78 gmc heavy half stepside project

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Originally Posted by Zane M

All I can say is I love this truck!

Haha thanks! It's still rough steins the edges but its coming along. Just going $100 at a time with it. I think in the coming weeks I'm going to get the interior pretty much set up minus carpet which will be one of the more expensive parts I will be getting for this truck. The whole purpose for this truck is make a really nice truck that the next owner can beat on without worry and sell it when I think it's good enough. With the money from that I'm hoping to get new wheels from my red truck and finish my k5 blazer vehicle which is much needed right now haha. Right now I'm having fun driving it and getting much better mpg than my red truck. Although I gotta say. I will surely miss this truck when she goes.

[INSIDIOUS '86]

New update: took some goof off and steel wool and got rid of the sticker residue on the bed sides. The truck had those stickers so long that the paint underneath and around faded at different rates. So I got the "correct for a GMC" heavy half decals and put them in place. Gotta say I'm quite happy with how they turned out

[INSIDIOUS '86]

So what does everyone think about the idea of throwing a Saginaw 4 speed in this big girl and bucking the sm465. I like the sm465 and all and low gear has it's uses but I'm wondering if a Saginaw 4spd will make it more appealing to drive and more enjoyable than the utilitarian sm465?

[dragonball98312]

The Saginaw is what I plan on swapping in my blazer someday.

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Originally Posted by dragonball98312

The Saginaw is what I plan on swapping in my blazer someday.

For what it's worth they are great transmissions for just driving around with but I know my 305 is strong enough to kill one still. I'm just trying to find a nice one for under $200 which is proving to be harder than I thought. Though there's plenty of stodgy $50 three speeds around.

[solidaxel]

Originally Posted by INSIDIOUS '86

For what it's worth they are great transmissions for just driving around with but I know my 305 is strong enough to kill one still. I'm just trying to find a nice one for under $200 which is proving to be harder than I thought. Though there's plenty of stodgy $50 three speeds around.

Three and 4 speeds are great, IF you use them for driving and no 3000 RPM launches !!
Transmissions are inexpensive but the shift linkage is a big cost!
If you can find a 4 spd with Hurst linkage and a HIGH first gear you will love it. There are cuts, rings on the input gear that tell what the gear ratio is so look before you buy on the 4 spds.
Three speeds are a great transmission because of the first gear synchro you will love it,

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Yah downshifting to first at low speeds is really the only deal breaker on this trans. I think gm made the first gear syncros crap on the sm465 to keep a 2nd to 3rd from being a 2nd to 1st engine screamer.

As long as I don't get the 2:52:1 first gear trans any other should be ok with the 308 gears I imagine. There's a few for sale locally I may look into myself.

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Here's a vid of me and my friends out flogging our trucks in a gravel pit and drifting around. Although with an open diff I can only drift turning left. The ocean sized fuel bowls on the demon 650 make the fuel slosh so bad that it bogs and stumbles so definitely not an off-road carb! The speakers in my video are some alpine s-type that I got out of the scrap yard a couple years back for $15. And the deck is out of my red truck and is a parts store special that only puts out 50amps. It still bumps pretty hard for what it is.
http://youtu.be/vkd1uMD6tKI

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Hopefully in the next couple of days here I will have more fun stuff to show you on the truck. Local upholstery guy (Corbin's custom) is doing my headliner to Mach the tan interior parts and I also will be ordering a tan carpet and putting on these emblems that I got off eBay. I finally found a decent set.

[rusty76]

I really like those emblems. They just look cool.

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Alright. Exiting update, at least for me cause it all means the truck is getting closer to looking better and less like another beat up truck all this detail work I'm spending on it is starting to make a difference in how if looks. First off I got some front wheel trim finally after finding out that 80^ Trim doesn't fit the front. I've been working on an off with the rear trim but I've been busy with other projects and school again.
I got the headliner back from Corbin's custom auto upholstery locally. He did it for $70 and it looks great. The inside of the truck seems a little quieter and not so dark and spartan anymore. I'm digging the tan really. I'm repairing some rust stains on some if the trim that goes around so that will go in next but the headliner definitely improved the feel of the inside. It just "feels" nicer than it did with added plushness to the inside.
I've also been logging some miles on it and so far...mpg has been great really. Esp considering it has no O/D. Next week I'm picking up a drivers side floor pan and I'm setting up to kill all the rust on this truck once and for all the floor pans are the worst. The front fender extensions will be the easy part. Then bam. Rust free!

[INSIDIOUS '86]

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=612980

Did a new dash for the truck and I'm going up to the yard tomorrow to get some parts for the interior and a hard to get front air dam that's in pristine shape. I also got a floor pan for the drivers side for $25 locally so rust repairs start soon!

[INSIDIOUS '86]

another fun update and many cool pictures to share. I went to my local pull a part and got some more fun stuff. I found a factory front air dam on a 76 and pulled that I pulled and cleaned up. I also got some nice stainless door edge trim but no pics of that cause it was to dark out when I got it on. I took my re-dyed dash and installed that inside. I'm glad I made the call for tan inside. It really needed to be lighter inside considering the dark brown paint. I also found a new latch for my rear window and I got my lock strip tool today and got the lock strip for the window put in. I was driving before with just a top and bottom section installed since that was easy. I also put the truck up for sale locally as well. As much as I love this truck I need to get to work on my k5 for my family.

[INSIDIOUS '86]

[aotte1]

The factory bed rails, are they rare? I found a set like the ones you found. Are they factory? Where they available on short beds or only long beds? The set I know of are on a long bed. What do you need to remove them, any mounting hardware?
Nice trucks, my son and I have a 1986, CUCV blazer, w/ 350 and 700R4 also. Power train is out of 1987 Blazer. It has 8 " of lift. He also has M1008 original, pretty much a beast but get the trash hauled. It has 2 1/2 ton military tires on it, not wide but tall. We got it up in Branard, MN at auction.

Thanks for the reply post on the pulleys, do you have a picture of the whole pulley system on your red truck? Also, do you know, if any of the 3/4 or 1 ton 350s in 86 or 87 would have the water pump pulley with out the air pump part of the pulley? If so will they work with our set-up?

Thanks,
Les

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Originally Posted by aotte1

The factory bed rails, are they rare? I found a set like the ones you found. Are they factory? Where they available on short beds or only long beds? The set I know of are on a long bed. What do you need to remove them, any mounting hardware?
Nice trucks, my son and I have a 1986, CUCV blazer, w/ 350 and 700R4 also. Power train is out of 1987 Blazer. It has 8 " of lift. He also has M1008 original, pretty much a beast but get the trash hauled. It has 2 1/2 ton military tires on it, not wide but tall. We got it up in Branard, MN at auction.

Thanks for the reply post on the pulleys, do you have a picture of the whole pulley system on your red truck? Also, do you know, if any of the 3/4 or 1 ton 350s in 86 or 87 would have the water pump pulley with out the air pump part of the pulley? If so will they work with our set-up?

Thanks,
Les

The bed rails were a factory option. Not a lot survived which makes them sorta rare. They came on long and shortbeds and installed at the dealership and cut to fit shortbeds. Mine were fastened with torx bolts most of which I have. I can get pics of those if you want and the specs of the bolts.

As for the pulleys on my red truck I don't have any pics of the pulleys but give me some time and I can get some. As for no grooves for the air pump there's not much you can do got that. The pulley length is as short as it gets with the long water pumps on there. Mine had an air pump and I just pulled it off.

[aotte1]

Bed Rails:
o So to take off bed rails, I should have torx screw drivers and torx 3/8 sockets, plus regular sockets and assortment of screw drivers. Plan to go back to yard and try to remove bed rails. Pics if easy woulf be helpful.

Pulley:
o On pulley if pics are easy it would be nice to see what it looks like.

thanks,
Les

[INSIDIOUS '86]

So small update. I'm back in school again so not a bunch of time to do much on the truck but I'm still getting little things here and there. I sold my old dash locally and enjoy the new one.

One of those things was the wheel trim. I got front AND rear mounted and looking good. Got some dirt cleaned up and detailed it a little more. More and more people are getting interested in it from my online ad but no dice yet. Not a prob though I'm having fun driving it and working on it. Although I got my other project back home. A build thread to follow that soon the k5 that I got for free. And has so far only cost me licensing and $150 in parts. In which I will prob get that back out from selling the old parts off it. But you will get the details about that in my next saga of fun. On to the adventures of the gmc again.


I loaded up the back of the stepside with tires tools tires and front susp components and other parts. About 600lbs worth... Then chained 4700lbs of k5 and my 250lb k5 copilot and drug her back home. Didn't even break a sweat and didn't even use low gear once. Not bad for a 305 with 3:08 gears huh?

[68Timber]

Nice work. Looking forward to seeing what you do with the Blazer.

[Average Joe]

Cool build! I dig the low buck yet attention to detail approach. Nice work.

[Jer64]

Good work on this truck! I saw it earlier today at the store and happened to come across your build page when I got home. anyways, good job!

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Originally Posted by Jer64

Good work on this truck! I saw it earlier today at the store and happened to come across your build page when I got home. anyways, good job!

Thank you. I had a lot of fun building it.

I just today sold the truck and will be getting a jump start on my free k5 project. As well as some much needed parts on my red truck.

[ChevDog1]

I was going to ask I if you had sold it. Saw it on craigslist the other day...

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Originally Posted by ChevDog1

I was going to ask I if you had sold it. Saw it on craigslist the other day...

Sorry I missed this. A local guy bought it and is driving the crap out if it and enjoying it. Fixing things in it himself and having fun

[ChevDog1]

Originally Posted by INSIDIOUS '86

Sorry I missed this. A local guy bought it and is driving the crap out if it and enjoying it. Fixing things in it himself and having fun

Good to hear that someone is still enjoying another old stepper!