To Do lists, Frustrations, and Findings. What are yours?

[Montierth]

This last week or so I have finally gotten to really drive my truck and feel like it was both "safe" and "reliable". As I have been driving it however a few things keep coming to mind that I need to do or want to do on his truck or some observations.

To Do:
1. Finish painting all the odds and ends. Including the tailgate and the inside of the bed.
- Considering doing spray in raptor liner. Not sure yet
- Maybe some day do a show deck or go to quietride.com/showbedder and get a rubber mat to put in floor of bed.

2. Rewire the truck. I have an AAW kit but don't have the time and needed to start driving the truck.
- I have no reverse lights. I have read all the posts and just need to spend the time to figure it out OR....rewire the truck.
- Now out of the blue when I turn on right turn blinker- the right turn blinker works but the left reverse light starts to blink too!

3. Figure out fuel gauge. See #2 above - Rewire.
- I have gone through a lot of posts on here and found info to determine if wiring, grounding, sending unit of gauge. I bought a new fuel sending unit because last one I think had a leak in float and always registered empty. New unit when grounded outside the gas tank will respond to moving the float and works on gauge. If I just ground the fuel line wire to fuel tank the gauge goes to empty. Not grounded it goes to full +. Why is it 1/4 when in tank but out side tank seems to work?

4. Front bumper GMC-
- Observation - I had my old front bumper brackets that seemed to work OK but thought new ones would be cleaner. What I found with the new ones it that the driver side bracket does not work if you have power steering! The old bracket on the driver side looks different than the new bracket. I ended up putting old brackets back on.

5. Noise control-
- Right now have a 350 with 4 barrel carb, dual headers to flowmaster 40 I believe and then I ran it straight out the back. I have used the hush mat all over on the inside (doors too) and then my carpet has the MLV dense foam stuff and Jute padding. So doing all 3 layers as recommended. The noise level is way down.
- Need to find a solution to continue above the carpet under the dash to block more noise. Right now I just have some of the left over original firewall padding up there but I think it is just old technology and worn out
- Need to swap out mufflers with more of a daily driver sound.

6. Fix the Rake or level it out. The truck is an original 1970 GMC with rear leaf springs. The prior owner did a flip kit on the back and on front did dropped spindles.
- I want to raise the rear about 3 inches but not sure of best way. I did remove the block with the flip kit which raised the rear 1.5 inches but that pulled the axle forward and made the wheel be off centered in the wheel well.
- May just live with it - I still like the look but not first choice. OR in future may flip axle back under springs and install shackles and maybe buy drop springs
- What do you guys think about the profile?

7. Fix the seat height
- I rebuilt the seat bench buying the foams that everyone recommended. The bench was too high and I have determined that the foams are just too firm and to thick. So I bought the lowering bench brackets from someone on here and it definitely helped but I still have trouble seeing the gauges and feel like I'm too high.

8. Door and window felts and rubbers.
- I did the press on door rubbers. They work really good but have to slam doors originally the get doors to shut. Getting better as time goes on. All the rubbers seem to fit well. No real instructions on some of them but the window rear channel guide is a pain to install.
- I rebuilt my vent windows. Do your self a favor and throw away the rivets and the little tool and go to hardware store and buy a hand riveter kit and blind rivets and just be done with it! BTW don't replace the main large rivet that the glass pivots on unless yours is broken or worn out.

9. Automatic column shift linkage
- No matter how much I adjust it, it is always sloppy. Makes me wonder if it was ever any better from the factory new! Thinking of getting the Lokar shift linkage - Any thots if this tightens it up some?

10. Install all new lights
- Just installed Hella H4 Halogens - made a huge difference and just ordered light relay kit to install next week for brighter lights.
- Side marker lights - Instead of paying a ton of money for the LED side marker lights I just bought a package a couple packages of 10 LED lights to replace all the bulbs in my gauges and side marker lenses. Made a huge difference. I did need to get new blinker fuse and also had to flip a few bulbs due to polarity.

11. Figure out my kickdown cable. I have read with a turbo 350 tranny you won't do harm if it is not hooked up.

Future wants or possibilities:
- get AC
- Get a radio
- Possible LS? I installed a 350 gen 1 crate motor and its rock solid. Still breaking it in.
- Posi traction rear end. Right now I have a 12 bolt rearend with 3.07 gearing. Seems to work fine for me right now.
- Get a clock and/or tachometer - need to do research.
- hood lock and kill switch
- Under hood heat/sound barrier - quietride.com
- Get one of the Lloyd mats single floor mat that covers from driver to passenger and has GMC embroidered
- Figure out how to carry a spare tire, jack, tools, etc
- Get a cool horn that plays a tune OR My truck came from factory with 2 horns. figure out how to make both work together
- Try to look cool while driving my money pit in the meantime!

[OL SKOOL]

Truck looks great nice to be able to drive it around.

[custom10nut]

To Do:
1.Get my new rocker panels put in (I’ve had the replacements for almost 20 years now)
2. Take the old bed wood out and install the new (which I cut and routed and finished myself, and ready to install).
3. “Wet Blast” the inside of the bed and paint everything.
4. Prep and paint the rest of the truck.
I’ve had my truck for 27+ years now and it was a real struggle to keep it a few times (I was active duty Army for 30 years), and had the truck in storage a couple times.
The thing standing in the way is, Im in the process of building a new house, and don’t have a shop to do all my work. The house will be done soon, then the shop goes up

[Montierth]

Originally Posted by custom10nut

To Do:
1.Get my new rocker panels put in (I’ve had the replacements for almost 20 years now)
2. Take the old bed wood out and install the new (which I cut and routed and finished myself, and ready to install).
3. “Wet Blast” the inside of the bed and paint everything.
4. Prep and paint the rest of the truck.
I’ve had my truck for 27+ years now and it was a real struggle to keep it a few times (I was active duty Army for 30 years), and had the truck in storage a couple times.
The thing standing in the way is, Im in the process of building a new house, and don’t have a shop to do all my work. The house will be done soon, then the shop goes up

The rocker panels are the catalyst for a truck to be garaged for years! That is how mine got started. Look at the rockers and say - huh this is a weekend job and it will be back on the street by Monday. Monday rolls around and you have the whole front clip removed, the cab stripped and the bed across the garage!

I did all the work myself including painting. I figure the truck has lasted 49 years and after I have cut out all the rust and treated all the rust it should last as long as I'm around.

Good job on the wood. That is a lot of work to make it all. Are you gonna stain or paint it? What type of wood?

[flashed]

My To Do list consists of a complete build with LS Drive train if it ever comes home from rust repair and patina blend . I will first take the body off the frame and have the frame blasted and painted and then start the official build . Its a 70 short stepper bought from original owner after 25 years of trying to get it bought .

[custom10nut]

Originally Posted by Montierth

The rocker panels are the catalyst for a truck to be garaged for years! That is how mine got started. Look at the rockers and say - huh this is a weekend job and it will be back on the street by Monday. Monday rolls around and you have the whole front clip removed, the cab stripped and the bed across the garage!

I did all the work myself including painting. I figure the truck has lasted 49 years and after I have cut out all the rust and treated all the rust it should last as long as I'm around.

Good job on the wood. That is a lot of work to make it all. Are you gonna stain or paint it? What type of wood?

I’m fortunate to possess a truck with all the factory sheet metal and other than THREE Rust holes in the rocker panels, there is no rust anywhere. I bought it in 1992 and as near as I can figure, it’s never been in the Rust Belt. It started life first delivered in South Dakota, then moved to Wyoming, then Tennessee, where bought it from a fellow soldier. I’ve only driven it North of the Ohio River once, in the summer, and very seldom drive it in the winter months (I have three other vehicles).
On my bed wood:
First I went to a Lumber yard and Hand picked each Southern Yellow Pine board.
I cut and routered The boards using the measurements from GMC Paul’s.
For the stain I kicked around maybe staining it a shade of Green, to sorta match the Medium Olive body color, but went with a combo of stains (then covered it with Boiled Linseed Oil to protect it) to make a color that’s close to the wood grain color inside the cab. I’m going to paint my bed strips Medium Olive, so my vision is to tie the colors together.
I hope I didn’t bore anyone, but that’s my plan.

[Montierth]

Originally Posted by flashed

My To Do list consists of a complete build with LS Drive train if it ever comes home from rust repair and patina blend . I will first take the body off the frame and have the frame blasted and painted and then start the official build . Its a 70 short stepper bought from original owner after 25 years of trying to get it bought .

Sounds awesome getting a one owner truck. Unfortunately my truck was probably owned by a bunch of people and all of them thought they knew what they were doing. I just got to fix all that they did.

[Montierth]

Originally Posted by custom10nut

I’m fortunate to possess a truck with all the factory sheet metal and other than THREE Rust holes in the rocker panels, there is no rust anywhere. I bought it in 1992 and as near as I can figure, it’s never been in the Rust Belt. It started life first delivered in South Dakota, then moved to Wyoming, then Tennessee, where bought it from a fellow soldier. I’ve only driven it North of the Ohio River once, in the summer, and very seldom drive it in the winter months (I have three other vehicles).
On my bed wood:
First I went to a Lumber yard and Hand picked each Southern Yellow Pine board.
I cut and routered The boards using the measurements from GMC Paul’s.
For the stain I kicked around maybe staining it a shade of Green, to sorta match the Medium Olive body color, but went with a combo of stains (then covered it with Boiled Linseed Oil to protect it) to make a color that’s close to the wood grain color inside the cab. I’m going to paint my bed strips Medium Olive, so my vision is to tie the colors together.
I hope I didn’t bore anyone, but that’s my plan.

I like hearing the plan. Gives me some ideas for mine. Funny thing is here in Arizona the time to drive our trucks is in the winter. The weather right now is great and all the classics are starting to show up on the roads.

[3757chevy]

I've owned my pickup 22 years. The to do list never ends. It does get rewritten unwantingly at times.

[ApacheNick]

My to do list...

Rebuild the stock 350.It's burning a LOT of oil.
Replace the swiss cheese it has for a box.
Replace the destroyed doors.
Fix the butcher job the PO did on the floors, rockers and cab corners.
Get a stock bench seat and steering wheel.
Paint.

Even with that list she's still daily driven.

To the OP, that's a great looking truck.

[special-K]

Always a to do list. Never the frustration. I understand it is an old machine. A vehicle is much younger than these trucks when it starts needing random repairs. But with these trucks you have all the "want to do"s to add to all the "need to"s. So always a list.

[custom10nut]

Originally Posted by Montierth

I like hearing the plan. Gives me some ideas for mine. Funny thing is here in Arizona the time to drive our trucks is in the winter. The weather right now is great and all the classics are starting to show up on the roads.

In East TN, I’ll drive it pretty much from March thru December, but I love getting the truck out in the Fall. I do keep her in the garage on rainy days though, more out of precaution than anything, as I live in an area with a lot of “Tourist” traffic, and many are overwhelmed by the scenery and not paying attention to
The winding roads.

[Already Gone]

We have our own unique way of doing things to our trucks and thats what makes this website and the hobby great. I bought my present truck in 2014 and after I drove it as it was for abouit a year I sat down one day and made a list ( picture) of what I wanted to do as far as upgrades and enhancements go. This list sits on my desk where my computer is and I love nothing more than highlighting something on the list as that means its completed. For the items not highlighted I pretty well have the parts I need to complete the list its getting it done in timely manner and for some of them as the funds get saved. My truck has 90,000 miles on it and drips some oil and at 90,000 miles although it runs fine and is reliable well its getting old. So this past summer a good friend found a virgin uncut small block 400 so I bought it and that will be rebuilt with upgrades and installed in my truck. You know as I was typing this my brain is working as I have stuff that isn't on the list so with the long Winter just starting here I will be making a new list. Bottom line here is that your truck is never done.

[ncpetersc]

Originally Posted by Already Gone

We have our own unique way of doing things to our trucks and thats what makes this website and the hobby great. I bought my present truck in 2014 and after I drove it as it was for abouit a year I sat down one day and made a list ( picture) of what I wanted to do as far as upgrades and enhancements go. This list sits on my desk where my computer is and I love nothing more than highlighting something on the list as that means its completed. For the items not highlighted I pretty well have the parts I need to complete the list its getting it done in timely manner and for some of them as the funds get saved. My truck has 90,000 miles on it and drips some oil and at 90,000 miles although it runs fine and is reliable well its getting old. So this past summer a good friend found a virgin uncut small block 400 so I bought it and that will be rebuilt with upgrades and installed in my truck. You know as I was typing this my brain is working as I have stuff that isn't on the list so with the long Winter just starting here I will be making a new list. Bottom line here is that your truck is never done.

I see you put buckets in, what did you do with that bench seat with the Avocado plaid?

[Montierth]

Originally Posted by Already Gone

We have our own unique way of doing things to our trucks and thats what makes this website and the hobby great. I bought my present truck in 2014 and after I drove it as it was for abouit a year I sat down one day and made a list ( picture) of what I wanted to do as far as upgrades and enhancements go. This list sits on my desk where my computer is and I love nothing more than highlighting something on the list as that means its completed. For the items not highlighted I pretty well have the parts I need to complete the list its getting it done in timely manner and for some of them as the funds get saved. My truck has 90,000 miles on it and drips some oil and at 90,000 miles although it runs fine and is reliable well its getting old. So this past summer a good friend found a virgin uncut small block 400 so I bought it and that will be rebuilt with upgrades and installed in my truck. You know as I was typing this my brain is working as I have stuff that isn't on the list so with the long Winter just starting here I will be making a new list. Bottom line here is that your truck is never done.

Haha. I like the highlighted to do list. Looks like mine but I use google keep. Nice looking truck. I dig the green and the buckets.

[Montierth]

Originally Posted by special-K

Always a to do list. Never the frustration. I understand it is an old machine. A vehicle is much younger than these trucks when it starts needing random repairs. But with these trucks you have all the "want to do"s to add to all the "need to"s. So always a list.

I think the frustration comes from the repro parts that don't fit or that are inferior. I love the process involved with our trucks. Keeps my brain working!

[67C10Step]

Right now I prefer to just keep chugging on what’s in front of me. Got nothing but bare frame sticking out the back and if the bushings will press out of the trailing arms I’m only a couple hours of cleanup short of spraying some rust encapsulator on it all. Throw some paint over that and about $700 in parts and no telling how many weeks the rear section will be done.

Next will be either get the parts for the bed or move on to the major front end work. Complete rebuild with the addition of power steering and power disc brakes.

[MDPotter]

That is one of the best looking GMC's I've seen! Makes me want to put a 69-72 hood on mine rather than the slant nose.

Like a lot of these guys have said, you'll always have a list. But here are my thoughts on a few of them.

2. Is it the Classic Update kit? If so, it will set you up well for powering an LS setup because it has extra circuits to feed the LS harness so you don't have to add another fuse box in the engine bay.

6. So right now you have the axle sitting directly on the leafs? I was considering doing the same to mine one day but wanted to see the results of one first. I wish mine was a little lower, but now I'm wondering if a flip kit will be too much. It's hard to lower these leaf spring trucks! Maybe I'll get crazy and do a trailing arm/coil swap one day. Is it too low in the rear or too high in the front? You could get smaller wheels/tires on the front and lower it an inch or so on the front too.

LS Swap - I'm more of a new school guy so I'm doing an LS swap on mine. It makes more power in stock form than a 350 and gets better mileage no matter what. It's so easy to build power with an LS.

[Happy_dan]

Some great stuff here.
For me:

1. Make sure carb is all set and truck is reliable to drive
2. Change out points to Petronix and install new cap, rotor, wires and plugs
3. Change transmission fluid and filter
4. Change rear diff fluid.

Longer term: replace rear main seal
Replace drive shaft carrier bearing
Replace oil pan
Replace valve cover gaskets
Replace passenger side window regulator

Remind self to keep truck original and not update brakes etc.

[Already Gone]

Originally Posted by ncpetersc

I see you put buckets in, what did you do with that bench seat with the Avocado plaid?

I sold it.

[Montierth]

Originally Posted by MDPotter

That is one of the best looking GMC's I've seen! Makes me want to put a 69-72 hood on mine rather than the slant nose.

Like a lot of these guys have said, you'll always have a list. But here are my thoughts on a few of them.

2. Is it the Classic Update kit? If so, it will set you up well for powering an LS setup because it has extra circuits to feed the LS harness so you don't have to add another fuse box in the engine bay.

6. So right now you have the axle sitting directly on the leafs? I was considering doing the same to mine one day but wanted to see the results of one first. I wish mine was a little lower, but now I'm wondering if a flip kit will be too much. It's hard to lower these leaf spring trucks! Maybe I'll get crazy and do a trailing arm/coil swap one day. Is it too low in the rear or too high in the front? You could get smaller wheels/tires on the front and lower it an inch or so on the front too.

LS Swap - I'm more of a new school guy so I'm doing an LS swap on mine. It makes more power in stock form than a 350 and gets better mileage no matter what. It's so easy to build power with an LS.

Yes I have the AAW Classic Update kit. Still waiting on it because I am not sure if I should buy their 2 wire crimpers or ty it with the regular crimpers I already have. Now that I'm typing it, seems dumb to worry about $75 when everything else cost so much more.

LS would be goal someday unless enviro wackos turn everything electric then who knows. LS was out of my budget and at the time knowledge.

Yes the rearend was flipped by PO. I think it has a 1.5 inch block. The problem is if I remove the block - which raises the truck, then the back wheels are not centered.

[Montierth]

Huh... not sure why its upside down but you get the idea.

MDPotter I love the slant noses. My 1st preference is a 68. Considered converting to a 68 but glad I didn't. The GMC square noses look tough.

[HO455]

Just a quick post. Here is how I mounted a jack in my Burban. I have no idea what it is out of as I got it complete at the Portland swap meet a couple years back. It may work for you too.

[Montierth]

Originally Posted by HO455

Just a quick post. Here is how I mounted a jack in my Burban. I have no idea what it is out of as I got it complete at the Portland swap meet a couple years back. It may work for you too.

Holy cow that is awesome! never thought of doing that. How is it attached? Any other photos? Also do you have 2 horns?

[ncpetersc]

Originally Posted by Already Gone

I sold it.

Darn! I have a highlander truck, and I'd love to return it to that plaid.