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My Slow 71 GMC Build

L

lukefalls

1/2 ton status
Joined
May 21, 2002
Posts
163
Reaction score
1
Location
Fairbankks, AK
I've had this truck for about 10 years. Bought it in California when I was in college. Used it as a daily driver and to run the Rubicon. I did a half-@ss build and band-aided problems. Moved to Alaska and left it to sit in CA. Finally, got it moved up here now.

Now that its here, I'm going to make it right. I want it lifted and the body stock, but with a 3 link/panhard front and triangulated rear. I have a doubler going in with a Ford 205 and a '79 Ford HP 60.

The body needs help, and lots of it. There isn't much rust, but its been hacked and whacked. I keep telling myself that LMC Truck is my friend.

Love to have your input. Nothing done huge at this time, but here is how it sits and some initial progress. Notice the more-than-typical frame flex.
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52's, WFO Concepts (freakin' awesome) double high steer, panhard rod
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Here is what I got done tonight. Got the front removed. Trying to find a media blaster here in Fairbanks to get the sheet metal cleaned up. I was looking at all of the broken rivets in the frame. Between that, all of the new holes drilled, and my own hacking, it may be time for a new frame. Suffices to say, the 3" body life will not go back in the truck.

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I'd like to run 39s, but I don't want to lift it huge and I don't want to cut the fenders. Most likely, I will run 37s on 17s.

I am looking at painting it orange with a white top. We'll see.
 
39's with no cutting?

Ooooh.....this is going to be interesting. :popcorn:




:usaflag:
 
Unless it's easy to find those frames, couldn't you weld up the holes in yours? I guess if portions are missing that might be tough. I'm also pondering 37s and would be interested in some magic way to not cut the fenders. My 35s just barely rub when the tires are stuffed into the fender.

Looks good though. Alaska seems to have some beautiful country to explore. I'd love to make it out there someday.
 
Yeah...I'm not expecting to run 39s. I thought about cutting, re-working, and even hacking fenders, but decided not to. I'm really hoping that I'll get 37s to fit. With the 52s up front/shackle flip and block rear and a 3" body lift, It easily cleared 40s. I don't want it to be that high. It'll probably never see the rocks again, since we don't have much of those here. Besides, I like the lower lift/larger tire look anyway.

I'll post more photos tonight.
 
What's wrong the front axle in it now? I'm not knocking you for putting a HP60 in it but it seems like a lot of work for little gain.
 
Ford Dana 60...well here in Alaska, our winters are long. Some guys leave their hubs locked all winter and even keep it in 4WD all the time. I am not usually one of those guys. With the high pinion, I though it'd keep vibration down. It may not.

I had to work really late tonight, so I didn't get anything done. I did take some pictures just for now. I'm off Tues, Wed, and Thrus. I plan on getting it stripped down to the frame and hopefully get the frame undercoated. We'll see.

The rocker area was completely rotted out, but only on this one side.

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The floor didn't look too bad. The corners of the kick panels look good. We'll see later.

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These is not much rust behind the fender. The wheel well was shot though

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Previous owner drilled a hole through the roof for a CB antenna. The top of the roof is curled outward. It'll take a little patients to fix right. Yes, that is a butterfly sticker, not it is not mine:dunno:

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First; sorry, no real tech. But I do have pictures.

I used to think how lame it was that people with builds didn't post updates sooner. Today, I realized why that is. Took me all day to get the truck moved into the garage. Had to put some smaller tires on and take the body lift out. I really wanted the body lift out anyway. I did get some of the interior removed.

If this this thing had any more air in the tires, it would not have fit. The builder of our house save a few dollars and put in a small door opening

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I'll send this off to be re-chromed

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My pile of parts...new old doors

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Some rust that I'll need to stop. What do you guys reccommed?

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This is how far I got before my lovely wife told me to come in a give our daughter a bath. Freak, there are a lot of parts in there!

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Luke,

How far are you planning to take this "project"?? :dunno:

Stripping out the interior and such is pretty fast and easy, but it almost always reveals work that can take months (or years) to make right again. Be careful not to just blow-apart the whole truck unless you have the time to get it all back together.... the "might as wells" are clever and can sneak up on you pretty fast.

For rust.... you want to be as close to bare metal as you can. Covering rust with paint or neutralizers (IMHO) is just masking the problem. Ideally, you'd media blast the rusty parts but even in a small garage space you can still accomplish a lot with flap wheels, wire wheels and sandpaper.

Once the metal is clean (or as clean as you can make it) you should spray it with an etching primer. Traditional etching primers have acids that will react with any remaining rust in the metal to neutralize it, and then provides a protective coating against new rust. It's not a permanent barrier so don't think that driving a truck with primer on it is "protected" from rust. Check out Eastwood company too... they have some rust neutralizers and other spray on stuff for treating in-process parts to keep them from rusting while you are still doing your fabrication and repairs.

The primer coat I've been using (on Ryoken's recommendation) is zinc chromate....what I call "Ryoken Green". It's a high-zinc primer that goes directly over bare metal and can be used as a base for other primers and paint. Moeller is the brand name I use. It's a little hard to find so you may need to buy it online. IIRC, I got mine from Wholesale Marine.

Use in a well ventilated area when spraying, and if you have to weld parts with the zinc chromate already on them keep lots of fresh air blowing through or you'll make yourself sick from the fumes.

:usaflag:
 
Thanks Greg. That is exactly what I wanted to know. "Might as well" is an understatement. I am not stopping until its right. I've half-ass this truck for too long. Now that I can afford to do it right, I plan to. Time is what I do have plenty of. I plan to strip it all the way down to pieces and parts, clean/replace, and then rebuild. I do not expect this to be a factory original restoration.

Currently, have a hardware store like stock of various flapper discs, wire wheels, and grinder wheels. I was planning on taking it bare metal, but needed to know the best way to cover it again.

I do want to 3 link/panhard the front and do a triangulated 4 link rear. I am waiting for parts from Ballistic. Once I get the body cleaned up/repaired and primed, I will start on the frame and suspension. Once I get the frame/suspension done, I'll clean the frame and prime it. I want to undercoat it.

Then reassembly. I am certain that it will not be this simple. I am sure that I'll change my mind, not be able to get parts, run out of money, run out of time, or get distracted. That being said, I'm ready to make it happen.

You've got an awesome build. Any feedback or criticism would be appreciated. I just want this done right. Thanks again Greg.
 
Well, got the interior completely stripped down, less the fuel tank. Had two buddies help me remove the bed

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This is the rust that I expected to find.

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This is the rust that I didn't expect to find. It is the driver's side interior kick panel. The dirt was smashed in there so good, it looked like good metal. Oh well, time to order more parts.

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This is NOT what I wanted to find! I removed the windshield (In one piece without cutting the weather stripping) to find this. Guess that hole in the roof was not such a small thing after all. This make me wonder how much rust in inside the ceiling/roof. I really do not want to cut the roof off.

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lukefalls said:
52's, WFO Concepts (freakin' awesome) double high steer, panhard rod
Picture051.jpg
Click to expand...

Whats the story with this panhard bar? Did Trevor custom make that for you or is it an off the shelf item? Why do you have it, death wobble?
 
No, Trevor at WFO did not make the ugly thing. His work much much better. I did have some death wobble because my pinion/caster angle is wrong. Also, those springs are so soft that if I took a turn too fast, it felt like the truck was going to fall off of the axle. It was a cheap fix that actually worked very well. That was one of those things that I half-assed and wished that I had done correctly the first time.

Its going away now.
 
From your description we have the same springs and from your pics we have the same shackles in the rear. I have a similar shimming and angle problem but can't do without the corrected pinion. So I'm seriously thinking about that pan hard option. Any suggestions or dimensions?
 
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