80 project is back on!

[Russell]

Well, I made a pretty nice score guys!

I basically had given up on my 80 since I found out that my front diff needed a total overhaul, that I had no engine or transmission for it, and no way to register it with the 2wd VIN it originally had

Well, my luck took a turn for the better and I found this little gem:



1985 GMC 3/4 ton 4x4

Looks pretty rough eh? Well, there be gold under all that rust and body damage!

The truck has a totally overhauled front diff, only two items not replaced is the calipers and the rotors, which I plan to replace. It has brand spanking new warn hubs, and less than 100 km on brand new axle shaft u-joints, balljoints, tie-rod / both ends, draglink ends, and a brand new steering box. Basically got my front diff / steering overhaul completely covered

It also has an old friend sitting in the engine bay -- My old 355, the one that started my love of chevy engines She has a brand new carb sitting on top, with a set of TBI swirlport heads, and a comp cams xe262-h camshaft. Should be a torque monster, I never got to drive it built the way it is...

Has a good hydraulic SM465 / NP241 combo in it, with brand new u-joints all around.

Not only that, but the truck also has high back bucket seats, and most interestingly, a standard transmission tilt column -- I've been hunting for one for years, and this is the first I've come across! The wiring is all brand new after I totally re-wired the truck top to bottom last January. Even has those nifty Suburban wiper arms with the sprayers built in, lol

Best of all -- I now have a truck I can properly register and insure

The guy who was supposed to come grab my old cab / box never showed, so I now have all the parts I need to put my truck together, and have it in driveable shape within a few weeks

I'm excited!

Haha, did I mention I scored it for 700 bones?

[Pyrotechnic]

Sweet deal! So basically your getting your old truck on a new frame ?

[Russell]

The 85's frame is badly twisted, so I'll be taking the front diff and steering off the 85, and put it onto my 80's frame, which is straight as an arrow, but keeping my 80's original 14 bolt (which was originally under my GMC when I bought it) since it is already totally rebuilt.

I'll then take the engine, transmission, transfercase, driveshafts, fuel system steering column and electrical (probally a bunch of other small parts too) from the 85 and swapping them onto my 80.

I plan to install my 80's old parts onto the 85 and put it out to pasture for a while. I have a line on a low mileage 1998 Vortec 350 that I'll probally wind up installing into my 80, so when that happens, I'll put my 355 into the 85 with a 700r4 / NP208 setup, and offer it back to the kid dirt cheap.. I know the truck meant a lot to him, and that it would seriously make his day to get it back in running condition. All it'd need would be a steering overhaul at that point