My Luxurious late model truck (not so much)

[flashed]

Congrats .

[Tx Firefighter]

And the joke of the whole ordeal is that they charged me 14.50 for a safety inspection and did not do emissions. The law clearly says vehicles newer than 25 years old require emissions testing. My truck is 24 years old. I was just standing there with my mouth open and a confused look on my face. After all of the fussing I did with making everything just perfect for the visual part of the emission test, he didn't even open the hood. He just honked the horn, checked the lights and stuck a sticker on it.

So the total bill for the day was 62 dollars for registration and 14.50 for inspection. I'm sure there are cheaper states than Texas, but there's damn sure more expensive states too. I can't bich about 76 dollars per year for the legal end of it.

As a side note, when I insured it this morning, I switched it in place of my stepside on my policy. So now I can't drive the stepper anymore. That's cool though, I'm fixing to get elbows deep up in that thing doing a full build. And I do mean full build. Sheetmetal off, drivetrain out, reinvent the wheel stuff.

[TheBlueBomber]

Hahaha!! That inspector not doing his job correctly is like a slap in the face to the work you did lol! Oh well looks good and can't wait for the build on the stepside.

[MalibuSSwagon]

Well, at least it looks good now!

Registration and inspections are a little more pricey here. I think I paid $85 last year for my 86 C10, plus the $35 inspection.

Since my parents have land zoned as rural-agriculture, they can get farm plates. So registration would be $13 a year, however you are limited to a 20 mile radius from the driveway of said farm.

[Tx Firefighter]

I spent the afternoon all over and under the truck to see what might have turned up after driving it today.

One leak did pop up. Its one area I haven't personally addressed yet so no shame. It's the seal on the front differential where the passenger side axle flange bolts on. I hope its a straightforward fix because I went ahead and ordered the seal. Crap, who am I kidding, I'll fix it whether its straightforward or a full blown beating. I can't let it drip and sleep at night.

But, engine, trans, transfer case and rear differential appear to be clean, dry, and leak free. Those are the things I addressed personally during the build.

Since I'm going to have to pull the front passenger side apart to change that seal I went ahead and looked critically at everything up there. All four ball joints appear fresh. All four tie rod ends same deal, idler arm is new too. Shocks look decent. Someone has spent some money on the front end of the truck before I got it. But I did find the swaybar bushings and end links are crappy and the steering dampner appears to be the original. So I added those to my order too. No sense in not doing it since I'll have the front end tore apart anyway.

I also ordered some nice Husky floor mats and one of those big metric o ring assortment kits. I had reused the power steering pressure hose o ring and it looks like it might try to have a bit of a seep. I hate chasing individual o rings at the parts store so I just dropped 15 bucks and got a 300 piece assortment like they have at the store.

Last thing, the truck feels like it might be down on power a bit. I ran it pretty hard through the gears several times, and at high revs, the exhaust starts to get that sound that makes me think the converter might be clogged somewhat. I ordered one of those "ultra high flow converters" like I used on my dually from http://www.siliconeintakes.com .The one with the three inch straight pipe through a converter case. The truck still has 100% original exhaust back to the muffler. The original converter is still there and never been altered. I'm sure with the hard life this thing had plus who knows how many miles of driving it with the hurt engine, the converter has lived a full life and deserves to be changed. Usually fuel mileage improvements from replacing a junky cat will pay for itself anyway.

[Tx Firefighter]

I forgot to add, I also called my buddy up at GM and had him get me a rubber lower air dam for the truck. Fortunately the one I need, with tow hook notches, is still a valid part number. Someone has removed mine in the past sometime.



I'll need to hit the junkyard and find all the little clips and hardware for it, plus I need a cigarette lighter socket for the ashtray and a door pin switch for the passenger side.

After that, it's fix the AC system and drive the thing. I want to truly finish this truck up nice before I switch gears to my stepside. I tend to do my trucks about 85% and drive them, then get annoyed at the other 15% of the stuff I didn't take care of. I want this one better than that so I will enjoy driving it more than some of my other trucks.

[rusty76]

Truck is coming along nicely and looking good!

[TheBlueBomber]

I took mine off because it was held together by JB weld... idk if I like it better with or without it. I wonder if it makes a difference aerodynamic wise

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by rusty76

Truck is coming along nicely and looking good!

I appreciate the continued encouragement.

Originally Posted by TheBlueBomber

I took mine off because it was held together by JB weld... idk if I like it better with or without it. I wonder if it makes a difference aerodynamic wise

I'm just adding it for cosmetic reasons mainly. I figure I'll sandblast and powdercoat the two hooks when I install it. Should kind of finish up the front end remodel.

[legendman]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

And the joke of the whole ordeal is that they charged me 14.50 for a safety inspection and did not do emissions. The law clearly says vehicles newer than 25 years old require emissions testing. My truck is 24 years old. I was just standing there with my mouth open and a confused look on my face. After all of the fussing I did with making everything just perfect for the visual part of the emission test, he didn't even open the hood. He just honked the horn, checked the lights and stuck a sticker on it.

You know if you had blown off the emissions they would have checked, funny how that works.

Congrats on reg.

I had a guy stop for a bell housing I had, told me he paid $400 for the 94 K1500 he was driving, had to pick my jaw up off the ground, needed head gaskets and a few odd things. I need to run into one of those deals.

[Palf70Step]

Glad she is legally mobile now!

[83GMCK2500]

Wow! Just caught myself up on the interior updates, air cleaner, inspection, vise, etc... Everything looks great! I am happy to hear you have it on the road and are enjoying it.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, buy those dang front diff seals are a full pull and split in half process.

I don't know how close your junkyard is, but LMC does sell the bolt and u-nut kit for fastening a valence onto the bumper. Bottom of page 17, $10.95 + shipping.

[likaroc13]

Nice progress you've made lately, & congrats on getting it "legal." I remember the good ole days of inspections in MS. As many of you have noted, such a joke. Honk the horn, make sure lights & turn signals work, & you're good to go! I think it was about $5 when I first started driving, but I think I paid $10 my last time before moving from the state. I've been lucky enough to not have to deal with that stuff the past 6 out of 7 years, living in both Florida & now South Carolina.

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by 83GMCK2500

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, buy those dang front diff seals are a full pull and split in half process.

.

What ?

No !

Can't be

You're messing with me.

Tell me it ain't so.

I mean, I can see the seal there behind the axle flange. I can touch it with a screwdriver.

[83GMCK2500]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

What ?

No !

Can't be

You're messing with me.

Tell me it ain't so.

I mean, I can see the seal there behind the axle flange. I can touch it with a screwdriver.

The documentation I have says the driver's side pops out with a slide hammer once you have accessed it. The passenger side process has "remove axle tube from carrier" listed. My apologies for the potentially elevated blood pressure with regard to splitting the carrier, it is not that detailed, but the axle tube must be removed.

(.pdf) Top of page 2, item #3 is the seal that I think you're talking about. Am I correct?

[Tx Firefighter]

Mine is passenger side.

I just assumed the drive flange was bolted on like a pinion yoke or something. I figured once I got the CV axle out, there would be a big nut to remove or something.

[83GMCK2500]

I updated my previous post with a .pdf from Alldata that I was referencing.

[Tx Firefighter]

Well I got no choice but to dig in. It drips about one drop per hour. It's got to be fixed.

What an adventure this stuff is.

The front diff is literally about the only assembly I haven't been into yet on this truck. Might as well go ahead and make it 100% so I can say I've gone through everything.

I guess I'll spend tomorrow getting my learn on to prepare for the job.

[Sodell]

If you keep you eye out, you can find white replacement body parts pretty cheap. I have a white 88 and I found a dent free bed, door, tailgate, and hood off of craigslist. There are a lot of white trucks out there with a lot of year models that interchange.

[Tx Firefighter]

Believe me, I am trolling Craigslist like a mad man. My doors are actually late model Craigslist doors. The paint matched plenty good enough for me. As soon as I find a decent white bed, I'm gonna jump on it.

[mcbassin]

Another awesome Tx Firefighter build. I just got through the whole thread. I actually read your threads instead of just looking at all the high$$ parts. You and I think a lot alike when it comes to our trucks and part restoration. Unfortunately, I don't have the powdercoating skills you have. Keep up the good work. subscribed....

[Tx Firefighter]

Aww, powdercoating is easy. You could go from beginner to pro pretty quickly. I do appreciate the compliments though.

[Sodell]

[QUOTE=83GMCK2500;6742982]The documentation I have says the driver's side pops out with a slide hammer once you have accessed it. QUOTE]

I took it apart, as mine was leaking, and could not find any reliable info on the passenger side, so I did not want to tear it up. I went to four shops in town and no one could tell me how to get it apart. I finally bit the bullet and went to the local Chevy dealer that is in one of those giant auto parks. I figured it was going to cost. The service guys are punks at this dealership and they pretty much looked at me like I had an extra eyeball. An older mechanic about my age happened to walk by and see me. He took the axle and I followed him into the bays. He took a brass hammer and hit it once and it fell apart. He then told me about the special sealant needed and said "I have an open tube". He went in his box and handed me a brand new tube, the bays were open and I asked him how much, he looked toward the service counter and seeing they were not looking told me to hurry up and go out the bay door, lol..

[Tx Firefighter]

Scott and Devin, I appreciate the guidance. I ran by the dealership this morning to pick up something I ordered and my buddy ran back to the shop and confirmed with their mechanic that I'll need to remove the long side extension housing and then pull the axle from it to change the seal, then carefully reinstall the axle (there's some kind of lock ring or something) into the extension housing and reassemble it all.

Today's update is modest but gratifying. I picked up my air dam that I ordered from the dealership and ran by the junkyard to pick up the hardware to install it.



There are 11 bolts with matching tinnerman nuts that hold the air dam to the bumper. I had no interest in buying these new so I grabbed some off a Suburban in the salvage yard. While I was there, I also grabbed a pair of 88-89 headlight assemblies. I know I just renewed my Cheyenne grille, but I just have a hunch that eventually a Silverado grille with quad sealed beams is in my future. I figured might as well grab them now while I was there. I was also diligent to get the wiring harness plugs for them since they're much different than my current setup. The headlights will go on the shelf for possible future usage. Maybe, maybe not. I'm glad I own them though. I also grabbed a lighter socket for my ashtray so I can charge my phone in the truck, and one pin switch for my passenger side door.



Before picture without air dam.



While I was under there I yanked the tow hooks and gave them a powdercoat job.



Final product is a very large improvement in my eyes. This truck just needed that air dam to obscure the ugly front frame rails .

[Palf70Step]