SMason's 78 GMC K25 4x4 Build Thread

[Scott M]

I would cut the top bar flush where the hood bar comes down and keep the hood bar on it. Remove the other two bars. You need to put a flat bug shield on the hood with the words MOVE OVER NOW spelled backwards. THAT ought to put the fear of God into any prius' out there. 

Haha man yall all got good ideas!  Ill see what I can do    I might be able to work on it some more this weekend if i do ill let yall know how it comes out

[Scott M]

Anybody in the Texas Victoria, austin, SA, or houston area paint trucks? or paint at home? I want to plan and maybe set up getting this thing painted ive asked around town here but havnt come up with any good leads.  Trying to find somebody who would be willing to work with me without going to a paint shop haha or would it be best just to take it in. many of the places here i dont really trust

[Scott M]

Well i know it has been a long time since I provided any updates mainly cause I have not had the time and money to throw at it.  However for anybody interested I do have a couple of updates....

First I thought I had a timing issue with the truck and I had posted in another thread asking for help and it has since been long gone but anyways I finally have figured out a issue I have been having since I first started up the motor in the truck.  I thought I was experiencing kick back on the starter and thought it was a timing issue.  This weekend I learned that I did not have the ground set up right for the truck.  Mainly cause to be honest I did not know any better.  I had a negative wire from the battery to the frame and then piggy backed sort of from a spot 6 inches away on the frame with a ground to the alternator bracket for motor ground.  I have since redone the wires so I have a ground straight from the battery to the frame as I did before However I now have a ground straight from the battery to the motor to provide a more continuous loop and BOY did it make a heck of a difference. The starter turns over faster than it ever has before! truck fires right up everytime. Very happy about that I was starting to worry that the starter was big enough for the 10:1 compression but its all fine and a cheap solution!

Now on to my next immediate purchase......I have a chance to buy some practically brand new 20x12 Fuel Octane rims with the deep lip from a really good friend of mine. My ground hawgs are in really sad shape and i am fearful that it was not going to pass inspection this time and I have been really worried driving it around for my own safety.  So I plan on buying the rims and start looking for a descent set of tires for the 20s.  I am actually honestly thinking about going with a 37" tire and taking off the 2" body lift.  For drivability, safety and ease of getting in.  I will hold on to the BL cause its not hard to put on or take off incase the future changes but I am getting tired of ripping pants getting into the thing lol.  I think it will still have a really good stance and i wont be losing ground clearance since the ground hawgs run small anyways and measure around 36"

I know some might hate the idea of custom larger wheels and are old school but I personally think it would look really good and I guess in the end my thoughts and opinions are what matters. I like my BMF 20s on my ford and would love to pick up a set for the gmc....

thats all for now

[Scott M]

Sooo now I am going a totally different direction..... 180 degrees different....

I am going to look and plan on buying another set of ground hawgs and as long as they are not dry rotted past their life (which the guy says the cracks arent that bad at all) but they are 44/18.5/r16.5. I got him to measure the actual height unmounted and they measure right at 42"

So i have been reading more about fender trimming as well as "zero rate springs" the plate that bolts to the spring pack and gives an inch of lift in the front as well as moves the axle foward 1 to 1.5".  I have read that alot of people do this however it was the first I had heard about it.  So plan on getting the tires this weekend getting them mounted and then start marking and trimming the fenders.  I will have lots of pics after this weekend as long as the tire sale goes smooth.  Then I will order the zero rates after I get the fenders trimmed.  Mind you this truck is mostly a beach cruiser no rocks so I wont need full flex but I will need more than just street driving.  I am a little hesitant cause this seems to be a pretty big jump considering my current tires only measure to 36" but they do look rather small on the truck.  More to follow.... Its exciting times for the ole GMC

[winky]

love the truck, we have similar bumpers

[Scott M]

Man I love your truck the step side...the bumper...the cab lights... I do have a question....

your paint job, did you paint it or have it painted?

[winky]

i painted it myself. Thats a top of the line rustoleum paint job lol

[Scott M]

I like it, would you maybe be able to provide with more details? I love the color I want to go with a very similar color.

I am wondering do you have much time between now and when you painted it and can say it has lasted? About how much money do you figured you spent? Looks like you put a clear? This is out of a rattle can right?

Sorry I have so many dang questions the truth is I am really close to doing this myself and I think you did a dang good job at least from the photo.  I just havent felt like sanding lol.  But I am getting more motivated all the time cause mine looks like crap and you sir might just be able to help motivated and push me in the right direction.

Any other valuable info regarding painting it? I dont have many resources to get it done. I sure do appreciate it!

[winky]

well you will be a little disappointed  lol... i bought it in quart cans and i dont think they make the color i used, i had a hard time finding enough to paint my truck.
This is what i used but mine was hammered metal grey
https://www.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-239073-Hammered-Finish-1-Quart/dp/B000KESBIO/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1468632469&sr=1-1&keywords=rust+oleum+hammered+metal+quart

I spent somewhere around $75 including paint and thinner. i had to spray the truck with grey as a base coat to keep the different color panels from bleeding threw then i applied the hammered grey. its definitely not easy to spray unless you have a controlled environment... I just eye balled the thinner each time and also had moisture in the lines. That coupled with the thinner wanting to separate from the paint unless you constantly shook it cause me to have a some what hard time keeping the texture consistent. The hammered metal is a unique look and gives it a rough looking texture. The reason i chose the color i did is because i didnt like the plane colors... the hammered look breaks up the color and in my opinion helps it not look plain.

Here is the grey sprayed



Rear fender, as you can see the texture is tighter than it is on the cab ( next pic)



side of cab



3 years later... i should have waxed it but ive done nothing to is and its sat in the sun all its life. im sure it will shine back up some if i do wax it



no clear coat was used just sprayed with my primer gun. I do body work for a living so if you have any questions holler at me, ill be more then glad to walk you threw the entire process


 here is my build thread.
http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=22934.0

[Scott M]

Thanks man I really appreciate and I love that look. To be honest I think that is exactly what I want to do now.  I have a cousin with a shop (private not in business or anything) and they have done some minor painting in there ima see if they would want to help me out.  I mentioned it to them this past weekend actually.  I appreciate all the input in your post.  I love the price tag as well.  Can you put a clear coat on that hammered type paint? and If so do you think it would have held up better.  I am a total newb to paint. I dont know about mixing or application and moisture and stuff but I know that my cousins do know more than me.  Thanks!

[Scott M]

I did end up getting the 18.50/44 ground hawgs this past weekend and I mounted one to my wheel.  I am actually suprised I thought the fender would look a lot more stuffed but it doesnt.  I also picked up a brand new set of zero rates made by ORD from my cousin who bought them and decided he didnt need them.  So that was a great deal.  I will be putting them on this next weekend.  But I know that this tire measures to right over 42" and 15" wide.  I will have to cut the fender but that wont be a problem.... here is a few pics with it on the truck its front passanger.  The old tire measure a little above 35".  Pictures actually dont do the new tire justice it is a big difference!  Also on the side shots the wheel is turned in towards the fender

[Scott M]

I have a few updates to share after this weekend.  This friday I went to check out a trailer as I no longer want to be driving this thing on the road anymore.  Plus I dont have a trailer and thought it would be a good investment.  I found one and went and bought it.  its a 2005 PJ Trailer 20' Overall Length (17' Flat Deck/3' Dovetail).  Has a GVWR of 14K lbs Its a pretty solid price. And I drove off with it as a steal couldnt pass it up.



Then saturday I was able to take the tires off and run them down to a tire shop in town and have them mount the remaining 3 tires.  So I did that (boy was it hot). It took a couple hours no joke.  Idk about yalls lug nuts but mine have always been tight and with just a cross it takes a dang lot of energy just to pull a tire and put one back on.  They run tight all the way off and they had a little bit of antiseeze last time i had to do this.  So some pictures below are with the tires mounted.  The tires did rub the back fender just turning on flat pavement.  So i knew it was time to try and get the zero rates on. Pics below without zero rates...


























Sunday afternoon I went to my cousins house and we were able to install the zero rate springs.  I ended up going with the hole to mount the axle an inch and a half (1.5") forward.  The use of a shop lift to be able to move the truck up and down was amazing.  We had a little trouble getting the pin to line back up but we finally coaxed it in there and massaged it in after alot of up and down clocking the axle back and forth. After the install I had to pull the front driveshaft. I am going to have to take it to the driveshaft shop and have them lengthen it.  It wasnt really close to working (I think It was a little on the short side to begin with).  But thats no biggie! I am extremely happy with the results from the zero rates.  It leveled out the front (I cant hardly stand forward rakes). and it did noticably move the axle forward and gave the tires alot more clearance.  I dont have any pics with the zero rates on flat ground but a couple playing on a little hill at my cousins.  While we were in there we also removed the sway bar from the truck.  I will need to still trim but it is alot better off with the zero rates!








Thats all the updates as of now!

[COREY13]

dang nice truck man by brother in law has an 80 stepside that is on 44x18.5 super swampers. looks great but its lifted to heck and back to get the clearance, he didnt want to cut the fenders. Im not really wanting to go over 38s though myself. heres a pic of his truck. Now dont get me wrong, he has not got alot of room for flex, but his springs are stiff as all get out. Its a 4 speed and i hit a pot hole while downshifting and it threw me so bad that my foot came off the clutch and it stalled out. he was thinking about cutting the fenders because as you can see, theres some rust and such, but he was also thinking about getting some new ones (or good used ones) and cutting those before a paint job is in order.

[COREY13]

I saw a sticker on a lowered and very clean looking 77 c10 that fit these trucks perfectly, the sticker read MONEY WELL WASTED. wish i coulda got a picture of it, but my phone was dead.

[Scott M]

dang nice truck man by brother in law has an 80 stepside that is on 44x18.5 super swampers. looks great but its lifted to heck and back to get the clearance, he didnt want to cut the fenders. Im not really wanting to go over 38s though myself. heres a pic of his truck. Now dont get me wrong, he has not got alot of room for flex, but his springs are stiff as all get out. Its a 4 speed and i hit a pot hole while downshifting and it threw me so bad that my foot came off the clutch and it stalled out. he was thinking about cutting the fenders because as you can see, theres some rust and such, but he was also thinking about getting some new ones (or good used ones) and cutting those before a paint job is in order.

Man I do like step sides. I think its because you dont see as many fixed up.  I also Like the wide tires to me makes the truck.  On the trimming think either way would work fine.  If he is rubbing in the front on the fender well towards the cab, i would really check out those zero rate type springs. all i can say is before my tires would hit the back of it towards the cab at about 1/2 turn or so and with the zero can turn all the way.  But thats flat on the ground not moving driving and it going up and down on bumps and turning at the same time is a different story for me thats why ima trim. 

Thanks for the response.

My buddy has a vinyl decal printer I think a phrase is in order lol.  I saw one on an old ford here in town that said "I PULL OUT" hahaha