for those wheels. I like aluminum wheels and factory aluminum wheels are top quality.

On the stepside subject, I had some straight up generosity from another member on here. I got a box in the mail yesterday. Here is step number one to the airbag suspension.

[flashed]

Those are nice .

[68Timber]

Originally Posted by flashed

Those are nice .

Slightly better shape than the Alcoas were at first. Nice score.

[Tx Firefighter]

I'm probably gonna order a set of those goofy Buckshot Mudder tires for them and bolt em on. No wheel restoration for me right now. I well remember the Alocas.

[Gmc-76]

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...b8b6e09472.jpg

Tx Firefighter, how did you mount the 88-94 wheel? How hard was it to do? I have a 88 parts truck with that wheel and my 85 has the stock wheel...its too big for my liking.

[MalibuSSwagon]

Originally Posted by Gmc-76

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...b8b6e09472.jpg

Tx Firefighter, how did you mount the 88-94 wheel? How hard was it to do? I have a 88 parts truck with that wheel and my 85 has the stock wheel...its too big for my liking.

It's a bolt on replacement for the stock wheel, I put one in my 86.

[Gmc-76]

How do you pull the steering wheel off?

[ChevDog1]

steering wheel puller - but i usually just pull them off with a few solid tugs (of course after removing the nut!)

[83GMCK2500]

Those PY0's look like they are in GREAT shape with just a little dust on them. That factory clear is pretty thick, perhaps a quick once-over with something like the headlight restorer polish will make them pop. I can totally understand your decision to bolt-on and go after the Alcoa experience...that was intense. Happy to see and hear that the 4x4 is slowly coming together for you.

The plans you've laid out for the stepside and your recent updates are definitely interesting. It'll be great to see this truck evolve and progress as well.

[Stoney]

That's a steal on those wheels. Nice...

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by 83GMCK2500

Those PY0's look like they are in GREAT shape with just a little dust on them. That factory clear is pretty thick, perhaps a quick once-over with something like the headlight restorer polish will make them pop. I can totally understand your decision to bolt-on and go after the Alcoa experience...that was intense. Happy to see and hear that the 4x4 is slowly coming together for you.

The plans you've laid out for the stepside and your recent updates are definitely interesting. It'll be great to see this truck evolve and progress as well.

Originally Posted by Stoney

That's a steal on those wheels. Nice...

Thank you. They're in very nice shape under the dust. The guy who sold them to me was driving a 65k dollar King Ranch Super Duty diesel and wasn't interested in negotiating so I had to pay full price. He wasn't a car guy at all apparently, the wheels were just sitting in his garage for the last 10 years after he had removed them from his truck back then.

[Tx Firefighter]

The talk about pulling steering wheels made me think of an opportunity for some low buck tech.

For a good number of years, I worked as a mechanic for the US Postal Service. Probably one of the top five repairs we did on the mail trucks was repair complaint of "turn signal won't cancel". That's a cancel spring every time. The part was like 7 cents but you had to pull the steering wheel to change it. So, a bunch of us built these rock solid little steering wheel pullers. The beauty of them is no moving parts to get lost and they are small and easy to carry in your toolbox.

I bet I've pulled over 1000 steering wheels with this little puller. You just start the two bolts into the holes in the steering wheel and tighten them back and forth. By the time you've tightened each one about two turns, the wheel is loose.







I've got a nice commercial steering wheel puller kit in the box with all of the fancy bolts and stuff, but it's too much trouble juggling all that crap when this little fella works every single time. Nothing to lose and fits in your pocket with ease. All you need is a little hunk of steel, a drill, two 5/16 bolts and some nuts and washers. I did a majority of my mail truck fixing on the tailgate of my service truck in post office parking lots all over the North Texas area. My tools were in a tool bag and the lighting was often by flashlight. Simple, bulletproof tools with nothing to lose is the order of the day in those cases.

Edited to add, in looking at the pictures I guess I should swap a couple of fresh bolts into it. Those have about exceeded their service life. After 19 years....

[aotte1]

Like the wheels too, agree really strong, run them also on 1986, CUCV M1008 1ton with Michelin 2.5 ton tires, the tall ones. Do some cross country driving in woods and they have stood up well.
Les

[aotte1]

Kevin,
Wheels on CUCV, just back from cross country woods trip picking up firewood. Les

[MalibuSSwagon]

Kevin, thanks for the tip on the steering wheel tool! First wheel I tried to pull for my C10 was a really nice leather wrapped one like in your truck. I couldn't pull it off since I had no tool! was really pissed about that. Second time I tried in another yard, it popped right off by hand! No tool. Of course it was the basic rubber wheel, but anything was better than the little grant wheel.

[crashz]

Any pics of the 4x4? I quickly looked for a build thread, but only found the flat bed build.

Speaking of that, you said that you can't start the step side build until the 4x4 is finished, but you still have the dually right? I'm guessing with the deep gears and big block, you'd rather not daily drive that thing until the big hauls are needed.

Nice puller!

[lolife99]

SUPER deal on the GM aluminum wheels.
I'm stealing your steering wheel puller idea also.
I'm gonna go home and measure the center -to-center spacing on and old steering wheel and build one.
Any chance you would be selling your dually?

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by lolife99

SUPER deal on the GM aluminum wheels.
I'm stealing your steering wheel puller idea also.
I'm gonna go home and measure the center -to-center spacing on and old steering wheel and build one.
Any chance you would be selling your dually?

The critical thing on the puller is to build it as narrow as the two bolts will allow. These thick padded wheels like the one on this truck require the puller to fit down inside the center well of the wheel. You've got to make it narrow. Not so much for earlier wheels, but you might as well build it to fit all wheels. To my knowledge, the bolt spacing is the same on all GM wheels. I've pulled everything from 1954 to 1994 model steering wheels with it. Notice the slack in the bolts and the locknuts. That allows the bolts to be free spinning inside of the steel plate.

I'd sell the dually, but its a moot point I guess. With the money I have into it, I'd likely be out of line on my asking price. You guys know what kind of money I invested in the build, but your typical buyer sees flaky paint and bad interior and would classify me as a crack head on my price.

[crashz]

A working dually is a funny rig. They have no really capacity over a 3/4ton, either practically or legally when equipped witha commercial body. They are just really heavy and usually laden with a heavy body.

The one advantage is towing. I really like a dually when towing.

Keeping me waiting on the 4x4 pics? Is it wrong to beg?

[lolife99]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

I'd sell the dually, but its a moot point I guess. With the money I have into it, I'd likely be out of line on my asking price. You guys know what kind of money I invested in the build, but your typical buyer sees flaky paint and bad interior and would classify me as a crack head on my price.

I've always wanted a lowered "standard cab" 2wd dually with the C&C rearend and the stock dually bed.
I have it in my head it would be a 67-72 truck,... but a 73-87 truck could work also.