Joe's 79 GMC Heavy Half Stepper

[Joe R]

Well after taking my time and finally finding a site to host pics I figured I would make a build post.

A friend of mine sells used cars on the side and had the 79 as the result of a lein sale. At the time I needed a truck and since I had been doing repair work on the side for him he gave me the truck and found a set of rims and tires for it.

She was an old work truck that had been neglecting pretty badly but nothing that cant be fixed.

Here she sits now in my driveway.



Originally I went through and redid all the smog hoses and everything on her for the initial sale smog here in CA. That was a chore to say the least. Well a few months later after realizing that the smog motor and its whopping 160 horses didnt like to move much less pull a small garbage trailer I got permission to have some fun.

So I yanked the engine and tranny and went from this


to this


Didnt do a full rebuild to the engine, just redid all the seals because it had been sitting for 10 years before I got it. To get some more power out of it I swapped in a set of fuelie heads a buddy gave me, Edelbrock intake and a mild cam. Added a set of Summit headers and a dual 2 1/4" exhaust.

Next step is to redo the suspension. When we got it up on the rack to get the exhaust welded we took a look at the springs. All 4 springs had been heated to lower the truck, woohoo So time for new springs all around and to decide if I want to do a 2/4 drop or 4/6.

[ndametz32]

Looks like you're off to a great start! Can't wait to see more

[Rollinsqrbdy]

Niceeee truck bud. Alot of people around here heat their springs to lower em. I dont know bout that, Id just order the rite stuff and do it the rite way. That motor looks sweet as hell. Keep up the good progress and remember to post up pics. good luck

[Joe R]

Got a little work done on the interior today. Put in a new carpet kit, and wrapped my amp board in matching carpet to clean it up a bit. Tossed my old box cause it was too big and had to keep my seat up a few inches. Not very comfortable for us big guys to do that. Got a pair of shallow mount Clarion 10's coming, gonna crank out a box for it tomorrow.

Here's a couple pics of the new carpet.

[ECU PIRATE]

Nice Joe R............Are you going to stay with the same color scheme interior & exterior wise? I think I am headed that way with my project as well. Just scored some buckets, console and door panels out of an 80' Suburban that i am going to drop in...........

[ndametz32]

New carpet looks nice Joe

[ratty 46]

Great start ..... I too am in the process of upgrading a '78 step side that I just got a few weeks ago ..... 89K original timecapsule with matching aluminum cap. Mine happens to be very similar in color. I picked up a cloth tan plaid pattern bucket & console for it.

Keep the progres coming.

Keep me posted on the drop as I'm trying to decide what to do at this time.

Ratty 46

[Joe R]

Thanks for the compliments everyone. Yes I plan on keeping the interior Tan and Black. I had the bench recovered tan sides, with black sitting area. The seat belts are new cause the old ones were shot. Now I just need to redo the dash, and paint and hang my new doors.