1972 Sierra Grande

[d4hartley]

Here's my go at a build thread to keep track of things and the rundown of this past year.

I bought a 1972 GMC Sierra Grande lwb last year. Pretty stock with no history other than living in Idaho it's whole life. It has disc front brakes and drum rears 5x5 pattern. Has trailing arms and coil springs in the rear also with a 350 and th350 transmission. A/C was also installed. Blue and white color with big back window. Engine had edelbrock performer dual plane and carb added along with HEI distributor and ignition. Other than that bone stock. I also just added the spid so you can see the options mine has.

[d4hartley]

After I bought it I did the usual tuneup and oil change and cleaning. Figured I couldn't leave it stock long so I ordered 5 inch drop springs for the rear and 3 inch drop springs for the front. After installing front springs I rode on the bump stops for a couple weeks until I finally ordered drop spindles so the geometry would work better. Ended up rebuilding the whole front end excluding steering box while I was under there. Drives straight finally!

[d4hartley]

I also realized my pictures are so big and makes everything weird so I need to figure that out as well so it might be fixed here shortly when I'm done. Next thing I did was to buy new wheels and tires. I ended up going with American Racing Salt Flat wheels. 20x8 and 20x9.5. For the front tires I went with 255/45/20 and rears I went 295/55/20. They ride well and don't rub at all even at full turn or big bumps. Here's some good pictures of them and the truck.

[d4hartley]

I tackled the interior next since it seems to be getting warmer here. I had my seat redone as seen in the before and after, ordered new carpet and dash pad, and new window and door seals. Rebuilding my vent windows took the longest and my passenger side still doesn't like to close unless I really push on it. I used glue on door seals so they'd stay longer and wasn't too bad either. New felts, greased all moving parts inside the door and it seems to be working well. Door is definitely harder to close now due to the new seals.

[d4hartley]

Here are pictures of the before and after for the seat. I had I local shop in Boise do. The name of the shop is Custom Concepts Auto Upholstery. He is also doing the door panels to match but those are still in work so I don't have any pictures of them yet. Also got sound deadening, POR 15, and new carpet for the interior.

[d4hartley]

After pulling the interior and doing all the seals, I painted the floor with POR 15, then covered it in kilmat sound deadening from amazon. I bought the 50 sq feet box and barely used half to cover the floor. I'm going to put some on the back of the door panels once they're finished too. I bought a side fill tank to put under the bed as well to move the gas tank from in the cab for speakers behind the seat and more storage. I ordered carpet from stock interiors, just medium saddle color.

[d4hartley]

Now I'm all caught up on what I've done so far. Might be missing a couple of things though. I hope to have carpet and seat reinstalled in the next couple of days as well as door panels finished and installed.

Future plans include fixing some small rust, swb conversion, tank relocation, and new rear gears and limited slip diff.

I also have a 383 with gm fastburn heads and holley sniper efi paired with a 700r4 I hope to have finished and installed before summer hits. I have a long grocery list of things to do to this truck. A few more months and it will be right where I want it to be as far as drivability goes. I will be making a write up and lots of pictures when I install the 700r4 and my sniper efi so look out for that as well.

[72 tigger]

Nice project! Looking forward to more pics

[erichevy]

Wheels look great on there! Seat turned out real nice too.

[d4hartley]

Thanks for the compliments! I got around to installing the carpet today as well as the seat. Could've done a better job with the carpet, there's some spots that aren't as flat as the rest. But a pretty decent job for my first time. I think I chose the right color to go with my seat. Now I need a steering wheel and my door panels back.

[Big H]

Your truck looks pretty good with the lowering kit and wheels. I'm especially drawn to it because I have a '70 GMC 3/4-ton with the same colors.

I'm not sure why you think your pictures are too large. They fit well on my screen,

[d4hartley]

Originally Posted by Big H

Your truck looks pretty good with the lowering kit and wheels. I'm especially drawn to it because I have a '70 GMC 3/4-ton with the same colors.

I'm not sure why you think your pictures are too large. They fit well on my screen,

Thanks! The pictures were huge so you had to scroll side to side but I resized them now they fit.

[cornerstone]

Very tasteful choice. Looks almost like it could have been a factory option. Keep the pictures coming!

[d4hartley]

Well the I finally got around to putting the new engine together. It's a 385 stroker with flat top pistons. Has gm fastburn heads with a comp cams xr282hr finishing it off. I will be using holley sniper and their hyperspark ignition as well. Can't wait to finish it. Here's some pictures of the old engine pulled and progress pics of the new one going in. Went with blue to match the color of the truck.

[d4hartley]

If anyone has any good exhaust recommendations please let me know.

[d4hartley]

I also got rid of my factory heat and a/c. Was broken and taking up space. Might go with vintage air soon. There was a big hole in the firewall so I bought some diamond plate and made a cover for it. Could be a little better but it works for what I need it to. Ended up using it to mount my hyperspark box, coil, and relays to. Need to clean up wiring in the engine bay to prevent fires and make it look decent.

Also not sure if I like the layout if it all yet or not. Might change in the future as well.

[Corts60]

I really dig the interior; the color choice is great on the blue! Now just need to clean up those pedals and get the door panels on, should be just about perfect. Good work!

[d4hartley]

Long overdue update. Alot has changed with the truck as well as I moved cross country. I finally have the interior back together as well as a new steering wheel from forever sharp. Passenger window works flawlessly but my drivers window takes some work to roll up and down no matter what I try. Still working on that. Also still debating if I should take the dash pad back out and get it matched to the door panels and seat.

[d4hartley]

As far as engine and transmission goes they've been in for a while now and everything is broken in. Real happy I went with the 700r4 because now the highway is nice. I also put eaton posi in the back with 3.73 gears once the engine and trans was broken in. The truck is now where I want it as far as drivetrain goes and starts up right away. Also added a pic of the th350 that came out and was covered in gunk. The next big project for it is body work and paint which probably won't be for a while. Still 50/50 on if I want to make it a shortbed but the longbed is growing on me.

[d4hartley]

More pictures. The one in the garage is next to my Japanese mini truck that needs some work. Also put on an old grill guard I picked up.

[lolife99]

Nice work!

[72 tigger]

Good looking truck! Thanks for the update

[cornerstone]

Originally Posted by 72 tigger

Good looking truck! Thanks for the update

X2!!!

[Mapearso]

Love the patina on this one!!

[d4hartley]

Originally Posted by Mapearso

Love the patina on this one!!

Thank you! Will probably stay this way for a while now that I have a new project starting.