Finally...

[Chrispbrown36]

Well after looking off and on for close to 2 years and missing out on some nice rides by just minutes, I finally got another square body. 1987 Chevy 4x4 350 auto. The body is in pretty good condition with the usual cab corner rust and one rocker that is rusted a little. Wheel wells are good but starting to bubble. motor runs good and tranny shifts good. Nothing major planned for her right now......want to keep her pretty much stock anyway. She needs an exhaust system and definitely new weatherstripping around the vents....man that is annoying going down the road.
It only took me 11 years to go back to the classics (had an 86 2wd years ago) and 21 years to get the 4wd like I drooled over when I was 16.
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[73Super8]

Sweet! Nice find. Looks like you held out for the right one.

[Chrispbrown36]

Thanks. I am pretty excited about it...the wife is already annoyed. ha ha

[77K10Silverado]

Love the long boxes on the 4x4. Nice pickup!

[75gmc454]

Yes it looks good! I really like the 87's with the fuel injection.

[Chrispbrown36]

It will be my first go around with the TBI but I am looking forward to learning more about them.
I do have a question....the gas pedal is really stiff on it and from what I have read it is probably a throttle cable issue.....how much trouble is it to replace the cable? I have searched around and haven't seen anything about swapping one out, but have seen a lot of posts about the stiff pedal being caused by the cable.

[Chrispbrown36]

Got to looking through the glove box and found the original invoice, owners manual and some other odds and ends. Learned that I have 3.08 gears and locking rear differential and that the truck was originally two-tone blue and gray, so at some point it has been repainted all blue. I am going to try to get some more detailed pictures of the truck up along with a scan of the invoice tomorrow....but no promises.

[turbosix]

Congrats. I'm on the lookout for me a square body, and I can't wait. Haven't had one for close to 18 years. It was an '85 SWB 4x4. Looking for an '87 SWB 2wd.

[motornut]

Welcome to the board
if the wife is annoyed ya prob got the right truck,lol
undo the gas pedal cable @ the Carb and try the pedal,they do seize up.

[Chrispbrown36]

I changed out the throttle cable yesterday and man what a difference. The pedal is no longer stiff and my acceleration got better..... I was beginning to think either the motor or the gears were dragging me down....it was the throttle cable. The plan has been to do all the work (all that I can do on my own that is) to this truck, but the weather is thwarting that plan. I had been wanting to crawl underneath it to check things out, but had no desire to lay down on the muddy snow cover ground so yesterday I took it to a buddies tire shop for an oil change. While he had it on the rack I got a chance to check things out. I knew the brakes needed to be changed and assumed that the front end would need to be rebuilt along with a new exhaust. Once we looked it over I was pretty happy.....front end is good and tight and the exhaust isn't as bad as I thought so it will last for a while. I do have an oil leak on the back side, which I assume is the rear main and the power steering seems to be leaking a little.....oh and windshield wiper fluid tank is shot. Overall I was pretty happy with what I saw.
Now the weather has once again changed the plan. We are supposed to get some pretty rough winter weather and I think I better not wait on the brakes, so I am going to try to get them done today. I hate to pay someone to do a simple job like that but if we get the weather they are predicting it is for the best.
I also ordered new vent window latches....man those things are pricey, but the wind noise is horrible...and I can't hear the rumble of the 350! I changed out the door lock cylinders the other day too, so now I can lock the doors! Baby steps so far, but man I love working on her.

[Shifty One]

87 is really the best year, don't let anyone tell you otherwise...


Where did you get the throttle cable? I have the same issue...

[Chrispbrown36]

I had to have it ordered from a small auto parts store near me. The chain parts stores listed it on their website but none had them in stock and none seemed to be interested in ordering it plus the small place was cheaper.
The brake job started out bad and turned out good. The rear brakes had apparently not been working in years....they were filled with cob webs. The guy said he thought all the brake lines needed to be replaced....dollar signs flashed. After about ten minutes another guy came up to me and said he had drained the brake fluid, refilled it and bled the system and it was working fine and the pads and shoes were brand new. Still cost me $130 but I didn't have to lay out in the mud in the freezing rain so I guess it was worth the cost.

[Chrispbrown36]

Finally got out there to take some better pictures.
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This is the only body damage on it. Someone ran something down the passenger side door and over into the upper cab corner. Any suggestions on ironing this out? Cab corners on both sides will need to be replaced somewhere down the road and the rocker on one side is rusted but the other is solid.
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[Chrispbrown36]

If you look closely in the second from last picture (not too closely or you will see a big hairy man in the drivers seat) you can see that the exhaust is just dumped behind the muffler. I am not overly fond of that but it will do for now. Closer to the front you can see the exhaust pipes coming off of the motor...do these always hang that low? I noticed today that they are hanging lower than the guard over the tranny...is this normal? It seems like a real good way to get them ripped off on something.

[silvereagle07]

Nice looking custom deluxe! I don't think the crossover pipe hangs that low from the factory. My 85 was tucked under tight from the passenger to the drivers side.

[Shifty One]

Originally Posted by silvereagle07

Nice looking custom deluxe! I don't think the crossover pipe hangs that low from the factory. My 85 was tucked under tight from the passenger to the drivers side.

My 87 looks just like that...

[Chrispbrown36]

Once it dries up some around here I am going to have to get under there and see what is going on with the exhaust. When my buddy had it up on the rack I saw that just before the muffler there was a cheap exhaust clamp and what looked like a bunch of exhaust tape wrapped around it, so I need to check it out further and make sure there isn't anything worse than that.....if this damn snow would just go away!

[Chrispbrown36]

More baby steps.....Did a temporary fix on the vent windows and tightened up the mirrors. Also got some new bushings put on the door striker....so no more slamming the doors!

[Chrispbrown36]

New vent window latches arrived today and are on the truck. I still have a slight whistling from the driver side window, but it is pretty stiff so I need to pop the door panel off and see if I can lube things up in there to loosen it up some. But man they look nice and new.

[Chrispbrown36]

Well, the truck was bought for a fishing/hunting/cruising/hauling stuff truck and so the time came to park it and switch to the much cheaper on gas but not nearly as fun to drive car.
I started pulling the dash out to get to the heater box and found 2 more speakers on the dash that aren't working. I had thought there was only one under there because I could only hear one working. But those aren't on my mind right now....the heater and a/c is. Ordered a blower motor resistor that should be here tomorrow. I also have blend door issues along with a few other issues under there. I sure hope I can figure out how everything goes back in there....

[Chrispbrown36]

So maybe the low hanging pipes are normal on 87's?

[esbstuff]

Originally Posted by Chrispbrown36

So maybe the low hanging pipes are normal on 87's?

Yep they are...

[truckfan]

love this truck

[77K10Silverado]

Looking good!

[Chrispbrown36]

Thank you both.
It's looking like rain for a while so progress has stopped. Up next is draining the front and rear axle lube and refill with fresh. While I am under there I will probably go ahead and drain the transfer case also.