85 GMC Sierra Classic 1 Ton Crew Cab

[Mattman2010]

This weekend I picked up some new bucket seats with a matching center console. They are out of a newer gm truck. Not exactly sure on the year but they seem to fit great in my truck. Just gotta get them mounted and they should be good to go. They sit a little high, but I am 6'4" and it seems to be fine for me.



Might get the frame done this weekend if I have the parts I need by then.

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice score on the seats! Hey, at least you can start your engine.

[Mattman2010]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Nice score on the seats! Hey, at least you can start your engine.

Maybe haha, last time i started it it shut down and wouldnt start. I dont think the fuel pump was pulling fuel. I tried to pump it a few times but it didnt want to suck up any diesel or something. Not really worried about it right now cause it does me no good running while on the shop floor

[Dieselwrencher]

You've had it for what? like 7-8 weeks and you already broke it? Dang kids!

[Mattman2010]

I've had it less than that lol. Last time I started it was like 3 weeks ago. We might have to build another motor sooner than I thought! Lol!
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[Mattman2010]

Well today I got my diy4x bushings for the front shackles. Looks like they will do just what I want and will really beef up the front some.

Outside pic


Inside

Boxing plate is just sat in there for mocking. I had to push the plate that goes around this bushing in a 1/4 of an inch to be able to weld the dom tube to it. So there will be a little lip right there instead of it being flush. Hoping to get those welded up some time this week and get the frame done.

[Mattman2010]

Well I finally got these welded into the frame. Looks like they are going to beef this up a lot.

[Dieselwrencher]

Is that a caterpillar on your frame?




































Just joking man! It's looking great. Now you need thicker shackle bars because they look puney. Haha

[Mattman2010]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Is that a caterpillar on your frame?


Just joking man! It's looking great. Now you need thicker shackle bars because they look puney. Haha

I'm looking at getting 2 inch longer shackles from diy4x and getting an ez inch as well. So they will get some beef too. They might still look small tho!
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[Mattman2010]

Well tonight I finally finished boxing in the frame. Hoping to get the cab back on tomorrow.

[1985-GMC]

I bet you're glad to get that over with! Are you going to spray some paint on it before you put the cab back on?

Also how many holes are in the low portion of the frame for draining? And I'm really interested in how rigid that made it, have you jacked one tire off the ground yet? Man i'm just full of questions aren't I?

[Mattman2010]

Originally Posted by 1985-GMC

I bet you're glad to get that over with! Are you going to spray some paint on it before you put the cab back on?

Also how many holes are in the low portion of the frame for draining? And I'm really interested in how rigid that made it, have you jacked one tire off the ground yet? Man i'm just full of questions aren't I?

No because the cab will be coming back off and sense I am welding the engine cross member into the frame I am just going wait to paint it.

Whatever holes are factory in the bottom of the frame are the number of holes for draining haha. Ill flex it out with the tractor once I get the engine cross member welded into the frame for ya!

[1985-GMC]

Alright sweet!

[Mattman2010]

Got the cab back on tonight.



That is my dad in the pic, he has been helping me with all of this. You can see my A frame in the pic that I extended 3 feet to make it be able to pick the cab up.


Another view.

[Mattman2010]

I did decided to lower the motor into the frame to try to get an idea of what kind of room I have.

Looks like I will have quite a bit of room to work with. I plan on running two electric fans so I should have some room to play with.

[Mattman2010]

Oh yeah, I am kinda glad its over so that I can move on to mounting the motor. But I really enjoy working with metal and welding so it was actually kinda fun. At first it seemed like a pain in the butt, but after getting the first couple pieces cut and fitted I got the hang of it and all the other pieces basically just fell into place. This thing is going to weight a lot by the time im done. I think i added close to 200 - 250 lbs just from those pieces in the frame. And I still have to build a cross member for motor trans mission and trasfercase (Thinking about supporting the transfercase as it hangs behind the transmission a lot) and build a bumper out of some 1/4 steel (stupid other drivers and deer)

[legendman]

Nice progress, gonna be a bad ass ride when its done

[Mattman2010]

Thanks man!
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[Mattman2010]

Well I started getting some ideas for what I wanted to do for mounts. First I started out by cutting out some plates.



Here they are kind of bolted to the block.



After that I decided to make some templates to see what I could come up with for the block. Ive decided I am going to try to put the mounts at a 45 deg angle





As you can see I used a piece of wood to act as the cross member. I am thinking about welding a kind of bracket to the cross member to meet up with the mount for some extra oil pan clearence but I am trying to mount the motor pretty low so I will have to get the block in the frame and see how things fit.

[Dieselwrencher]

I hate to burst your progress bubble, but you're really going to want the engine in the truck to do the mounts.

[Mattman2010]

I know. I was getting an idea for them. I figure if I kind of have a plan now then I can modify what I figured out for now. Plus I'm waiting on some parts to show up....
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[Dieselwrencher]

Planning on these just leads to frustration. Haha

[Mattman2010]

I seem to work better with a plan. Now wheres my parts?
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[Mattman2010]

So I am still waiting on some parts before I can start mocking up the motor so I decided to mess with some stuff on the motor.

The first thing I wanted to get figured out was the throttle cable. Ive seen people use a dodge throttle cable, but this motor is set up a lot different than a dodge one so the throttle cable would not have worked. I had a extra chevy cable laying around so I decided to try to make that work. So I made this little bracket.



And here it is installed.



The cable does not look straight, but it becomes straight once you start to pull on the cable. Just plugging away a the little things till I can finally start to mount the motor and transmission.

[Mattman2010]

Well I finally got the correct 12v adapter plate and also got a bell housing for the transmission.

Adapter Plate


Everything mounted to the transmission


Next step is to start mounting it up. Everything will get painted later, but its starting to get cold and I cant heat my shop so painting is going to have to wait. Once I get the motor mounted I am going to pull the cab and make the transmission cross member and then start working on all the small stuff I need to do to get this thing running. I have to run all new brake lines, fuel lines, and install a 40 gallon burb tank in the back.