Author Topic: '82 GMC ... Yard truck no more!  (Read 23893 times)

Offline bluevan

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Re: '82 GMC ... Yard truck no more!
« Reply #15 on: October 28, 2017, 08:23:54 PM »
I should be ready to shoehorn that crossmember in soon, ill let you know how it goes.  Ill get everything painted up all nice before I bash it in.

Here is the frame ready to be painted.  The cleaner turns all the rust spots white.  The POR-15 says to put some cling wrap between the can and lid after using.  I ignored these directions and had to manhandle it to get the cover off.  It wasn't pretty but I ended up using the rest so I didn't need the can anymore.
- Joel
1982 GMC K10 (work in progress)
1989 Chevy G20 Van
1994 Chevy Impala SS
1974 Landcruiser (Chevy powered)

Offline bluevan

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Re: '82 GMC ... Yard truck no more!
« Reply #16 on: October 28, 2017, 08:44:59 PM »
Here is the nice shiny frame after I was done with crawling around it with a toxic paintbrush for several hours.  Its amazing how many surfaces there are.

Ill spend some time sanding out any bad runs or drips - the paint seems to flow a bit after it is applied.  It inevitably builds up in the holes, especially in the bottoms of the ones on the sides.  Ill scrape any buildup out with a knife.

Then it gets quickly scuffed and rolled out for a topcoat of semi-gloss black.
- Joel
1982 GMC K10 (work in progress)
1989 Chevy G20 Van
1994 Chevy Impala SS
1974 Landcruiser (Chevy powered)

Offline VileZambonie

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Re: '82 GMC ... Yard truck no more!
« Reply #17 on: October 29, 2017, 09:26:45 AM »
It's coming along, good progress
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74 GMC, 75 K5, 84 GMC, 85 K20, 86 k20, 79 K10

Offline bluevan

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Re: '82 GMC ... Yard truck no more!
« Reply #18 on: November 02, 2017, 09:06:06 PM »
Here is the frame after the bug bomb.  Starting get too cold around here to paint stuff outside - been scrambling to get as many pieces done as I can so I will be able to move forward during the winter months.  I still have a few things to do to the frame, so touchups will be inevitable.  A steering box brace is probably in order - the bolt-on one should probably suffice since I don't plan on wheeling it hard (which would be difficult anyway with a plow frame hanging under the bumper).  The holes for the old plow were made with a torch and are hideous.  That's on my list.  I may even attempt to put a Blazer tank in the back too.



It is nice not to get totally filthy every time I work on it.  I was getting sick of washing my face with paint thinner.
- Joel
1982 GMC K10 (work in progress)
1989 Chevy G20 Van
1994 Chevy Impala SS
1974 Landcruiser (Chevy powered)

Offline bluevan

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Re: '82 GMC ... Yard truck no more!
« Reply #19 on: November 02, 2017, 09:22:05 PM »
So these plastic spacers are found on the top and bottom sides of the leaf springs.  I am curious what purpose they serve.  Found a vendor that sells them for six bucks apiece.  Guess I need eight of 'em because I didn't put any in the back, but I really don't want to spend $50 on them.  Are they even needed?  If so, there must be some common material that could be substituted?  The U bolts in the back haven't been torqued so adding them wouldn't be too hard.
- Joel
1982 GMC K10 (work in progress)
1989 Chevy G20 Van
1994 Chevy Impala SS
1974 Landcruiser (Chevy powered)

Offline bluevan

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Re: '82 GMC ... Yard truck no more!
« Reply #20 on: November 02, 2017, 09:43:40 PM »
Next on the agenda is to freshen up this front axle - here it is with most of the crud grount off it.  Looks like the tie rod is a bit wavy, but doesn't seem worn out.  Bonus - the brake pads are like new!  I am going to add some kind of locker to this thing - any suggestions would be appreciated.    It would be nice to be able to do it in my garage.  Do you need to re-setup the gears on a dana 60 when you add a locker when you aren't changing the ratio?  Rather not bring this to a shop, the only place I want to move it again is to underneath the frame - its HEAVY.
- Joel
1982 GMC K10 (work in progress)
1989 Chevy G20 Van
1994 Chevy Impala SS
1974 Landcruiser (Chevy powered)

Offline bluevan

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Re: '82 GMC ... Yard truck no more!
« Reply #21 on: May 24, 2018, 08:52:44 PM »
It gets hard to paint stuff without heat in the garage, so the project took a bit of a hiatus.  Trying to keep inspired can be difficult.

Been working on putting the front end back together recently, but now I can finally roll it around without a jack!

- Joel
1982 GMC K10 (work in progress)
1989 Chevy G20 Van
1994 Chevy Impala SS
1974 Landcruiser (Chevy powered)

Offline bluevan

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Re: '82 GMC ... Yard truck no more!
« Reply #22 on: May 24, 2018, 09:04:10 PM »
Put in the rear cab crossmember as well.  I decided the best way to go about is was to cut it in half and weld back together.  There was no way it was going t angle it there no matter how big the hammer.  I cleaned up the surfaces on each half and temporarily bolted it in.  Made sure it all lined up and welded the seam.
- Joel
1982 GMC K10 (work in progress)
1989 Chevy G20 Van
1994 Chevy Impala SS
1974 Landcruiser (Chevy powered)

Offline bluevan

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Re: '82 GMC ... Yard truck no more!
« Reply #23 on: May 24, 2018, 10:11:31 PM »
I have thought long and hard about the gas tank situation and have decided to do a Blazer tank conversion.  It just makes sense since I can harvest just about everything I need from the one I have that is getting retired.  It will be painful to permanently disable the K5, but it is totally wrung out.  Here is a picture of it back in the glory days (about 16 years ago).  This is probably right before it was deemed no longer "safe" by the NH state inspection gods due to rusted body mounts.
- Joel
1982 GMC K10 (work in progress)
1989 Chevy G20 Van
1994 Chevy Impala SS
1974 Landcruiser (Chevy powered)

Offline bluevan

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Re: '82 GMC ... Yard truck no more!
« Reply #24 on: May 27, 2018, 08:44:55 PM »
Here is the front put together and the rear cab crossmember finished.  I got sick of painting everything black so I got a can of "gloss cherry".
- Joel
1982 GMC K10 (work in progress)
1989 Chevy G20 Van
1994 Chevy Impala SS
1974 Landcruiser (Chevy powered)

Offline bluevan

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Re: '82 GMC ... Yard truck no more!
« Reply #25 on: May 27, 2018, 08:55:38 PM »
I officially disabled the Blazer today.  Made sure my tetanus shot was current and started hacking away at the back.  With the bed floor and rear tub crossmember cut out there will be plenty of space to work on the tank area.  I bet 20 pounds of rust fell on the ground while I chopped away.  I included a pic looking in the passenger door at the enormous rust hole behind the seat.  This is how my dog would get in the Blazer to search for critters during the summer while it sat in the weeds.
- Joel
1982 GMC K10 (work in progress)
1989 Chevy G20 Van
1994 Chevy Impala SS
1974 Landcruiser (Chevy powered)

Offline bluevan

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Re: '82 GMC ... Yard truck no more!
« Reply #26 on: May 29, 2018, 09:06:56 PM »
The skid plate, tank, and crossmembers were removed from the Blazer without too much hassle.  It really helped that the gas tank was nearly empty.  The skid plate was held on the tank crossmembers by 6 bolts.  I think there were 14 rivets that needed to be dealt with to get the two crossmembers out.  I used a grinder with a cutoff wheel to chop the heads off one side, then smoothed out with a grinding wheel.  I used an air chisel to punch out the rest of each rivet through the holes.
- Joel
1982 GMC K10 (work in progress)
1989 Chevy G20 Van
1994 Chevy Impala SS
1974 Landcruiser (Chevy powered)

Offline bluevan

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Re: '82 GMC ... Yard truck no more!
« Reply #27 on: May 29, 2018, 09:22:04 PM »
I don't think I mentioned it before, but the Blazer is a 1989 model.  The crossmembers on each side of the of the gas tank are actually identical and apparently interchangeable.
- Joel
1982 GMC K10 (work in progress)
1989 Chevy G20 Van
1994 Chevy Impala SS
1974 Landcruiser (Chevy powered)

Offline fitz

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Re: '82 GMC ... Yard truck no more!
« Reply #28 on: May 30, 2018, 04:19:51 PM »
Your making good progress.
Keep us updated.

Offline VileZambonie

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Re: '82 GMC ... Yard truck no more!
« Reply #29 on: May 31, 2018, 09:50:50 AM »
If I have to work on a rust bucket, I usually find a spot I can smack very hard with a sledge to make all of the loose stuff drop. Last truck I did this to I almost filled the trash can with rust. Your progress looks good!
,                           ___ 
                         /  _ _ _\_
              ⌠ŻŻŻŻŻ'   [☼===☼]
              `()_);-;()_)--o--)_)

74 GMC, 75 K5, 84 GMC, 85 K20, 86 k20, 79 K10