Project Two - '74 Sierra Grande

[natedogg]

I like the plug wire holders. Where can I get a set for my truck? Thanks.

[dragonball98312]

Any pictures of the dashpad/interior pieces before or during the painting process? Most of the interior pieces ive acquired are saddle and am curious if theyll turn out as blue as yours. Truck looks amazing as is, I hope you never paint it

[mikentosh]

Originally Posted by dragonball98312

Any pictures of the dashpad/interior pieces before or during the painting process? Most of the interior pieces ive acquired are saddle and am curious if theyll turn out as blue as yours. Truck looks amazing as is, I hope you never paint it

I have a couple of photos of the dashpad during painting. It started as a saddle colored dash pad, then was black when I took it out of the other truck. I cleaned it with SEM Soap and a green scotch bright which pulled off some of the black paint/dye (not sure which it was). TBH, I don't feel this paint will hold up over time and if I come across a slate blue dashpad then I will switch to that.

[mikentosh]

Originally Posted by dragonball98312

Truck looks amazing as is, I hope you never paint it

Unfortunately, I do plan to paint it in the original colors. I like the theory of owning a patina truck, but can't stand it when its actually in my driveway. It will be especially tough once you see it after phase 2

[sambrutay]

I'm in. gotta watch this go down.

[jones9j]

Thanks for the heads up, bout jegs have the 10" rally with 5" backspace in stock. I've been looking for some for awhile, and the price they have them for is pretty good compared to other places. I ordered them last night and I'm gonna have them tomorrow.

[mikentosh]

So things have taken a different direction:

About 6 weeks ago I decided that we really needed to attend Dino's Get Down/Goodguys Scottsdale (this past weekend), and the GMC seemed like the perfect ride for this. But you know I couldn't just leave it as-is...time for phase 2

First we took the Roadster Shop chassis I have for Cannonball C10 and got everything powder coated...





Time for assembly...



Decided to go with a side saddle tank for now. Will probably switch to a rear mount tank over the winter.



Penske coilovers

[68Timber]

So Cannonball will have patina now? Or is this temporary?

[mikentosh]

Once the chassis was ready I took a final drive in the phase 1 version and brought it to the shop for the transformation.



Pulled the cab and front doghouse off as one unit...

[mikentosh]

Originally Posted by BRUISER

So Cannonball will have patina now? Or is this temporary?

Its all become a mix between the two trucks and ideas. For me, patina is cool to look at on somebody else's rig but not something I can own. Paint will be involved eventually

[mikentosh]

Transformation...











Had to put in a high hump tunnel to clear the TR6060

[68Timber]

A beat down looking C10 flogging Nurburgring - love it.

[mikentosh]

Managed to get the factory 73-80 front spoiler underneath



Only 2 inches of ground clearance under it. This makes for slow driveway entrances/exits haha.

[mikentosh]

We are using the GMC bed with a temporary bridge cover and the wheeltubs from Cannonball. Will probably switch over to the whole bed from Cannonball when we get to painting this thing.

[mikentosh]

More shots of the buildup

[mikentosh]

Finally got to lower it down and see the stance...

[mikentosh]

So here's the final specs for phase 2:

1974 GMC Sierra Grande
Roadster Shop FastTrack chassis
C6 Corvette-based front suspension with Penske coil-overs
4-bar rear suspension with Strange Engineering 9" rear end, Penske coil-overs
Wilwood 6-piston Superlite calipers with 14" rotors up front
Wilwood 4-piston Superlite calipers with 13" rotors in back
Forgeline RB3C wheels 19"x12" with Michelin Pilot Super Sport 345/30R19 rubber on all corners
LS3 motor
Hooker MuscleRods LS swap headers, 3" exhaust, Borla XR-1 round mufflers
Tremec TR6060 6-speed transmission with 1LE gearing, 4.10 rear-end gearing
Griffin DirectFit LS swap radiator
M&H Classic Auto dash wiring harness
Speartech LS engine harness
Factory '87 baffled side-saddle fuel tank running GM EP381 in-tank fuel pump and Corvette FPR/Filter

[Low Elco]

Saw it rollin' into the Git down on IG. Awesome sauce. so, now what's the plan? Drive and enjoy while you finish the other body?

[erichevy]

All I can say is wow! The 73 and 74 GMCs are at the top of my all time favorite list, especially the blue and white ones. I'm hoping this one will receive a factory style paint job. Can't wait to see it completed. Sure looks mean set up like that.

[mikentosh]

Originally Posted by erichevy

All I can say is wow! The 73 and 74 GMCs are at the top of my all time favorite list, especially the blue and white ones. I'm hoping this one will receive a factory style paint job. Can't wait to see it completed. Sure looks mean set up like that.

Yup, plans are for an exact factory paint job in Hawaiian blue/white, just like this truck originally came with. I've already got the interior mostly done...need to post up some pictures of that soon.

[mikentosh]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Saw it rollin' into the Git down on IG. Awesome sauce. so, now what's the plan? Drive and enjoy while you finish the other body?

This one is the keeper! I'm going to enjoy it for at least the next month, then when there is a bit of downtime at the shop we are going to tear it back down for paint (phase 3). At that point I'm going to switch over to the rear fuel tank and side mount battery tray.

Probably obvious to everybody, but something I've recently realized, is that these projects are much more enjoyable when you can make progress and enjoy in smaller increments. The 2+ year build of Cannonball has certainly taken its toll on my patience 😊

[77K10Silverado]

Dayyyyyumm!

[tinydb84]

I saw the pics on your instagram and was so confused. Super cool. I am amazed at how fast you guys can get this stuff done.

[Fatherof3]

Didn't see that coming! Love both your trucks

[91short]

The truck looks great, but what I really want to know is how does it drive and handle?