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Dabomb's 1985 Jimmy - Rust Repair/Floor Replacement/Upgrades: TPI Swap

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dabomb6608

dabomb6608

1/2 ton status
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Dec 10, 2009
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Location
Marion, Illinois
dabomb6608 submitted a new Build:

Dabomb's 1985 Jimmy - Rust Repair/Upgrades: TPI Swap (Need Trans)

Hello all, been on the forum for a few years and have been here and there in terms of when I've been active. Well I decided its time to start a build thread now that I am doing some major work to the truck. It was my first vehicle and I just can't seem to let myself get rid of it. So I need to start working on it before it falls in on itself.

Here is a shot of the truck.




That was a few years ago. I think around 2011. Well time has gone on, I've got other vehicles and a project car. I put the truck on the back burner...decided it was time to get to work on the floor now that we recently moved somewhere that has a work area again. (Yay big garage!!!)

So I started tearing into it Tuesday night.












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Read more about this build here...

View attachment 230661
 
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Looks like mine did.... Let me know if you have any questions bud, I don't have any pictures of mine while in progress but I did the same exact thing.
 
swettysblazer said:
Looks like mine did.... Let me know if you have any questions bud, I don't have any pictures of mine while in progress but I did the same exact thing.
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Hey Brian, was wondering if you would make it in here. I actually do have some questions for you or anyone else with advice. I got a good bit done tonight. Tail pan is cut out. 2"x3" tube is cut to size and I am ready to figure out my plan of attack for:

1: Figuring out how much I need to jack up the bedsides because I know with as bad as it was they both have sagged. Especially the drivers side since it was visible it was and not latching.

2: Figuring out the order of doing things now. Should I just tack it in a few spots so it doesnt move around and then bring up the tailgate to it with hinges installed to line it up and mark where to drill/tap the holes for the hinges and to see how much of a shim I need between the 2"x3" and the hinges then get it back out and drill/tap with it out of the truck. Or should I get it completely welded in and then do all that?

Im thinking when I go to line up the tailgate I can accomplish both of 1 and 2 at the same time correct? Or do I need to get it set before I do the tailgate?

I will post pictures of tonights progress in the morning. The only internet I have at my house is a Verizon Hotspot with only 5gb a month. I don't want to waste data uploading pictures back and forth. Soon as I get some free time at work I will get them up!
 
Time for the photos from last night. First up is after I cut into the tailpan and got what I wanted removed.







Here you can see the little tabs that it sits on. Drivers side wasn't in the best shape but is usable.



Next, I measured and cut for the 2"x3". Now When I measured I went all the way into the tailgate posts. To have full support. Well believe it or not. If you try to fit something this long.
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Into a space this long.
|<--------------------------------------->|
It doesn't quite work.:whistle: Even if you angle it or do all kinds of cussing.
So I trimmed it a few inches and got it in for a test fit.



















That is where I left off. I will be getting back to it tomorrow so hopefully I can get a couple suggestions for my questions in my last post so I can make more progress over the weekend.
 
dabomb6608 said:
Hey Brian, was wondering if you would make it in here. I actually do have some questions for you or anyone else with advice. I got a good bit done tonight. Tail pan is cut out. 2"x3" tube is cut to size and I am ready to figure out my plan of attack for:

1: Figuring out how much I need to jack up the bedsides because I know with as bad as it was they both have sagged. Especially the drivers side since it was visible it was and not latching.

2: Figuring out the order of doing things now. Should I just tack it in a few spots so it doesnt move around and then bring up the tailgate to it with hinges installed to line it up and mark where to drill/tap the holes for the hinges and to see how much of a shim I need between the 2"x3" and the hinges then get it back out and drill/tap with it out of the truck. Or should I get it completely welded in and then do all that?

Im thinking when I go to line up the tailgate I can accomplish both of 1 and 2 at the same time correct? Or do I need to get it set before I do the tailgate?

I will post pictures of tonights progress in the morning. The only internet I have at my house is a Verizon Hotspot with only 5gb a month. I don't want to waste data uploading pictures back and forth. Soon as I get some free time at work I will get them up!
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I didn't lift my bedsides up at all. There wasn't a lot of sag in mine and I knew going into it this body wasn't gonna last long so I didn't really bother jacking them up. Like I said, there's not much that mine sagged in the first place.

As for the next question, I tacked mine in and measured and measured and measured to make absolutely sure that I got the tailgate in the right spot. I took it on and off maybe 8-10 times just to be sure. What I wound up doing was cutting a section of the tube out on the bottom so I had a nice flat spot to mount the hinges and welded nuts on the back. It worked really well and the gate shuts pretty nice actually.... as long as my bedsides aren't pushed out from not having the top on :doah::doah::doah::doah:
 
Well I definitely will need to figure out how much mine dropped. I have the tailpan tacked on place and am waiting on my dad to help me lift the tailgate up to position it and get my hinge holes marked. Will mess with the bedside heights then.
 
Well I got it all welded up today. Bolted the tailgate on and took it for a spin. Even with the window down it was remarkably quiet compared to what it used to be. Was nice to go over a bump and not go deaf from the back of the truck banging around. All that's left for what I have called "phase I" is some grinding down some welds and then figure a good method to seal it up.

I've read about the zinc chromate "ryoken green". After that should I go ahead and bedline it like I was planning on doing after I finish the rear floor and front floor? "Phase II and III" Or could I cover it with a different paint in the meantime until I finish and can do the whole floor?

Either way, pics to come in the morning. I also need some suggestions on testing my wiring for my rear window. I have always had issues with it being sporadic. I don't have 12v on the orange single wire connector for the tailgate harness. I thought that was a constant voltage one or at least key on voltage?
 
Sorry about the delay for pictures. Was out in the field all day yesterday so couldn't get around to my computer at work to upload pictures.

















If you compare that last picture to the first pictures I posted that show the tailgate closed you can see how much better the drivers side is now. No more it being out of line vertically. I was pretty proud how that passenger side tailgate post turned out. Can hardly tell I added about 2in of height worth of metal to get it raised back up. The drivers side turned out good too. I used a longer piece and bent a 90* bend in it to wrap around towards the front of the truck.

Don't be too rough on my welds. This was my first time doing a lot of welding with a mig welder and this was with the welder we just bought. Hobarts Auto Arc 130. Pretty nice little setup. In the pictures showing the tail pan welds you can see where I tacked it with just Flux Wire. But I ended up borrowing a buddys argon tank and getting some .023 wire to do the rest of the welding. I couldn't believe the quality differences between welding with shielding gas/solid wire and welding with just flux core wire. That's my next thing I want to get. My own tank.

I also messed with the window motor wiring the other night. Redid the wiring at the inside switch (not a stock switch). Then took messed with the motor. Ended up taking it apart and learned that one of the solders had broke loose on the positive side of the motor just before the little arm that is the thermo shut off I believe. Got it soldered up. Bolted it back up and it runs! Now just to clean up the regulator. It still has some broken glass pieces I think in the regulator area. You can hear it cracking sometimes when it is going up and down. Especially when using a drill to move it at a normal speed.

I am working on getting some Zinc Chromate to prime the rear end now. Then will look into my pricing options for either diamond plate or just some sheet metal for the rear floor. I called one place and they want $200 for a 4'x8' of 1/8" diamond plate. Not sure if that's a horrible price or what steel is going for now. Seemed high to me:dunno:
 
Thanks guys, hopefully I will have more progress in the coming weeks done. I called up a few places yesterday getting prices for floor materials. It looks like some 14ga sheet metal will be what I go with. It is around $80 for a 4'x8' sheet. Think he said something like 110 or so for a 5'x10' sheet. I will build a frame for the rear floor to sit on as well with some angle. Will need to figure out a way to transfer the rear seat mounts over to the new metal. Maybe cut out the old ones and use them? Havent really looked at them too close they might be all rusted...
 
muddermilitia said:
Subbed for another Illinois build. Keep it up!
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Always good to hear from fellow Illinois folk. :thumb:

I really need to start recording all the things I want for the truck. My mind goes 1 mil miles a min when I try to think of it all or plan it out. First and foremost is getting this floor rust taken care of. But then there is new seats, exterior rust (quarter panel rust), either TBI or TPI conversion (have two TPI setups minus wiring laying around...see 86' Trans Am in sig), lift, new bigger tires, then snowball effect from their :doah:

Problem is I just spent and will be spending even more coin on the Trans Am for a aftermarket transmission. Found a TKO 600 5 speed with everything to swap over for $1800 that I just....couldn't....pass up. You guys know how that works......:whistle:
 
Sub'd... My floor looked exactly like yours when my process first started. Nice job so far:waytogo:
 
82355 said:
TPI is a great truck engine.

Martin
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Yeah, my dad had a 1979 Blazer that had a basically stock rebuilt 400 with the TPI on it. Thing was a torque machine. That block now resides in my Trans Am. I say block because everything else is new. Its a fully built motor pretty much. Heres a shot of it. Not really clean and has a few changes since this was taken. but that was after the latest motor changes to it. :pimp:


I will most likely go with the TPI, only reason I threw in TBI as an option was because these trucks had them later on in the years so harness conversion doesn't seem like it would be too bad. But would mostlikely be just as easy to get a Camaro/Firebird harness and convert it to a stand alone type setup. I'm pretty sure I know those harnesses and systems well enough to do it in the dark.
 
cbec54f16f126880d6de54d98afbde03.jpg



I run a TPI in my 78 2wd blazer. Great engine.
 
Rugger187 said:
cbec54f16f126880d6de54d98afbde03.jpg



I run a TPI in my 78 2wd blazer. Great engine.
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Indeed. Looks good! This time around I will do things differently compared to how my dad did it with his truck. Wiring wasn't the greatest and he ran a external fuel pump that was problematic. Especially before it was parked.

I will get a TBI tank and go with the same in tank pump I have on the car. Wiring I will attempt to build a stand alone outside of the truck then once in ready to install I will have minimal hook ups between current wiring and the tpi wiring. For ECM I will go with a EBL Flash system so I can do any tuning needed. Just like my car. It's a great ECM and setup.

So, questions for my rear floor. When I cut out the existing and go to build the frame for the new floor to sit on. Should I go with 1" angle iron? Any other suggestions? I've seen several people who have done custom rear floor braces and they never specifically said material for the braces.
 
Gonna sidetrack you for a minute. You mentioned EBL Flash systems and I just looked them up. Is it pretty handy? I was about to start getting the stuff to data log and what not my ECM. Right now I am running a 305TPI but I am going take be dropping in a 350 sometime down the road. Does the EBL allow easy programming with different mods like can you add headers or a different can later and it helps figure it out?
Thanks
 
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