Issues with restored trucks

[DeadheadNM]

For my current Blazer build the goal is to have it better than GM made it - at least I'll replace the missing parts it left St Louis without

[davischevy]

These trucks were not perfect when they were shipped from the factory.

The paint on the inside of my K10 is so thin yo can see through it.

I bought a new 72 Cheyenne, and new 76 SWB K10.

The 76 was assembled with a LWB rear wiring harness. It fell in contact with the exhaust and made a heck of a mess.

I have plenty of stories.

[CastIron]

A truck can be rebuilt to drive better than it ever did when it came out of the factory. It does take a certain amount of education, skill and lot of work. If vehicles were built right from the factory they wouldn't need warranties.

[mike16]

Originally Posted by CastIron

A truck can be rebuilt to drive better than it ever did when it came out of the factory. It does take a certain amount of education, skill and lot of work. If vehicles were built right from the factory they wouldn't need warranties.

Integrity of the corporation also has alot to do with the need of a warrenty

statistically, its impossible to have every vehicle be absolutely flawless from the factory. Many industries try and look at the unit cost of thier products.

[Coley]

...well the challenge is that you usually never know someone well enough in terms of their skills, experience and GM Truck knowledge to ever know if they did the correct job on the truck...rather than just an enthusiastic effort, to the best of their ability at the time.
There are some very good restorers on this site...but that unfortunately is not the lion's share of what is out there in the market.


My two bits
Coley

[Don Quixote]

Mine is a daily driver and has been for the last 20 years. It's my long distance runner and my old reliable. I do a lot to make it more so without taking away from why I bought it back then to begin with. I run a 292 I just had built and a 465 but I switched the rear out to a 14 bolt for parts availability. My Armstrong steering never broke so I never fixed it, I would love air conditioning but I never got around to it so I roll down the windows and sit happily in a blast furnace. The unfortunate thing is I have never had the money or the time to do the body work properly so that it's suffering terribly and I feel bad. I went backwards on the choke and use a cable because I find them to be simple to use in all sessions and I installed a second gas tank in the rear because I'm always on the road and I installed the stitch where the hand throttle would have gone on the dash with a choke knob so it looks like the rest of the controls, you know, natural. I'd love to see it with good metal and paint and not leak water all over the place, how do I get there if I have no body work ability and I've never been able to quite find a good body shop? :P

[Andy4639]

No complaint's here for my 71 that I have redone. I love it and drive it all the time. It's how you build it that makes the difference. If it's built to drive then it should be fine, if built for show then it's going to have it's problems.

I've driven my 71 on 3 Hot Rod Power Tours so far and not one breakdown are problems except the AC one year was acting up towards the end but it was the switch. That's over 3000 miles in one week to. I drove my truck every day to work and built it as I could back in the 80' through the 90's. It ran I-85 a bunch and it only had minor problems. I had over 150,000 on the factory 307 when I took it out and over 200,00 on the 305 TPI motor when I took it out. Now the LS has about 120,000 on it.
I built it to be comfortable & reliable.

[bubbasimms]

Andy4639.....that's what I like to hear

[palallin]

There is a huge difference between restoring something to its original form and reworking it to employ significant changes in engineering, equipment, and form.

The former requires attention to detail, but it preserves the integrity of the original design.

The latter ventures into waters uncharted by the original designers.

I say again that the original designers knew what they were doing, and I have no desire to second guess them.

[DT1]

I'm currently restoring a 72 Custom for my grandson. We've been at it for a year and a half now. When we started, I was hoping to get him interested in all things mechanical and proper tool selection and usage. He still doesn't know the difference between a Phillips head screw driver and sledge hammer but he has been at my side the whole time. I will settle just to make him understand what real patience, blood, sweat and tears goes into a job like this. Besides that, He's learning to cuss like a sailor. The main thing that I try to impose on him is that it's a really big job and you have to keep chipping away at it. Never put the breaks on it or you might not get re-started. He also knows now that it's better (IMO) to stick to the particular part or section that you begin to work on and try not to jump around the project if you can possibly help it. The truck is currently in the assembly phase so, He's picking up his interest a lot more. As far as working out all the kinks is concerned, it's all just part of finalizing the project. This is his first restoration, not mine. He still thinks I'm a genius. I can't disappoint the boy.

[raggedjim]

Nice truck, I love the 503 Green. Is the top the 528 Ivory?

Rg

[DT1]

Originally Posted by raggedjim

Nice truck, I love the 503 Green. Is the top the 528 Ivory?

Rg

Thanks. The top is GM white