Budgets 1977 GMC SerriaGrande "crap10"

BIG updates
I need to grab pics this week or today. But i got the junk bed pulled off and started cleaning the frame and its in perfect shape it needs the bumper brackets repaired some but overall the frame has no pitting or anything. I bought a gallon can of rustolem low gloss black heavy duty farm paint for the frame i should be able to get one or two coats brushing it on and anything hidden will be that color mechanically everything looks very solid underneath the font cab supports are really bad and it needs rockers otherwise the rest of the truck is in good shape i have doors and am looking for a pair of fenders and a new grille

You gonna repaint the truck itself?

Murraymountain wrote:

You gonna repaint the truck itself?

yea its gonna be rustolem black for now until the trucks body is perfect and the drivetrain is perfect. I now how the cab pulled off and on a trailer and the chassis just has the running gear and motor and its pushed outside of the shop and my buddies 74 c20 is pulled in because he managed to snap BOTH leaf springs in the back and blew an axle seal like how do you even do that

Offroading! Lol

Just a thought, if you’re painting the truck on the cheap for the time, maybe look into the farm or construction dealers for gloss black paint. They sell acrylic enamel rather than alkyd and the price difference isn’t bad at all. Alkyd enamels can’t be painted over with anything else because they off gas for their entire lives, while acrylic paints don’t. The acrylic paint could almost be permanent if you wanted it too, it’s pretty much what these trucks got back in the 70s. Except the painter probably had an afro or mullet. Lol

Updates I finnaly got my truck home.

 shes sketchy but i drove it from quite far away back home. One brake worked it ran out of gas once and leaks gas from the filler neck. Had vicegrips holding the choke open all the way home. No hood of course

I have to say that you're quite brave to drive er home, I'd be terrified of getting pulled over and nailed for no insurance but that's just me! Lol.

Need trim? I have the 2 tone body moldings in decent shape and the trim that runs along the back of the cab and wraps up the sides, the side cab bits are Silverado badged but I might also have Silverado fender badges as well

I keep having this trouble posting where words double and stuff andand glitch out.anyway i had insurance and a paper plate and drove it in the dark. Ive been wrenching on it since i got it home.

I've had that happen too, try pressing this button once it should cure it.

i got new tires repainted the rims and drove er to work for the maiden voyage. Did great! Needed a new battery as well. I really dispise the automagic i really wanna manual swap it and go through the motor. Needs a carb for sure. Overall i love the ol thing

UPDATES!!!!
new front fenders, and inner fender, found the turn signal buckets at a yard sale, painted almost everything and another even nicer bed! found a perfect tailgate new bench seat inside and i purchased an sm465 for 2wd and i am looking at a LS swap its no longer crappy! i also got a whole parts truck in trade for a tank of gas, And it had a half of a tank in it!

Pictures! We want pictures! Lol

Here you go I've been struggling with my phone

Nevadablue wrote:

Rustbucket Garage wrote:

Yeah she looks a little gone but some good used body panels (or fix the ones you have), a fresh coat of paint and a wood flatbed and you’ll have a pretty minty jimmy! Them ok square bodies just don’t quit

I never figured out why GMC bothered to put bodies on those trucks. They start disappearing as soon as they leave the dealer.

The best comment ever made on this forum.

I started gutting the interior so I can replace my steering column with a fancy tilt one and replaced my interior harness with one that isn't butchered and I have to change my bay harness too, I plan on pulling the tired ol 350 out so I can slap a rear main, valve cover gaskets and a sm465 on that sucker and slam that tired ol turd right back where it came from lol.

Budget_gokart wrote:

I started gutting the interior so I can replace my steering column with a fancy tilt one and replaced my interior harness with one that isn't butchered and I have to change my bay harness too, I plan on pulling the tired ol 350 out so I can slap a rear main, valve cover gaskets and a sm465 on that sucker and slam that tired ol turd right back where it came from lol.

My advice: stay away from tilt steering. They tend to get loose after a while. Heh. The 350. Most overrated piece of iron ever engineered. Believe it or not, the SBC did not, in fact, descend from heaven on a gold engine stand.

Ifitaintbroke wrote:

Budget_gokart wrote:

I started gutting the interior so I can replace my steering column with a fancy tilt one and replaced my interior harness with one that isn't butchered and I have to change my bay harness too, I plan on pulling the tired ol 350 out so I can slap a rear main, valve cover gaskets and a sm465 on that sucker and slam that tired ol turd right back where it came from lol.

My advice: stay away from tilt steering. They tend to get loose after a while. Heh. The 350. Most overrated piece of iron ever engineered. Believe it or not, the SBC did not, in fact, descend from heaven on a gold engine stand.

Rut Roh, we have a case of GM derangement syndrome

That's why everyone had a 350 in their for and dodge hot rod, and honestly the LS engine did decend from the heavens on a gold engine stand and you will find more Ford's with ls motors at car shows then ones with Ford motors. Lol

350s were swapped into everything because they were cheap and ubiquitous and made ok power, at least what was considered ok before Japan started pumping out economy cars with engines half the size, double the horsepower, and three times the fuel mileage. Dad says he had more 350s than he could count, never rebuilt a single one. He’d just go pull another and swap it into his truck. 350s really are a mid ass engine, not even reliable, just easy for room temperature IQ people to understand and fix. I suppose they’re good for what they are- a leftover relic from the ‘50s.

RichieRichOverdrive wrote:

350s were swapped into everything because they were cheap and ubiquitous and made ok power, at least what was considered ok before Japan started pumping out economy cars with engines half the size, double the horsepower, and three times the fuel mileage. Dad says he had more 350s than he could count, never rebuilt a single one. He’d just go pull another and swap it into his truck. 350s really are a mid ass engine, not even reliable, just easy for room temperature IQ people to understand and fix. I suppose they’re good for what they are- a leftover relic from the ‘50s.

Rich, I'm eternally grateful for that. That's the best I've ever seen this issue addressed.
All my same thoughts, but put forth elegantly. 

Budget_gokart wrote:

That's why everyone had a 350 in their for and dodge hot rod, and honestly the LS engine did decend from the heavens on a gold engine stand and you will find more Ford's with ls motors at car shows then ones with Ford motors. Lol

I will give you that. The LS platform is great. I once worked on a 2008 Burb with the 5.3, and over 300,000 miles. Went to check the oil and the dipstick tube was broke off. Supposedly oil had just been changed 2 months before. Drained the oil and got 2 quarts of black sudge. Filter was ancient. Put in fresh oil and its been running fine. I was a believer after that. I got disgusted with Ford after the Tritons came out. (Wait that was before I was born). Yeah, I'm a Ford guy, but I'm an old school Ford guy. Need I mention the 300?

I don't know what we're talking about but 454s do it better Lol. I'm a Chevy guy always will be BUT.....90s Fords aren't horrible I love a 7.3

ranch king pro 08 wrote:

I don't know what we're talking about but 454s do it better Lol. I'm a Chevy guy always will be BUT.....90s Fords aren't horrible I love a 7.3

Oh whatEVER! 454's are even more overrated than 350's. Get past 700 horse and they'll puke their guts out all over the road. Even a 440 is better. Wait... am I starting a firestorm?

ranch king pro 08 wrote:

I don't know what we're talking about but 454s do it better Lol. I'm a Chevy guy always will be BUT.....90s Fords aren't horrible I love a 7.3

Oh, and those 7/16 head bolts? See if you can get one loose without it breaking...

The 440 is more like a big small block chevy. I would have to tip my hat to the 440. It has a big bore and short stroke. It will rev faster and have less wear. But the 454 has great torque

ranch king pro 08 wrote:

The 440 is more like a big small block chevy. I would have to tip my hat to the 440. It has a big bore and short stroke. It will rev faster and have less wear. But the 454 has great torque

454's arright I just like knock Chebby. The 427 L88 was magnificent. 500+ hp and ALUMINUM heads from the factory. In the 60's. GM's mistake was getting out of racing. Nascar is how Chrysler developed the 426 Hemi, and Ford created the 427 SOHC, probably the 2 greatest engines ever made. GM never had anything to compete with those, but it's because they didn't try. Maybe they could have.