84 Brownie

[photo-tom]

Hey guys. I've followed this forum for a few years, but this is an introduction. Just want to say in advance, thanks for all the help. I learned a lot fingering through several threads and posts on the site.

I've done a lot of work thus far, but there's still a ton to tie up. After several months of searching, I finally found something in budget and shape. Last fall, I was at my folks' place in Charleston and bought my first square in Columbia on my drive back to Minneapolis. I've kept it at my folks' place the past year as a project for when I visit.

1984 GMC Sierra. Remanufactured 305/350. A Tennessee farm truck that needed a hell of a lot of TLC. Off the bat, it needed new rotors, master cylinder, and tires to get it on the road.























After the 6/6 drop and new tires. I later put the drop shackles in the rear.







Getting to the interior. The cab was surprisingly clean with a few pin holes and a bit of rot on the rockers.





The 6/8 drop was too low for me, so I swapped the front springs out and it's at a 5/7.



New sport bumper.



Replaced the weather stripping, window channels, carpet, and door cards on both sides







Old steering box out.



New box in.



Buffing the patina on the hood and roof. The sun-bake looks pretty good, and the rest of the truck came out great! Indian Bronze looks damn good cleaned up.







It also needed a new starter, flywheel, carb rebuild. The 305 feels pretty tired even after all the maintenance, so I'm thinking of putting a 350 in and rebuilding the trans.

[chevyboy73]

good looking truck, i dig the rally wheels and tire combo

[photo-tom]

Thanks dood. I chose smaller tires because I was afraid of clearance with the 6/8 drop. I might size up in the future.

I got the dash and door cards from usa1auto. The fit is great, but they seem to only do a once-over with the paint/dye to color match. The paint is already chipping off and exposing the default black underneath. I'll have to pick up some spray dye while I dig for some OEM cards.

[aggie91]

The current 5/7 drop looks perfect. Digging how well the paint buffed out. The pic's of the interior, don't show up for me for some reason, oh well.

Looks good!

[1957 Chief]

Damn good looking truck brother!

Bubba

[photo-tom]

Welp, lots has happened the past three years since I forgot about this thread. The truck was shipped up to Minneapolis from my folks' place in SC, farted around town in it as I updated some interior odds and ends, but focus soon went to buying a house. After I sold my OBS to buy the house, I sold the square last June to a man in Iowa, but bought it back two months later:



She runs like a top now, but the starter is going out again. I'm planning to yank the 305 and replace it with a 355 in the next couple months. In the mean time, this is some of the work the past year since I got it back:

Installed factory pocket cards. I caught hell trying to scour them with manual windows in saddle tan.
New water pump
Intake manifold
Street Demon carb
Cap/rotor/plugs/wires

[SCOTI]

Keep posting your project updates. I remember this one & thought it was a clean start.

[photo-tom]

Welp, the transmission took a sh!t when I was on the highway coming home from picking up tires.

There's nothing wrong with the turbo350, but I'm starting to get weary of the long gears, especially how it kicks into final drive so early. If the R&R proves the trans worse for wear, I may be open to a 700r.

Here I am eating dust, waiting for the tow:

[photo-tom]

What I thought was the trans, ended up being the rear diff. First experience with this, but since I serviced it last year and have never beat on the truck, I immediately thought I lost the clutch pack(s). The original owner must have done a crap ton of towing with this thing and let it sit out. The drive gear was all rusty and the pinion gear completely shattered.

Anyway, 3.42 and posi are in the works.

[photo-tom]

Got the truck all buttoned up with a new 3.42 and Yukon posi. My speedo is now about 20% off, so I ordered a 8 tooth drive gear and 19 & 20 tooth driven gears for the speedo cable to correct it.

I took the day off to catch up on the doo-dads on the truck, but ended up tearing apart the column in the lady's truck to replace the hacked up harnesses.

[photo-tom]

I was currently at a 6/7 drop on 215/70r15 all around. I wanted to add some more tire in the rear, so I put on some 235/75r15, which turned my 1" rake to 2", so I dropped the rear another inch.

I'm currently at a 6/8 drop without a notch. So far so good. I ordered some 15x8 & 15x10 Series 42, but are on backorder for the next few months. I honestly can't bring myself to put on a wheel other than OE rallys or Cragars. I like it boring, I guess.

[LT7A]

Good work! Pic of the lady's truck? Looks to be an unusual color combination.

[photo-tom]

Thanks, still tons to do and planned for this summer. Living in the city doesn't yield much garage space for winter projects.

Here's the lady's daily:

[LT7A]

Those colors look neat together. Don't get me wrong, I like your truck too, haha, but I am intrigued by hers. I wonder if the white top is stock or if it used to be tan and was painted over. Regardless, two nice trucks.

[photo-tom]

It's a nice truck, and to be honest, I enjoy driving hers a bit more. It's gotten most of the attention the past year and has come along way to make it daily material. I've wondered about the cab myself, as it's a lighter white than the bottom.

[LT7A]

Would you happen to know what size tires she has? I like how it sits, and with a long bed, that's not always easy to do.

[photo-tom]

Factory setup. 235/75r15. Stock suspension with HD leaf springs. It has about a 1" rake that's a bit more pronounced because of the long bed.

[LT7A]

Thanks! I was startled to discover that mine came stock with 225/75-r15s. Looks better with the taller tires she has. Thanks for the info, we can return to the previously scheduled programming, aka, your truck, haha!

How do you like it with the new 3.42 gears? And good call on adding the posi. I think that's a good ratio if you wanted to put in a 700R4.

[Hart_Rod]

Originally Posted by LT7A

Thanks! I was startled to discover that mine came stock with 225/75-r15s. Looks better with the taller tires she has. Thanks for the info, we can return to the previously scheduled programming, aka, your truck, haha!

How do you like it with the new 3.42 gears? And good call on adding the posi. I think that's a good ratio if you wanted to put in a 700R4.

Both trucks look great! Would you happen to know the color codes on your wife's truck? I have a 1984 SWB that is solid "Desert sand" and have thought about adding white, but I think her "cream color" would look better. Keep progress pictures coming, .

[photo-tom]

Originally Posted by Hart_Rod

Both trucks look great! Would you happen to know the color codes on your wife's truck? I have a 1984 SWB that is solid "Desert sand" and have thought about adding white, but I think her "cream color" would look better. Keep progress pictures coming, .

Good lookin' truck! The colors on hers are Desert Sand & Doe Skin Tan.

[photo-tom]

Put a new turn signal cam, rear view mirror, and saddle blanket in yesterday. Got some gas and noticed my driver side sitting a good inch lower than the passenger, even after confirming the front and rear springs are even. I've ordered up some cab mounts to try and fix the issue.

[photo-tom]

This morning I replaced the kbody front lip with the correct version and put a new brake booster on. Boy was I missing out on all that assist and relying heavily on the rears.