Refining "Sierra"

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by northern 85

Very nice work

Thank you sir

Originally Posted by Chaplain

Could you post pics of how you mounted your amp and the cleaver way you disguised your wiring?

These are the only pics I have. It doesnt show the channel we cut in the bottom of the box, but it does give a good idea of the amount of wires we we trying to hide.

The amp has a wired controller, power, ground, turn on, and input wires. This made for a pretty big bundle to try to add to the wires in the door channel. If you factor in speaker, cargo light, dome light, and seat belt buzzer wires, the channel on the drivers side is already full. That meant we would have another big bundle on the passenger side that would have to go all the way across to the receiver.

I dont really like running wires under carpet, but it was my only option. We cut a channel in the bottom of the box for the wires to exit from and run under the carpet. We used black duct tape to ensure that it lays flat and ran it straight forward to come out under the dash.

The turn on and input wire went to the receiver, the ground to a bolt in the firewall, and the power wire exited the cab at the fuse block and went direct to the battery. We added a fuse holder near the fuse block for ease of access. The wired controller will reside in the glove box, attached with velcro.

In the second pic I am soldering wires. We eliminated about a dozen crimp connectors. I prefer to solder wires and cover with shrink tube when possible. We added plug in connectors in locations necessary to make future service easier.

[N2TRUX]

Well that escalated rather quickly. We pulled the hood off to replace the insulation and clean up the bottom of it. With the hood off I could see a lot of things, I didnt want to see. Even though I had degreased and pressure washed the motor, it was still pretty dirty. Over the years as maintenance was done, many things were not reconnected correctly or the wrong bolts were used. Chris and I decided to dive in deep, so here we are. We stripped most of the accessory brackets to expose a dirty mess. Lets see if we can make this all pretty again.

[ironroad9c1]

Great job, Im down here in Temple,TX and Im in the market for a CCLB either SRW or dually , I've had a few of these trucks , but always wanted to really make the interior nice. Great work, Any blueprints for the rear seat compartment?

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by northern 85

Very nice work

Originally Posted by Chaplain

Thanks. That was very helpful. In fact, I was wondering if you routed some of the wiring near the hump and up to the dash. Three more questions:

1) did you secure the wires to the left or right of the hump (driver side or passenger side)?

2) did your ground wiring also go along the hump and to the standard grounding spot (why not ground at the bolts that secure the seat to the cab)?

3) when tucking wires into the door channels was it difficult to get the carpet, door seals and/or the rubber weather seals back into place?

1. We ran the wires on top of the hump, but taped them flat so there is no bulge.

2. I ran the ground to a bolt under the dash. Not really necessary, but I just like it better that way.

3. Your 79 will have different threshold trim than the plastic piece on this 84. You can get a decent amount of wires under it, but not enough to do this install.

Originally Posted by ironroad9c1

Great job, Im down here in Temple,TX and Im in the market for a CCLB either SRW or dually , I've had a few of these trucks , but always wanted to really make the interior nice. Great work, Any blueprints for the rear seat compartment?

I made so many changes along the way, I did not document them. This was design by demand. You will need to determine what components you plan to use, then build around them.

[JWall]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

Well that escalated rather quickly...

Isn't that funny how it always works like that... Looking good!

[Low Elco]

It'd be a good time to go to the 88-98 Serp setup. Yay, no more belt squeaks!

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by JWall

Isn't that funny how it always works like that... Looking good!

My wife just laughed when I showed her. I hate smarty pants know it alls.

Originally Posted by Low Elco

It'd be a good time to go to the 88-98 Serp setup. Yay, no more belt squeaks!

I have considered that option. If I were going that route it would have an 97+ Vortec motor attached to it.

[greens69]

Looking great Ken!! That is a very nice truck!!

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by greens69

Looking great Ken!! That is a very nice truck!!

Thanks Steve. Hopefully I will have it back together by Lonestar Throwdown.

[N2TRUX]

I "thought" I was done inside the cab, but the dash pad was bothering me. It looks great till you examine it closely and realize it has hairline cracks in the speaker grills. Most people wouldn't notice, but its one of the first things I check when looking at a squarebody truck.

I know I can get a premium quality GM replacement pad from Capt Kaos at www.73-87chevytrucks.com but I have been really trying to maintain a budget on this build.

I put a call out that I was looking for an NOS pad and ran across a great find. This NOS GM replacement pad was bought new and stored for 15 years. The guy I got it from installed it for a short period, then decided to fiberglass his old dash pad. He needed some quick cash, and we struck a deal.

I'm not sure how well it shows up in the pics, but the condition is mint. I will have to dye it to match, but its going to be the cherry on top of my interior rebuild.

[aggie91]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

Thanks Steve. Hopefully I will have it back together by Lonestar Throwdown.

I do too...

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by greens69

Looking great Ken!! That is a very nice truck!!

Originally Posted by aggie91

I do too...

It WILL be there. It may not be to my satisfaction, but it will be there.

Originally Posted by Chaplain

Thanks for the insight.

My pleasure.

[MrSS]

I saw that pad for sale too. Even though I have a 74, I almost contacted the guy just so I could hoard it for a later sale.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by MrSS

I saw that pad for sale too. Even though I have a 74, I almost contacted the guy just so I could hoard it for a later sale.

I didnt hesitate. Once I got pics to confirm condition, I drove an hour and a half to go pick it up.

[N2TRUX]

Since I saved myself some money on the purchase of the mint GM dashpad, it left some room in my budget for another purchase. At least thats what I told my wife (insert sarcastic eye roll here) and shes all like "Whatever!".

Combine that with a super 50% off sale at OC Auto Carpets and I loaded up my cart. I have new carpet, mats, and door panel inserts being custom made. I could not find anyone that duplicated the GM mahogany carpet, so I opted for a saddle color. I feel it compliments the interior colors and brightens the cab up.

[MrSS]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

Since I saved myself some money on the purchase of the mint GM dashpad, it left some room in my budget for another purchase. At least thats what I told my wife (insert sarcastic eye roll here) and she like "Whatever!".

Combine that with a super 50% off sale at OC Auto Carpets and I loaded up my cart. I have new carpet, mats, and door panel inserts being custom made. I could not find anyone that duplicated the GM mahogany carpet, so I opted for a saddle color. I feel compliments the interior colors and brightens the cab up.

Did you try trim parts? At the time I bought they were the only licensed GM restoration parts I've found for carpet. I got mine and it's really correct.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by MrSS

Did you try trim parts? At the time I bought they were the only licensed GM restoration parts I've found for carpet. I got mine and it's really correct.

Yes I did, and they weren't even close to the color I needed. The mahogany interior appears to be rather rare.

[lolife99]

I guess I have never seen the mahogany interior.
I thought yours was the faded version of my '86 maroon interior color.
(like this one pulled from the internet)

It will be nice to see yours restored.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by lolife99

I guess I have never seen the mahogany interior.
I thought yours was the faded version of my '86 maroon interior color.
(like this one pulled from the internet)It will be nice to see yours restored.

In mid 80s GM was notorious for having a mix and match on their interior colors. This 84 Sierra was no different. The dash, door panels, and kick panels are one color. The seat cloth and vinyl backing are different colors, and the carpet is another. They all compliment each other, but they do not match.
As mentioned Keith, since no one makes an exact match for the carpet, I decided to go with a color that compliments the remaining colors instead.

[N2TRUX]

Sometimes you have to go a lot deeper in to a project than you anticipated. Combine that with having OCD, and the effect snowballs. As I started removing accessory brackets from the motor I discovered an oily mess. The PO had told me he had spent a lot of money having the truck serviced. One thing done was replace the valve cover gaskets. The shop did a nice job of replacing the gaskets, but not cleaning the residual mess left behind from long term leaks.

This is what greeted me when I stripped away the top of the motor. Its not pretty.

[N2TRUX]

While Chris test drove my new bead blasting cabinet on a dozen or so brackets and small parts, I cleaned and scraped a few thousand miles worth of baked on motor oil from the front of the block and top of the manifold.

I discovered that Harbor Freight carries brake cleaner a few dollars cheaper than the parts store so I loaded up while I was there. I also bought a few of their cheapo wire brushes and lots of paper towels. Combine all that with a few hours of elbow grease, and I can now see a nice clean motor. At least the top and front anyways. The rest will come later.

[N2TRUX]

While I was in there, I decided to replace the water pump. If your going to remove the old one, you may as well install a new HD unit with a lifetime warranty. I blasted it down with some cheap brake cleaner and covered it the Duplicolor high temp brushed stainless paint. I looked at several different choices, but really like the satin sheen of the brushed stainless.

[68Timber]

Ken, sorry for asking the obvious, Auto Custom Carpets didn't have that color? I thought they had everything. Beautiful detail work.

[Greenlee]

Looking good.

It's funny, I bought a replacement seatbelt assembly off of EBay that I thought was maroon. However, I'm pretty sure it's the same color as your interior.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by BRUISER

Ken, sorry for asking the obvious, Auto Custom Carpets didn't have that color? I thought they had everything. Beautiful detail work.

Trust me, I have looked. I discovered that there are several re-sellers, but not that many manufacturers. They manufacturers reproduce the most popular colors, and thats it. I feel that the new color will actually be more pleasing than what was in it.

Originally Posted by Greenlee

Looking good.

It's funny, I bought a replacement seatbelt assembly off of EBay that I thought was maroon. However, I'm pretty sure it's the same color as your interior.

If its a color somewhere between maroon and brown, thats probably what you bought.