1986 GMC Sierra Classic - Flatline

[Dads79GMC]

Great work!!!

[LT7A]

Glad to see you're still making progress. You did a great job on that rear bumper.

[Flatline454]

So, I have been a super slacker at posting, but I have been getting some work accomplished.

1. The bed is bolted down.
2. All body work has been welded in.
3. Filler and primer are covering any welds, I will do final prep before paint.
4. I seam sealed all the inside panels and floor panels of my welds.
5. I got the front clip back on it.
6. My gift card purchased grill has been installed.
7. The exhaust is now complete. 3" collectors to 2.5" duals.
8. The rear bumper is mounted and bolted down.
9. New plug wires, cap, and rotor are installed. (plugs were good)

[Flatline454]

More pics

[Flatline454]

Next on the agenda is to:

1. Under coat the cab and bed.
2. Replace seals in the hydroboost.
3. Send the carb to Cliff Ruggles to be rebuilt.
4. Insulate the cab with sound deadner.
5. Finish my license plate light with LED's.
6. LED upgrade for the dash lights.

The last pic is the support crew, they are the heart and soul of the operation.

Let me know your thoughts guys!

[Big Moose]

What LED headlights are you planning on getting?

[daddyjeep]

Looking good. You never did say what your paint plans were. Are you going back to the black and grey?

[Flatline454]

Originally Posted by daddyjeep

Looking good. You never did say what your paint plans were. Are you going back to the black and grey?

Yes the truck is going to go back to the black and gray two tone. I'm just trying to decide if I want to paint it myself or have someone else spray it.

[Flatline454]

Here's a photo dump of the past couple years.

In short, the truck has been used but pushed to the back due to other projects between the house, my moms jeep, etc.

But I got a renewed fire, as my son will be traveling to some races for motocross this year and I thought it would be fun to take the gas guzzling 1 ton to the track to strike fear into the eyes of his competitors!

[Flatline454]

So I rebuilt the hydroboost and it worked super well for a couple years. Then I broke the ears completely off it. This is because I didn't fit the new master cylinder to the old hydroboost by grinding on the rod between the two. Lesson learned. Carnage is below.


Here are my new wheels that I bought for it.

[Flatline454]

Now on to the fun stuff, as the truck runs well and is functionally sound. I wanted to update the interior in my own way. I pulled out the old headliner, carpet, seat, and dash.

I insulated with Killmat the floor, back, and roof. I proceeded to find a used seat to put into the truck. I wanted to keep the plastic backing on the seats and actually have the folding option work. In doing all that the factory seat frame from a 2015 Tahoe and 2nd seat was added to the equation.

[LT7A]

Could you tell me a little more about the master cylinder incident? I wasn't aware of the fitting/grinding needed for them to work together correctly. Great updates on the truck! That interior seems like it would be a really nice combination of comfortable and cleanable. How do you like the seats after using them for a while? Sure looks sharp.

[Flatline454]

Originally Posted by LT7A

Could you tell me a little more about the master cylinder incident? I wasn't aware of the fitting/grinding needed for them to work together correctly. Great updates on the truck! That interior seems like it would be a really nice combination of comfortable and cleanable. How do you like the seats after using them for a while? Sure looks sharp.

I really like the seats, they are more supportive then the old bench. The old bench was almost squishy at times, this is just comfortable. It looks stiffer than it is.

With the master cylinder, they have big bore and small bore, different spider washers go into each of them. To fit the push rod between the master cylinder and hydroboost, you need to pull the spring and washer out. Leaving the push rod in you should have about 1/8" to 1/4" gap between the master cylinder and hydroboost. When I say gap, I mean between the two contact faces. If the gap is bigger, you will need to grind the push rod down, if you have no gap, you will need a new longer push rod.

In short, my rod was too long and when I really pushed on the brakes super hard, it sent **** flying. My pedal went to the floor and it got a bit sketchy real quick. haha

[LT7A]

Originally Posted by Flatline454

I really like the seats, they are more supportive then the old bench. The old bench was almost squishy at times, this is just comfortable. It looks stiffer than it is.

With the master cylinder, they have big bore and small bore, different spider washers go into each of them. To fit the push rod between the master cylinder and hydroboost, you need to pull the spring and washer out. Leaving the push rod in you should have about 1/8" to 1/4" gap between the master cylinder and hydroboost. When I say gap, I mean between the two contact faces. If the gap is bigger, you will need to grind the push rod down, if you have no gap, you will need a new longer push rod.

In short, my rod was too long and when I really pushed on the brakes super hard, it sent **** flying. My pedal went to the floor and it got a bit sketchy real quick. haha

Thanks for the info.

[daddyjeep]

Originally Posted by Flatline454

In short, my rod was too long and when I really pushed on the brakes super hard, it sent **** flying. My pedal went to the floor and it got a bit sketchy real quick. haha

Absolutely zero brakes.... yeah.... that sounds sketchy.

I saw the truck down at Justin and Bob's shop the other day. It was good to see it out and about.

[Flatline454]

I was able to get some more work done on the truck.

I had scored a set of front 4" springs way back when, then I purchased a small braked Corp 14 bolt with brand new leaf packs, ORD shackles, and New U-bolts. I bought the new kevlar bushings from ORD for the front springs with greaseable bolts and the U-bolt reversal kit for the Corp 14 Bolt.

It is all supposed to be a 4" lift kit, but I think it looks higher. However, I love it and it is sitting the way I want with an entire new suspension under it. The tires are 35" Bigger LTB's on the XD wheels, that I got a while back. I have the center caps on the rear now, but still need to cut the center section out of the front ones.

Don't mind the Carolina squat in the one pic, I was tired and called it a night. haha