Newbie thinking about diving into a '65 GMC 1000

[jdl71]

Wow. I though the premade replacement covers in the catalogs were high, now I see why.

[Praxiss454]

Originally Posted by jdl71

Wow. I though the premade replacement covers in the catalogs were high, now I see why.

Yeah, and then you gotta pay a pro ~$350 to actually sew the cover and upholster the seat. Hard for me to justify that kind of money when I have dents in almost every body panel and what looks like a rattle can paint job.

[Praxiss454]

Unboxed my eBay find this evening - NOS Delbar Swing Lock Jr West Coast Mirrors. These were the GMC Factory Accessory mirrors, similar but different from the more common Chevy mirrors. It's almost a shame that I'm gonna mount em up onto such a beat looking truck.

The only problem is that it is missing the t-bolts for the top mounting bracket and screws for the bottom. Also, I sure as hell hope the standard mounting brackets fit our truck.

[Praxiss454]

Anyone who is following this thread happen to know what the 3 pins are on the back of a factory AM radio? One is power, and the other two are for the speaker, but I don't know which is which. Mine didn't come with a pigtail either.

[Praxiss454]

Originally Posted by Praxiss454

Anyone who is following this thread happen to know what the 3 pins are on the back of a factory AM radio? One is power, and the other two are for the speaker, but I don't know which is which. Mine didn't come with a pigtail either.

Cancel that. I believe by looking at some photos in another site I was able to determine that the power line is the outer most pin, and the inner pins are the +/- wires for the speaker. ALSO learned that trying to turn this sucker on w/o a speaker hooked up could burn the caps, so won't be doing that.

Next up - figure out why my thrift air heater won't blow. My suspicion is a critter built a nest in there. When the headlights are on and I turn the heater knob, the headlights dim slightly with each click, like it's trying to engage.

Also gotta figure out why my interior dome light never turns on. I'm not actually sure when it is SUPPOSED to turn on.

[jtrichard]

Dome light, turn your headlight knob as far counter clockwise as you can you will feel a slight click for lack of a better term and the dome should come on,, no other way they come on

[Praxiss454]

Originally Posted by jtrichard

Dome light, turn your headlight knob as far counter clockwise as you can you will feel a slight click for lack of a better term and the dome should come on,, no other way they come on

Thank you. No light. Bulb looks to be intact so one more wiring gremlin to track down.

Some good news tonight - just bench tested the factory GMC AM radio I bought on another forum and it works. Loud hum though, which may just be the janky way I hooked it up.

[jtrichard]

Next to the dimmer switch are two wires orange and a white should be a plug there unplug and put test light on both wires (coming from dash) (one is ground only when the switch is turned and the other is hot all the time) If no light do one wire at a time orange should be hot if no power then look at fuse box .... to check switch find 12 volts hook test light to that and the white wire turn the switch and see what happens ( fuse should be second from the bottom STOP/DOME)

[Praxiss454]

My fuse panel is kind of a mess... not sure which of the empty fuse holders should actually have a fuse. But your troubleshooting steps for the dome light make sense. I need to do that for a few other components as well.

Last night I noticed that in my dash, only the tach light works, so I probably need to replace some bulbs in there, too.

[Praxiss454]

Well I finally got the correct damn seat springs this week. They were quite rusty, which was disappointing as all the springs in my bench were 100% rust free. Hit em w/ some Ospho and then some black enamel the next day. Once they're dry I'll try to button up the seat, tape/patch the vinyl tears, throw on the saddle blanket, and call that part 'good enough for now'.

I also priced out bed wood. I'm thinking of just doing common board from Home Depot, which for the wood alone will cost about $130. This is far cheaper than I can find any other wood of the proper width. Priced out some nice looking s4s pine from the local lumber yard at $280, and nice looking oak for about $350. If I go the common board route, I won't feel as guilty about leaving the truck outdoors this winter, or using the truck as an actual utility vehicle.

We'll see though, any time I try to do a wood project, it's like measure twice, cut once, realize you cut em wrong, measure again, damn you don't have enough board left, go back to the store...

[Praxiss454]

Took her out for a longer drive this past weekend. Here she is pulled over on the side of the road for a photo. Ran pretty well. Got the seat springs in, so I don't fall out of the truck anymore. Got the strong gas smell taken care of by replacing the filler neck tube. Still got a fair bit of body work to do and need to build a new bed.

[jdl71]

Awesome pic. I've thought about doing the bed wood myself several times and always end up talking myself out of it due to there being something I don't feel confident doing. Routing the grooves or maybe finding the right thickness, I really don't recall at the moment. If you do decide to try it there are several diagrams on the web that show the length, thickness, bolt hole places and where to notch each board. I'd be interested to see how it works out for you.

Replied to your PM regarding the pulley btw also.

[Praxiss454]

Originally Posted by jdl71

Awesome pic. I've thought about doing the bed wood myself several times and always end up talking myself out of it due to there being something I don't feel confident doing. Routing the grooves or maybe finding the right thickness, I really don't recall at the moment. If you do decide to try it there are several diagrams on the web that show the length, thickness, bolt hole places and where to notch each board. I'd be interested to see how it works out for you.

Replied to your PM regarding the pulley btw also.

A friend ended up *giving* me a table saw, so I figure I should at least try cutting the channels for one board and see how it goes. It's a cheaper saw from Harbor Freight, I think the brand is Chicago Electric. My friend didn't like it because the fence was not very well constructed, but I might be able to remedy that with a clamp. We'll see. There's a guy named GMC Paul who posted all the dimensions on his website, so I'll be working from that. Will take pics as I go.

['63GENIII]

Looking great! Nice Sonoma County road there! Looks like a great place to wring her out a little. Staying tuned for the next installment!

[Praxiss454]

Originally Posted by '63GENIII

Looking great! Nice Sonoma County road there

Close - this pic was on Novato blvd just south of Pt Reyes - Petaluma Rd. About a 10 minute drive from my house. Maybe this weekend I'll do a circle through Sonoma though, there are some nice roads out that way with some nice scenery.

Tonight I jumped in the truck to move it up the driveway, and it was idling super high. Turns out my choke cable is/was sticking. This is probably why I've had some funky idle problems lately. Hoping this is something I can just lube myself and fix, rather than replacing it. Need to check the shop manual.

['63GENIII]

Originally Posted by Praxiss454

Close - this pic was on Novato blvd just south of Pt Reyes - Petaluma Rd. About a 10 minute drive from my house. Maybe this weekend I'll do a circle through Sonoma though, there are some nice roads out that way with some nice scenery.

Tonight I jumped in the truck to move it up the driveway, and it was idling super high. Turns out my choke cable is/was sticking. This is probably why I've had some funky idle problems lately. Hoping this is something I can just lube myself and fix, rather than replacing it. Need to check the shop manual.

Occasionally they will get kinked and cannot be straightened for love or money. I have heard of people using lawnmower throttle replacement cables that are fairly inexpensive. Haven't tried it myself though.

[TJ's Chevy]

The new mirrors will look great. I still need to fix the filler neck on my GMC an I have had it like that for over 2 years. haha

[Praxiss454]

Had her out for another hour today, running pretty well but the steering is still loose. Gotta get that figured out, hopefully I don't need a new steering box as that is not in the budget. I think the weird idle was due to a sticking choke cable so I'll just have to keep an eye on that.

Received the t-bolts to mount my Swing Lock mirrors. They're from a woodworker supply shop on amazon, linked below. They look like they will work, but the head is a bit large so I might need to grind it down in order for it to fit in the top lip of the door. I ended up going with two 5-packs of the 1" long 1/4"-20 t-bolts.

[Praxiss454]

I'm going to attempt mounting these mirrors this weekend. Any tips or tricks for drilling holes in the door? I'm also considering putting in some kind of backing plate inside the door for the lower mount bolts just to help spread out the force even more. I guess I could just stick a huge washer on it instead. The problem of course is that the door is curved so I'm not sure how to manage that.

The original mounting instructions call for these t-bolts for the top mounts and sheet metal screws for the bottom but I feel like a nut and bolt would be a better choice.

[jtrichard]

These are are about the best for the bottom in my book http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-...Q&gclsrc=aw.ds

[TJ's Chevy]

Originally Posted by Praxiss454

I'm going to attempt mounting these mirrors this weekend. Any tips or tricks for drilling holes in the door? I'm also considering putting in some kind of backing plate inside the door for the lower mount bolts just to help spread out the force even more. I guess I could just stick a huge washer on it instead. The problem of course is that the door is curved so I'm not sure how to manage that.

The original mounting instructions call for these t-bolts for the top mounts and sheet metal screws for the bottom but I feel like a nut and bolt would be a better choice.

For what it is worth, my 66's JR west coast mirrors came with self-tappers. I drilled a small hole and screwed them in with a drill. If you have a gasket between the door and mirror support it will tighten up nicely. Never had an issue.

['63GENIII]

Originally Posted by Praxiss454

I'm going to attempt mounting these mirrors this weekend. Any tips or tricks for drilling holes in the door? I'm also considering putting in some kind of backing plate inside the door for the lower mount bolts just to help spread out the force even more. I guess I could just stick a huge washer on it instead. The problem of course is that the door is curved so I'm not sure how to manage that.

The original mounting instructions call for these t-bolts for the top mounts and sheet metal screws for the bottom but I feel like a nut and bolt would be a better choice.

I'm not sure if the bottom of the WC mirrors mount close to where the single stem mirrors mount. If they do, there is a pre drilled backing plate inside of the door. If it were me, I'd get a piece of sheet metal, beat a slight concave into it and predrill the holes to match your mirror bottom mounts. 1 large washer that captures all of the mounting screws.
Those are gonna look cool when you're done with em!

[66Submarine]

You can get generic steel lines with the ends already flared for a few $ each at the parts store to replace the fuel line. A cheap tubing bender is around $10.

Yes, you are missing an adapter for the wiper blades. In post #151 you can see that there is a hook style adapter that goes over the piece already on the wiper blade and adapts it to the blade/bayonet style. IME you also need another adapter for it to work, since IIRC the wiper arms are 5mm wide and the adapter slot is 7mm wide.

FWIW, the sheet metal screw mounting for the lower mirror bracket seems to work fine. I wouldn't worry about it. And getting to that nut or bolt head isn't very fun; I had some where I used a nut and bolt...my 7/16" wrench is still in the door...

[Praxiss454]

Originally Posted by 66Submarine

You can get generic steel lines with the ends already flared for a few $ each at the parts store to replace the fuel line. A cheap tubing bender is around $10.

Yes, you are missing an adapter for the wiper blades. In post #151 you can see that there is a hook style adapter that goes over the piece already on the wiper blade and adapts it to the blade/bayonet style. IME you also need another adapter for it to work, since IIRC the wiper arms are 5mm wide and the adapter slot is 7mm wide.

FWIW, the sheet metal screw mounting for the lower mirror bracket seems to work fine. I wouldn't worry about it. And getting to that nut or bolt head isn't very fun; I had some where I used a nut and bolt...my 7/16" wrench is still in the door...

Thanks for the info. Regarding the sheet metal screws, I want a consistent fastener look on top and bottom mounts. I was able to reach in the door pretty far so I think that will work. I might take the advice above and get a piece of sheet metal to use as a backing plate.

[Praxiss454]

Put the mirrors on today and went for a ride. Gotta get em adjusted a bit but it's nice to have mirrors on both sides of the truck, and they look good too.

Tomorrow I'm going to take another stab at cutting bed wood.