1996 GMC K3500 DRW, Extended Cab, Flatbed, 454, NV-4500

[83GMCK2500]

I spent a lot of time and a little whiskey trying to figure out the best course of action. Rebuild/replace? Rebuild...replace...? I've done quite a bit of work on this truck, as well as the other things that have been done. Rebuilt rear axle with new differential, clutch, rear main seal, engine oil cooler lines...so much more, I have a folder of receipts over 1/2" thick. I could've got everything sheetmetal and plastic needed from local wrecking yards for cheap, bought new radiator, fan clutch, etc. The problem was paint. Paint = $$$. The damn thing is red, red is the devil to match, would blend across most of the adjacent panels. The doors still have gaping holes in them from old mirrors, so if I paint it I should get new doors. Would basically end up painting whole truck. $,$$$...f***. So, the hunt was on for color matched parts. That shade of red was used '94 to '96. Hit up craigslist, search all of the local yards for trucks/suvs in that year. Nada, zip, zero, zilch. Next step, build a list of parts, got prices, estimate paint, total = f***ed. The big question to answer became, get a whole truck for around the value of f***ed? Back to CL...after a few misses I went and looked at a truck with a good friend of mine. I came home with this:



1997 GMC Sierra SLT K1500. Recently replaced motor, rebuilt trans. The person I bought it from...special. I don't think I will be able to adequately describe him using publicly appropriate words, leaving it at that.

[83GMCK2500]

I did quite a bit of work in the evenings, prepping the two vehicles while leaving them complete enough to drive. Prep work consisting mostly of interior disassembly and front end disassembly. Then it was time, cab + front end swap.

Sufficed to say, I have some damned good friends. On a Friday evening two trucks drove into the garage (one at a time) and Sunday evening the flatbed drove out. 2.5 days, 4 of us, complete cab swap. The green cab was cut for clutch, NV-4500, BW-4401; received the dash wiring from my dash, my front seats, my carpet.

Drives In


Strip Interior


Chains to furthest (from center) seat bolts, engine hoist. Didn't actually get a pic of red cab coming off, but repeated for green.


Voila

[83GMCK2500]

Roll out the flatbed, drive in the donor.


Lift


Roll


Bring in for surgery

[83GMCK2500]

You all can guess how this feels, looking at these two in this state.


If no one has spotted it yet, I am building a truck that GM never did...


Got big stick?


Boo-yah!


Coming together...


Interior


GREEN LOOKS SO MUCH BETTER THAN RED!

[83GMCK2500]

Got parts?


Took the '97 to a wrecking yard, got a couple Benjamins out of it. The engine and trans went to another friend, picture a bagged '70 C10 as the recipient.

Pecked away at various little things on the flatbed in the evenings for a couple weeks (to this day, still not done.) and then one weekend I decided to clean up the outside. Clay bar, rubbing compound, polish, wax.

[83GMCK2500]

Prior to the accident, I accomplished one of the tasks I've had on the back burner. BRAKE UPGRADE! Anyone watch that Alaska Off-Road Warriors show? The lower 48 team? I've had the pleasure of talking with both of them on multiple occasions. Carl owns/runs Jantz Engineering near where I used to live & work, I had him machine the upper and lower ball joint tapers in a set of GMT-800 knuckles for me to the correct diameter for the -400 ball joints. During the brake upgrade I installed new upper and lower ball joints, lower control arm bushings, sway bar bushings, and sway bar end links.

Good-bye...


Hello


Coming together


So much bigger

[83GMCK2500]

The one thing I didn't do with the brake upgrade was flush the brake fluid, I just topped it off and bled the fronts. A friend has a power bleeder and needed to do his soon so I held off. With the power bleeder you clamp a plate onto the top of the MC, pressurize to 12-15 psi and go around opening bleeders. It has a reservoir of fluid itself so it maintains a level in the MC so you're (ideally) not introducing air into the system. I siphoned the old fluid out of mine first so I could clean the reservoir, it was nasty.

Before


After


As I worked my way around under the truck I was shocked at the lack of fluid flow. With the requisite 15 psi in the power bleeder I completely removed the bleeder from the right rear wheel cylinder and poked around with a probe looking for blockage. Nothing encountered so I put the bleeder back in, left it cracked, had David depress the brake...VOILA! I had fluid. I couple cycles of standard bleeding with the power bleeder and it started flowing well. Repeat procedure for the left rear, resulted in good flow. Fronts flowed well when I opened their bleeders. Truck stops very well now. The brake upgrade was a noticeable improvement, the new fluid helped as well.

[83GMCK2500]

Thus far in 2015 the flatbed got a brake upgrade, an E24 swap, DOT 4 brake fluid, various other little things then it was time for another big ticket item. Rubber. I have had a set of OEM steel wheels in storage that had been blasted and powder coated "speedboat aluminum w/clear". I may have a picture a page or two back of them when we picked them up. Here they are now.

Tires and wheels meeting for the first time, looks like it will go well.


I think they'll get along well together.


Closeup of the match.

[83GMCK2500]

Cooper ST MAXX in LT255/85R16. To adequately fit them I needed to crank the front up a touch, install a rear block and run spacers in the rear.

Quick trip to a wrecking yard secured me some GMT-800 blocks, they're about 1.75".


New ubolts


The WORST DAMNED DESIGNED PART ON THESE TRUCKS


I'm tenacious


High zinc primer


No assembled pics, I was jonesing to get the new shoes on.

[83GMCK2500]

Rear coming together


One side done


Couple close-ups



Flatbed clearance


Done, picture taken at work later in the week


Washed it again, now with cab lights again!

[83GMCK2500]

Random work photos.

Catching some air


Load of sound wall panels to go to jobsite


Load of pumps returning from jobsite


Last weekend I moved an S10 crew cab cab for a friend.

[Palf70Step]

Love the look of your GMC. Makes me want one!

[OutlawDrifter]

awesome job on both setups, the initial, and the rebuild! i've been looking for a big block 3/4 or 1-ton for our tow pig. the flatbed you have on there is built not too far from where i live in KS. my wife's cousin actually works for bradford built.

great job and thanks for sharing!

[Truck Guy99]

Been wondering where this build went. Sorry t got wrecked but I actually think the green looks better. Great job and how long did the body swap take?

[Zane M]

I love this truck!

[95 S_Trucker]

Originally Posted by 83GMCK2500

If no one has spotted it yet, I am building a truck that GM never did...

I'm not seeing it yet.

I see you still have the 97+dash in. Gonna keep it and get a cubby hole or swap back to the 96 dash?

Where'd you get your spacers for the rear?

I see they are hub centric, are they steel or aluminum?

Nice work by the way.

[83GMCK2500]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Love the look of your GMC. Makes me want one!

Thank you. Until the latest platform (K2XX), this is one of my favorites.

Originally Posted by OutlawDrifter

awesome job on both setups, the initial, and the rebuild! i've been looking for a big block 3/4 or 1-ton for our tow pig. the flatbed you have on there is built not too far from where i live in KS. my wife's cousin actually works for bradford built.

great job and thanks for sharing!

Thank you. That's cool, I've spoken to the owner about the coating on my bed and he has given me phenomenon customer service. I will be exchanging my bed shortly for a new one. Outstanding service, I think.

Originally Posted by Truck Guy99

Been wondering where this build went. Sorry t got wrecked but I actually think the green looks better. Great job and how long did the body swap take?

Thank you, I like the green better too. 2.5 days, I mentioned it at the start of the rebuild. There was 4 of us working on it steadily.

Originally Posted by Zane M

I love this truck!

Me too!

Originally Posted by 95 S_Trucker

I'm not seeing it yet.

I see you still have the 97+dash in. Gonna keep it and get a cubby hole or swap back to the 96 dash?

Where'd you get your spacers for the rear?

I see they are hub centric, are they steel or aluminum?

Nice work by the way.

I added RPO E24. The third door. It was only offered on 1500s.

I put the cubby into the dash.

Motorsport tech for the steel spacers, very very well machined. The gmt-400 ones aren't listed on their site, called and provided measurements.

Thank you.

[95 S_Trucker]

Originally Posted by 83GMCK2500

The WORST DAMNED DESIGNED PART ON THESE TRUCKS

I encountered that on my 99. I took my old ones to the local spring shop and they came back with these. They are cast and don't hold water and crud on the bottom. They've been on for a little over 2 years.

[deejaaa1]

my 96 ext cab has no 3rd door. probably would have been happy with it if it had 3. instead, picked up a 93 crew cab. the 93 will be the one i fix hen i sell the p96 to fund it.
your truck looks real good. nv4500 is on my list also.

[joe231]

Originally Posted by 95 S_Trucker

I encountered that on my 99. I took my old ones to the local spring shop and they came back with these. They are cast and don't hold water and crud on the bottom. They've been on for a little over 2 years.


Attachment 1445830

Another option is to flip the u-bolts
Get a set of these plates
http://diy4x.com/product.php?product...cat=250&page=4
And round u-bolts
http://diy4x.com/product.php?product...=&bestseller=Y

[Cobalt964ruf]

very nice build. i recently picked up a 1999 k3500 ccdrw 4x4, 454, auto. im hoping it turns out as nice as yours.

[deejaaa1]

you need to be closer to me. wow, what a build.

[83GMCK2500]

Originally Posted by Cobalt964ruf

very nice build. i recently picked up a 1999 k3500 ccdrw 4x4, 454, auto. im hoping it turns out as nice as yours.

Originally Posted by deejaaa1

you need to be closer to me. wow, what a build.

Thank you guys! Like any good truck project it takes years of tinkering and tweaking to get it to a point you're happy with. As this is my daily the tweaks have to be well planned.

Nothing much as of late to report, just these.

February 3, 2016


February 20, 2016


March 3, 2016


March 17, 2016

[OutlawDrifter]

denali/escalade cluster?

putting the miles on, nothing wrong with driving it!

[83GMCK2500]

Originally Posted by OutlawDrifter

denali/escalade cluster?

putting the miles on, nothing wrong with driving it!

Yup, friends and I had 3-4 kicking around, it came from one of those two. All I did was swap my odo into it, add the LEDs, and paint over PRND321 & Apply Brake to Shift from Park.

Just about every other day is a fill-up and ~250 miles on the trip.