1979 1/2 ton GMC - need advice on upgrades (lowering, grille, etc)

[67stepsideC10]

Hello everyone.

I sold my 67 stepside project truck because i needed the money in order to become a missionary. I bought a 79 gmc 1/2 ton last week really cheap, just a daily driver no nonsense truck. Its white with inline 6 cyl, 3 spd on column, power nothing. rusted in typical places.

Anyway, i need advice in a few areas.

FIRST - lowering.
I bought the truck from my girlfriend's dad. He had a set of flip brackets for the rear. He said he was gonna cut the front springs and install the flip kit, which I would like to do. Any idea how low that will go? Can anyone post a pic? I looked at lowered trucks on here, is it a 5/6 drop?

SECOND - grille.
The grille on this thing is hideous. Any suggestions. I want to keep "GMC" or do away with it altogether, but open to suggestions.

THIRD - gauges.
The dash lights won't light up when you turn the headlights on, so I cant see the speedo or fuel gauge at night. Any suggestions? Where would the fuse for that be? If not, i it hard to replace the bulbs?

That's all for now. I apologize if these are stupid questions, i'm just a college kid without anyone else to really ask for advice on this stuff.

Will post pics tomorrow!

[rcbildr]

I can't help you out with the first question...I've been working on mostly 4x4's and don't really know much about lowering a 2wd.

For a grille, check the local pull-a-part yards and see what you can find. Also craigslist is another good resource.

Are all the dash lights out or just one area. It could be a few dead bulbs which can be a pain in the butt to get to. Or, the issue may be in your headlight switch. If you twist it (when the headlights are on) that controls the brightness of the dash lights and it will also turn on your dome light. There might be a dead spot where its at and maybe twisting it a little or even jiggling it will get them to come on. The first thing would be to double check the fuses, then the bulbs, and then try messing with the switch. I have that problem with my 83 shortbed, sometimes the dash lights don't come on unless I jiggle the switch knob a bit. Hope this helps.

[67stepsideC10]

As for the grille, I just wanna know what fits and what's popular to use. Up for billet or swapping out something from another year. Just would like some suggestions.

The four dummy lights on the left work, so the whole dash isn't out. dome light (under dash lights) comes on when you turn it all the way, but dimmer doesn't affect the speedo or fuel gauge lamps. Dont even know where the fuse panel is on this thing. How do you get to the bulbs?

BTW - thanks for the welcome!

[rcbildr]

The fuse block is on the floor board, driverside above your left foot.

Sounds to me like you have a few dead bulbs. The bulbs are held in by black plastic caps/holders on the back of the cluster. Just turn them a quarter turn and they will come out and then you can pull the bulb out. If I remember right the lights for the gas gage and speedo are the worst to get to.

[bitchin85]

when i changed my bulbs, i just took out the whole guage cluster. the lights are a pain to get to from under the dash

[Tow Me]

As for lowering.....
On Ebay there some guys sell a flip brackets for 73-87 Chevy/GMC trucks (may fit other models and years too). It flips the axle on top of the springs and gives you 5 or 6" of drop. They are only $40-$60. Much cheaper than a name brand and they work just as well. No need for new u-bolts, shock extenders, and notch if your going for economy drop. I suggest using some 1-ton gas shocks off the front of a Chevy... they work great on the back when lowered.

The pic of my crew cab has the flip bracket, 2.5" drop spindles and cut 3/4 ton springs.


Check on Craigslist for parts trucks and spindles. I found my spindles an hour down the freeway for $150. I would look for a 4 light front end or a 89-91 Suburban front setup. Snag the core support too. Billet grills are pretty affordable and you can clean up the plastic trim by spraying it with some gray/silver paint.

[67stepsideC10]

Thanks for the info. Looks like i'll be pulling out the cluster if it isn't a fuse. Anyone ever polished the gauge lens/cover? Tips?

As for the drop, he gave me a flip kit like you mentioned off ebay for the rear, so that's what ill be using. May try to find spindles i guess but was hoping not to have to buy anything right now, just cut coils.

It WILL be an economy drop. Economy EVERYTHING at this time

Anyone have any grille pics?

Any other tips would be greatly appreciated!

[67stepsideC10]

Originally Posted by Tow Me

As for lowering.....
On Ebay there some guys sell a flip brackets for 73-87 Chevy/GMC trucks (may fit other models and years too). It flips the axle on top of the springs and gives you 5 or 6" of drop. They are only $40-$60. Much cheaper than a name brand and they work just as well. No need for new u-bolts, shock extenders, and notch if your going for economy drop. I suggest using some 1-ton gas shocks off the front of a Chevy... they work great on the back when lowered.

The pic of my crew cab has the flip bracket, 2.5" drop spindles and cut 3/4 ton springs.


Check on Craigslist for parts trucks and spindles. I found my spindles an hour down the freeway for $150. I would look for a 4 light front end or a 89-91 Suburban front setup. Snag the core support too. Billet grills are pretty affordable and you can clean up the plastic trim by spraying it with some gray/silver paint.

BTW - that thing is BADD. What wheels are those?

[flamingbig10]

you can get 3" of drop by cutting 1 1/2 coils off but I wouldn't cut any more it will cause alignment issues and spring can pop out of place, for the grille 73-74 chevy grilles look the best but would require a 73-78 headlight bezels, trim, and few odd ends and second a billet grille with added on gmc logo

[Tow Me]

Originally Posted by 67stepsideC10

BTW - that thing is BADD. What wheels are those?

Those wheels are just Chevy rally wheels painted black. I really like the way they turned out with the small white wall. I'm running 7s in the front and 8s in the back.

[Tow Me]

Originally Posted by flamingbig10

you can get 3" of drop by cutting 1 1/2 coils off but I wouldn't cut any more it will cause alignment issues and spring can pop out of place, for the grille 73-74 chevy grilles look the best but would require a 73-78 headlight bezels, trim, and few odd ends and second a billet grille with added on gmc logo

I agree with Aaron... if your gonna buy anything, buy the spindles to get it lowered right. You will eat up tires real quick if your alignment is way off.

[67stepsideC10]

Will these work?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...K%3AMEWAX%3AIT

Good price?

[flamingbig10]

yes as along as you have 1.25 wide front rotors and thats a good price

[67stepsideC10]

Well folks, bad news. Last night I was on the interstate and heard a strange clicking, so I immediately pulled over. Popped the hood and smoke poured out from the engine compartment, seemingly from around the air cleaner. I waited for it to settle, restarted (temp light came on), and drove just enough to get to the end of an exit ramp to park it. Came back and put about a gallon of water in it. Drove it to our shop, smoke seemed to be coming from somewhere below the air cleaner. It was using water, but we couldn't see a drip, just vapor. Figured it was a fitting or something from the metal lines running from the waterneck to who knows where.

Drove it home about 12 miles, still smoked a little, but temp light never came on, and it seemed to be doing better, especially now that it was full of water.

Got up this morning to head to Advance to get some stop leak to hopefully seal up whatever leak it was. I was already about a 1/2 gallon low on water, so i filled up the stop leak and topped off the water. Drove to school (About 10 miles) and when i parked, I popped the hood, the smoking had stopped. Then after a few seconds, i noticed a stream of water run out from under it past the left tire. Looked underneath and there was water literally dripping (several drops per second) out from below the exhaust manifold area/bottom of block on left side.

SO - guess I have a blown head gasket.

I had been noticing the heater wasn't working the past 2 days, but didn't think much about it. Now that I know whats up, it all makes sense. Heater runs off the coolant system's heat.

How hard is it to change the head gasket on the L6?

Would this be a good time to pull the motor, clean everything up, fix the rear main seal (it's leaking), replace the head gasket, etc. or is that a very involved job?

Advice appreciated.

[67stepsideC10]

Here's some pics, pre-leak.

[thump16]

awesome truck. I think the bare bone stock ones are the best because you can mod it to your personal tastes. Good luck and ask all the questions you want. that's why the board is here. We have a salvage yard here that has a few squares with inline six's. If you need a part not available up there lemme know and I'l pick it up before the vultures get there hands on them.

Sledge

[bitchin85]

if i were you id wait till its convenient and yank the motor and go through everything. it would be worth it and the inline sixes are pretty simple and easy to work with. if you are going to have the head off, your already about half way there as far as tearing it apart goes, why not pull it so you can clean everything up and paint it up nice and replace your seals. just my opinion

[Keith Seymore]

Sounds like you are going to have your hands full in the near term removing and fixing your engine - but - I'd like to comment on some of your questions:

1) Lowering - for the rear, you can also cut the spring hangers loose and bolt them back on higher on the frame. Cutting the rivets is not fun, but it is cheap and you get a positive (controllable) amount of drop. Total cost is whatever you pay for a fistfull of Grade 8 bolts.

2) I agree that is is easier to pull the cluster right out and change the bulbs.

3) I think you'll find it's pretty easy to work on a 6 cylinder pickup, regardless of if you leave the engine in and pull it out.

I just went through all this on my truck. I would encourage you to check out my build thread (link located in my sig below) because there may be some inexpensive ideas in there that you can use.

Good luck -

K

[67stepsideC10]

Thanks for the advice and encouragement folks.

Fortunately, my girlfriend's dad, who originally sold me the truck, offered to buy it back from me and pay for the parts I had bought (headlights, flasher module, etc.), and give me the full amount I paid.

This is a huge blessing for me, as I was needing a cheap reliable vehicle for a few months before I leave (moving to Nicaragua in December as a missionary), and once it started acting up, I wasn't exactly comfortable relying on it. I've always heard these inline 6's are bulletproof, but i guess anything can still blow a head gasket and have minor issues.

Most likely, we'll yank the motor and reseal everything, as some of you mentioned. This will be a chance for me to learn to work on it from a veteran without being financially strapped and pushed for time.

When I move back, I just might buy it back, definitely loved the truck.

Thanks again for all the help guys.

[67stepsideC10]

Well, scratch that. I'm keeping it and gonna pull the motor myself. Decided it's time for me to learn a thing or two and this will be a good vehicle to start with. Planning on using a lot of ziploc bags and maybe even taking pictures as I disassemble to help myself stay on track.

Gonna go ahead and reseal everything I can while it is out, new plugs and wires, new hoses, etc.

Suggestions welcome.

[67stepsideC10]

Alright folks, teardown process begins tomorrow. Any tips? Planning on pulling motor and trans as unit after I steam clean everything with our Hotsy. Should make the job a little less messy....

Any easy way to get rid of all the smog stuff?

Planning to completely reseal the motor, give it a fresh coat of paint, new plugs, wires, hoses, etc. May spray the engine bay while I have everything out.

[67stepsideC10]

Got it cleaned up yesterday with the Hotsy. Amazing how much grime that thing will cut off with a little heat. Planning to remove the front end and then the motor, since I will be replacing it all anyway.

[67stepsideC10]

Okay, we have the engine and trans ready to pull - all we have to do is hook the hoist to it and lift it out.

I do have a quick question.

Does anyone know of a way to delete the 4 tubes that run into the LH of the valve cover? They appear to be for emissions, almost like 4 EGR valves. Maybe an earlier model valve cover with plugs for the intake side? Or just plug it all? Surely someone has done this.

I have the 6 cyl 250 with 3 spd.

[67stepsideC10]

Wow - it's been a long time! Ended up pulling the motor and finding out it was a cracked head. It had that terrible integrated head on it, and the truck was pretty terribly rusted, so I decided to cut my losses and sell everything. I think I actually even made a little bit of money on it. Short beds are a hot commodity 'round here.

Now I'm back in the US after my time in Nicaragua, daily driving my 64 C10.

Thanks for all who helped!