Old Blue 85 GMC 2wd to 4wd

[mrhurt73]

ok so this truck started off as my father in law's work truck, he was a painter and handyman after hours from his real job. He passed away in 99 and my wife got the truck. now this truck meant the world to her because it represented her dad, so i wasnt allowed to touch it.

as you can see it is a 85 GMC longbed 2wd and had 305 engine in it.

[mrhurt73]

ok now we will move on to the part why i get to touch the truck. so from 99 till 2011 the truck just pretty much sat around only being started rarely and driven even less. But then in 2011 i was involved in a head on collision that totalled my 4wd silverado. thank the lord he let me live that day and everybody wear your seat belt.

[mrhurt73]

ok so i am fast forwarding here pretty quick. after 5 months of surgerys and therapy so i could walk again. it was decided by my wife and i we needed another 4wd. mine wasnt going to buff out ha ha.

she finally decided she had held on long enough to the truck the way it was. i knew i could convert it to 4wd, just needed donor truck.

fast forward some more and donor truck was found. it was even an 85 GMC too, it is 4wd 3/4t 4 speed with new crate 350. but body was shot. road cancer had done its work.

[JAA]

Your're a lucky man for a lot of reasons. Enjoy your project. Sounds like it is going to be a good one. Keep us updated.

[mrhurt73]

ok now onto the truck disassembly, the truck was not so bad from sitting, was actually good condition for a va truck. they love road salt here.

dash was bad from sitting in sun, going to need to fix or replace, any ideas?

seat is in real good condition for its age.

engine compartment has signs of overheating and spraying rusty water everywhere.

[mrhurt73]

got the bed off, had to grind a few bolts, they almost never all come out.

bed in real good condition though, cab mostly good, just rust on bottom from sitting so long, pass side door bottom gone.

[mrhurt73]

now onto the 4wd donor truck disassembly.

the cab litterally came apart when i cut the top off, not much left of the floor. but i did save the hump out of the floor, that shows up later.

frame not bad, photos kind of bad with glare and all.

[mrhurt73]

ok decided to try our eastwoods rust converter and rust encapsulator

rust converter goes on easy with paint brush, just scrap off rust flakes and put it on. make sure it covers, should change color when done.

rust encapsulator is thick and smells real bad, but it does cover on a frame pretty good.

[mrhurt73]

next came converting the floor from 2wd auto truck to 4wd 4 speed truck.
like i said earlier i saved the hump out of the donor truck.

now on my 73 chevy this was a bolt in piece, 85 nope not so lucky. so after lots of cutting and trimming the edges, i spot welded the panel in place and went around the top and bottom lips with seam sealer.

it did hurt me to cut up a nice floor, but i knew it was for a good reason ha ha

[mrhurt73]

ok so have the cab hoisted up to roll 4wd frame under, also cleaned up trans tunnel welds while it was up in the air.

though about having truck this high all the time, wife was not feeling that so much

[mrhurt73]

now have a 2wd frame left over, anybody need a frame?

[mrhurt73]

next i took the core support out to make it easier to work on the rust that was in it.

then cab is off the dolly waiting to have the frame rolled in under it.

[mrhurt73]

ok frame is rolled under, now its just line it up and lower it back down

[mrhurt73]

now the cab is down sitting on new mounts from lmc truck.

and the steering column is back in, had to take it out to change pedals since now straight drive truck. anybody else had to take the brake pedal out of the assembly to get it back in the dash? automatic pedals came out fine with a little twisting and turning, but clutch pedal would not fit back in no matter which way i turned it, finally just removed brake pedal bolt and it went right in.

[spudz]

looks great!! I like it!!

[ol'blazer]

cool build! good luck.

[mrhurt73]

ok managed to get it driving under its own power and the bed on, now next week its off to the painter.

going back with factory color, wife said nothing else would do

[str8axle55]

Looks good, nice job with the conversion.

[spudz]

Good job!!!

[mrhurt73]

ok so the painter called and said he wanted the truck now so i loaded it up and hopefully in about three weeks it comes back looking like a new penny.

[mrhurt73]

yeah i get to pick the truck up on saturday, the painter called and he was done with it. he worked on it for 3 1/2 weeks. i think it looks good cant wait to start putting all the pieces back on.

[Big Tex]

Wow! Looks great Mrhurt. Great job on the conversion. It's amazing how easy these trucks come apart and go back together.

[mrhurt73]

ok so progress has not been going a fast as i wanted, been working lots and lots of overtime, but hey that pays for all this stuff ha ha.

anyway here is some updated shots of the reassembly after the painter. hope to post up some more this weekend, holiday weekend more truck time yea!

couple of notes, ordered wheel well moulding from LMC, front fit ok, gets a B rating, rear gets a C- rating, lots of holes not lining up.

ordered chrome windshield strip also, helpful hint, lay it out in sun to soften it up, makes it easier.

and ordered rear bumper license plate lights, they get a D rating, i can see water getting in them real easy. may have to use some clear silicone to do some after market sealing ha ha

[mrhurt73]

also ordered door weatherstrip that hooks to the door panel to hold the inside of the window.

these actually were really close to what came out, these get an A rating.

[mrhurt73]

ok pictures of the rear bumper licence plate lights from LMC.

leave a lot to be desired, plastic dome to protect bulb way to small.

could have used chrome outer half on my old parts, but mine were trashed.