My First Build

[rbsticky]

Alright, so I have spent almost 3 years looking for the perfect truck that I want to work on. However, I finally found what I have been looking for. To introduce myself, my name is Branden. I graduated college one year ago and finally had enough money to make my first "Big Kid" purchase. As I said above, I spent 3 years trolling CraigsList and all the other sites for something I wanted to work on. I ended up purchasing a 1985 GMC K2500 with the 6.2L Diesel. I have enough experience with gassers to screw up just enough and absolutely ZERO experience in the diesel realm, so this should be fun. The main selling point on this truck, for me, was that the guy I bought it from probably knew more about this truck than most of the new GM mechanics. When I first went to see it, he was telling me and showing me all the things he did and fixed and replaced and my head was spinning. But once we started it up and I heard it, I knew i wanted it. He had already replaced a lot of the stuff under the hood along with adding a Banks Turbo. The exterior of the truck was in really good condition, he got it in Detroit from a guy who brought it up from the Carolina's. The bed sides had some bubbling under the paint but it seemed solid and just surface stuff. The interior is in pretty pristine condition with a new dash cover, though the radio has some bad wires.

I know this is long already but I've been reading everyone's builds forever and have wanted to have my own.

So here are the pic of what I started with and what I have done so far in the first month:

1) This is how it looked when I first got her
2) The truck had a cap on it when I got it and hasn't been leveled, so whenever it rained the water would seep in an pool up along the front wall of the bed. So, I wire brushed it and used some NAPA Rust Treatment to kill the rust.
3) Primed, killed rust. I got a little over zealous with the wire brush.
4) This is the area above the wheels where I originally thought it was just surface rust. I started with sandpaper and then went to the wire brush. But finally I decided to just step up to the big leagues and bought a grinder. After about 30 seconds of using that, I realized my surface rust was not just surface but all the way through. So, since I don't have a welding machine I bought some Bondo. I know. Not the right way to do it, but its what I got.
5) I got tired of just doing body work so I blacked out the grill and headlight bezels. I think it looks pretty sweet. I think I'm going to flat black the whole truck.

I'm currently looking through CraigsList for a toolbox, I have new headlights in my shopping cart on LMC with the Ultra Bright Blue bulbs and probably some LEDs will be added soon. My goal is to update the look of the truck but still a bit of a homage to the old school look.

Alright that's all for now. Thanks for looking and any comments, suggestions and even ridicule is greatly appreciated!

-B

[flashed]

Nice truck ,especially being in Ohio .Im not knocking Ohio either as I love to visit in the summer but want no part of your winters .

[rbsticky]

Thanks! And yeah it get pretty nasty up here. I'm starting to run out of time to paint, I need to get myself into gear and get it done!

[rbsticky]

So today I originally went to put the interior back together but that ended in pulling the radio and taking off the dash cover.

The dash cover was hanging loose at the bottom on the passenger side above the glvoe box and I just didn't like the way it looked. Plus, it's Saddle colored, and since I plan on painting the truck black, I'd like to paint it. Does anyone have any experience with this? Do I need a specific type of paint?

Next question I have: Currently, I have a rubber/vinyl floor with what I think is insulation underneath. This flooring is in fair condition but I feel like I can do something better. Looking through the site, I have seen a couple people use Bed Liner to paint their floor. I like this idea and I think it would be really convenient for when it gets dirty. My questions is, should I be concerned about this insulation both in the result of removing it, and the actual removal (asbestos).

Any input on either of these questions would be greatly appreciated

[flashed]

You can paint the dash pad ,some like SEM paints ,I have had good luck in the past with vinyl paint from the auto parts store . Should be no asbestos in your truck in the floor area .Bed liner would work fine too.

[rbsticky]

Originally Posted by flashed

You can paint the dash pad ,some like SEM paints ,I have had good luck in the past with vinyl paint from the auto parts store .

Really?! I thought that was just some crazy idea I had. Is there any special prep needed? Or just follow the instructions on the can.

Sorry, I'm a supper novice at all of this. Just kinda figuring it all out as I go.

[flashed]

You will need to clean it very very well and use an adhesion promoter before painting it .

[Chaplain]

Keep us up to date...

[rbsticky]

Alright, so I haven't updated in a while. I made some purchases from LMC, and slowly I'm realizing I'm not totally sure how I feel about them. However, my purchase from Lowe's of Bed Liner in a Can turned out pretty good. I sanded, primed and bed lined my dash pad and it turned out ok. The only downside, is that it quite fill in the cracks like i had hoped it would. I'm not sure if just adding more coats will do the trick, or if I have to figure something else out.

My LMC order consisted of a new headlight harness, new lamps (I already have the HD True Blue bulbs) and the LED Tailgate Light. So, last night I pulled the battery and the batter stand, talk about some major corrosion. I'll have to take the wire brush and probably pressure washer to that. I saw a thread that sprayed the battery stand with undercoating, does anyone have any experience with that and if it works? It was getting dark so I'll have to finish sometime this week (it's supposed to rain here this week plus baseball this weekend, I coach a college team so they take priority)

However, my tail lights have needed some attention so I decided to try the toothpaste trick on them to help brighten them up and to my surprise it actually worked! I'm a real skeptic on some of this stuff but I'm really surprised how well it worked. I also plan to spray the housing gloss white and see what kind of a total difference I get. If I don't see a really noticable difference then I think I'll be making a new lens/LED purchase.

Finally, I pulled the dash pad all because the radio was having problems. The radio would go in and out and I think it was a connection issue in the back because I dropped the radio down so I could feel behind it and when the speakers would go out, all I had to do was wiggle the wires in the back and it would sometimes come back on. I'd rather not have to fully replace the stereo if I don't have to so does anyone know if there is a go to issue with the stereo? Or is it just that I'm dealing with 30yr old electronics. Also, any recommendations on dash speakers? I pulled those out and they seem like they could use a replacement.

Thanks!

[rbsticky]

I've been pretty busy with work, and actually made my first ever trip to Vegas a couple of weeks ago. There's some interesting people out there. However, I won some money so the budget just increase!

When I got back, I put most of the interior back together, minus the radio. I'll have pics soon. The dash pad is back in new covered in bed liner, along with the gauge bezel. I really like how the black looks and I think I will be doing the door panels the same.

Also, I just got in and installed my new backup light. It's from VLED and is a whopping 3500 Lumens!!! I'm extremely happy with how it turned out. And really didnt take much to install. Hopefully tomorrow I will have time to put in my new headlights and wiring harness.

[nekkidhillbilly]

the backup light idea i love

[rbsticky]

So we got some decent weather this weekend before the temperature drops into the 30s. Last weekend I got the backup light hooked up, this weekend I installed my new headlight lamps, with the LMC ultra bright bulbs, and the LMC headlight wiring harness. It looks AWESOME except for a couple problems. I have the dual headlights, and when I turn on my brights, instead of both passenger side lights coming on, they flip. The driver side lights work properly but the passenger side has the problem. I know I have seen threads on here about this harness but I can't seem to find them, can anyone point me to them? (I'm currently in Houston for work so I'll try and get pics when i get home at the end of the week). Also, I pulled my driver side door panel today because I plan on painting it with bed liner to match my dash. But when I looked at the back of it, there was some printing that I didn't understand. I was hoping you guys could help with what it means. I was told the truck is a 1985, but this imprint makes me think otherwise...