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79' GMC C15 - Spruce Caboose

79 GMC 1500
Yeah I've decided I can live without beauty rings because of that. Haha
Me too, too expensive, especially since they fit stock gmc centre caps already..
 
So ive been battling the drivers side door bit by bit each day. When i took the doors off i drilled alignment holes in the brackets so i could re install after doing bushings and door pins. The passenger side door is damn near rust free and a keeper besides having a little whiskey dent in it, and after re installing it closes like it should. The drivers side door has some good rot that i dont really know how to fix and the real annoying part is, i cant seem to get it hung right... The front fenders are not the OE ones and i know chevy used horshoe shims for a reason.... and thought it was the fender interfering. After about 6 times putting the door on and off alone... i said screw it.

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Ive had these OE 73-76 door shells in the se can, as i had sold them, but the guy backed out awhile back and theyve sat... i thought hell, it weighs nothing i should toss it on. I just bolted it on. Moved it a tad here and there and bingo... The fender gaps so much better and it hangs properly and all lines up.



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Overall this door lines up with every body line better so now even if theres some sag and what not when its 30 lbs heavier... it should still be nicer, worst case is rust free and thats fine with me. This road does lead to some new tasks... and its already pouring sooo why not get at it while i can.

This door has a dent in it at the body line, which isnt too bad. im sure the high could be heated and hammered and the inverted section pulled out.

Sound proofing the doors with kilmat or whatever should probably be done but not sure if its the best option for weight. The weight of that stuff adds up.

I have some of the newer style mirros in factory white i presume, and the hardware but i have to make sense of my unlabelled ziplock now to figure out how the inner braces are installed.

Interior door panels for these trucks are damn pricey for repops... The hunt for some used ones begin, tossed a wanted ad in the parts thread if anyone knows of any. Dont care about color or what not.

doing this one means i should do the pass. side too...:doah:
 
I also havent been running a fuel pressure sensor with the terminator x max as i have the regulator gauge to go by. The holley sensors a good 200 bucks, then i wondered if the same 1/8 npt thread , 3 prong connector, 0.5-4 V operating range sensor from a standard brand will work... so i figured why not. It was 25 bucks for a standard brand. I only really want this for data logging info. I am hoping to install it in the fuel rail.
 
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Got the door pretty much stripped... again. Im going to strip both doors down and then prime these ones before i soundsproof the insides and re assemble.


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Ive been following some cool fabricators on youtube and decided to try and get this dent out, without a puller or tacking a rod to it to try and pull it out. I picked up two cheap dollys and gave it a shot. Luckily i was able to just sneak the hammer on the inside of the door to get the lows at the body line. I had a high spot up top and a low spot below the body line. I heated up the top spot that was proud, hit it down when it was hot and then worked the metal around it as it shrunk, then wiped it with a cool wet cloth to help it shrink up. Once i got the top within a 1/16th or so, i hammered the bottom low spot out from behind. Turned out a lot better than i had expected and it was more fun that i had thought. Something about heat and a hammer.... Going to be alot better than 3/16-1/4 inch of mud!


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These are the white mirrors i picked off a truck the guy was scraping. It was also a 79' C15 long box with white bumpers and all that, but it had the other style mirrors but in white.. Not a huge fan of those small aftermarket mirrors people toss on these things.. seems like they should really only be used for one thing.. I did grab everything i could from inside the doors for these, but like usual figured id remember... just... how it all went together:whistle:

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Actually I wouldn’t even paint it. Lol!
I kind of like the multi colour look. Reminds me of the good old days building cars out of parts and just driving them… Fun and cheep.
But it sure will look tits all painted up!
 
Actually I wouldn’t even paint it. Lol!
I kind of like the multi colour look. Reminds me of the good old days building cars out of parts and just driving them… Fun and cheep.
But it sure will look tits all painted up!


Thanks dean! I havent even thought about painting it besides what color it would be... Its going to get driven alot before i paint it.

The way i look at is , until its mechanically sound and i get a new trans built ect... Its gonna stay the way it is simply from a financial standpoint. Im already dreaming of finding a cts-v supercharger to put ontop of this thing... so paint money might be far far away.
 
@max 02

Next summer im planning a bit of a roadkill trip to edmonton with rene. From my place pick up a trans on the mainland, and then swap it over at renes... or on the way if the current one doest last. We'll make sure to swing down that way if and when it does happen!
 
@max 02

Next summer im planning a bit of a roadkill trip to edmonton with rene. From my place pick up a trans on the mainland, and then swap it over at renes... or on the way if the current one doest last. We'll make sure to swing down that way if and when it does happen!
Yes!!!
 
Videos of what you watched? I have a good dent in my otherwise perfect 78 hood I need to get out.
 
So i got this fuel pressure sensor, and adapter for the 1/8 npt to whatever the shrader valve thread is , but the holley sensor wire doesnt reach. I beleive the FP sensor wire is located towards the front due to the old throttle bodies. So im going to have to source a longer one or maybe put this sensor sideways. Anyway i noticed upon intake removals that the inside of this thing is very oily, especially at the front near the TB. I never checked if the PCV valve was good but thats located more central in the TB. I had just ran the Pass. side valve cover vent up to the intake also, as it seemed to go right to a fitting on the intake manifold behind the TB.. which is just wide open.. I took a look through rockauto and cant seem to find what this is meant for, and no diagrams really come up online. Did stumble across a sweet full spec and tear down manual in the process though.

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I thought i had cleaned this intake out before but im going to pull it apart. Clean it, reinstall and if it gets that oily again that quick id assume i have some other issues at hand..
 
Well... That took longer than usual to realize I could answer my own question.. :doah: . Unlimited photo storage for the win. Dug up the photos I hoped I had taken when I got this thing home. Looks like I've got the valve cover vent hooked to the fitting that used to attach to evap system


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That hose coming off your pass side valve cover goes into the air intake on the '07 6.0L I was just working on. The PCV vent comes from the rear of the driver side valve cover and goes on the top of the intake. These engine have issues consuming oil through the intake/PCV system. There is an updated valve cover or there is a process to drill some drain holes inside of it. They also do catch cans plumbed into the PCV line to separate the oil. I just recently found this gon YouTube and he's got some great videos mostly related to the 6.2L but same stuff for the most part. https://www.youtube.com/c/CrazedPerformanceRepair
 
This is funny. I actually ran mine with the valve covers through the dishwasher when my wife was out of town. And well.. the oil residue on them basically coated the entire inside. I had to wipe down the all the walls and run like 10 cycles to get the smell out it. Not a great idea...
 
This is funny. I actually ran mine with the valve covers through the dishwasher when my wife was out of town. And well.. the oil residue on them basically coated the entire inside. I had to wipe down the all the walls and run like 10 cycles to get the smell out it. Not a great idea...



haha yea i spent about a good hour scrubbing this thing with natural degreaser and some brake clean, then thought ... hmmm its probably clean enough to go in the dishwasher.. im sure glad i didnt see the results either way. Thankfully i could get most of my forearm in there to wipe it all down after letting it soak in hot water n soap.


Having hot water bibs on the house is such a nice feature.


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@Chevy305 My wife would not be suprised.... but also not happy haha. I wouldnt have so much time to clean it.. she gets home in about 2 hours from now. I had a oil paint marker let loose in the dryer once... which ended up being like your situation :doah:
 
That hose coming off your pass side valve cover goes into the air intake on the '07 6.0L I was just working on. The PCV vent comes from the rear of the driver side valve cover and goes on the top of the intake. These engine have issues consuming oil through the intake/PCV system. There is an updated valve cover or there is a process to drill some drain holes inside of it. They also do catch cans plumbed into the PCV line to separate the oil. I just recently found this gon YouTube and he's got some great videos mostly related to the 6.2L but same stuff for the most part. https://www.youtube.com/c/CrazedPerformanceRepair
Thanks for the video. Ill pop my covers off and see what style i have. I have my PCV hooked up correctly.

Wouldnt running it into the intake tube still suck oil into the intake? Im leaning towards just throwing a vented cap on that side for now and cap off the line until i can pony up for a catch can set up. Putting it in line to the PCV valve is a great idea. Maybe ill do that and just leave the one side vented. Read that oil in the air also lowers combustion temps quite a bit as well which creates its on problems.
 

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