Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

Since we all loves pics, heres a quick look at the brackets and hardware with a fresh coat of paint. The swaybar will get the wire wheel treatment and painted tonight.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

I had to divert my attention away from Scarlett this weekend. I bought a 2016 GMC Sierra a couple months ago. I still have my 2013 Sierra and it's finally time to put it on the market.

I sent it to a buddy that has a body shop to do minor touch ups, and buff it out. We switched wheels from old to new, and did a major detail on it. Its ready for a photo shoot, then get it listed for sale.

I will post an ad in the classifieds later tonight.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

I couldn't let the weekend go by without spending some shop time on the 85. We plan to pull the bed, so I needed a way to lift it up. Even though I have a six car garage storage space is always a concern. I don't have room for an engine hoist, so I opted for a chain hoist instead. Don't let looks deceive you, the mounting chain is wrapped over a 4x4 beam laid across the 2x10 rafters.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

What wheels did you switch to the 2016?

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

For now I pulled the wheels off of my 13. I will change later,but this is still one of my favorite GM styles.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

I agree, we had those on a previous Yukon.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

I finally had an opportunity to get by the DMV. Texas has some new vehicle laws that suck. I'll save the details, but it gets pretty costly to register and pass safety inspection for a truck purchased out of state. The solution was to register it as an antique truck. She is now officially a Texas girl.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

What qualifies as antique?

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

25 years old or older...

Antique registration puts limits on how much it can be driven and a few other things...not good for a DD, but OK for a show truck.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

Correct. The big difference between Antique and Classic is limited use. The other factor is a Classic still has to pass a State Safety Inspection. All of this adds a significant amount to the cost.
It will be able to pass inspection, but its going to be limited use. No reason to pay all those fees up front if its not going to be driven till the Fall.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

Nice truck Ken I know you'll make it nicer....Plus all the work you got planned will keep you off the streets and out of trouble. ;)

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

If you don't have one, pick up a cheap countertop pizza oven. CL or a garage sale will net them for nearly free...if not free. They work excellent for curing and also hardening the paint on small parts like this. Paint the parts, let them dry enough to handle, then bake for 15-20 minutes. :)

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

These days I stay out of trouble if I stay out in the shop. My wife and I work together. By the end of the day she is ready to have some quiet time with her Kindle and the dogs. ;) Excellent idea Jeff, I will have to give it a try. Last time I cured parts in an oven, it was in the house. As you can imagine, that only happened once.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

Once you get that pizza oven you're halfway to powder coating. I have a powder coat kit from HF and use a pizza oven I picked up at walmart to cure the parts. You may have room in your garage for someone's used kitchen oven.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

Busy week and got home late most nights so shop time was nonexistent. This evening I got in early enough to clock a few hours. My focus this weekend is to pull the bed and get the frame and bed bottom prepped for paint.
I got the rigging in place to lift the bed and tested it with the bolts still in place. While it looks a bit sketchy, it felt very solid. I slipped under and unplugged all the wiring harness and grounds. I unfolded the gas filler and looked to see if I missed anything. It appears to be free.

I'm reluctant to lift the bed with out a spotter so I will wait till tomorrow

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

Ken a spotter is a good idea.
Just to let you know, I ripped a stake pocket right off the bed lifting a bed like you have rigged. Probably a fluke thing. But I wanted to warn you.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

With the bed free and ready to come off, I turned my attention to the sway bar I had recently bought. Through the week I made several trips to various Auto parts trying to track down the correct bushings. It's a bit confusing because they are listed by circumference rather than diameter. I finally located the correct ones and verified they fit. After prepping all the bolts and hardware all that was left to do was strip the bar itself.
I spent some quality time with an angle grinder topped with an abrasive pad followed by hand sanding. A quick clean up with solvent and it was ready for paint. I blasted it with several coats of VHT cast iron and it's ready for installation.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

Keith I considered evey mounting point possible and Im not happy with any of them. I am considering eye bolts through the floor holes with backing plates on the stress points.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

Good idea,...

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

Our own "Keith Seymore" pulled his with just a couple 2X4's.

Attachment 1537408

Desert

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

This is how I pulled my bed off my old 74.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

Very nice truck, I like many of the GM color combinations, this one included. I recommend 3 wood 4x4s for lifting the bed. Similar to the idea above, but run the first two under the bed rails longitudinally, and the third is the cross-piece that you hoist from, and its two ends are positioned (bolted to) underneath the bedrail pieces. A big "H". Lumber is cheap. Spreads out the load.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I spent some time playing with the straps until I felt comfortable with their position. This morning Chris and I lifted the bed without incident. Once we had it lifted, my next concern come to play. I had to set it on end with no damage.
I used a stack of furniture pads and got it upright. Per forum input I chose to forget building a cart and purchased two furniture dollies from Harbor Frieght. I caught them on sale, and used an additional 20% off code so it was cheaper than the casters for a cart would have been.
Once upright I was still apprehensive about stability so we secured it with straps till I am ready to work on it.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

We started the teardown of the frame components so we could access the inner frame rails. I removed three crossmembers and set them aside for bead blasting. I had to cut the exhaust system free because it had been installed with no breaks from front to back. The flanges were even removed from the headers and welded solid. Trust me, it won't go back that way.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

Once we had all the lines and wiring free and set aside it was time to focus on cleaning up the frame rails. It seemed odd that this truck showed to be very much rust free, yet the inside of the frame rails and crossmembers were all orange with rust. The good news is it wasn't rust. Turns out it was actually bright red Georgia Clay. Within a short time of cleaning we had the entire back half down to the painted rails. No need for Rust-Mort treatment, just prep and paint.