"There are two secrets to success. The first, don't share everything you know."
And then there's this build thread. I am by no means an exceptional mechanic, welding wizard, wiring guru, suspension bodhisattva, etc. And I am definately on the lower end of the income bracket. However, I am meticulous, inquisitive and experimental. This will be a fairly slow build thread, so do not expect daily updates, but I will be catalogging the changes I make to my 1984 GMC LWB.
Some history; this truck was purchased gently used by my maternal grandfather sometime in the early 90s from his neighbor, who was having health issues and passed away some time shortly after that. I rode with my grandfather many times in this truck and always liked it. Never really knew if I wanted a truck like it, or not, but after he passed away - the truck just sat. My mother and aunt couldn't really agree on what to do with it. That's when I decided someone needs to take care of it. If there's one thing I cannot stand, it's a decent truck rotting away (especially when it's in the driveway right next to my house). So, with blessings from my mother and aunt, I drove (barely) it over to my carport and devised an idea of what I wanted to do with it.
This truck, like my '66, is an heirloom truck. Both my late grandfathers were the former owners of these trucks, and I'd love to one day let my sons drive them (after they've gotten past the reckless teens and early twenties - I'm not naive). But, with a condition that I would freshen the trucks up to be appealing, but not gaudy, and be mechanically capable of being depended upon for another 31 (and 49) years - barring some earth shattering change in technology, like the discontinuation of all SBC parts.
Step 1 (by far the most exciting to me) will be to convert this truck from the antiquated carb to a TBI fuel injection. Cheap, dependable, functional.
After scoring the TBI unit, and currently awaiting the computer and harness, I've been getting the sheet metal off the front of this old truck, because while I may have had no problem crawling under the hood of these trucks 10 years ago, time has not been kind to my body. Sitting on the tire seems much more appealing. Truthfully, if you've been hesitant to try this, I urge you to do so. You
can take the fenders off without removing the bumper, so long as you unbolt (or cut
) the inner fenders and get them out first.
I can honestly say that, for the time being (remember, I'd need a $100 loan to be poor) I'll leave the 305/TH350 in the truck. I'm sure it's been worked hard over the years, probably has some cylinder wash, and generally... as the common consesnus is (for good reason)... it's a 305. I'll run it until it grenades, or I get my hands on a decent 350. Or, I might just break down and tug the 350/200-4R from the '66, if I get real desperate.
But that's a build for another section.
I'm currently in the midst of inspecting sheet metal, squirting some rattle can primer over some of the worst spots (the hood, in particular), and waiting for parts. There's a reason for the quote at the top, also. I plan to tackle the EFI first, and give a complete, real world breakdown of difficulty, cost, etc. for those interested. I do work for a parts store chain, but to be fair I will post true prices for the parts I have to buy, correct at the time of the post, and the part numbers used.
Along with that, I also highly suggest checking
this post by user cjracing15 detailing the basics of the TBI harness and where the wires go, along with
this 3-part install from DIYautotime.com converting to EFI. I will add more links in later posts, if it would please anyone, and will be as thorough as humanly possible with my details (I tend to make a lot of notes).