The old spruce moose build

[lkfldredneck]

Finally bought the truck of my dreams. 1985 GMC K15.
The good:
-Newish crate TBI 350
-Carb swapped (Unsure of brand) with new Edelbrock intake (Unsure what model)
-Spare quadra jet carb
-Frame is half rust free
-Body is half decent

The Bad:
-Needs cab corners
-Needs rockers finished
-Needs a box side
-Needs a sending unit to run.
-Needs other miscellaneous stuff

I will update as much as possible. Which with -40 the last few days it wont be happenin soon

And a few pictures

[lkfldredneck]

Little bit of an update to anyone who cares..

Still too cold to do anything and with everyone closed on Family Day (Canadian Thing) cant really do much.

But i got a to do list. Which keeps getting added on. over. and over.

2 full days with the truck, im raring to get workin on it but damn it Canada warm up!!

Found a few more problems that were covered by rust..
-Frame has a hole in the rear towards bumper. Not too hard, (Famous Last Words) just cut out a patch to fit in and weld.
-Box has seen better days.. Crossmembers are almost all rusted off. Floor is patchy. Hopefully the local pick n pull has a good box. i think theres one with a dented box side.
-Wiring for the current fuel pump is a hobbled mess. But since i dont need the electric fuel pump, its all getting ripped out.
-Exhaust is barely holding on, Y pipe is right screwed. Can sell the glasspack thats on it though. New duals system definitely needed with the long tubes that came with it.

And thats all for today unless it warms up like its supposed to.

[lkfldredneck]

Got bored of sitting inside. Grabbed those longtube headers that came with the truck and started looking at them



After looking for a second, turns out the flange was split. And now its fixed.



Sanded and shot a quick coat of high temp flat black



Waiting to dry for another coat. currently the only thing ive accomplished

During painting, i seen a little engraved name. Turns out they're Hedman's!

[lkfldredneck]

Second coat of the headers done. just gotta wait for them to dry!



I hate winter..

[lkfldredneck]

Well got off work early and got to pullin the tank out to customize the electronic pump that was in there. Surprisingly went well minus the cold and heavy winds but i fought through it.

Pulled the plastic cover off and shazam a new tank. Score!! Tank out w/o sending unit installed



What was surprisingly an easy job to take off, the fuel pump..



After $5 at napa, the final product!



For saving $100 i think i did a good job. Almost as if i knew what i was doin.. Nah..

Installed and ready to go back in hopefully tomorrow

[Jrgunn5150]

Looking good so far! I know what you mean, I have a garage, but it's so tiny, it's effectively a workshop.

[DannyO]

Keep up the good work. Sucks that you have so much rust and have to deal with the cold. Really makes me appreciate Texas. Looks like your starting off right though.

[lkfldredneck]

Thanks guys, yea canada sucks for the weather. +10*C in December and -40*C and up to +8*C in February. why we have Bipolar weather is beyond me. Haha

Oooooooh goody! Boxes of fun stuff!
Not really.

Oil pan, gasket, drag link and wire wheel for rust.



Hoping the supposed rain holds off for tomorrow, enough to get the oil pan and drag link on and get it running. Then sunday pickin up some new tires. Or vice versa

[lkfldredneck]

Well an update. Got the oil pan off in the middle of a mud puddle thanks to our bipolar weather system. Currently +10 and really wet out. But im half way through the job. Update will come later

[lkfldredneck]

And the one man oil pan swap is complete. Time for a coffee run and more cigarettes

[lkfldredneck]

Pictures from today.

The new oil pan, in all of its shiny glory



And the reason that caused me this headache



Gladly not from a blown con. rod, etc

The oil pan installed, with new filter and 10w30 Valvoline to make her run like new.



And a little beauty shot to end the day

[Matt Man]

Looks like a decent truck to start with. Those Canadian winters sure take their toll on vehicles. I'm looking forward to more progress!

[lkfldredneck]

Originally Posted by Matt Man

Looks like a decent truck to start with. Those Canadian winters sure take their toll on vehicles. I'm looking forward to more progress!

Yea its not too bad of a starter truck, just things here and there. I wish it was like out west here in onterrible, no salt on the roads out there.

[LT7A]

Originally Posted by lkfldredneck

Finally bought the truck of my dreams. 1985 GMC K15.

-Frame is half rust free
-Body is half decent

-Needs cab corners
-Needs rockers finished
-Needs a box side
-Needs a sending unit to run.
-Needs other miscellaneous stuff

Great truck. Cool how it is your dream truck even with the work it needs. I look forward to see how it improves now that it has you taking care of it.

What a cool hobby where an object with flaws is still something that fulfills a dream. What other hobby would state all the flaws and still generate that much happiness? Good luck with it and have fun.

[rusty76]

Cool truck. I think I'll follow along

[lkfldredneck]

Originally Posted by LT7A

Great truck. Cool how it is your dream truck even with the work it needs. I look forward to see how it improves now that it has you taking care of it.

What a cool hobby where an object with flaws is still something that fulfills a dream. What other hobby would state all the flaws and still generate that much happiness? Good luck with it and have fun.

Thanks man, that was probably the best thing ive heard explaining the hapiness and joy people get out of working on something. That will come in handy when some idiot says "Why the hell do you waste money on a Piece of crap."

[lkfldredneck]

Well i started on the drag link today, got the outer off and the inner decided to show me that it wants to be replaced too.

Ok, off to Canadian Tire i go. Nope, cant even order them. Guess im heading north for some rims and tires now. Gotta wait till Monday to pick up a new inner and adjuster sleeve.

[lkfldredneck]

Well, no tires. Stopped at a Hortons half way back currently. The rims and tires he had for an 80s style he sold, thought the rims he had for a 96 would work. Nope.

But i did get a new goodie.
Well..
Half new..

A front driveshaft. Picked it up for $100. Considerably cheaper than a new one.

Going to go home for some dinner now.

[lkfldredneck]

The old moose is on hold for a couple days.. Ordered a new inner and adjuster sleeve today though, it was in at 3 PM but being 2.5 hours away for work today and a pain in the butt of a job, we werent back until 6PM.

But anyways, my other money pit is needing attention. Quit on the way to work this morning.. damn fords. PCM wasnt getting power, think i fixed it but now have a hole in the fuel bowl so i gotta fix that tomorrow after work. thankfully my co worker towed me to our shop so i have a nice shop to work in.. kinda.. my work truck is in there so id need to pull it and its 40 ft of glory out of the shop and figure a way to push my big pig in there.

Anyways, i hope i get it fixed tomorrow so i can get back to the moose. will update when i get some work donw

[lkfldredneck]

Well i got the ford running after work today. turns out the electrical in your fuel bowl can short out. gladly its diesel and not gas haha

So back to the old moose. got the inner and adjuster sleeve today. Supposed to get a dump of snow tomorrow so it might get put off, if it happens to stop me.

But found another problem as i was under it the other day. Needs a floor pan for the driver side. great. somebody used heating duct tin to patch the hole previously and just kept letting it rot away. damn. More stuff to the list.. (As i quietly bang my head off the wall)

Will be pulling the vinyl carpet stuff and seat out sometime soon.

[lkfldredneck]

Inner, adjuster sleeve, and outer drag link done! Atleast i got something done on my surprise day off.

The old. It was so bad youd think it was a 2nd Gen Dodge haha



Its not a day in the yard until you break out the Detroit Speed Wrench!



And the new one installed. Nice and tight steering now.

[lkfldredneck]

Update on the floor:

Got the vinyl ripped out and the insulation. Driver side isnt as bad as i thought. passenger side is a little rotted around the rocker panel. will be doing a whole panel on the driver side but the passenger side ill just use some structural steel and remove the rust. Will be progressing as the weather gets better

[lkfldredneck]

Got parts priced out today. Cab corners, floor, header reducers, mufflers, etc..

Also got the distributor ignition wiring solved. Pink from IGN fuse in block runs down somewhere along the frame (Not a clue why) spliced and hooked to Distributor cap.

Heading to the pick n pull tomorrow, see if i can find any goodies. Got a whole list to scavenger for.

Will update tomorrow with what i find. Hopefully some good stuff

[lkfldredneck]

Gotta keep telling myself i love this truck.

Whichever previous owner put the intake on, used bolts not studs for the carb. They tightened it down too much and split the intake. More and more headaches!!

[LT7A]

Originally Posted by lkfldredneck

Thanks man, that was probably the best thing ive heard explaining the hapiness and joy people get out of working on something. That will come in handy when some idiot says "Why the hell do you waste money on a Piece of crap."

Yeah, I'm quickly learning to see when people don't get it and I steer the conversation elsewhere. These trucks are cool no matter what shape theyre in, but some people cant see that.

You are peeling away the layers of mistakes and neglect. Rewarding when it gets handled but frustrating when you see mistakes made like the split intake.