just picked up a 85....well kind of

[jasonroman]

so i went to philly from jersey to pic up an 85 gmc sierra 1500
guess it same as the chevy c10.
i had an 82 a while back. sold it. kicked myself in the ass many times for letting it go. ...so the search was on.
i found a 79 shortbed step side 20 mins from my house.....
6cyl...which i didnt much like. body was in good condition, bed rotted and manual brakes. 3k
i saw the 85 on clist a while back and decided to take the ride this morning.
85 miles later i arrive at the house. look truck over.
cracked windshield
missing little glass in driver side window.
and could use tires.
350.
not sure what trans it has but both were newer.
cab corners are both rotted out.
i will have to look for the cab corners....got a guy that will do the work
will need to source the little mirror
and call around for the glass....
figured not too bad.
took truck for 2k

get a temp tag and head home....or so i thought.
felt like the ebrake was on or something cuz when i took foot off brake truck would not move. so i head down the highway slowly. truck wouldnt move.
hit the brake and locked up!!
tried to acclerate and then brake to try and free up what i thought was a rusted locked up brake. that would give free.....
well it didnt.
pulled into a meinekee to have em check it quick befor my 85 mile trip....
turns out everything i siezed. they couldnt move caliper. nothing to do but leave truck...
they told me could be up to 1k to fix.....GREAT
so i call a tow guy i know. 350...hes headed down there to get my NEW haha truck
and ill have to wait till tues for it to get looked at.

talked to the seller, mr good people and church gower etc...who dont lie....
and no he wouldnt give me cash back
so today i start my holiday weekend with a day of driving and no truck
money gone.
tow bill coming,
and whos to say what the trucks gonna need...
pics soon.

and any advice on sourcing parts???
need tires for stock ralleys..
id like to have bigger in rear and smaller up front.
sizes or suggestions.
and pics

thanks

[eightyfive]

pissy deal man, o well, every dog has his day. Who knows, maybe you will find ten grand in the glove box :P

[RandyP]

Total bummer there man. Seems you got the normal 10/10 warranty, 10 seconds or 10 feet, whichever comes first.
At least brake work is fairly easy to do, easy do it yourself job in the driveway. Now if the parts were just free.

[jasonroman]

well im not much of a mechanic....so that might be a bit of a problem.
im going to look and see what calipers,pads, rotors, lines and bearing will cost. hope fully not that much.
i thought i was bringing home a daily driver, and that id fix windshield, get a nice set of tires....fatties out back, try and find the little glass. and spend a couple bucks on a drop kit.

now looks like the brakes might take the funds i had for the fixing.....

any input on the tires??
what size to run to have a fatter tire on the rear?
thanks for any help.

ill post pics and more info when i get truck back.
i was thinking of getting truck back to my house and attempting the brakes.
but i need truck on the road and running asap.
im afraid ill take something apart and not put it back right or making problems worse.
think if i had other means of transport, id give it a shot. but im tired of paying taxi to go to work.

[74 C-30]

that sucks! my old man tells me if I'm going to buy something, test drive it first

[71swb4x4]

Too late for this advice, but when looking at a truck you can't look over everything yourself. You end up getting too excitied and missing things. You should always bring someone else and/or take it to a shop and have them look it over before you buy it.
That being said, this isn't a bad deal. So you have to put on all new brakes. Now you know exactly what you have for brakes, and brakes, if done right, will last a LONG time. It's an easy do it yourself job too. Once you get the truck home of course.

[jasonroman]

well i know i messed up by not driving truck prior to getting the temp tag on.
big mistake. well gues whats done is done. now i have to get it fixed and on the road.
i really would like to attempt it. but think i might have to pay to get this done. need done asap. we will see.
went to the truck this morning, turned it on and put it in gear.
and it moved. wierd uh... like if what was locked up yesterday loosend.....wierd.
325 to get truck from pa to jersey. and now it moved????
well took it for a ride, went from free to locking up again.
so i parked it. and gonna have the guy look it over tues, i guess.

question.
electonic choke???
sometimes truck turns on, idles high and then comes down
and sometimes it stays stuck and idles high.
guy took air filter/cover off and pushed this thing and it calmed down.....
what is the part?
is it some thing that i can buy and swap?
and is this thing the reason why when i shut truck off, it stays putting after key is out???

thanks for any help here.

[rigon4]

OK your timing is off thats why the truck is putting after you turn off the key and you might want to try to change the front break hoses my 85 had a bad hose on the passenger side and it would let the fluid in the cailper but not back out so the brake would stay on

[Chevy623]

Now i know why my '83 Caprice puttered when i took the key out lol.

I had an '82 C10 as well, and never test drove it before i handed over the $1500. Not the best buy either, it ran great but the body was near falling apart. When i jumped in to leave, i found the driver's seat belt was cut in half....i even found a pair of the guy's dirty undies behind the back seat when i got it home lol.

[jasonroman]

well turned out not only myfront brakes were bad and siezed....
apparentley the rears were bad too.
so new truck will end up costing me about 750 for front and rears. calis, rotors, pads, lines.. the whole lot

still need windsheild....got a guy that came in the cheapest at 190
had a couple guys tell me 180 for the vent window i need???? crazy uh.
found a guy that will be shipping me the whole assembly for 40 bucks. plus shipping. 12.50.....not bad as long as it arrives in one piece.


still need tires for the ralleys....
might go 275/60 and 255/60....still not sure..looking for more advie and pics.

then ill need to find the cab corners so i can purchase and send truck to body guy for that to be done.

ill keep you posted. and post pics when truck gets back

i priced parts for front and it was bout 250
x 2 is 5...so i guess having a pro do the job as opposed to me taking 500 and trying to get brakes done right....maybe worth the extra.

[primetime]

i believe you can upgrade you brakes to a new power disc setup for cheaper than the $750 you are going to be paying to have the old stock brake system put on. do more research and find a better mechanic.

[jasonroman]

pretty sure i have disk brakes up front.
not sure about rear.
i saw a kit for 7 for just the front. but that kit was for bigger wheels.
dont have money for wheels and brakes.
got 2 kids, wife, house, dog, etc
if i had time and another car, i would do lots more research. but i need to get to work.
hate asking for rides....hate bothering folk
and taxi gets expensive

[csa daddy]

that mechanic is trying to break one off in ya with no lube thats a crazy price. the front pads should be around 20 or 30 bucks not sure on calipers an the rear pads shouldnt be very much. but if you try to do it yourself make sure you take a pic of the rear when you take it apart so you know where everything goes. an i think primetime was talking about ugradeing your rear to disc brakes. if you can learn to do all your work to the truck yourself you will save tons of money. good luck

[jasonroman]

well it wasnt exacty part of the plan, to buy a truck that needed so much.
im a blind buyer. and love these trucks. guess its too late to cry now. just gotta fix it as i go.
so i guess i have drums in rear and a swap would have made sense....
well i guess for now, ill know my brakes are good.
i didnt price the rear brakes cuz i thought i only needed front.
well, brakes will be done.
my main concern in doing it myself was fear of missing something or doing something wrong and with brakes, not sure if it was a good thing to learn on.
i probly should have tried, saved myself some money and then used the money towards lowering truck.
well, since so much went towards brakes, not sure if i should buy spindles for now, and then little buy little piece together a kit to lower the truck 4/6 ish.
or should i wait and try to have it done all at once???
still need other major fixes, like windshield and vent window. then reg, inspection. and tires.
then i want to lower the truck.
actually wanted to spend the 800 on a kit to lower it. but guess ill have to wait and try to find decent price lowering parts or better yet, a kit.
lootta looking to do.
thanks for reply tho folks.

[csa daddy]

check craigslist an te boards on the computer its always somebody selling stuff to do things to your truck. like i got a 6 mont old viair 480 c for 125 dollars to my door plus a set of drop spindles for 125 plus 75 for shipping but i saved 150 by buying a used set. just be a smart shopper an you be suprised what you can come up with. i seen a guy selling a complete air system for 600 the other day i dont remeber if it had bag brackets but it was still a hell of a deal

[BIGCHEVYMAN]

i have a couple vent window glasses laying around, if it would help i will give one if you pay the shipping.

[jasonroman]

Originally Posted by BIGCHEVYMAN

i have a couple vent window glasses laying around, if it would help i will give one if you pay the shipping.

thanks man. i appreciate it.
i actually bought one off a guy in pa.
should be here monday. hoping guys at wifes work can put it in.
just got the truck back.....actually moves when you take foot off brake...
so brakes are done.
still need to address the high idle....or the part that sticks and keeps idle high.
piece is under air filter. guy told me its electronic choke??????and that it sticks so i have to take cover off and knock it down by hand??????
anyway to fix this??????
could this be part of the reason the truck stays rumbling after i shut it off...being the thing is stuck and idle is way high???

pics tomorrow after window guy does glass...

[jasonroman]

well guys brakes are all fixed up.
700+
glass is in
195
vent window is in house, not installed yet,
not sure how much it will cost yet
no tires yet, shopping around, looking like 450 -550
was looking into getting a kit to lower truck....after the vent goes in, and inspection of course. was thinking about maybe dropping truck before tires.
but today on the way to work, truck turned off while driving and wouldnt start back up
so after an hour of messing around, i had truck TOWED for the second time in 2 weeks.
back to shop that did brakes to see what happened now.
sat at shop for 3 hours, they didnt touch truck. then i went home and called em 3 hours later....oh, we didnt get to it. tomorrow.
so now in the 3 weeks ive had truck, its been towed twice, and sat at this shop for 5 days....
not having the best of luck with this one...

[T/C]

Originally Posted by jasonroman

well guys brakes are all fixed up.
700+
glass is in
195
vent window is in house, not installed yet,
not sure how much it will cost yet
no tires yet, shopping around, looking like 450 -550
was looking into getting a kit to lower truck....after the vent goes in, and inspection of course. was thinking about maybe dropping truck before tires.
but today on the way to work, truck turned off while driving and wouldnt start back up
so after an hour of messing around, i had truck TOWED for the second time in 2 weeks.
back to shop that did brakes to see what happened now.
sat at shop for 3 hours, they didnt touch truck. then i went home and called em 3 hours later....oh, we didnt get to it. tomorrow.
so now in the 3 weeks ive had truck, its been towed twice, and sat at this shop for 5 days....
not having the best of luck with this one...

Old trucks are fun huh

It will get better... But like so many have said... I think you would be better off working on it yourself learn as you go.. and stop having to wait on people to work on it and charge you out the... well you know.. And do you not know anyone who could help pull you home? I have never had to pay for a tow and have been broken down plenty of times..

[AirMale]

too bad ur so far from me, I would've helped u do all those repairs

[Slonaker]

The choke linkage could just be dirty, causing it to stick. Buy a can of carb cleaner ($2-$4) and spray it all over the carb with the engine off. It might fix the problem, and it sure won't hurt anything.

Slonaker

[jasonroman]

thanks for reply guys.
wish i had someone to pull me, or the know how to do work myself. believe me. the money i spend for labor would equal out to more part to make truck me. you know.
but i tend to take 5 off and only put back 3
or strip or brake etc, guess you get the picture. this is my daily, so i dont really have the means to put truck up and work as i go. when things go bad i need em fixed asap. but guess guy that has my truck dont really care.
shoulda got myself a mechanic about 20 yrs ago.
now i pay and wait.
hopefully things will get better soon.
the sooner the better.

[jasonroman]

Originally Posted by Slonaker

The choke linkage could just be dirty, causing it to stick. Buy a can of carb cleaner ($2-$4) and spray it all over the carb with the engine off. It might fix the problem, and it sure won't hurt anything.

Slonaker

actually did that this passed weekend. and after a bunch of carb cleaner, wd, and other stuff to loosen it, i ended up zip tieing the linkage. figured if it would keep the truck from running way high, and end the pre ignition, that it would work....
then i drove to brother in laws house. on the ride, there were times where it would feel a little boggish, but when i got there, no after shock/pre ignition.
so i cut the tie off, and a friend who looked at it said, it seemed to be working properly. so i left it loose. start truck and it runs high for 5 or so minutes, but then calms down.....no noise after i shut truck off.....which was good
but i noticed that when i put the truck in drive, and slowely accelerate, there would be a bit of bogging, or hesitation, but then would drive fine. while driving, 40-60 there would be a miss or 2. that i would feel. but over all drove ok. except for when i would go from stop to go. if slow acceleration, there would be that little bog/hesitation. but if if light turned green and i got on gas a bit it would be fine.....?????

and then there was this morning. started truck...
ran high for a couple mins.
kicked pedal and it dropped
put in drive, and slowly accelerated out of driveway, bogging as usual,
get down the road a bit.
stop at light
bog thru light when green, to normal driving.
going down the road notice it seemed like truck was off
IT WAS,
pull off to the side of road....
and of course she wouldnt start.
so another tow to shop.
now gotta wait till tomorrow and see what they say

[ECU PIRATE]

That really sucks. I got bit in the ass like that a few years back on this project 81' Supra I picked up for $ 500. Left the guys house and got a mile down the road before the car overheated. Ended up donating that POS and got a tax write off. Now I am playing around with a truck I got for $ 500 and could not be happier

[jasonroman]

i did notice when the truck stopped and i attempted to start it again. that when i would crank it a bit of smoke came out of engine. near rad cap....
bad sign??
i checked to make sure there was antifreeze in there and it was full when i took cap off??