85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"

[N2TRUX]

With Chris in a fresh ride and Independence day close we focused on the yard and the deck. I stripped and repainted a bench and table for my wife which made the wrought-iron fence really look neglected. We sanded and painted 28 foot of fence by hand.
Meanwhile I got up early every morning and swam laps. After my exercise my wife and I spent an hour planting, pruning, and detailing the yard around our pool. I know its not truck related, but this is what we have done in preparation for the 4th of July.

[N2TRUX]

I rarely take a weekday off but this was time with family so I wouldn't trade it for nothing. Unfortunately my work still has to get done so the short week that followed was very hectic.
Combine that with a buyer for my 2013 Sierra came along. After he saw how clean the truck was, he was anxious to close the deal. I spent all of Saturday showing the truck then driving 48 mile to his Credit Union and signing papers. We wrapped things up and I have one less truck in my driveway.

That means I can focus on Scarlett once again. Now where were we? Oh yeah, the transmission needs serviced and painted. Since the pan gasket was leaking and I had no idea when it was last serviced I wanted to change the fluid and filter. I have no idea why GM doesn't put a drain plug in the transmission pan but I do know it's a guarantee your going to make a mess when you drop it.
The bad news is we made a big mess even with two drain pans. The good news is I discovered that the transmission had been recently rebuilt. Based on a new torque converter, filter, and gasket I was able to search and find it was a fresh build.

[N2TRUX]

With the rear of the transmission lowered as far as I could go, I managed to squeeze in and prep the case for paint. It took some creative masking and spraying but I eventually got a good coat of cast iron color on the case.

[N2TRUX]

With the dust cover removed we got a good look at the rear seal on the motor. It's obvious it's been leaking for a while based on the build up of grunge. I also noted the creative spacers used on the starter. This doesn't surprise me based on what I found so far. The transmission bushing bolts were finger tight, and once again the bolts for the dust cover were not correct or matching. I replaced the mismatched bolts with stainless button heads. We installed it till we need to access the rear seal so it doesn't get scratched up.

[mcbassin]

Nice work as always Ken, Not too sure about those starter bolts.....I did the exact same on my old 70 model when I was around 17 years old. Sometimes, necessity is mother of invention.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by Chaplain

Wow...very thorough update. You've been busy. Confession: we've been to tending the yard prepping for family as well. I actually enjoy maintaining the yard. I'm grass cutting three times a week to keep that putting green height but when it came to painting our fence I really pushed back and complained about it. I showed my wife your pics and she said, "See there..." You're a good man Charlie Brown.

I have been putting off the fence for a season or two. After I painted the bench I had no choice. The yard is always on going. We were blessed with so much rain this year I am just now turning on my sprinkler system. That means I had to do a test and tune on the entire system. With 12 zones and 8-10 heads per zone its a bit of a task.

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Nice work as always Ken, Not too sure about those starter bolts.....I did the exact same on my old 70 model when I was around 17 years old. Sometimes, necessity is mother of invention.

Dont get me wrong, I have done some questionable repairs in my life too. It seems what I have found here is someone was spending money in the right places but whoever was installing all the parts didnt really care what it looked like as long as it worked.

No worries though, it will be right when I get finished.

[GAc10boy]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

With Chris in a fresh ride and Independence day close we focused on the yard and the deck. I stripped and repainted a bench and table for my wife which made the wrought-iron fence really look neglected. We sanded and painted 28 foot of fence by hand.
Meanwhile I got up early every morning and swam laps. After my exercise my wife and I spent an hour planting, pruning, and detailing the yard around our pool. I know its not truck related, but this is what we have done in preparation for the 4th of July.

Absolutely beautiful. You should feel a sense of accomplishment. And great progress on the truck!

[UKNOWME]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

With Chris in a fresh ride and Independence day close we focused on the yard and the deck. I stripped and repainted a bench and table for my wife which made the wrought-iron fence really look neglected. We sanded and painted 28 foot of fence by hand.
Meanwhile I got up early every morning and swam laps. After my exercise my wife and I spent an hour planting, pruning, and detailing the yard around our pool. I know its not truck related, but this is what we have done in preparation for the 4th of July.

Beautiful yard!

[gringoloco]

Great work here, all around

[N2TRUX]

It's been really hectic at work and Friday we worked late again. Saturday morning we ran errands but got back in the shop mid day. After doing a complete freshen up on Chris 01 Sierra core support we installed all new lights and got it buttoned up.

With that done it was time to show Scarlett some love. We are ready to install the transmission crossmember but decided to get another section of the frame cleaned and painted first.

Once again we noted how clean the rails were once we removed all the oily dirt that was serving as a protective layer. After cleaning and prep we were able to paint all the way to the shock mounts.

Drivers side...

[N2TRUX]

And here's the passengers side. Tomorrow we will install line clamps and get all the fuel lines looking tidy.

[N2TRUX]

I had to run for supplies this morning and spent a couple hours in my office. I got in the shop after lunch but didn't have a helper today so progress was slow.

I pulled all the clamps and bolts for the fuel lines and bead blasted them. The factory uses self tapping bolts that stick through the frame. I hate the way that looks so I cut them down so they fit flush. After a bit of tweaking on the lines and clamps I reinstalled the freshly painted parts. It's still not as clean as custom bent lines but much better than what it was.

Once the lines were topped off with fresh paint. I moved to the crossmember. It had been previously blasted and painted so it just needed to be bolted in. Sounds simple except those two bolts that came from the top of the frame a are a ***** to get to. With everything cinched up tight I touched all up and called it a day.

[N2TRUX]

Check out the artwork for the @c10sinthepark cruise. This show flyer will be available on shirts too. Designed by @hiddenhotrodart of @graphicdisorder for @c10sinthepark.
This one day fun run on September 17th is growing like wildfire. Open to all 47-87 GM trucks (88-91 Blazers and Suburbans) Sponsored by @brotherstrucks and hosted by @squarebody_usa @c10clubtexas
For more information follow @poweredbychevy79 @hectic_hec @pedr0ski

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

Check out the artwork for the @c10sinthepark cruise. This show flyer will be available on shirts too. Designed by @hiddenhotrodart of @graphicdisorder for @c10sinthepark.
This one day fun run on September 17th is growing like wildfire. Open to all 47-87 GM trucks (88-91 Blazers and Suburbans) Sponsored by @brotherstrucks and hosted by @squarebody_usa @c10clubtexas
For more information follow @poweredbychevy79 @hectic_hec @pedr0ski

Looks good Ken! I hope to grab some local guys and join you this year.

[UKNOWME]

As much as I planned to be there it doesn't look like it's happening. How can I get a shirt?

[Desert1957]

Originally Posted by uknowme

as much as i planned to be there it doesn't look like it's happening. How can i get a shirt?

x2

[RUN GMC]

X3

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Looks good Ken! I hope to grab some local guys and join you this year.

I heard there was a run being organized to cruise from Oklahoma. If you need help promoting it just let me know.

Originally Posted by UKNOWME

As much as I planned to be there it doesn't look like it's happening. How can I get a shirt?

Originally Posted by Desert1957

x2

Originally Posted by RUN GMC

X3

Heres a link to C10 Club of Texas page LINK and C10s in the park page- Link Information on ordering shirts will be posted soon.

[N2TRUX]

Work week is finally done and it wasn't a pretty one. I did end it with a couple of positive points. I got home not physically and mentally drained despite the heat and spent some time in the shop.

I decided to work on the bumper brackets and license plate housing. The plate housing was tweaked in a couple spots so I spent some time gently finessing it back in shape.
After a nice hammer and 2x4 session it looked great. Yes, it's a minor victory and wouldn't be seen once the plate was on, but it felt good to beat on something with hammer and actually make it better. A trip to the blasting cabinet and fresh paint would make it good as new.

My happy dance was brief. Out of 11 cans of silver colored paint from several different sources, not one of them was close to correct. I got dull and shiny silver for days, but nothing close the argent.

I will prevail but all I have are before pics for now. Look close to see the long crease that run horizontal across the housing.

[N2TRUX]

Part two of my Friday night shop session focused on the rest of the rear bumper assembly. I pulled the bumper with brackets before I removed the bed and set it aside. It was time to take a close look at what was needed to make it shine.
The brackets and bolts were bead blasted and sanded as they actually had some real rust that had been neglected on the previous clean up. Unfortunately I haven't located the correct inner brackets so these Blazer/Suburban inners will do for now, as they are need to correctly space the bumper bolts.

[N2TRUX]

Ok let's go ahead and get this out of the way. I know I am anal about certain things that really don't matter but still bother me. One of those things is the back side of a bumper. I don't like that the way it looks unfinished and eventually will rust and flake. Consequently I resolve this concern by painting the back side with a bright silver paint. No, I don't think it looks as good as the chrome side but it does look much better.

[N2TRUX]

With my OCD issue resolved it was time to move on the the bottom of the bed. We stripped the wiring harness out of the way and started the tedious task of cleaning and sanding the bed floor. We got the entire floor sanded then cleaned it thoroughly. After several hours of fun in the heat we called it a day.

[LDO]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

Thanks. Yes sir, thats what we use. I find the Krylon Cover Max coats well, dries quickly, and has a nice satin sheen that is durable. Its much easier than loading a paint gun, and there is no waste.

Which Black is that?

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by LDO

Which Black is that?

We use Krylon Cover Max satin black. It's not as good as the old original formula we have used for years, but its the best I can find these days. Walmart has it for less than 3.00 a can and they have had bonus cans with 25% extra.

[N2TRUX]

With the bulk of the work done it was time to address some small details. There were a couple of large dents in the bed floor that I wanted to fix. We also discovered a small section of surface rust along the front edge and and the first crossbrace. It appears that a caustic liquid had spilled and seeped under the bed.
I pulled all the bolts at the bottom of the front panel and sanded the spots in question to raw metal. Once I was confident the metal was clean I painted all the raw spots. While the bolts were out I cut off the extra length so the fit flush. It's another detail that most might never see but it makes me feel better knowing it's done.

I revived my hammer and dolly skills on the bed floor and got most of the big dents smooth again. Its not flawless but it is better and the spray in bed liner makes it almost impossible to see.

In the top pics you can see the deepest Dent with a few smaller off to the left. You can see the raw metal on the crossbrace where it was sanded clean. The bottom pic shows the repairs and seal coat of paint.