What have you done to your square lately??

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1STLS1

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West Phoenix AZ
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MIchael
Truck Year
1985
Truck Model
K10
Engine Size
350
Dropped a tank and installed a new sending unit and diverter valve, replaced positive and negative battery cables, installed a new battery, changed the oil, got it running, found the water pump pouring, that is the next project.

Bought a set of old American Racing Vectors off Ebay only to have them show up with 2 of them being junk due to the lug nuts coming loose and wallowing out the lug holes. They were also painted a shade of aluminum, I was expecting them to be just old as they appeared in the pictures.

Located a place in Los Angeles who will weld them up and install steel inserts to use conical lug nuts instead of the shanked. Also agreed to have him restore the wheels by stripping then repainting the wheel, re-machining the machined areas and clear powder coating them. I am not happy with what I will have tied up in them but also know I have not seen a set for sale in some time, they will make the truck. Was thinking 33/12.50's and a 2-3" lift.

There are no new wheels I find attractive on these trucks
 

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Grit dog

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Todd
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1986
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K20
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454
Morning session: Installed the dash pad and of course it wouldn't fit. Had to trim quite a bit off with the razor knife. after that it went in fine. Finished running the speaker wires up to the radio location. Installed the floor mat and trim. Installed the shifter boot and TC shifter base. Boot should be here today. Installed the battery mat, clamp assembly, and will install the wiring and military terminals soon. Does anyone know where to buy new seat belt protectors like the cracked one's in the pictures?


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Floor mat laid down real nice! Nice work!
What did you have to trim on the dash pad?
 

Redfish

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Andrew
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1987
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V1500
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350/5.7
Dropped a tank and installed a new sending unit and diverter valve, replaced positive and negative battery cables, installed a new battery, changed the oil, got it running, found the water pump pouring, that is the next project.

Bought a set of old American Racing Vectors off Ebay only to have them show up with 2 of them being junk due to the lug nuts coming loose and wallowing out the lug holes. They were also painted a shade of aluminum, I was expecting them to be just old as they appeared in the pictures.

Located a place in Los Angeles who will weld them up and install steel inserts to use conical lug nuts instead of the shanked. Also agreed to have him restore the wheels by stripping then repainting the wheel, re-machining the machined areas and clear powder coating them. I am not happy with what I will have tied up in them but also know I have not seen a set for sale in some time, they will make the truck. Was thinking 33/12.50's and a 2-3" lift.

There are no new wheels I find attractive on these trucks
I completely agree with you here. None of the current/modern designs look right on these trucks. You have to find something that either is old or looks old. Some of the aluminum "Slots" can still be had and they look pretty good.

I was surprised at how many folks reacted to my OE Rally wheels. I had considered some aftermarket wheels but quickly realized that was not an option.

My truck is sitting on a roughly 2 inch lift with 33x12.50-15s if this pic helps you at all.

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CRM

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Casey
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1985
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K2500
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350 CI
Floor mat laid down real nice! Nice work!
What did you have to trim on the dash pad?
I had to trim the entire front edge and the passenger side to get it to slide all the way in. I had to trim out both defrost heater grill openings to get the grill to sit down all the way.
The floor mat took quite a while because it came with no shifter holes, and my old one came out in multiple pieces so I couldn't trace it.
 

1STLS1

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K10
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I completely agree with you here. None of the current/modern designs look right on these trucks. You have to find something that either is old or looks old. Some of the aluminum "Slots" can still be had and they look pretty good.

I was surprised at how many folks reacted to my OE Rally wheels. I had considered some aftermarket wheels but quickly realized that was not an option.

My truck is sitting on a roughly 2 inch lift with 33x12.50-15s if this pic helps you at all.

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Sweet! I think your other pics posted helped with my decision :cheers:

It was my original intention to get a set of factory rallies but local sets for sale are as much as new aftermarket wheels by the time you freshen them up. My original thought was the Vectors were going to be a cost effective solution, once they showed up, I realized it wasn't going to be that easy.I looked at all my options, thought about it and just said #%&@ it, I like them and it will make the truck.

My old '87, stock height on 31's
 

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1STLS1

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@1STLS1

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Nice! Bet you wish you still had this one.
Yes and no.

Yes because it did nothing but appreciate after I sold it, the next guy made bank on it. Another point, everybody loved it, I was always getting thumbs ups or people talking to me at stop lights about it.

No because it was done to such a high level it was useless. Anytime I took it out it ended up with a door ding, paint chip or ding in the bed. It defeated the whole purpose of having a truck around. This was the most absolutely frustrating part of the whole thing.
 

1STLS1

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West Phoenix AZ
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MIchael
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1985
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K10
Engine Size
350
Yes and no.

Yes because it did nothing but appreciate after I sold it, the next guy made bank on it. Another point, everybody loved it, I was always getting thumbs ups or people talking to me at stop lights about it.

No because it was done to such a high level it was useless. Anytime I took it out it ended up with a door ding, paint chip or ding in the bed. It defeated the whole purpose of having a truck around. This was the most absolutely frustrating part of the whole thing and why I sold it.
 

hoagster

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1973, 2000
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K10, 1500
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5.3l
Morning session: Installed the dash pad and of course it wouldn't fit. Had to trim quite a bit off with the razor knife. after that it went in fine. Finished running the speaker wires up to the radio location. Installed the floor mat and trim. Installed the shifter boot and TC shifter base. Boot should be here today. Installed the battery mat, clamp assembly, and will install the wiring and military terminals soon. Does anyone know where to buy new seat belt protectors like the cracked one's in the pictures?


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I like those speaker housings where did you score those?
 

hoagster

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5.3l
Dropped a tank and installed a new sending unit and diverter valve, replaced positive and negative battery cables, installed a new battery, changed the oil, got it running, found the water pump pouring, that is the next project.

Bought a set of old American Racing Vectors off Ebay only to have them show up with 2 of them being junk due to the lug nuts coming loose and wallowing out the lug holes. They were also painted a shade of aluminum, I was expecting them to be just old as they appeared in the pictures.

Located a place in Los Angeles who will weld them up and install steel inserts to use conical lug nuts instead of the shanked. Also agreed to have him restore the wheels by stripping then repainting the wheel, re-machining the machined areas and clear powder coating them. I am not happy with what I will have tied up in them but also know I have not seen a set for sale in some time, they will make the truck. Was thinking 33/12.50's and a 2-3" lift.

There are no new wheels I find attractive on these trucks
Good job getting her running!!
 

1STLS1

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West Phoenix AZ
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MIchael
Truck Year
1985
Truck Model
K10
Engine Size
350
Good job getting her running!!
Thanks!!
How are you?
How is your friend?

It actually really surprised me, the tank and sending unit were mint inside, the hose from the pump to the sending unit disintegrated. If I wasn't afraid of doing the job twice, I would have reused the original sending unit and pump. They are always all rusted up from alcohol in the fuel. After installing the parts, it cranked over 3 times, busted off, got up to operating temp and the water pump was dripping then turned into stream. Drove it around the storage place, hit 3 of 4 gears due to low speed, brakes are weak. Motor sounds actually good, didn't see any smoke in the 30 minutes it was running, I suspect there is a cam in it, it's snappy, much more so than any of the other TBIs I had.

I sold the tan one so I have funds for this one now. Once I get it sorted, it's going back on the road.
 

waterpirate

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delaware
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Eric
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1987
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v10
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5.7 tbi
Finally got around to pulling the rear drums to fix a dragging shoe issue due to a stuck E-brake issue. I had forgotten how much fun that can be. Oh well it is done now and the list of final items is growing smaller.
Eric
 
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Redfish

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1987
Truck Model
V1500
Engine Size
350/5.7
Yes and no.

Yes because it did nothing but appreciate after I sold it, the next guy made bank on it. Another point, everybody loved it, I was always getting thumbs ups or people talking to me at stop lights about it.

No because it was done to such a high level it was useless. Anytime I took it out it ended up with a door ding, paint chip or ding in the bed. It defeated the whole purpose of having a truck around. This was the most absolutely frustrating part of the whole thing.
Funny that you bring up this topic, it comes up a lot here with my '87. A couple of my friends get very upset about me using my Old Truck as a Truck. When I was shopping for a Classic Vehicle Mrs. Redfish requested that we get a truck. She wanted it to be nice enough for car shows, nice enough for Cruisin the Coast but not too nice to use. She wanted to be able to drive it anytime we wanted and anywhere we wanted.

I am still working on getting the Old Truck nicer and better but it won't be a complete body off restoration. It's always going to be A Truck. Although it will get prettier and better over time.

This was taken 20 minutes ago. This is, In My Opinion the only time a 4wd should sit down in the rear, when it is carrying a lot of weight.

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