What have you done to your square lately??

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Raider L

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Shreveport, LA
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William
Truck Year
1974
Truck Model
C10
Engine Size
355
Ken B,

That's a good brace in the cab to lift by. When I did my frame off resto I went from underneath with 4x4's and 2x4's and floor jacks until it was high enough to roll the chassis out from under the cab. Except I did it by myself! I was scared to death the whole time knowing the whole thing was going to roll off onto the ground or fall into the frame cocked sideways or worse. It was like trying to hold up a building with tooth picks.


The Suburban didn't slide backwards when it tilted back? My luck it would have fallen off the damn thing and would have been laying on it's side!
 

Curt

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Loco Hills
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Curt
Truck Year
1984
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K-30
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383
There
You are lucky. Rust blows!

There’s these potash mines(fertilizer) around the area,it’s a major source of employment for the local economy.Most of my family has worked at one.Anyway,because of the salt content,just traveling back in forth to work will rust your vehicle completely out.My grandpa’s 77’ Chevy had giant holes in the bed,inner fenders completely rusted out.I asked once why he didn’t get a new bed,he said he liked it so the water would drain out....he didn’t give f$ck
 

just_some_guy

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Georgia
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Barclay
Truck Year
1985
Truck Model
K5 Blazer Siverado
Engine Size
5.7L
I bought my 1985 K5 almost a month ago. It had been parked for a while when I bought it, so it has quite a few "issues". I don't know if a month counts as "lately", but so far I have:

Installed new windshield. Old one had a large crack in it. Got an exact replacement for it - the shaded top with the built-in antenna. Also got a new rear view mirror since the old one was loose and flopping around and a new pair of Bosch windshield wipers. Also got new chrome window gaskets for the windshield and two back side windows.

Installed a 14X3" K&N air filter and got one of those chrome Edelbrock filter housings. Installed new fuel filter. Changed the oil. Changed the transmission fluid and replaced filter and pan gasket. Installed MSD cap, rotor, and wires along with some new Autolite sparkplugs. Installed rebuilt Delco-Remy alternator and new belt. Was still losing power. Needed to ground the motor (duh) so I did that. Replaced all fuses and 552 blinker plug. Installed two Sylvania halogen top headlights. Flushed the radiator and added some coolant. Installed AC Delco battery and battery tie down.

Got a new set of Cooper Discoverer AT3 XLT size 32X11.50R15LT which I believe is the biggest size I could go on a stock lift without rubbing. Also had them mounted, balanced, and got a front end alignment.

Replaced the Suburban steering wheel that was on it when I got it with the correct Blazer steering wheel. Installed an OEM hood ornament. Repaired some chrome interior trim on the door pull. Wired up and installed the proper dome light (it was missing) and replaced bulbs in front and rear. Bought some cheap seat covers and floor mats to get me by until I find something else. Put all 5 exterior emblems back on that were missing - 2X "K5 Blazer", "2X Silverado", 1X "Chevrolet" on the tailgate. Ordered some NOS GM key blanks and had them cut at Lowe's for free. Bought and installed a set of the 2.5" chrome wheel bands for $30 from a local pawn shop. Went to the tag office and got a "Historical Tag" to match the year of my vehicle.

Factory radio was missing (of course) so I bought a cheap Pioneer Bluetooth + AM/FM head unit and installation kit at Walmart and then picked up two 3.5" speakers for the front, two 4"X10" speakers for the back, and an Alpine amp at the same local pawn shop. Haven't installed all this yet but I'm shooting for this weekend.

Swapped out my winch bumper (with boot $$$) to a local guy for his 1989 Suburban bumper with the big chrome bumper guards and wide rubber impact strips with the chrome strip on top. Did the half-inch PXE pipe fix for the door strikers.

Broke a piece out of the grille while working on the bumper so I ordered a new grille and the two headlight bezels from LMC. Parts should be here tomorrow.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some stuff. I currently have a 4 page "To Do List" and it keeps getting longer instead of shorter.
 

Bextreme04

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Oregon
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Eric
Truck Year
1980
Truck Model
K25
Engine Size
350-4bbl
Engineers that have no technical experience are the real problem.

I'd say "Engineers that have no practical experience are the real problem."

They get lots of technical experience in school and internships. Very little practical experience though. I can't tell you how many great ideas for senior design projects I saw end up completely FUBAR because design decisions were made that were technically feasible, but almost impossible to implement in real life.

The only engine I'm running with 20w50 is my yellow trucks, and that is only because its catastrophically worn out. I have a newly rebuilt 292 that I'm going to drop in this spring. I just want to see if it will start, if not, I'm going to hook it up to the block heater.

Yeah, but it's not doing you any good at those temps. It might as well be a solid at that temp. Even air cooled engine that are originally spec'd for that weight oil call for a lighter grade in sub-zero temps. You're going to blow that engine up(if you don't kill your starter or battery first) trying to run it at those temps with that heavy of an oil.
 

Bextreme04

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Eric
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1980
Truck Model
K25
Engine Size
350-4bbl
Added 1 more qt of atf then took it for about a 30 minute ride to make sure that the Trans was good and hot. Stopped by HEB for some beer for the game later.

Then got bit of a scare for a minute. Went to crank it and one click then nothing. Popped the hood checked battery cable connection (good) the light to the alt was on with key on. Thought, do I need a jump? This was all of a sudden though.

Don't have any tools in it(that's gonna change)but, I found some metal bracket in center console. So I took it and hit the starter a couple good times with it. Got back in cranked right up. Whew, got it home and checked the Trans fluid level and it's perfect now.

That's a total of 8qts total with deep pan and filter change now. Just didn't think it'd take that much. Anyways I heard if you over filled it then the atf becomes foamy. No signs of that.

I had that problem with my original starter as well, it would do that and if I cycled the ignition off and tried again it would turn over. It got worse and worse until eventually it wouldn't crank at all and then I finally bought a rebuild kit from NAPA. It was new bushings and brushes and really made a big difference on cranking speed, but didn't fix the click and no start problem I was having before. So, I pulled the starter again and looked at the solenoid. If you take the solenoid apart(it's super easy), you'll probably find that the brass button that makes contact with the solenoid engagement solenoid is worn down. It only makes contact with one side and isn't directional, so you can just pop it out and turn it around so the unworn side is now making contact.

It is the main battery terminal stud. Item B in the solenoid connections diagram here: http://rmcavoy.freeshell.org/starters.html
 

Grit dog

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Washington
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Todd
Truck Year
1986
Truck Model
K20
Engine Size
454
Got into the rear brakes. Passenger side is done, new wheel cylinder, shoes and hardware. Got the new flex line in also, and if it’s nice when I get off work tomorrow going to start on the drivers side. Truck was sitting for years before I got it, the cylinders were all locked up.

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Nicely done! I got a nice surprise in “What I don’t have to do to my square for a long time”, yesterday.
I hadn’t had the rear wheels off the truck yet since purchasing it. Rear brakes work well and evidence of recent work with shiny retainer pins showing on the back side.
Pulled the wheels off to make sure everything was cool cause I’ll need to pull them all off soon to paint the chassis.

What I found was ALL NEW brakes. Literally everything except the backing plate and the spreader bar thingy is new!

cylinders, springs, pins, adjusters, pads and drums. All shiny new and the drums popped right off with just a couple love taps!
 

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