The "Green Trucks" rebuild

[MAC71]

I started working on this old truck a few months ago and thought I would start a build thread. I hope to get others thoughts and ideas as I work on it and maybe what I am doing will help some one else.
So a little history on my truck. I bought the truck in high school in 1993, it had just been painted back to its original medium green and white. Because of the color it became known to my family and friends as the green truck. I was told it had 190,000 miles on it and since then I have added a little over 400,000 miles to this truck. It has been the one vehicle in my life that always works and we can always rely on. In all these years there has only been two time it has left me stranded and that was my fault. I had in high school a 406 cid engine in it and once broke the transmission impute shaft and the other time was the differential while running slicks.
so over the years I have had many different engine, transmission and gear ratio combinations but currently it has the original 350 but it is .030 with 9.5:1 compression, World products SR torquer heads, a small cam, 700r4, and 3.73 gears with a posi. It smoke the tires but can still get 17 mpg on the highway at 70 mph.
The truck is my daily driver and my round trip to work is 80 miles. This being said it needs to be safe and stay reliable. The way this rebuild started is due to a few things going bad at once. I started smelling fuel but could not figure out where the fuel smell was coming from, my feet were getting wet when it would rain because of a rust hole in the area under the windshild, the brake line that goes from the front to rear rusted out and then I had a short in the fuse box that melted a bunch of wires in the main harness. When I discovered that the fuel smell was from a rust hole in the fuel tank and the carpet was soaked with fuel we decided it was time to take the truck apart.

This photo is from 1994


This is from this summer

[MAC71]

Here are photos of the rust in the cowl area that got this started and starting disassembly.



http://i1332.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6ddeb2aa.jpg

[MAC71]

I did not want to buy a new cowl so I cut it out carefully and the started cutting out the rust.

[MAC71]

Let me back track a bit. I have been looking at easy inexpensive ways to improve the trucks handling. One change I want to make is move the engine back a bit. I don't know why this is but there are holes in the frame to mount the engine back 2.5 inches. Any one know why GM did this? So I moved it back to test pit it. Everything seems to clear but the transmission hits the tunnel. Easy fix for that as I am going to use a high hump trans tunnel.
Here are a few photos of the engine 2.5 in back and the holes that are already in the frame.



This shows the distributors clearance to the fire wall.

[MAC71]

Here are a photo of the cowl area, still have a bit of work on it.

[MAC71]

As my fuel tank has a rust hole in the bottom I decided this is a good time to relocate the tank the rear. I was first going to get a aftermarket tank but than decided to look at cheaper more practical options. Remember this is a daily driver and I drive 80 miles a day. Most of the aftermarket tanks are also really small around 19 gal. I figured that the best option would be the 25 gal blazer tank but I want to later go to fuel injection and want a tank that has a baffle so I can use a intank fuel pump. I decided it was best to get something local ant order the tank on line so that if it did not fit it would be easy to return. At the local parts place they only listed the 31 and 40 gal tank for the fuel injection options so I went with the 31 gal. I got the sending unit for the 1985 year 25 gal tank as it is for carb applications. I will have to modify it to reach the bottom of the larger tank.
I am very happy with the fit so far but its just a test fit and not installed yet.

[Squareforceone]

following

[mjensen]

Looking good! It's good to see a fellow Utahn here! I'm not sure why GM had the different mounting locations, but I do know the 4wd was mounted in the rear location. I ended up moving mine forward 2" so I could make room for my torque splitter. Good work on the fuel tank. That's the same one I ended up with.

[MAC71]

Originally Posted by mjensen

Looking good! It's good to see a fellow Utahn here! I'm not sure why GM had the different mounting locations, but I do know the 4wd was mounted in the rear location. I ended up moving mine forward 2" so I could make room for my torque splitter. Good work on the fuel tank. That's the same one I ended up with.

Yes good to see others from Utah.
I took a look at your build and will have to spend some time later tonight reading it. With a 4X4 I guess your not as concerned with the weight distribution as with a 2 wheel drive that's on the highway every day.

[MAC71]

Here are a few photos of taking the truck apart.






On the steering shaft there is a joint close to the fire wall. There is a seal and a clip to hold it in place. I have not yet taking it apart but I have not seen this part any where and it is leaking grease. Any one know where to get this seal?

[MAC71]

here are the photos of taking the lower left side of the cab apart. What a mess! I did not know it was this bad. I discovered that some on thought it was a good idea to spray foam like you would use in a house in the cab corners, rockers and the door pillar to fill holes and than globed on lots of filler. Well it was before I got the truck so it lasted 20 years but looks to have held lots of water causing major damage.






The lower part of the door pillar where the hinge bolts screw into was rusted to the point where there were no longer any threads. Here is what I made to replace the old one.



more of the left lower cab.

http://i1332.photobucket.com/albums/...psa522808f.jpg

[MAC71]

I don't want the truck to look really modified but want to have a few small custom touches. Here is what I am doing with my glove box.

[MAC71]

I really want to have one of the radios that look like the original stile but my dash had been cut out. I know that you can get a patch panel to fix it but I was worried with having to cut the dash in the spot along the front face for the patch panel would be hard to do with out making a mess of things. Maybe a good welder with a quality welder could pull it off but I don't think I can. Also I was worried that the stamping for the patch would not be as good as an original dash. I decided to cut a pice out of a junk yard truck and make the cuts in a simple location. It was hard to find a junk yard that would let me cut it out but finally found one 2 hours away and they charged me $20.00. it was from a non A/C truck so I did have to cut the center A/C vent hole out.





I will have to post more of this when I am finished with the welding and grinding.

[MAC71]

As this is a driver and I do not ever plan on getting rid of it I like to think ahead. I decided to change it from a low hump to a high hump transmission tunnel. My thoughts on this is that a modern engine and transmission may not work with the low hump as even the 700r4 barely clears. Also with the 350 and 700r4 I need the high hump to move the engine back to the rear mounting location. I have to also replace the carpet as mine was soaked with fuel so I better do the trans tunnel before I get carpet. I came across a high hump and even though I think I paid to much I figured I may not find one again locally so I got it for $50.00.

[MAC71]

Here is when I decided I just needed to pull the cab and take the suspension apart and get the frame sand blasted. Not in the original plan.




My left door is a mess and should be replaced and I looked locally on line for some one selling one and called all the salvage yards around and could not find a decent one.
The problem with the door is that it is bent on the inside. It looks like some one backed up with the door open and hit a poll denting it at the base and at the middle. also it warmed it so that it does not match up to the cab at the gasket. Well I decided that I would just see what I could do with it. I cut the rusted bottom half off and tried to straiten it. Also the top and bottom of the door would be against the gasket but the middle had about 1/4 of an inch before it would touch. I drilled the spot welds on the door top and made it moveable. That worked to fix it a bit but after attaching the bottom it still has a spot at the rear bottom that it will not line up to. Stuck......

[MAC71]

I found a original tail gate with no rust on it for $80.00 just a few miles from where I work. Its a little banged up but I can make it work. Better than a thin gage aftermarket one for $300 something and freight shipping.

[MAC71]

I just picked up the frame today from the sand blasters.

[swamp rat]

Subscribed!

[Jahloha]

Mike,

I am loving it! Where did you end up getting the blasting done? I actually went over to Wasatch to get the 14-bolt axle I picked up blasted. When I was there I told Antonio that you swung by and they missed out on helping a friend. They say sorry! Its definitely a low-key type of business, which has its pros and cons, if you know what I mean. They currently have what I'd guess to be an early 50s bel air on the lot ready to be blasted, which is cool.

And yeah, I am pumped to have another Utahn working on a truck. Mjensen, also Mike, is a great guy too.

Make sure you holler if you need anything at all!

[Jahloha]

Also, I really really like that custom glove box!

[low&slow]

I'm in on this. Got me hooked with the color and the glovebox mod.

[MAC71]

Originally Posted by low&slow

I'm in on this. Got me hooked with the color and the glovebox mod.

So do you like the blue color or the original medium green that it was before and will be again?
I wish I could take credit on the glove box idea but I read a post on here before that someone did there glove box like this and that is where the credit is due. That’s what I love about this forum, the knowledge and ideas that we can share and receive.

[MAC71]

Originally Posted by Jahloha

Mike,

I am loving it! Where did you end up getting the blasting done? I actually went over to Wasatch to get the 14-bolt axle I picked up blasted. When I was there I told Antonio that you swung by and they missed out on helping a friend. They say sorry! Its definitely a low-key type of business, which has its pros and cons, if you know what I mean. They currently have what I'd guess to be an early 50s bel air on the lot ready to be blasted, which is cool.

And yeah, I am pumped to have another Utahn working on a truck. Mjensen, also Mike, is a great guy too.

Make sure you holler if you need anything at all!

I ended up taking it to Powder Keg of of I15 to be sand blasted.

[low&slow]

Originally Posted by MAC71

So do you like the blue color or the original medium green that it was before and will be again?
I wish I could take credit on the glove box idea but I read a post on here before that someone did there glove box like this and that is where the credit is due. That’s what I love about this forum, the knowledge and ideas that we can share and receive.

I like both of them. Mine is a turqoise color. I've been looking for a nice blue which I like on yours, but I also like the medium green.

I've also seen the glovebox mod done before on this forum and other places. I give you the credit for actually doing it too. I can't bring myself to cut on the original metal to do things like that, but my truck is all custom so far so I need to get over it lol.

[MAC71]

Originally Posted by low&slow

I like both of them. Mine is a turqoise color. I've been looking for a nice blue which I like on yours, but I also like the medium green.

I've also seen the glovebox mod done before on this forum and other places. I give you the credit for actually doing it too. I can't bring myself to cut on the original metal to do things like that, but my truck is all custom so far so I need to get over it lol.

I also did not want to cut my glove box door. The one I used was $6 or $7 from a junk yard. It was harder for me to cut the valve cover.