'85 Short Bed 4X4
 

New to the forum, long time lurker first time poster. I found this site when I was in high school, spent just about every minute I could on it. I always wanted and old square and a few years after school finally had the money to get one. What I wanted was specific and I could never find the right combo and I kinda gave it up and focused on my motorcycle I had but, of course as fate has it a month or two goes by and the dream truck is sitting on the side of the road literally a block from my house. From first sight to final sale was about an hour. From the beginning its been my plan to make this somewhat of a family affair between myself my father and my step brother. Ive had it for about eight months now, and problems are springing up all over the place. As I type its getting a transmission put in it, which pains me cause I'm not doing it but right now I just don't have the skill or the shop. Me and the Old man are cleaning out his shop and plan on working on it there when the transmission is done.
My knowledge of these trucks is very slim in comparison the the gurus on this forum, so I will have some very silly questions. I plan on this being a meticulous build, and seeing as I am 20 years old and pursuing a Fire Dept. job, money is a factor. I will post some Pics, forgive me if I don't get it right, I am still getting used to the format of the site.

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

Just for research sake, I'd like to find a thread on how to replace the motor mounts.
I have a 350 in it now, but the guy who put it there must have been blindfolded when he welded the mounts on. I am sure there is plenty of info on it, just cant seem to find it.

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

Well, got the truck back from the transmission guy. pretty cool local guy, full rebuild for 800 bucks, he was a friend of a friend so he gave me a deal. new torque converter as well.

As for how it drives, its been better but its all due to the motor. When the transmission went i was doing about 50-60 and it dropped into first, and when it did i think it put a hurtin on the motor. There is a pretty heavy ticking/ knocking noise that gets better and worse as i drive. Tranny guy says bad cam, dad says lifters, im thinking burnt up valve. I honestly have no clue but i do know the motor needs pulled just so i can fix the terrible wiring and the botched motor mount. Right now i am not quite sure where to begin. I'll post some pics of the mounts when I can. Its horrifying!

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

do a leak down test that will tell you if its a valve or something worse.

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

What exactly do you mean by leak test? sorry for the incompetence.. haha

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

Very nice...I love the two tone brown. (first pickup I had was exact color).

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

Thanks man, Didn't know i liked it so much until i saw it in person. Great color for these trucks.

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

I love that color combo. Very hard to come across in those colors. Looking forward to what you do with it. Here is a pic of the same combo that I found on the web.

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

Same tires I have and everything. Seems they painted the wheel centers tan as well. That would be real fun to keep clean. Was that a stock option? mine are an off gray.

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

Heres some pictures of the motor mounts as well as the front grille, which needs some attention. the turn signals arent attached to anything...
Also, just out of curiosity, what does the "cr" cutout mean on the inner fender?

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

More pictures

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

When doing my morning walk around the truck I noticed that my newly rebuilt transmission is leaking, more then some, less than alot, but its leaking. I guess i'll call the guy that did it. If he doesn't fix it, I will, I just dont like that it leaks.

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

that's been cut to fit and welded to the frame . id get a used correct crossmember and replace it as soon a possible. nice starter

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

What's the deal with that front crossmember that is all welded up. Is that what you was talking about that the previous owner did? I would find one in a junk yard and get that swapped out ASAP. That doesn't look safe to me.

As far as the rims on that truck they have been painted. All the factory rallies were silver. That is a pretty nice looking truck you have. For some reason I have a soft spot for that color combo.

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

Yeah, that was the previous owner. Its on its way out as soon as possible. I agree about the safety of it, not acceptable. I suppose a junkyard find is a good idea, maybe ill do some research on the internet and see if i can find a new part, i like that idea better, but money is a factor.

The longer i have it, the more i realize its my favorite paint combo. Thanks for all the advice guys.

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

That starter will turn it over for days! :metal:

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

Cocoa Auto Salvage and Mangum's Auto Parts in Cocoa say they have one. One says $75.

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

Dude, you're the man! I will run over to cocoa auto sometime next week or so.

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

I use http://www.car-part.com/ when I looked them up. I haven't been down your way for some time but last time I was at Cocoa beach I got to see the shuttle take off and thought that was pretty awesome. My sister lived in Orlando but now lives in Gainesville.

That site said one was an 89-91 and the other was from a 90. I assume they are all the same. I punched in 85 and they list all that will cross fit all those years. Next towns were Vero Beach and Kissimmee. Good luck. They might even have the correct grille that you need for those turn signal lights.

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

Looks like you have a great truck, that will be lots of fun.

A couple of answers for you, "leak down test" checks the condition of the combustion chamber process, e.g. the valves, rings, etc. It uses compressed air to check condition, two pressure gauges are used and compressed air is injected into a cylinder through the spark plug hole. Reading the difference between the two gauges tells you the condition. I will try to post a picture of one.

The "CR" and "CL" I assume means right and left sides of the engine bay, and the "C" I though means a C style truck( the is just a guess on my part).

Good luck on your truck.

Les

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

---When the transmission went i was doing about 50-60 and it dropped into first, and when it did i think it put a hurtin on the motor----

youre lucky with that crossmember that the engine didn't bang in the hood

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

I say that I will have a truck come down and just take it off your hands for you. That way you don't have to worry about fixing it. I will just have to take a beating on the repairs it needs I guess. :lol:

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

Great info man, thanks alot. I think i will probably end up getting a new grille, stock stle of course. I've been around here my whole life, shuttles and rockets were just that loud noise that woke you up in the night. haha now i appreciate it more.

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

That test sounds exactly like the kind of thing i need. I will have to get my hands on one of those and read into how to do it properly.

As for the fenders, seems like a logical assumption. This truck was originally a 2 wheel drive, according to VIN decoders, so the "c" makes sense.

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

Did alot of thinking last night on where to progress from here, only logical solution is to start with the removing the motor. Its something ive never done before, but I can think my way through it, and i have the convenience of another truck to drive while its out. While the motor is out, I have a laundry list of items to fix,
- Motor crossmember
- Motor Mounts
- any other ghetto weld job i see
-crazy wiring
-replace inner fender apron
-something im forgetting
-all the other things i'll be appalled at when i find them
- fix/rebuild/make the motor pretty.

I cant decide weather to take the grille and radiator support off before i pull the motor. I think it would make my life alot easier, plus i need to do alot of work to it and the lights. etc. Plus it may make the replacement inner fender apron easier to install (passenger side) I like to do the project start to finish in my head and have a realll nice plan to disregard when i run into something unexpected. :)

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

Man, I almost asked if it was originally a 2wd truck. I just had the feeling it might have been.

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Yeah, its kinda got me worried just because of the sort of work ive seen so far by the previous owner. I guess I will find out when i start diggin into it.

I have been looking for parts, mostly on rock auto, and quality is a concern. I have heard good things but can anyone vouch for the quality of the stuff they have? Mostly looking at things like fender aprons, seals, a battery tray, stuff like that, nothing truly mechanical quite yet.

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

Beautiful truck... I have a soft spot for short bed 4x4s.

Looking forward to seeing you sorting out the PO's f-ups.

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

Well, I have made slight progress. Got a new radio in, a nice kenwood i got from a guy at work, 60 bucks for an originally 300 dollar unit. ( I work at an aftermarket truck accessory place) The PO didnt hook all the speakers up the the one he installed, so now it sounds much better, looks better too.

As far as the motor goes, I have a friend with a nice compression tester, I plan on getting with him some time soon and figuring out what the deal is. I have been doing alot of wire chasing, and its a nightmare. Its almost as if the PO ripped the old motor out without removing any wiring and just wired everything over top of the old stuff. There are loose wires and wires that do nothing at all. I really would like to get the mototr pulled, just to fix the wiring mess. I have a few questions as to what some of these wires and plugs that lead to now where do. Pictures to come.

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

Im back. Ive been busy with my fire department stuff, finally got a job which means money for the build! More new stuff soon.

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Maybe find a doner truck with good wiring and x-member etc. Money well spent. Nice truck and yeah that welding job would have me scared to drive that til its right.
On the other hand-anything you do to it will look like you are a genius compared to the original owners work.
It will be a real nice ride when your done!
350's commonly go on sale on Ebay with free shipping for $1200. Just sayin.
I wouldn't mess with anything til I had all the parts to fix it. That way you can still move it around if necessary.

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

I have been cruising Ebay a little bit. Whats the general consensus on rebuilding Vs. buying a new one? I like the idea of rebuilding because i will ensure the quality and I will know its what i want. The downside is i haven't the slightest clue on how to rebuild it.

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

IMHO, you really can't go wrong with a warrantied long or short block, especially for a 350. But I'd try to find a low mile, well maintained running motor to pull off craigslist if it were my truck.

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

Changed the oil today, topped off the power steering fluid. Its amazing what the proper weight oil and proper amount of oil does for a motor. The first time I changed the oil I used what the PO told me he had always done. Should of known not to listen to that advice. Ha! I used 10w40 synthetic instead of 5w30. I know its not always wise to just change the weight like that but seeing as this motor seems to have been driven with half the oil needed for most of its life, I don't think Im doing much of a disservice. The power steering has a pretty strong leak in the system somewhere. As with most issues with this truck Im not sure when to fix it and where to start. I am scared of fixing these little things that will add up just to redo them when i am finnaly able to remove the front clip altogether. Decisions decisions. Im going to do some forum lurking and learn all I can. Thanks for all the helpful hints so far!

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

Fixed the power steering. Just the high pressure hose. Works like a champ. One thing off the list.

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

Just FYI, compression and leak down are different test to check the condition of the engines rings and valves. The leak down test provides more detail information about their condition. Again just FYI, researching each test should help you decide which is better for what you need. E.g. Leak down test can tell you that you have an exhaust valve that is leaking, needs to be fixed, however, can drive for a little while to you save money to do it. You know this because you can hear the air leaking into the exhaust, vs the intake/carb or oil pan( e.g. ring issue.).

L

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

Alright, im back, after getting a job, moving twice, buying another car and another motorcycle ive been busy doing non chevy things. I have a motor lined up, not entirely sure if its what I want yet, specs to come (its alot bigger tho!) Haven't been driving it much, once or twice a week just to keep it up. Regular washes and fluid checks and all that, but no real road time. Ill have my very own 2 car garage for the first time in about a week. Time to get this build going again!

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

I know they're one here, and I know im just incapable, but can anyone link me to some properly mounted 350 motors in a 4x4? Stock setup is fine, I'd just like to see how it supposed to be. Thanks, apologize for being thread ingnorant.

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

Update time, Only a few years later...I've been busy since the last time I posted, here's whats been done.
-New crate 350, installed by a shop that was local to me. nothing special, just the plug and play
-New motor mount and cross member, no more nasty welded plate.
-New brakes all around, master cylinder rebuild as well. kept the old lines.
-New axle seals
-New rear tires, BFG A/T
-New Edelbrock 4 barrel carb, needs tuned.

After getting all this done, I replaced all the fluids and drove it from Florida to Oregon, where I'm working and living for the time being. I drive this truck everyday and its a full on work truck on the farm I've been working at.

Re: '85 Short Bed 4X4
 

The cab corners have unfortunately gotten much worse (who'd a guessed it), The truck sat with a blown motor for about 6 months in FL, did it no favors at all. Have the Cab Corner metal ready to order from LMC, Gonna have a shop fix er' up right sometime soon. Drivers side is worse than passenger. Open to suggestions for where I can get the corner metals, fit is my main concern. I'll find one of the 1.2 million threads on cab corners and go from there.