The Hillbilly Deluxe dually build

[Tx Firefighter]

I'm still picking away at this thing.

Jonboy did me a huge favor and gave me a set of gray seatbelts to match my new seat. Between the new seat and belts, I'm well on my way to putting together a full gray interior.

I also got all new headlights from Walmart of all places. They were cheapest and good name brand Sylvania halogens. I hate Walmart, but money is money. I also got a pair of new headlight bezels from my local Certifit outlet for 3 dollars each.

So today I swapped the core supports to the nicer 4 headlight setup.







I've got one of those 61 dollar billet grilles on order from eBay. More pictures when I get it installed.

By the way, if anyone local wants the old core support, you're welcome to it for free. It's dead straight and solid, ready to go.

[Tx Firefighter]

Here's another half a day worth of work.

I built an entirely new front light harness to convert the 2 headlight to 4 headlight setup. Also had to make the turn signal harnesses longer to get out to the grille area for the different turn signal configuration.

I did have to take a hole saw to the core support to install the power steering cooler. My original core support had the hole of course, but the 4 headlight one didn't. Fortunately, typical of GM, the dimples were there for the big hole and the two bolt holes. It was just a matter of two screw holes and one hole saw hole on the factory marks.



Now if my grille would ever get here....

[Greenlee]

Looking good! I ran into the same thing running the wires for power windows. Apparently, my cab had manual windows because there was no holes for the wires, but it did have the dimples marking the spots to drill.
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[Stoney]

New bumper too? Did you make the PS cooler?

[Tx Firefighter]

The bumper is the original that I cleaned up with steel wool. The ps cooler is factory. My truck has all the heavy duty options but none of the luxury options since it was a custom order for the electric company.
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[Zebb]

I like your style Tx Firefighter.

[meatwagon83]

Originally Posted by Zebb

I like your style Tx Firefighter.

as do i, and you stole my project name, oh well ill have to go with cowboy cadillac or something of the like!

[Tx Firefighter]

I appreciate the nice words fellas. This build should ramp up over time. I have to spend a lot of time and money taking care of stuff like leaks and junky wiring first, the neater stuff comes after all that is done.

I also finally got confirmation that my eBay grille has shipped. It's due Tuesday.

[spudz]

I like it. I need to do a full from scratch rebuild on my 79 cab and chassis. For now I just been using the damn thing lol.

[THE "10" SILVERADO]

Well luckily if you need any extra parts there are plenty of yards on Jacksborro highway. Always see tons of them on the way to our place out at Jacksborro.

[Tx Firefighter]

Grille shows to be delivered tomorrow. I am afraid I'll need to hit my buddy at the dealership for some of those little square plastic push in clip deals to hold it in though.
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[Tx Firefighter]

I went to install the new grille today but I missed an important detail. If you're really on your game, you can see the problem in this picture....




The solution is to get the proper sockets with low clearance so they fit between the grille and core support.

[school boy]

subscribed!

[aggie91]

I like what your doing here. I want to see what you think of the ebay grill. I looked at one the other night...but passed for now...

[Tx Firefighter]

The bellhousing issue is going to have to be fixed pretty quickly. When I get the old one removed, you'll see why I'm so anxious to get it out of there. A big block and an SM465 are a lot of iron to hang on one that's cracked so badly.

I looked high and low for a replacement bellhousing but never found one under 225 dollars. So, thanks to Dirty Larry, I figured out what I hope to be another route to take.

This bracket kit from Advance Adapters allows you to use a mechanical linkage type of bellhousing (common as dirt and priced accordingly unlike my stock bellhousing) with a factory GM slave cylinder like my truck has. A call to Summit had it in my hands within 48 hours for about 50 bucks total.



Then, I reached out to a fellow board member buddy to go through his stash and hook me up with a bellhousing. Price was free. He's a good guy that has helped me so many times.



Tomorrow I begin cleaning the bellhousing and repairing any bad threads or whatever it needs to get it ready to install soon.

[luifer76]

looking good bro..... nice job on the tbi i need to do that to my crewcab dually the itle is kind of high on mine so im thinking i got the same problem.... keep up the good work.

[Maxxd07]

Subd for a great looking work truck!

[Tx Firefighter]

So I needed a couple of sockets for the turn signals that were of a different style than my old front end used. I get the part numbers (Dorman brand) and hit up my local O Reilly Auto Parts. I have a shop account there and get better than normal prices. 8 bucks per each. That's 16 dollars plus tax for a couple of bulb sockets.

So, Rock Auto to the rescue. I had them in 48 hours from time I placed my order. Two of the exact same Dorman part numbers delivered into my hands for 10.20 total instead of the nearly 18 dollars with my price break at the local place.



A little solder, a little heat shrink and it's finally finished.





Much better than where I started with the old single headlight front end and brush guard.




I also wanted to say I appreciate everyone who is reading this thread. I know its kind of mundane right now, but I have to cover the basics to make it solid and reliable first. The cool stuff is coming I promise.

[nerphin]

It's awesome! The mundane stuff is 95% of our trucks/builds

[Tx Firefighter]

It's painful to say, but even with the free core support, that was nearly a 200 dollar project. Stuff is getting so expensive nowadays. My pay doesn't keep pace with the prices anymore.

-Grille 61 dollars (eBay)
-Headlight bezels 9 dollars for the pair (Certifit)
-Turn Signal lights 38 dollars pair (Certifit)
-New headlight adjusters 10 dollars (Rock Auto)
-Four new headlights 31 dollars (Walmart)
-Wire loom 6 dollars (Home Depot)
-Turn signal bulb sockets 10 dollars (Rock Auto)

I wish I could have rounded up a stock deluxe grille for a 85-87 truck. I like them very much and certainly much better than the plain billet grille.

[texastruckjunky]

I have a grill if you want, pay for the ride and its yours. Nice build, I've always like the 1 ton. I my self have had many of them. just PM me for your address on the grill.

[Can't kech me]

Originally Posted by texastruckjunky

I have a grill if you want, pay for the ride and its yours. Nice build, I've always like the 1 ton. I my self have had many of them. just PM me for your address on the grill.

hey if tx firefighter doesn't want it i do! do you have a pic of it so i can make sure it's what i'm thinking it is?

[badpeanut]

Were you able to swap your core supports without removing the front fenders?

[Stoney]

Have you tried XL parts? These guys have everything. Well the one here does.
http://www.xlparts.com/Home.aspx

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by texastruckjunky

I have a grill if you want, pay for the ride and its yours. Nice build, I've always like the 1 ton. I my self have had many of them. just PM me for your address on the grill.

I appreciate the offer but I've already got this one paid for and installed. I'll see if the looks grow on me before I do anything to change it.

Originally Posted by badpeanut

Were you able to swap your core supports without removing the front fenders?

Yes.

I did have to remove the fenderwell bolts under one of the fenders. I didn't have to remove the fender or the fenderwell, but removing the bolts allowed me to splay the front edge of the fender out an inch or so which allowed the old core to slip out and the new one to slip in. I also didn't mess with the cooling system. I just unbolted the radiator and carefully set it on the frame, hoses still hooked up, while I was doing the swap. I did it all by myself and it wasn't much of a challenge. Just be careful with not hitting the radiator with the core support when you're wrestling it in and out.

Originally Posted by Stoney

Have you tried XL parts? These guys have everything. Well the one here does.
http://www.xlparts.com/Home.aspx

I have a pretty great aftermarket place here called Certifit, which sells the typical Chinese body parts, and I have a good buddy who is a long time GM dealership parts guy. Plus I like Rock Auto because I can work all day and compose a list of needed parts then hit the interwebs before bed that night and order them. It's usually two day delivery and no sales tax.

The reason I steered away from collecting the parts for an original grille is that GM has discontinued all of it, and to assemble one I'd need the grille, the two face plates with moldings, and the bow tie emblem. That's a lot of stuff to scrounge up, so I just hit the buy-it-now button on the billet grille for 61 dollars.

Next up is to swap the bellhousing and give the transmission anything it needs while it's out. Then on to lowering the truck and doing something about the wheels and tires. The paint being screwed up on the front of the truck is starting to dig at me a bit too now. That will need addressing.