My Luxurious late model truck (not so much)

[rusty76]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

There is no gasket used in this application. It's just two machined surfaces against each other. Don't get the wrong idea about the red sealant I used. It's not like silicone or any of the other usual suspects. Its a super thin sealant intended for machined surfaces like this. It squeezes down real flat when torqued. I use it on the recommendation of the transmission and driveline mechanic at the local dealership. It's the same stuff I used between the housings on my transfer case.

I got you. I kinda knew what this was but just wasn't really sure. Just had to ask.

[Tx Firefighter]

Y'all remember the main ugly on my truck is the right bedside. Old pic before I swapped doors and wheels.



Current



Well I just scored this thing off Craigslist. I'm giving 275 for the bed, tailgate, and taillights on Saturday. It ain't perfect but its 275 dollars better than my current one. And it's the right color too.







It looks like its got a scrape down low.



I sure hope these fender flares are easy to get off and then mount to the new bed.

[flashed]

That is going to look much better.

[SCOTI]

$275 is a few bucks cheaper vs repairing what's currently sitting on the rails....

[Sodell]

I knew you would find one, just a matter of time. Take those tail lights and wet sand them up to 2000, then buff with some Maguire's polish. Makes them look new!

Those fender flares are a snap! You have skill, and they will be easy to swap...

old bed
[IMG][/IMG]

"new bed"

[IMG][/IMG]

Polish treatment on the tail lights.

[IMG][/IMG]

[Tx Firefighter]

I know the guy actually. He's semi serious about parting out trucks as a sideline deal. He has a lot of scrap piles accumulated at times. The plan is for me to strip my flares off mine, yank the tailgate, unbolt most of the bed bolts, remove bumper, and drive to his place. Then I'll finish unbolting it all and flip the bed off my truck and into his scrap pile. Then set the new bed in place and secure it well enough to get home and do the final install with fender flares and bumper.

My bed is crap really. Many more problems that the pictures don't show.

Cool thing is, this should do it about as far as I'm wanting to go to cosmetically fix up the truck. As long as it's all straight and all white, its good enough for my purposes.

[Hankster]

Good score on the bed!

[mcbassin]

Have love ole Craigslist! At times, it's one of the best source for us truck guys.
looks like a pretty straight bed too.

[Stoney]

Going to take the molding off, or add to the doors?

[aggie91]

Nice score. I gave quite abit more for a good short been a few years ago and still have to paint it to match.

[rusty76]

Nice find on the tailgate!

[mrmontebuilder]

Kevin, you know how to build a super nice and usable vehicle on a realistic budget for sure!!! Doing something similar with my 94 GMC K1500 Stepside and hope it turns out half as good as yours. You do great work and I will be following this thread for ideas on mine. Thanks for taking the time to post all your work for others to learn from

[TheBlueBomber]

I need to polish my tailgate band to that level.

[jhama78]

Kevin, before you toss that old steering stabilizer cut the chromed shaft out of it... they make pretty decent punches in a pinch... Ive got a few in my junkyard toolbag as well as one or two bigger ones in my garage box.

[Squareforceone]

Nice build as always, maybe I missed it but have you thought about doing the master cylinder swap off the newer body style. I've been thinking about doing and would love to see one of your detailed write ups on it.

[Hankster]

Have you done anymore to this thing?

[bufmatmuslepants]

Kevin, I just wanted to say that I have read this thread 3-4 times, the first 5 pages more way more than that, and I appreciate the time you have taken to write up such an informative and well documented build thread that makes it very entertaining to read through your threads. I always have tried to start a build thread and document what I do when I work on something but I always look at my greasy hands and my clean phone and never take pictures. I do have some questions about your engine rebuild as I am in the process of cleaning up my 95 1500 and want to refresh my 215k mile tbi like you did.

Did you do a hone on the cylinders before you installed new rings? If so what hone do you use?

What bearings and rings did you use? Just stock replacement stuff from rockauto?

Did you check the cylinders for out of round with 200k miles? I know the old carb engines got egg shaped after a lot of miles, did you have a ridge that you could grab with your fingernail or was the block nice and clean even with that many miles?

What is a good year and model engine to look for for a roller cam doner? I think my 95 does not have the roller cam provisions, but tbi engines are cheap and plentiful on craigslist. I know you were concerned about tuning issues with the new cam, have you checked your plugs to see if its rich or lean? What kind of fuel mileage are you getting? Does it make power differently than a stock tbi, like does it make it earlier, later, does it pull harder past 3000rpm than a stock tbi? I know the tbi heads flow like crap and the tbi is tiny, but Im curious if the bigger cam with less resistence makes power differently and better enough to warrant me sourcing an 87-93 tbi or if I should just stick with the flat tappet.

Keep up the good build threads, I liked the dually and the stepside builds. I totally understand why you sold the dually when you have a truck like this.

[TheBlueBomber]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

FedEx brought the goods. Moog sway bar bushings. Mevotech end link kits, Timken axle seal, and KYB steering damper.

I hadn't ever used Mevotech before, but the quality seems to be very good.



I've never owned a truck with a factory steering dampner before so I might not be qualified to judge one, but I figured with 230k miles on it, that replacement while I was under there would be a good idea. KYB sells a nice kit for trucks with factory dampener like mine. The original unit was some kind of stuck on there. I had to take a cutting wheel and cut the dampener off so I could get an impact and deep socket on the mounting stud to spin it loose from the center link.



Original parts for the scrap pile.



After getting it all together I took Valerie to town for a cold drink and driving around to see if I was successful or not. The truck runs and drives just fine. When I got home after driving it around it looks like my efforts were successful. Nice and dry.



Those two little trails you can see coming from the seal area are bits of grease that I lined the seal with upon installation. Nothing to worry about. The truck is now leak free front to rear without a hint of any wetness anywhere.

Rotated my tires today on the 96... shook the front end down and she's loosy goosy. And to top it all off I've got the same leak from the axle on the passenger side along with an oil pan leak. Guess I'll have a fun weekend.

Any updates?

[droberson]

I've been going through your builds and am very impressed. They give me more confidence on fixing up my truck, and I learned a LOT so far.

By the way, if your wife has Amazon prime, she can add you to her account and you can order your stuff with the free Prime 2 day shipping without bugging her as long as you have a debit card. I don't know if you knew that or not. I have my girlfriend added to mine as a household member so she can use it without having me order all of her stuff for her.

[LuckyLightning]

Hey TX Firefighter, how many miles were on your truck when you bought it? I'm looking at a similar truck ('99 2500 - same body style as yours) with 270k miles and I'm wondering if that's too many miles to feel safe about it being a solid driver/hauler without worrying about "the one more thing" to fix.

[Stoney]

Still got this?

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by droberson

I've been going through your builds and am very impressed. They give me more confidence on fixing up my truck, and I learned a LOT so far.

By the way, if your wife has Amazon prime, she can add you to her account and you can order your stuff with the free Prime 2 day shipping without bugging her as long as you have a debit card. I don't know if you knew that or not. I have my girlfriend added to mine as a household member so she can use it without having me order all of her stuff for her.

On your recommendation we did exactly that. She set me up and now I can Amazon Prime with impunity whenever I want/need something. Thank you. Now I can order truck parts and no one but me and Amazon knows what I spent.

Originally Posted by LuckyLightning

Hey TX Firefighter, how many miles were on your truck when you bought it? I'm looking at a similar truck ('99 2500 - same body style as yours) with 270k miles and I'm wondering if that's too many miles to feel safe about it being a solid driver/hauler without worrying about "the one more thing" to fix.

This truck had 227k miles on it, and it was wore smooth out. Of course 4.10 gears and no overdrive makes every mile like dog years since the engine is turning more revs than it would normally.

Originally Posted by Stoney

Still got this?

Yes I do. Lots of trucks have come and gone over the years, but this one is staying. I love this truck. Don't think because I've been quiet on this project that it fell out of favor. I still drive it around somewhat frequently and am putting a mental list together for the next round of work. Once I finish my dropmember Stepside build, this one will go back to the front of the line to get some cosmetics and address some mechanical deficiencies.

Write it down and remember it so you can throw it in my face if I ever sell it. December 1st, 2014, Tx Firefighter vowed to not ever sell this truck. It's just a perfect truck. Not too nice but also spec'd out properly to fill any truck needs I ever have. Old trucks are emotional to me. It's kind of like a woman. You can be enamored with a woman and your buddies are all shaking their heads because they don't see what you see in her. It either talks to you or it doesn't. There's no explaining it. I really like my Bubba truck 4x4, ugly as she is.

[Low Elco]

LOL- Clock's officially tickin' now!

[Palf70Step]

I agree with you though Kevin, the 88-98 years are some sweet trucks and hard to aprt with once you found the right combo for you.

[mud.man.rj]

I like your attitude on the truck, it doesn't have to be special to everyone, just you is what matters. Keep up the good everyday truck build.