91 DD build

[GMC91]

Well, before I begin, let me tell you Im only 16 about to be 17. So money is a huge limiting factor, that and I have to drive the truck almost everyday. Timie to begin the story. When I was 13 my dad gave me his old work truck, a 91 GMC Sierra sport-side. He didnt just give it to me, had to spend a whole summer building a 2 car garage. So on my birthday he surprised me by handing me the keys, a bottle of armoral, and some other cleaning stuff. Well for 2 years the truck sat and was driven about 1-2 times a month by me on some back roads with my dad. When I turned 15 my dad gave me the choice between a new motor or a paint job, since the 350 that was in it still ran good, I picked a new paint job All was fine and dandy till I turned 16 then the whole truck went down hill. I raced my friends, hit a small tree(didnt hurt the truck, just killed the tree, it was really small), backed onto a late 80 model mustang, sang the truck in 5 foot of water, the whole truck was tore up. Looking back I regret it all. Well I spent the whole summer replacing the motor and tranny. I now have a 83 model 305 and a TH350 tranny in the truck with an Edle 600CFM 4 barrel carb with mech secondaries. It drives nice just looks like hell. Now Im working on the body and since its already tore up and needs new paint Im gonna customize it too my liking. Right now I got the grill and front bumber off and fixing some dents in the fenders. I painted the support for the bumper flat black along with the front piece that the grill and all bolts into. My plains are the lower it a little more, shaved tail-gate and shaved door handles, new style grill with Euro headlights, crome GMC emblems, new mirrors painted to match, shaved rear steps, custom interior, smoothie front bumper, roll pan for the back, Euro tailights, and some other stuff that I just cant remember now. Well enough for talking, time for some pics.


Heres what I started with.


The motor when I still had my Holley on it. Now got an Edle.








Just one of the many dents in it.

I got to get a new hood(the one on it was already dented beyond repair) and a new tail-gate(also dented beyond repair). Also if anyone has any other ideas for customizing it, please tell me, Im always looking for new ideas.

[GMC91]

Alright, first question. Where can I find clear marker lights for my style grille? I can find them for the new style grills were the marker lights are cut in halve but my grill is older and has the full marker lights.

http://image.trucktrend.com/f/849211...front_view.jpg
I have this kinda grill only mines chrome not painted.

[tvblazer78]

Very cool... Keep us posted..

[ChevLoRay]

Wow! You made an impression on several fronts...tree.....Mustang...

At least you weren't hurt, huh? So, you dad made you work for it by building a garage. That's good. Now, you know something about how to do that and it can come in handy to help you find a job that may be helpful to you as you upgrade/customize your truck. That's good, too.

The nice thing about these trucks is that there's still a lot of decent parts out there that are basically affordable. As for your wants on the grille, why not change to the later (94-98) GMC grille and then the clear markers/corners you want will be readily available? You'll also need to change the valance between the grille and bumper to make the grille fit. You won't need to change headlights from the quads you now have which isn't a bad thing because the glass lamp assy's won't turn yellow unless you have low voltage going to them. You could keep those and add the clear parking lenses and then the clear corners. A smooth front bumper (no rubber/no holes for license plate) would clean up the front end. Shaving the tailgate shouldn't be too hard. Mar-K in Oklahoma City has a kit to relocate the tailgate handle to the inside of the tailgate, that includes the patch to cover the hole. There stock handle goes on the inside of the tailgate so parts are not an issue if the handle goes bad.....stock GM still will work.

But welcome to our forum and we're waiting to see how your truck goes. Keep posting pix.

[GMC91]

Thats what I wanted to do with the grille, up-grade to the new style. Then get the clear marker lights, some clear head lights with the diamond design in them, and some smoked bottom lights(dont know thier exact name). But i cant find the grille I want(havent really looked anywhere except styling trucks). And Im gonna get the chrome front bumper with frenched in license plate. I like my front tag, nice rebel flag( Im NOT racist just like the LOOK).

[ChevLoRay]

Try looking at www.latemodelrestoration.com website. When you go to their home page, look on the left side and find the ChevyTrucks line and click on it. They are good to deal with and have a good selection of parts to restore and/or modify these 88-up trucks. Don't get turned off because they have parts for other vehicles. I'd recommend ordering one of their catalogs....they're color and are good reading. The www.lmctrucks.com website offers catalogs and the breakdown shown in their illustrations is good reference material. My headlights/parking lights are from CKResto, which is what Late Model Restoration calls their truck parts division. Check 'em out.

As for the smoked parking lights, I haven't seen those. I'm adding a pic of my truck taken a couple years ago. Since then, the bumper has changed to a smooth one and the side trim is gone. Currently, I'm getting the mirrors ready to paint white, like the rest of the body.

Good luck on your project.

[GMC91]

http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/item/CTP-8200J

Is this the grille, cause its cheap compared to some Ive looked at. Just making sure. Sorry for the most likely pointless question but I like to make sure before I order something,. Also I wanna make sure my head-lights from my 91 grille will work with this one? I know I will have to order the marker lights and the trim piece at the bottom between the bumper and grille. Thanks, and once agian sorry for the pointless question. Also one m ore question, when I get the new grille and marker lights, my grille only has one light going to each marker light, will I have to wire in an extra light on each side for the new lights? Since my 91 has the full marker light and the 94 style grille has 4 lights?

[ChevLoRay]

You're on the right page. Top unit is just the grille w/o the GMC letters. If you wanted to have a billet grille, the bottom one is for you. The center unit has just about everything you need to do the conversion you want to do, except for the panel between the grille and bumper.

As for the headlights, if you stay with your original glass quads, the grille fits around them w/o any probs and you don't have to worry about them turning yellow. The side markers are only lit on the lower section. The upper is just a reflector, so only having one light on each side is as it should be.

If you want the top grille, be aware that you still need the letters G M C unless you want to install a billet grille. If so, do it before you install it. The bottom of the later grille has a couple of clips that lock onto the panel I mentioned, in addition to the screws at the top of the ass'y.

Don't worry about the question. There's always someone on here who has an answer.

[GMC91]

I want the grille with the GMC letters, but do they make chrome ones instead of the red?

[derek6787]

get the grille without the letters and order you some billet ones. stylin concepts has them for sure. I got my grille off of ebay. The guy has " car parts" all over his auctions, i wouldn't buy from just anyone on ebay just the ones you know have good parts.

[GMC91]

First off, you gotta have some tunage when working.


Ok here the progress I made past day, all pics are in order.







This is were I started at this morning. It was around 10 AM.

[GMC91]

This is were she sits now, Im tired as all get out, but it looks better I think.





And derek6787 thanks for the tip, Ill look into that.

[fiddy9apache]

Originally Posted by GMC91

I want the grille with the GMC letters, but do they make chrome ones instead of the red?

you can pull the red gmc inserts out of the emblem...

[ChevLoRay]

You know the good thing about your situation is that you have a place to work and family who evidently support you and your efforts to rebuild your ride. Lotsa folks, both young and old, don't have that going for them.

Are you doing ALL of that body work...sand/prime/etc.....by yourself? If so, you are developing some good talent that should be of some considerable help to you as you continue to grow and enter the "slave" zone of life. Bodywork is one of those talents that people I know have used as "tradin' material" to obtain vehicles/mechanical work/etc. Don't skimp on the expertise. Be proud of what you can do and make it work for you.

[GMC91]

Yes Im doin all body work, primer, paint myself. It aint that hard, and it keeps me busy. plus its good practise considering Im going to Wallace State for auto-body when I graduate. And yes the best thing about helping my dad build the garage is I can work on my truck in it anytime I want to.

[GMC91]

OK here are a few after getting the grille, bumper, and lights back on it.





That red 1967 Mustang is my dads project, almost ready for paint.

And just for fun, here is a pic of me in front of the truck. Note:the white camero is gonna be my sisters first car, its a 95 V6 Auto.

[ChevLoRay]

You're gettin' there.

I'm diggin' on that '67 Mustang, too. I owned a 64 1/2 coupe w/260/automatic, a 65 Fastback 289-225/4-speed, a 65 coupe w/beige cloth bench 200-3-speed, a '65 GT coupe 289-225/automatic and a '66 coupe w/200/automatic. My '67 venture was a new Cougar 289/automatic. Being a Class of '65 graduate you gotta know my mind is all over these, just like my butt was.

I like those Camaro's, too. I'd like to find a nice convertible.

[GMC91]

I got a quick question to those who have/know a lot about shaved door handle kits. I wanna shave my door handles but I dont know which kit is the best, I dont wanna get a cheap one that wont hold up or last. So what is a good kit that dont cost out the @ss?

[BigBlocksRule]

FIRST thing you gotta do is get that engine painted.

NO FORD BLUE in a Chevy truck!!!

[ChevLoRay]

Lighten up....he just color-coordinated his block with the body

Shaved door handles...check out AutoLoc.

[GMC91]

Originally Posted by BigBlocksRule

FIRST thing you gotta do is get that engine painted.

NO FORD BLUE in a Chevy truck!!!

Actually if you were to see it in person, its a metallic blue like the body.
And thanks ChevLoRay

[BACKYARD88]

It's also a 305, which would have been painted blue from the factory When you get solenoids, be sure to get the ones that are round, not the ones that are just plastic door lock actuators.
http://www.thehoffmangroup.com/autol...dinc=solenoids

[GMC91]

Well Ive changed my mind on the shaved door handles. I got a friend with an 89 chevy and he has done a lot with it and one thing he said dont do is shaved door handles. He has them on his truck and he has had a lot of problems with them, so I think a nice set of chrome buckets and handles will look just as good if not better on the truck instead. Thanks.

[ChevLoRay]

If the color on your truck is a factory color and you want to make the handles blend in with the rest of the truck, you may want to check out a '99 Escalade door handles. I thought about it, but the closest color to mine was a pearl white, which my truck is not.

[GMC91]

I want my truck to stand out in crowd, thats why I want the chrome door handles.