85 GMC Sierra Classic 1 Ton Crew Cab

[1985-GMC]

I think I saw some at Oreillys in the help section before.

[Mattman2010]

Orilleys has kits, but their computer is wrong about all of them. I got ones for my rear axle to and they where wrong, finally took in one of my old straps and they took them in the back and found the right ones. As for the front I dont have any of the straps, and im not 100% sure on what year the front axle is (I bought it off a guy for $50 and was missing a bunch of stuff, because my 1980 dana 44 had broken spiders) he said it was a 1976 axle which seems to be true because when I was rebuilding it the seals where different between 1976 and 1980 and the 1876 seals where the right ones.

I did take one of the ujoint cups in there and had marked on it where the pinion ended and they took it in the back and looked for one but didnt find one. He also said that the front and rear axle on a 1976 k20 took the same straps (which i don't believe, my 1980 d44/14b don't use the same)

[Mattman2010]

So I finally got the u-joint straps figured out, they are the u-bolt type straps that where used. I got a lot of stuff painted so we will just have to see how things go so I can start to put it back together.

[Mattman2010]

So I finally got the fly wheel for the 6.2 to finish mounting the sm465 behind the 6.2. I got that all together and got it mounted into the frame for what I hope is the last time. I also go my hydro clutch and made a bracket for mounting it, just a little bit more work on it and it should be done.

I got the front steel brake lines replaced but am having trouble finding some longer rubber lines for the front and rear. I need to clean and paint the fuel tanks and get them all hooked up and finish the steering and a few other little things and I should be able to get the cab onto the frame and then start getting it back together.

[Mattman2010]

I started working on getting the drive shafts done and when i almost had the front one done one of the ujoints cought a roller and broke it, so I need to go get another unjoint and fix that one. I did get the rear one all put together and got it back on the frame.

This will be my little check off list as I go.
- Rubber Brake Lines
- Fuel System
- Shocks
- Cut cab floor to put in a high hump
- Install clutch pedal
- Install Cab
- Hook up electrical
- Install front clip
- Few other things
- Start it and test drive it
- Install bed

This is just the basic run down, there is always small things that kind of get over looked, but this is all it should take before I get it back on the road hopefully.

[Mattman2010]

Got my front drive shaft on and the transfer case bolted down to the frame. Now the above list starts! I need to get pictures of the clutch bracket i made to mount the slave cylinder from the hydro clutch.

Matt

[Mattman2010]

Well yesterday was kind of a big day. On Saturday I saw a guy post up a 1984 Chevy 3/4 ton Crew Cab up for sale as a roller for cheap. That was pretty much rust free it is just surface rust and a small hole in the rocker (Looks like something punched through it not rusted through). I went and picked it up yesterday, it will be donating its cab to the dually. It also came with 3 different interiors, but the current interior is purple.

Here is the only picture of it right now, I will get some more later.

[GmtGmt]

Any interior pics?

[Mattman2010]

Interior is purple on the dash, red on the front doors and tan on the rear doors. Plus more door panels in the back seat, and i even think another dash pad. There is not much to see its not pretty. Ill be gutting this interior out and using what is in the dually and if this truck has any better parts i will use them. I plan on dyeing all of the panels and such all the same color hopefully.

[1985-GMC]

Nice Matt! Was it a running driving truck?

[Mattman2010]

Well this new cab is in such good shape that I have changed the direction. I am going to be painting the truck now instead of later. That way I can have one solid color truck and also protect this cab from any rust! I got most of the interior out of the truck, someone used house carpet for the floor and screwed the carpet in the truck to get it to stay in the corners.

Im trying to figure out what I want to do with the interior. I don't really want to put carpet into the truck because it will just get ruined from mud/dirt (this is a 4x4 truck and im going to use it a lot). I have been thinking about just painting the floor and then getting some rubber mats to set on the floor to kind of protect the floor. I have also thought about putting bed liner on the floor, but I am afraid that it would get hot in the summer time.

I have decided that I want to paint the truck white, and all the chrome is going to be painted black.

[jltait]

You could put down some liquid bed liner with a roller, then go over it with rubber floor mat for a better appearance. I have seen some guy run the liner on its own too though. Should also kill some road/drivetrain noise.
Jason

[Mattman2010]

Yeah that is kind of what I am thinking. I am just afraid that being a black floor will cause a lot of heat. I am also not sure what to do with the wires because I have several wires running to the b pillers for the rear doors. I also have wires going to speakers at the rear od the cab. I have thought about just drilling holes in the floor and run them under the cab and use some grommets on the holes to keep water and whatever else out. The little details kill me when i start to think about it. I like to plan ahead and so I'm always looking farward and trying to figure out the little things, but it seems like I never know what I want to do till I get there haha.
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[Mattman2010]

Well I am getting most of the interior out of the truck, trying to figure out how to remove the heater box from under the dash. Then I need to figure out what to do with the floor for a manual then it will be time for body work.

[1985-GMC]

I think most of the bolts for the heater box unbolt from the engine side of the firewall.

[Mattman2010]

So I got my front brake lines figured out and also figured out the hydro clutch setup in my cab.

I need to modify the floor because I have a low hump and need a high hump to clear the manual transmission. This is what I have came up with for a high hump.


I also never posted pictures of the bracket I made for the Sm465 to be able to use a hydro clutch.




Need to test fit the cab once the floor is modified and then pull it back off and start on the body work!

Matt

[jltait]

Matt,
Looks good, I like the hydro bracket. Keep in mind while fabricating your floorpan that an NV4500 will push the shifter location back, IIRC about 4". I know you are anticipating going that direction later so don't fab yourself into a corner or make it hader later while raising the floorpan now, Like I typically do Hah, Hah.
Jason

[Mattman2010]

Jason that is a good point, I am pretty sure that I will have enough clearance. One thing though is I am probably putting it lower than a stock one because my sm465/np205 adaptor is mounted 2 inches lower than stock would be (This helps my drive line angle a lot and I dont have to use any kind of spacers or shims to fix it). I dont think I will put a NV4500 behind my 6.2. I will probably just wait till it is time for a cummins swap to swap out the transmission. My setup now I think sould get good gas mileage and at highway speeds it keeps the RPM's below 3k. And then there is the money factor!

Matt

[Mattman2010]

Thanks Jason! That is the plan, one to get my extra frame out of the shop (two long bed crew cab frames take up a bunch of room) and to be able to do the body work on it, and be able to roll it aroundthe shop so I can do body work on other parts to.

Matt
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[Conundrum]

Build is looking good!
Your really moving on this thing.

[Mattman2010]

Well I finally got my tranny hump made. I decided that instead of welding it in I am going to make it bolt in.



After getting that done I wanted to make sure that the floor modification was what it needed to be, and that I was going to clear everything on the frame. I put my 84 cab onto the 85 frame and it is looking good! It is so tall!



Had to throw the front clip on to get an idea, also parked my k10 next to it to see the height difference.


So now I am going to get the tranny tunnel holes cut and all ready to be installed. I am going to be pulling the cab off one more time and set it on my dolly and get it into primer then set it back on the frame for final paint. I cant wait to get this thing done, it just looks so awesome!

I also noticed that I am going to have to get a lift kit for the front end because I am going to have quite a bit of rake. If you look back a few pages you can see that I mounted the front rear spring hangers lower than they are suppose to be on a stock k30. This gave me quite a bit of lift and so the front end is not level with the back.

Matt

[72XLCHhd]

Good looking progress.

What are your plans for your extra crew cab frame? I may be looking for one in a few weeks if you are going to sell it.

[Mattman2010]

Well I still have my rusty 85 cab so I might turn that into a project as well with my extra frame.

Matt

[jltait]

Matt,
If you only need a little extra lift 1" zero rate springs from Offroad design or Diy4x's Eazyinch do a great job. They give an 1" of lift, are safe because they bolt into the spring pack and do not affect ride quality negatively. Order the 3" wide version for the front if you go that route. If you need more lift than that I recommend Tuffcountry springs.
Jason
PS Zero Rates are $45-$55.

[Mattman2010]

Thanks jason! Yeah I don't like body lifts, but it will do what you need to for now till you can get around to modifying the floor. Its not that bad, but there is time to figure out how to go about making it the way you want and making it so that it fits well to the floor. I built my top part and then used a line laser to make lines across the floor so that it would all line up.

Matt