Emmettology 101
3/4 ton status
Ok, so I listened to the votes(and two little devils on my shoulders...you two know who you are) and pulled my 82 GMC Jimmy "Emmett" out of retirement saturday....
For those of you who dont know the vehicle i am talking about or have forgotten, heres a little refresher....
I bought this 82 Jimmy in 1993. Emmett started out life as a 1982 GMC JImmy Sierra. A stripped down model with a Diesel and an auto. The paint was I believe Woodland green with yellow stripes on the sides(about 5 stripes that were grouped about 4" wide). The interior was a mix of light tan seats and trim with a dark brown dash cover.
So I was out looking for a p/u or K5 to wheel and use for mountains trips. Came across this green 82 Jimmy in the auto trader and it caught my eye... My father and I went down to look at it in Sunbury, PA which is aroudn Butler. Drove it and immediately knew I wanted it. At the time it was in excellent shape. No rust, no dings, nice paint, fresh 355/th350/208(originally was a diesel) and was sitting on stock suspension and 31" Sport Kings. So I came up with the $$ to buy it and drove down the following week to pick it up. The night I brought it home was the night the mayhem began. Within 3 hours of driving it home, I was out at a local trail and had it stuck with water in the cab. From that point on, that Jimmy and I did alot of wheeling and had taken on the name "Emmett"(thanks to an ex-g/f)..
Over the years, Emmett took on different levels of builds, many changes and lots of wheelin. The first lift was a set of 4" HD Superlift front springs and rear blocks. Took some time to gather all the parts. First set of tires I got for it were a set of 35x12.50x15 Kelly DTRs on 15x10 chrome wagon wheels. Emmett stayed this way for sometime.. We used to wheel 3-5 times a week. BAck then it was mostly mud and trail rides.
After about 4 years and different changes, I was in college and wasn't wheeling much. Decided to sell Emmett since it was just sitting. Sold him to a guy not far from me..... Didn't own him for about 2 years.... Used to see him on the road from time to time and then no one had seen him for a long time. After those two years I started my hunt for a new wheeling vehicle. Found an 84 Jeep Cherokee in Latrobe, PA that was cheap. Picked it up and brought it home. Funny thing was it was the same color green as Emmett... It sat in ours garage for about a month and something just didnt feel right. So I tracked down the guy who bought Emmett and gave him a call. Turns out he was just getting ready to strip him down to throw a quick coat of paint on him and resell him.... I told him not to do anything else and I would be over to take a look... Bought Emmett back after that trip and sold the Cherokee to a friend..
Got Emmett back home and started the build all over again since he was stripped of all the goodies and sat on stock suspension again. The PO stuck in a 305 also and for some reason, a different hood. Another change was that the stock rear gov-locked 10 bolt was gone and an open 12 bolt sat in its place. This build I went with a pair of 6" Superlift Superride front springs and a custom rear pack over smaller blocks. Tires were a set of 35x15.50x15 TSL's on Eaton 15x10 chrome HD wheels. Ran this set up until I parked Emmett once again since the back floor was getting pretty bad and I bought my bros 86 K5 that was built similar and locked...
So after sitting in my garden(or where a garden used to be) for the last 2 years, I've finally pulled Emmett back out for a rebuild....
Below are some pics of his present state... Pretty bad, but just needs some TLC and a lot of elbow grease....
Pics of pulling him out:
For those of you who dont know the vehicle i am talking about or have forgotten, heres a little refresher....
I bought this 82 Jimmy in 1993. Emmett started out life as a 1982 GMC JImmy Sierra. A stripped down model with a Diesel and an auto. The paint was I believe Woodland green with yellow stripes on the sides(about 5 stripes that were grouped about 4" wide). The interior was a mix of light tan seats and trim with a dark brown dash cover.
So I was out looking for a p/u or K5 to wheel and use for mountains trips. Came across this green 82 Jimmy in the auto trader and it caught my eye... My father and I went down to look at it in Sunbury, PA which is aroudn Butler. Drove it and immediately knew I wanted it. At the time it was in excellent shape. No rust, no dings, nice paint, fresh 355/th350/208(originally was a diesel) and was sitting on stock suspension and 31" Sport Kings. So I came up with the $$ to buy it and drove down the following week to pick it up. The night I brought it home was the night the mayhem began. Within 3 hours of driving it home, I was out at a local trail and had it stuck with water in the cab. From that point on, that Jimmy and I did alot of wheeling and had taken on the name "Emmett"(thanks to an ex-g/f)..
Over the years, Emmett took on different levels of builds, many changes and lots of wheelin. The first lift was a set of 4" HD Superlift front springs and rear blocks. Took some time to gather all the parts. First set of tires I got for it were a set of 35x12.50x15 Kelly DTRs on 15x10 chrome wagon wheels. Emmett stayed this way for sometime.. We used to wheel 3-5 times a week. BAck then it was mostly mud and trail rides.
After about 4 years and different changes, I was in college and wasn't wheeling much. Decided to sell Emmett since it was just sitting. Sold him to a guy not far from me..... Didn't own him for about 2 years.... Used to see him on the road from time to time and then no one had seen him for a long time. After those two years I started my hunt for a new wheeling vehicle. Found an 84 Jeep Cherokee in Latrobe, PA that was cheap. Picked it up and brought it home. Funny thing was it was the same color green as Emmett... It sat in ours garage for about a month and something just didnt feel right. So I tracked down the guy who bought Emmett and gave him a call. Turns out he was just getting ready to strip him down to throw a quick coat of paint on him and resell him.... I told him not to do anything else and I would be over to take a look... Bought Emmett back after that trip and sold the Cherokee to a friend..
Got Emmett back home and started the build all over again since he was stripped of all the goodies and sat on stock suspension again. The PO stuck in a 305 also and for some reason, a different hood. Another change was that the stock rear gov-locked 10 bolt was gone and an open 12 bolt sat in its place. This build I went with a pair of 6" Superlift Superride front springs and a custom rear pack over smaller blocks. Tires were a set of 35x15.50x15 TSL's on Eaton 15x10 chrome HD wheels. Ran this set up until I parked Emmett once again since the back floor was getting pretty bad and I bought my bros 86 K5 that was built similar and locked...
So after sitting in my garden(or where a garden used to be) for the last 2 years, I've finally pulled Emmett back out for a rebuild....
Below are some pics of his present state... Pretty bad, but just needs some TLC and a lot of elbow grease....
Pics of pulling him out:
. But I do feel for you have this Nova that I have had for thirteen years she needs new fenders, quarters and rockers and hood and interior and most of the floor, but I have sold her once and bought her back and towed her from AZ to Utah. Payed more for her when I bought her back and she needed more work. So I'm a very sentemental person and support you 100% if you are going to fix him back up. Just thought that I would add a reality check if you haven't had one 
