[Ivan D.]

Originally Posted by 79gmcsierragrande

The trans is a 4 speed manual with a low gear (meaning you start in 2nd). Highway speeds out here (Grand Junction CO) are 75 mph and I’m out of gears at 30. I can almost watch the gas gage go down over 3 miles on the hwy. I would like to get better gas mileage without sacrificing towing capacity, is there anything I can do? Also I WON”T drive an automatic, I bought this truck because it was a stick so please don’t suggest a turbo 350 or 400 I know they are out there.

I'd suggest that you install a set of numerically lower gears in the rear axle - for a tranny with a 1:1 final ratio (no overdrive) I think 3.08 gears will work out good, I had them in my old '79 halfton with a TH350 slushbox and with my 33" tires at 65mph my engine speed was a bit around 2200 rpms, which is still well before the opening point for the carburetor's secondary barrels so you should be getting decent fuel economy (I was getting 18-19mpg freeway at 2000 rpms). Also, you having a bolt-action tranny means there will be no torque converter losses, so more of what your engine makes will go to the rear wheels, and your engine speed will be a bit lower as well.

The other thing I was wondering about is, the truck has a drifting problem. My philosophy is if something breaks replace it and everything attached to it. So I’m replacing the ball joints (shot), tie rod ends (shot), shocks (shot, on the way), idler arm, gear box, adding a stabilizer, and replacing all the bushings. The power steering pump was supposedly replaced just before I got it but he must have gotten it from a junk yard because it’s old. I’m not going to raise or lower the truck, I did put on some 31 10.50 R15 Toyo Open Country A/T tires with 15”X8” rims, but that’s as far as I’m going with it I like the stock height. I was wondering if there is anything I’m missing and if anyone has heard of Energy Suspension? I found a site that has the full bushing kit for $192.57 http://www.energysuspensionparts.com...s.asp?cat=2330 but I don’t want garbage. If anyone has bought from them or knows about them I would appreciate the feedback.

Energy Suspension (aka ENS) are well known for their polyurethane suspension components, I got a set of bushings in my Lincoln Town car and with the stiffer springs and road race shocks that 4500lb landyacht handles scarey good - I think you will like the ENS bushings on your truck as well, as a matter of fact that's what I was planning on using on my '79 c10.

This is the first truck I’ve tried to restore. I’m a welder by trade and I’ve always done all my own work on my cars but I’ve never taken on something this big before, I’m looking forward to it. When I bought the truck the breaks didn’t work and the clutch pedal popped in and out making the truck jump. I spent about $300 replacing everything accept the break lines and the vacuum assist (master cylinder, calipers, wheel cylinders, shoes, pads, and drum and rotor turn) and the clutch was a simple tightening of two nuts on the pedal. The body is in good shape accept for a dent on the tailgate, the driver door (my wife did, I could have killed her), and two on the hood, the paint is faded and there is minimal surface rust, and the interior is also shot but that just means I can do WHATEVER I WANT TO IT. I’ll post some pictures when I figure out how….

I would replace the brake lines as well as rust gets to them eventually, and hoses like to collapse internally and cause a caliper to freeze and overheat the brake. Also, if you want to be able to out-brake good 50% of what's out there on the roads, think about swapping the vacuum assist with a hydroboost unit from a diesel or 1-ton truck, those use the power steering pump to run the brakes and are able to achieve much higher line pressure and work especially good on halftons - now that pretty much requires that you replace the steel lines, I blew first the front then the rear on my halfton when I was testing my hydroboost in the carport.