New Ride! 78 GMC. *The build thread that never was?*

[y5mgisi]

Finally painted the other half of the white stripe today.

Masked and scuffed.



Primed.



And un masked.



Next item of business is this rust area. I already got the patch panel and will start on it pretty soon. I'm just going to get a color matched rattle can made up at the paint Store for now to make it presentable.

 

[livid4dirt]

Looking good!

 

[y5mgisi]

Thanks! Baby steps for now until I get a new house with a bigger garage.

 

[Chevy305]

Don't be getting that white paint on your Sierra! You'd be surprised how far overspray can travel.

 

[campfire]

Don't be getting that white paint on your Sierra! You'd be surprised how far overspray can travel.

Yikes! Reminds me of my brother's white Fiero...it forevermore will carry a light dusting of red specks left over from a paint job that happened a little too close by...

 

[y5mgisi]

I hung a blanket over the better part of the cab/bed. It didnt seem to travel over there tho.

 

[campfire]

I hung a blanket over the better part of the cab/bed. It didnt seem to travel over there tho.

Famous last words!

 

[Chevy305]

Yup, run a clay bar over your truck. I bet you'd be surprised at how much overspray made it.

 

[y5mgisi]

Bagh. Looks fine. What ever did make it is un noticeable. Some day i should wax it tho.

 

[y5mgisi]

Put the 78 to work today! And the bed is already half full of rock!



Click for vid.

 

[y5mgisi]

So an actual update! Im getting a new bed tomorrow! Its in really great shape but still needs a little work done to it. In way better shape than my current bed. I'll fix it up and get it painted over winter. Im also going to fill the fuel tank filler holes and put a door in the same spot as a suburban since im going to switch to a suburban tank. Most awesomely is that it has good top trim! And all for $50!

 

[Bowtie85]

That's a steal for $50

 

[kennyw]

That is a good deal. If you don't have a flatbed, bring two 2x4's when you haul it home. Turn the new bed upside down (like a canopy) with the 2x4's running across the truck in between the two beds. Then strap it down.

 

[y5mgisi]

Actually a couple buddies are going to get it for me while I'm at work today. I have a trailer they are going to use which should work perfectly.

 

[campfire]

Great find. Around here even your (slightly) rusty bed would bring several times that price. And (imported) rustless ones sometimes exceed $1000 to buy...

The truck should look great when you're done! Why, if I may ask, are you wanting a (tail-dragging) Suburban tank?



















And I will confess that my initial reaction was something like this:

"Why would he want to replace his bed? His whole truck is nearly rustless!"

 

[y5mgisi]

The bed is pretty rough! As for why on the tank, i really dont do the kind of off roading that would have me at risk of dragging the tail. The main reason is that i want to run longer rear springs and would need to move the front hangers for the rear leafs forward which means the the tanks need moved forward. The other thing is i want to make this fuel injected some day and this way i dont have to buy two pumps and a high pressure valve and stuff. I can just use a fuel injected burb/blazer tank and im done.

 

[kennyw]

And I will confess that my initial reaction was something like this:

"Why would he want to replace his bed? His whole truck is nearly rustless!"

My answer is simply, why not? Especially for $50

 

[y5mgisi]

And im not about "mostly rust free". Im about "rust free". Rust the size of a dime drives me nuts! If you look closely at some of the pics above, you will see that there is rust, dents, and screw holes in my current bed.

 

[campfire]

My answer is simply, why not? Especially for $50

Yeah. I'd do the same thing. Come to think of it, I did do that to the K10's bed. The truck looks lots better afterwards.

 

[campfire]

And im not about "mostly rust free". Im about "rust free". Rust the size of a dime drives me nuts! If you look closely at some of the pics above, you will see that there is rust, dents, and screw holes in my current bed.

I would love to be so picky about rust. Unfortunately I think I'd never be able to have an old truck if I were. 'Round here folks run truck beds 'till you can see through the double-sided walls. So I'm forced to compromise on vehicle rust. Someday, someday...

The bed is pretty rough!

You're kidding, right? I still see cross-members present (even fully present), so I declare the bed to be in fine shape! You're not even missing much of the fender yet...

The bed is pretty rough! As for why on the tank, i really dont do the kind of off roading that would have me at risk of dragging the tail. The main reason is that i want to run longer rear springs and would need to move the front hangers for the rear leafs forward which means the the tanks need moved forward. The other thing is i want to make this fuel injected some day and this way i dont have to buy two pumps and a high pressure valve and stuff. I can just use a fuel injected burb/blazer tank and im done.

Sounds good! (although I'm partial to dual-tank setups myself. )