The Hawaiian Blue 1978 GMC.

[layinrocker65]

Originally Posted by HunterRotten

I'll get some pictures for you, mine's going to be a little different than typical because I am using the aluminum serpentine brackets off of a 1990 model Chevy V6, which moves the AC compressor to the passenger side. It's typically on the driver side. I also crimped my own lines with a mastercool line crimper I purchased second hand on eBay.

I’m more interested in how the hard lines are. I will also have my compressor on the passenger side. Just debating on getting the kit for the truck or doing my own lines including hard lines. Thanks

[HunterRotten]

Originally Posted by layinrocker65

I’m more interested in how the hard lines are. I will also have my compressor on the passenger side. Just debating on getting the kit for the truck or doing my own lines including hard lines. Thanks

Is this more or less what you're looking for?

[Country705]

Thanks for the updates unfortunately like any good addict i want more please lol... good job my friend I'm excited to see the end result

[HunterRotten]

Originally Posted by Country705

Thanks for the updates unfortunately like any good addict i want more please lol... good job my friend I'm excited to see the end result

Appreciate it, I'll have an update here soon. Slow progress being made at the moment and a lot of back paddling to progress.

[lowbrow454]

I'm really digging that color. Nice work!

[HunterRotten]

[CENTER]Hunter's 1978 GMC Build

So, one of the things we were really wanting to do is get the doors together. Mom's basement has been looking scary for near two years and we are getting down to the nitty gritty of my truck. It's been cleaning up fast all year, but those doors and their inside bits are more than half of what's left at this point. We had a LOOOOT of fun with these things. We struggled to get the door lined up but that wasn't even the hard part. It was those dang chinese door handles. They bound up the latch entirely to the point where nothing would get the door open. I ended up swapping all of the hardware off of my original handle on the driverside. The passenger side the spring broke, and we found out that the plastic button is what causes the latch to bind. There's too much material on it and it just gets stuck. I can't explain it, I don't even understand it. It shouldn't have been a problem but when I tell you we spent WEEKS scratching our heads, I'm not lying!!!

Unfortunately, pulling the door locks out with these bound up latches destroyed some of the paint, so it will have to come apart again sometime and be resprayed.

[HunterRotten]

Hunter's 1978 GMC Build

I have been really itching for some woodgrain to tie in the bedrails with the rest of my truck. I dig my bedrails, I think they're AWESOME.. but some woodgrain in the truck would really tie it together.

Well, just so happened I knew where some were, but Spring had come and gone and the 'yard' was more like 'rain forest' so we had to dress up covering all the skin and go on a hike in 80% humidity for it. They're a bit beat, but they're perfect for me. Nothing to cry over if they got damaged. The metal trim that goes around the woodgrain had screws shot through it, so dad filled them with JB Weld. I'm impressed at how hard it is to notice, he did a really good job.

Not only that, but he cut off the studs on the back of it and mounted it with stainless button heads. We turned junk into show pieces.

I forgot that I never got around to showing everyone the OEM door panels I found, well.. here they are. I love them.

[HunterRotten]

I don't normally take pictures at the private yard we go to, but I had him take us a tour to all his Volkswagen. I've always been fascinated with them and I wanted to see what kind of shape his were in. I think this photo pretty much sums up the whole experience of picking parts there. Keep in mind this volkswagen is actually surrounded by cars.. if you look closely you might even be able to name them.

[Bluestep]

That is very unfortunate about the door latches. Are they aftermarket pieces? Can you show a picture of them to make it clear what the problem is.
Your junkyard in the jungle is really something!

[cruizin01]

Bed looks great.

I bought some black door handles off eBay and they fit great. Just like factory. Sucks when stuff doesn't fit right and you ruin new parts.

[LT7A]

HR, your truck is really coming together well! The color is beautiful. Also, you can touch up your paint chips around the locks. With a non-metallic color like you have, it's really just a matter of building it up to above the level of the surrounding paint and then sanding it flat and buffing it out. Can even use clear coat for the last couple of layers if you need to.

Let me know if you are interested in more detail. I just picked up a great tip from a guitar repair expert.

[HunterRotten]

Originally Posted by LT7A

HR, your truck is really coming together well! The color is beautiful. Also, you can touch up your paint chips around the locks. With a non-metallic color like you have, it's really just a matter of building it up to above the level of the surrounding paint and then sanding it flat and buffing it out. Can even use clear coat for the last couple of layers if you need to.

Let me know if you are interested in more detail. I just picked up a great tip from a guitar repair expert.

I would love to hear more, but I don't think it is applicable to my situation.. the locks actually pulled some filler out with them and exposed bare metal.

[Bluestep]

The color matched bed liner looks very good.
I think that the bed rails must have been more popular in different areas of the country. I don't remember them on any pickups around here, but on the forums I see a lot of pickups that have them, many presumably since new. They do add a little sparkle.

[rollin thunder]

Originally Posted by Bluestep

The color matched bed liner looks very good.
I think that the bed rails must have been more popular in different areas of the country. I don't remember them on any pickups around here, but on the forums I see a lot of pickups that have them, many presumably since new. They do add a little sparkle.

Maybe further down south they are fairly common. Most of the trucks down here Have the rails. My uncle had an 88 or 89 Cheyenne that had a similar type rail.

[HunterRotten]

Hunter's 1978 GMC Build

So, we're way beyond another update. Last time I updated this thread we had just gotten the bed back and mounted onto the frame. My truck came together looking like a truck pretty darn quick, so I put the pressure on dad to help me get it running. I had ordered a mishimoto 4-core aluminum radiator made for the squarebody trucks from Summit last year on Black Friday and it has since been in a box. Mishimoto has a lifetime warranty, and if your griffin or whatever else ever craps out you will be money ahead with the mishimoto.

Like always, something doesn't fit right and once again we needed spacers. The radiator was sitting too low in the stock radiator mount and we ended up spacing it. If anyone needs the true measurement, I will get under there with some dial calipers.

[HunterRotten]

Hunter's 1978 GMC Build

At this point, it was pretty much as simple as telling the sniper EFI's handheld information about my truck and turning the key. I was pretty excited, and I was hoping that with some luck we could drive the truck.

Here's what my truck sounded like on it's first time idling.

While it was awesome that my truck after 2 (or more) long years had rumbled to life, we were not able to get it into to gear. After some head scratching, dad figured out that the slave cylinder may have been too big. We did a free exchange to NOVAK(except for shipping....) for the smaller slave. The smaller slave greatly improved what we thought was the issue, which was that the measurement between the slave and the pedal were too great but.. it still wouldn't engage. Solution? Spacers on the external slave. It works now.

The OTHER problem discovered with the truck idling is that those gold crane rockers where touching the valve covers, which is not ideal. Can you guess the solution? SPACERS! Why? I really like the look of the stock valve covers. It ends up being gasket, spacer, gasket, valve cover. Not ideal, but it worked and it looks great. (..Yes, I'm leaking now and I will have to address that.)

[HunterRotten]

Here's a picture of the trucks first outing, and of the boy ready to ride! I edited my house out for personal reasons, sorry I had to go and ruin such a great photo for everyone!

I should mention I pulled the truck up front the house and then it died, no juice. Didn't think too much of it right then...

[Rickysnickers]

Wow, that's great!

[rollin thunder]

Music to my ears! That sounds sick!

[Country705]

Looks good! After I figured out I seen you out driving it, I have to say that blue is beautiful pictures don't do it justice!

[HunterRotten]

Hunter's 1978 GMC Build

FORGIVE ME for the lack of updates. I have had a lot going on for the last couple of months and have struggled to find time, or energy really, to update the post with my new job. I still have a lot of content to update, but not much progress has been made on the truck.


So, when I posted last SEPTEMBER. (i'm so sorry) I had just posted about taking the truck on it's first test drive. I had an array of wiring problems. The passenger side tank's walbro wasn't working, there was a loose ground wire under the dash, and more importantly.. the battery wasn't charging.

THE SOLUTION, was to beat the walbro with a hammer. It worked. The ground wire that lost contact on left turns was reconnected, it worked. We added a small light that lights up my gauges in a warm yellow while the fuel is priming. If this light is present, it means the battery will charge and I won't be on the side of the road again. Being dead on the side of the road gets old quick.

[HunterRotten]

Hunter's 1978 GMC Build

So, Blue was sitting a little low. Some may say lower is better, but Blue was TOO low.. and riding like crap with the mcgaughy's drop coils and the big block. We found out why pretty quick.

I was now riding on the bumpstops and my control arms were banging on driveways and curbs. We did some research, and we decided to go with the MOOG 454 springs for a big block truck. I don't quite recall the part # but it does have 454 in it. We swapped out the drop coils for the stock big block coils. IT LIFTED ME UP LIKE 6 INCHES IN THE FRONT. Soooo... we took it back apart and cut off a coil. Truck sat exactly where I wanted it to, so my setup is now 2.5" drop spindles and a stock big block spring with 1 coil cut.

Picture order here is the mcgaughy 2" drop coil next to a stock replacement 454 coil(1), the 454 spring installed with no cut coils(2), and the 454 springs with 1 coil cut(3.)

[HunterRotten]

Hunter's 1978 GMC Build

At this point, it was piddle a little there.. piddle a little here and everywhere. We slowly chiseled away at the air conditioning over the course of multiple days. The vintage air system was a good idea, and I'll have to thank mom for pushing me towards doing AC later. I wasn't going to.

[HunterRotten]

Here's a picture of the boy enjoying the AC on a hot day.

[TKCR]

Looking good!! It looks like your passenger approves.