my new truck 1988 rcsb k1500

[wwj75c30]

i just got her on saturday my new toy/project she's a 1988 chevy reg cab shortbed stepside 4x4. she has a fresh rebuilt 350 and a throttle body spacer and a 700r4 i thinkk(not sure) has a 3" body lift and cranked up torison bars sitting on brand new 31x12.50 boggers with 16x10 rims i traded my 75 chevy c30 for it and i love it.

now the question: how do you change the grill/lights to the 95 up style?

[stocker96]

remove the grille, (7mm screws) should be four on top of the radiator support and one in the middle of the grille, youll need an extension for that one.remove the parklamps, (four torx or phillips screws on face of lense.) 1 7mm screw behind each park lamp. disconnect the lights from the housing, including the side markers. you should now be able to remove the grille. next to come off is the headlights, there ae 4 bolts on each light assembly 4 per side IIRCunbolt, disconnect.

to install the new setup you will need the new lights, AND HEADLIGHT BULB PLUGINS. the new grille and filler panel as well as the 2 inner bumper mounts, your stock bumper is OK to keep. basically reverse the process to install. HL, filler panel, grille, screws, PL/CL. Somewhere in there though you must either splice the new headlight plugs in to your factory harness, or buy a new HL harness. I opted for splicing and never had a problem.

Sorry for the lack of detail, It's the general idea though. I never was able to replace the center screw when doing the switch over, but I hear many board members don't even reintall them anyway. best of luck.!

[wwj75c30]

sweet doesnt sound thank you now i need to look for a grill and lights lol let the search begin

[TennesseeZ]

I've done several of these. I always retain the 88-89 sealed beams and housings however, just cause I prefer the looks personally.
There are differences in the radiator core support, the filler panel between the grille and bumper, and the plastic fender extensions on the lower front corners of the fenders. The later grille has 2 tabs that fit into slots in the core support, and IIRC other minor mounting differences concerning the screw(s). The slots IIRC are absent from the earlier core supports. I think I just broke the tabs off the new grille, on one I think I drilled starter holes and cut my own slots. Not an unsurmountable issue in any event. The filler panel is narrower? on the later model grille due to the bumper being tucked in closer? to the grille, which is also the reason for the difference in the bumper brackets. And the lower fender extensions are different to match the filler panel. I think many people just change the grille and lights tho, and force the rest to fit. IIRC there are also slight differences in the turn signals also. Don't let any of this scare you, there have been many of these conversions done with just the grille and a little inventiveness. Here's a link to LMC's catalog page showing some of the differences.

[wwj75c30]

thank you for the help. so its not a very hard swap?

[stocker96]

no, not at all. I never drilled new slots, changed the plastic fender extensions, or drilled holes in the core support. justbolted it back in as best i could, looked factory, wasn't loose. I just broke the clips off mine, and only once did I get the clips in the filler panel and grille to come together, just layed them in place basically. whole process took me approx. 2 hours.

[wwj75c30]

sweet doesnt sound bad like i said let the search begin lol im gonna get a billet grill and clear corners

[RayInAlaska]

Hey, looky here! This one is just like yours, except for the color. Same year, same body, and a newly rebuilt motor... Well, not longer new, but when I bought it earlier this year the motor had around 6,000 miles. It has a 1991 350 TBI motor with headers, bells and whistles. I have no idea what the front grill is from, but it does not look too bad. The bumper too is an addition, and so the lights all around the truck. The problem is that I am unable to tell you what all these parts are, since I bought the truck just the way it looks now. The person who sold it to me bought it from a GI who had been buying parts and modifying the truck. Even the paint work he did, and I have no idea what the color formula is. But since it looks good, I just enjoy driving it. The only time I frown is when I look at the fuel gage

Right now it's parked outside and plugged into an electrical outlet so I can drive it to work in the morning. It has been around -40 degrees for two or three days already, and the truck looks like Casper the ghost, all covered with a thin layer of white from the ice fog outdoors.



Almost forgot: do you see the electrical cord plug under the left front of the bumper? That's a 3-way cord (a Y-cord with three outlets). One outlet powers a 450-Watt block heater, the other a 75-Watt oil pan heater, and the last one powers a 45-Watt battery heater. The male plug by the bumper I connect to an arctic-grade extension cord which in turn is plugged to an electrical outlet at the back porch for about four hours each night.

[stocker96]

[wwj75c30]

Originally Posted by RayInAlaska

Hey, looky here! This one is just like yours, except for the color. Same year, same body, and a newly rebuilt motor... Well, not longer new, but when I bought it earlier this year the motor had around 6,000 miles. It has a 1991 350 TBI motor with headers, bells and whistles. I have no idea what the front grill is from, but it does not look too bad. The bumper too is an addition, and so the lights all around the truck. The problem is that I am unable to tell you what all these parts are, since I bought the truck just the way it looks now. The person who sold it to me bought it from a GI who had been buying parts and modifying the truck. Even the paint work he did, and I have no idea what the color formula is. But since it looks good, I just enjoy driving it. The only time I frown is when I look at the fuel gage

Right now it's parked outside and plugged into an electrical outlet so I can drive it to work in the morning. It has been around -40 degrees for two or three days already, and the truck looks like Casper the ghost, all covered with a thin layer of white from the ice fog outdoors.



Almost forgot: do you see the electrical cord plug under the left front of the bumper? That's a 3-way cord (a Y-cord with three outlets). One outlet powers a 450-Watt block heater, the other a 75-Watt oil pan heater, and the last one powers a 45-Watt battery heater. The male plug by the bumper I connect to an arctic-grade extension cord which in turn is plugged to an electrical outlet at the back porch for about four hours each night.

i love your truck. i need get headers and all that for my truck lol. is yours a 5speed? and lifted at all? the thing i like about my truck is here noone really has a 4x4 single cab stepside lol all lowered.and im glad it doesnt get that cold were im at in cali, -40 im already complaining at 40 degrees lol

[stocker96]

I'm quite jealous of his truck too.
but here's what I can decipher maybe to help both of you out a bit.
Those lights, headlights park lights, and corners come in a set off ebay, for 94-98 chevy's
The grille is available from ebay for 94-98 chevy's it comes as a primered grille, not a chrome one.
The bumper is most likely from LMC they also have ones with only two lights.

[RayInAlaska]

Originally Posted by wwj75c30

i love your truck. i need get headers and all that for my truck lol. is yours a 5speed? and lifted at all? the thing i like about my truck is here noone really has a 4x4 single cab stepside lol all lowered.and im glad it doesnt get that cold were im at in cali, -40 im already complaining at 40 degrees lol

Yes, it has a 5-speed stick shift, and somewhat lifted. Well, the tires are tall mostly, which makes it a little difficult to step-up. The interior is pretty much original, except for the receiver and a column case-set at the left side. The person who sold it to me put a custom dash cover (looks like carpet, but Velcro is used to hold it in place.

[wwj75c30]

Originally Posted by stocker96

I'm quite jealous of his truck too.
but here's what I can decipher maybe to help both of you out a bit.
Those lights, headlights park lights, and corners come in a set off ebay, for 94-98 chevy's
The grille is available from ebay for 94-98 chevy's it comes as a primered grille, not a chrome one.
The bumper is most likely from LMC they also have ones with only two lights.

yea thats what im thinking im getting the 94-98 clear lights simalar to those and a new chrome grill with a billet grill and and a smoothie bumper

[wwj75c30]

Originally Posted by RayInAlaska

Yes, it has a 5-speed stick shift, and somewhat lifted. Well, the tires are tall mostly, which makes it a little difficult to step-up. The interior is pretty much original, except for the receiver and a column case-set at the left side. The person who sold it to me put a custom dash cover (looks like carpet, but Velcro is used to hold it in place.

sometimes i wish mine was a 5speed. and my interior is original lol so it needs work. the bench seats shot so im gonna uprgade it to 95 up style. have anymore pics of your truck?

[stocker96]

Make sure you get the right corner lights for the 94-98 style, there is a difference between GMC and Chevy corner light lenses.

[RayInAlaska]

Originally Posted by wwj75c30

sometimes i wish mine was a 5speed. and my interior is original lol so it needs work. the bench seats shot so im gonna uprgade it to 95 up style. have anymore pics of your truck?

The bench seat on mine is original, including a few small tears on the material. I bought a seat cover for it, black color material with the red color logo, "Genuine Dickies" on it. It was not expensive at all, but neither the best cover, I so I can't complain since the seat itself is quite comfortable.

I have to work on the brakes once summer gets here, and also would like to buy the following:

a. electric radiator fan and sending unit (thermostat for it)
b. A set of WeatherTech All-Season floor mats

The mats are a most for places where it snows or rains a lot, since they are much like a rubber tub that keeps the melting snow and rain away from the floor carpet underneath.

[wwj75c30]

Originally Posted by stocker96

Make sure you get the right corner lights for the 94-98 style, there is a difference between GMC and Chevy corner light lenses.

arent the gmc's corner lights shorter or something like that

[wwj75c30]

Originally Posted by RayInAlaska

The bench seat on mine is original, including a few small tears on the material. I bought a seat cover for it, black color material with the red color logo, "Genuine Dickies" on it. It was not expensive at all, but neither the best cover, I so I can't complain since the seat itself is quite comfortable.

I have to work on the brakes once summer gets here, and also would like to buy the following:

a. electric radiator fan and sending unit (thermostat for it)
b. A set of WeatherTech All-Season floor mats

The mats are a most for places where it snows or rains a lot, since they are much like a rubber tub that keeps the melting snow and rain away from the floor carpet underneath.

i see. and oh nice. this time of year here it rains the most other than that its either cold or hot lol its only snowed here once and it didnt even stick or anything

[stocker96]

Originally Posted by wwj75c30

arent the gmc's corner lights shorter or something like that

Yep, exactly.

[RayInAlaska]

Originally Posted by wwj75c30

i see. and oh nice. this time of year here it rains the most other than that its either cold or hot lol its only snowed here once and it didnt even stick or anything

It has not snowed very much this year in the interior of Alaska, but it has been very cold for days at -40 degrees (yes, minus 40). Then it warmed to about 5 degrees today, and it's snowing lightly. The weather is supposed to e pretty for the next four days or so, from +5 degrees to -15 in the coldest nights.

Then I am certain that it will get cold again, since the coldest weather usually happens in December and January.

[wwj75c30]

Originally Posted by RayInAlaska

It has not snowed very much this year in the interior of Alaska, but it has been very cold for days at -40 degrees (yes, minus 40). Then it warmed to about 5 degrees today, and it's snowing lightly. The weather is supposed to e pretty for the next four days or so, from +5 degrees to -15 in the coldest nights.

Then I am certain that it will get cold again, since the coldest weather usually happens in December and January.

yea minus 40is way to cold for me lol at 40 deg im complaining its in the 50s here during the day and at night around low 40s. ima visit alaska eventually tho