85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"

[N2TRUX]

Yesterday we started on a neat addition to the build. The guys at @wamrods have designed a cool kit for 81-91 Squarebody trucks. In my quest to clean up under the hood Chris and I installed one of their kits.
The kit comes with everything needed to replace the stock hinges with gas struts, and very detailed directions. The install is very straightforward as long as you follow the instructions.
For more information contact Justin Wallace @wamrods

[lolife99]

Ken is the Wamrod strut kit required with your new wheel tubs?
Or is it just to change things up a little?

[rustytruck50]

Slick addition, but I'd miss the characteristic spring scrunching noise on the later square bodies :-)

[aggie91]

Changes are looking good on Scarlet. I started my own LST challenge over the holidays too. Hope to see you at LST with my project...

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by TKCR

You inspired me to get a blast cabinet. That, and I was just tired of the manual labor. The saying goes, "Work Smarter-Not Harder".

You will love it. Just make sure to get extra rolls of weather strip, then seal it with a fine line of silicone once its assembled. This vacuum is overkill, but the cheap shop vac I bought burnt up so I went big this time

Originally Posted by lolife99

Ken is the Wamrod strut kit required with your new wheel tubs? Or is it just to change things up a little?

No sir the WAM rods are not required. Im going to be running Slosh filler panels and wanted a cleaner look. We specifically designed the Mild Tubz to be compatible with stock components where possible. The 81-87 battery tray and over flow tank will not fit. Mike is working on a brace to make the 73-80 battery tray work. There are smaller overflow tanks that will tuck under the battery tray. We have to determine what fits best after he gets the design finished.

Originally Posted by rustytruck50

Slick addition, but I'd miss the characteristic spring scrunching noise on the later square bodies :-)

Not after you close the hood a couple of times. It goes up and down so smooth and quiet now.

Originally Posted by aggie91

Changes are looking good on Scarlet. I started my own LST challenge over the holidays too. Hope to see you at LST with my project...

Glad to see you get in the game buddy.

[UKNOWME]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

We specifically designed the Mild Tubz to be compatible with stock components where possible.

So you're in on the design with Mike? When will they be released? I've been holding out on ordering the slosh tubz until I see the mild tubz.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by UKNOWME

So you're in on the design with Mike? When will they be released? I've been holding out on ordering the slosh tubz until I see the mild tubz.

Actually Mike Losh, along with Eric Miller of Squarebody Specialist and I collaborated on the design. I have been talking to Mike Losh for a couple of years about doing a mild version of his Slosh Tub. He was concerned that there wasn't enough market demand to justify the expense of design and production.

Eric Miller and I had a lengthy conversation last year at LST and both agreed that the squarebody trend was growing strongly towards static dropped trucks on 22s or 22/24s. I sent Mike lots of pics and measurements from my 77 and my 85, and Eric shared his experience and knowledge gained while building Casper. Together we were able to convince Mike to take the leap of faith, and here we are. Lets hope he sells enough to justify his expense.

The plan is to have a set in time for me to debut them at LST on Scarlett along with his fender and core support filler panels. Once he gets them ready for production, he will start taking pre-sale orders. If you order now, and your going to LST he might be able to deliver them at the show.

[UKNOWME]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

Actually Mike Losh, along with Eric Miller of Squarebody Specialist and I collaborated on the design. I have been talking to Mike Losh for a couple of years about doing a mild version of his Slosh Tub. He was concerned that there wasn't enough market demand to justify the expense of design and production.

Eric Miller and I had a lengthy conversation last year at LST and both agreed that the squarebody trend was growing strongly towards static dropped trucks on 22s or 22/24s. I sent Mike lots of pics and measurements from my 77 and my 85, and Eric shared his experience and knowledge gained while building Casper. Together we were able to convince Mike to take the leap of faith, and here we are. Lets hope he sells enough to justify his expense.

The plan is to have a set in time for me to debut them at LST on Scarlett along with his fender and core support filler panels. Once he gets them ready for production, he will start taking pre-sale orders. If you order now, and your going to LST he might be able to deliver them at the show.

I won't be at LST unless something crazy happens. Too much other stuff going on. I just need to see what they are going to look like first. The only reason I would consider them if to maintain my battery location. Aside from that I'm good with slosh tubz. BUT I need to get the ball rolling on whichever way I'm going to go because before we know it winter will be over and cruise/show season will be in full effect. Plus I have another truck I'm about to start building hopefully take to c10sinthepark.

[N2TRUX]

Sunday Chris and I finished up small details on the WAM rod install then removed the hood. With it safely stored, it was time to get serious. We pulled the remaining fender liner and masked off the fenders to protect the paint.

I started stripping the top of the motor while Chris focused on wiring and vacuum lines. We took tons of pics, and bagged and tagged bolts and small parts. We tagged lines and hoses too. Its easy to remember where things go when they look the same as when you took them off. Once they are cleaned and painted not so much.

I worked my way down to the intake, sealing holes as I went. Chris got the firewall stripped fairly clean so we called it a day.

[87max]

wow is all I can say, attention to detail at its finest. I went cheap with my blast cabinet dust collection, I installed a pc fan on the back after opening up the hole. I tapped the switch for power. I then made a blocking shield similar to whats on the back for over the 2" port & installed a vacuum cleaner bag there. I just got it done yesterday & ran it briefly seems to work well.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by 87max

wow is all I can say, attention to detail at its finest. I went cheap with my blast cabinet dust collection, I installed a pc fan on the back after opening up the hole. I tapped the switch for power. I then made a blocking shield similar to whats on the back for over the 2" port & installed a vacuum cleaner bag there. I just got it done yesterday & ran it briefly seems to work well.

I tried the Harbor Freight shop vac and it died rather quickly. I waited till this one was on sale and I had an additional 25% off coupon.

Chris came by yesterday after work and loaded the fine grit Black Magic media. It still didnt blow out well so he dug deeper. He pulled the media pick up tube and cleared it out. It had a rubber band trapped inside that was restricting the flow. With that cleared up we plan to go back to the medium grit media and try again.

[LT7A]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

Chris came by yesterday after work and loaded the fine grit Black Magic media. It still didnt blow out well so he dug deeper. He pulled the media pick up tube and cleared it out. It had a rubber band trapped inside that was restricting the flow. With that cleared up we plan to go back to the medium grit media and try again.

Cleanest rubber band I ever seen, haha. I'm starting small with media blasting but I can see how much it helps with the prep. Nice setup. Also backing you up on the gym thing. I try to remember that as I slim down, my truck gets faster and gets better gas mileage.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by rustytruck50

I appreciate that...btw, I kinda cringed at the adolescent sound of the end of that post...hope it didn't come across overly repetitive
What I forgot to add was that I've used it in both indoor and outdoor, home & automotive & in both extremes of temperature and it holds up very well and maintains its flexibility....would've been so much easier if I'd just said that in the beginning

No worries, I appreciate the info.

Originally Posted by LT7A

Cleanest rubber band I ever seen, haha. I'm starting small with media blasting but I can see how much it helps with the prep. Nice setup. Also backing you up on the gym thing. I try to remember that as I slim down, my truck gets faster and gets better gas mileage.

I have a bad knee and find that working my legs actually help it. I just avoid deep squats.

[N2TRUX]

I haven't been hitting the gym in a few months, opting to work out at home. Unfortunately that was not keeping my weight down, so I decided to be a New Year, New Me newby and get back at it. I hit the gym last night and got a light workout in and realized how quickly you loose what took months to gain.

With that behind me I came home invigorated and spent some time in the shop. The headers needed to come off so I crawled under the truck and unbolted the collectors. From there I went top side and started to loosen the flange bolts. Ironically almost every bolt was loose "except" those at the very back. Fortunately I had decided to buy a stubby wrench set a few months back. That came in very handy because nothing else would fit.
With the headers on the ground I was able to inspect the work that the previous muffler shop had done. Since they did such a poor job on welding the exhaust pipes I expected more of the same. They did not disappoint me. Besides big old bugger welds, there are two holes that go completely through. Looks like I get to make another trip to the muffler shop after I clean these welds up.

[83GMCK2500]

I don't know what is more scary, the exhaust welds or those starter bolts. Wow!

Looks like you're getting lots of great work done.

[Bennett68C10]

Love the wheel choice, fits the classic looks of Scarlett! Awesome job your doing on the build!

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by 83GMCK2500

I don't know what is more scary, the exhaust welds or those starter bolts. Wow!Looks like you're getting lots of great work done.

Yeah those are pretty sweet, but hey they are functional. Trust me, all will be done correctly soon.

Originally Posted by Bennett68C10

Love the wheel choice, fits the classic looks of Scarlett! Awesome job your doing on the build!

Thanks for the kind words.

[beasst]

It's pretty bad when I can actually say that I can weld better than that.

[daddyjeep]

If those are "professional" welds i must be a pretty darn good welder myself. I know exhaust tubing can be tough, but come on.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by daddyjeep

If those are "professional" welds i must be a pretty darn good welder myself. I know exhaust tubing can be tough, but come on.

Originally Posted by beasst

It's pretty bad when I can actually say that I can weld better than that.

The entire exhaust system was a fiasco. They used premium quality components but the install quality was horrible. The guy that repaired the mess said he understood why the cut the collectors off but didn't understand why the entire system was one piece.

[N2TRUX]

Last night my shop time was limited so I set about achieving a small task that needed some attention. I had noted that the starter had been recently replaced but the bolts were to long. They had used washers and a nut for spacers rather than aquire the correct length bolt.
I posted these pics on my Instagram feed and get my answer. An old forum friend (TXFIREFIGHTER) that I hadn't heard from in a while recognized hat had been done.

According to Kevin this is an 88-95 starter. He feels it's much better than the original unit but it is smaller so the bolts need to be shorter. That makes sense as others have reported the same to confirm his experience.
New bolts are coming soon

[83GMCK2500]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

Last night my shop time was limited so I set about achieving a small task that needed some attention. I had noted that the starter had been recently replaced but the bolts were to long. They had used washers and a nut for spacers rather than aquire the correct length bolt.
I posted these pics on my Instagram feed and get my answer. An old forum friend (TXFIREFIGHTER) that I hadn't heard from in a while recognized hat had been done.

According to Kevin this is an 88-95 starter. He feels it's much better than the original unit but it is smaller so the bolts need to be shorter. That makes sense as others have reported the same to confirm his experience.
New bolts are coming soon

He's still alive!? Excellent! I loved following his threads on here, particularly his white C30. Great to know you're in touch with him. Also good info about the starter, I knew the 96+ Vortec ones were even smaller yet but had no idea the TBI ones were a step between. I'll try to file that away in the memory banks without loosing it.

While you've got the front end stripped down have you given any consideration to converting it over to the single serpentine belt system with the aluminum brackets from the late tbi motors?

I'm interested in those wamrod hood struts, I'll have to read up on those. Thank you for the pictures of them. Does the hood open to the same height as with the coil springs?

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by 83GMCK2500

He's still alive!? Excellent! I loved following his threads on here, particularly his white C30. Great to know you're in touch with him. Also good info about the starter, I knew the 96+ Vortec ones were even smaller yet but had no idea the TBI ones were a step between. I'll try to file that away in the memory banks without loosing it.

While you've got the front end stripped down have you given any consideration to converting it over to the single serpentine belt system with the aluminum brackets from the late tbi motors?

I'm interested in those wamrod hood struts, I'll have to read up on those. Thank you for the pictures of them. Does the hood open to the same height as with the coil springs?

Yeah it felt good to hear from Kevin. I always loved his practical approach to his builds.

So far I have have it on good authority that the 88-95 TBI starters are smaller and better than the 73-80. I'm told that the a/c blower motor is a bolt in upgrade as well. Recently I was told that that same generation of cruise control was adaptable to the earlier trucks too.

I have considered a serpentine set up. I'm still not that familiar with all of them, and I know some are rather bulky, while others are much cleaner. Unfortunately, time constraints are not going to allow that to happen.

Regarding the WAM rods, they can be adjusted to what ever height you desire within reason. Their objective was aesthetics so they recommend an open height that is level with the top of the cab.

At a show, I usually lower my hood to a spot that is right before gravity pulls it down and closed. I set my height at that point which is a few inches higher. This gives me plenty of access under the hood with out restrictions.

The advantage with a WAM rod is you can pop a clip off the rod and use a prop to hold it open higher than the stock hinge allows. Not pretty, but functional of you do need to make repairs and dont want to pull the hood.

[N2TRUX]

With the starter out, I could see the oil pan better. There's no doubt that it's leaking at the pan gasket. I will be replacing that with a Fel Pro one piece gasket after I get the mess cleaned up.

[moregrip]

Thank you for a great read! Lots of good info in here and details! Fantastic truck brother! I hope mine turns out half as good as yours!