GrumpyGhost Rusty 1999 GMC Sierra Z71 Ongoing build!

[GrumpyGhost 27]

1999 GMC Sierra 1500 SLE Z71

- 4.8 4l60e 3.73 186,000miles

 

- this is an ongoing build that will probably take me a couple years before it's where I want the truck to be!

 

- lil background and info of truck

 

This is my daily driver and it's been in my family since bought new in 1999. I got this truck when I was 16 from my dad who bought it new in 1999. I was originally going to trade this in for a new truck after college but have now since decided to turn it into well, let's say a toy/work truck! Living in northern Indiana winter's, it has not faired too well when it comes to rust! I hit a fence and the driver door almost got ripped off when you ponder what the dents are from! (Two separate incidents and Long storys and a couple hail storms) The frame is in surprisingly good shape and the only reason I'm fixing/building the truck.

 

I rebuilt most of the front end a couple years ago except for the ball joints which still look in good shape, but I have some new moogs sitting in a box somewhere. I don't think I did the Pittman arm either as that thing was a PITA that never came off. I just changed the front and rear diff fluids, the transfer case fluid, and replaced the seals. (Photos are of leaking seals before I replaced them) All looked well however, the transfer case fluid was a red color instead of blue, I'm guessing none of the fluids have been changed since new! This is a 99 with the auto 4x4 and im guessing auto trak2 came out after 1999! I'll be putting in new plugs and wires as I remember changing them when i was 16 and the truck had 116,000 miles then. Will probably check compression while I'm at it.

 

I also need to hunt down an oil leak, I've changed the valve cover gaskets with felpro and changed the oil pressure sending unit, but no mycoy! (It seems to collect on the front diff, least it won't rust) Probably main seal, I'm just glad I didn't see a ton of sludge when I pulled the valve covers off! Also had new fuel pump installed at 150,000 miles and just changed the heater core!

 

I think I forgot to mention the truck is bone stock except for a cheap eBay CAI that I swapped out the filter for a K&N. I suppose I did have a flowmaster exhaust for a minute but it's just straight piped now! So I need to add a new exhaust to the list of stuff to do! Oh and I forgot it's still rolling on the original shocks, probably order some cheapo rough country leveling kit to fix that as the budget is about gone!

 

My plan is to first make the truck look presentable again, and then eventually do the small mod of a junkyard turbo setup on the engine till it blows up lol! Being the smaller 4.8 engine makes it a good platform to add a turbo as it can handle the RPM's better and has flat top pistons. I don't do a lot of towing so the low end torque I could care less about! Also after the the engine/tranny blow up it'll give me an excuse to do a swap/engine rebuild (still undecided if I'll keep the 4.8) and the turbo setup will fit on the new powerplant!

 

I went and got a newish used truck bed that supposedly came from Texas, and am waiting on rockers and cab corners to arrive! The bed needs some work as you can see from the photos but it is 97.5% rust free which is a biggy in the salt belt! Obviously I will be respraying the bed as I don't want to drive around like it's Christmas year around!

 

I just went and washed my truck to take photos for this and now I'm seeing I may need to order inner cab corners as well, guess Ill find out how bad they are when I cut into it.

 

Sorry this turned into a short story, but I like to be thorough!!!!

 

 

More photos to come after I get parts and time to rip off the old crunchy bed.

 

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[barry G 131]

an iron one.

nice.

 

I babbled all the chores on my 96..

a lot of it helps that 99.

 

have fun.

[Swimmer8366 62]

It will be a nice truck when finished. Once it's time I would think about a 6.0 love those engines 272k on mine and planning on continue up to 500k nice truck boss keep us up on the build and any problems run into and solutions you come up with

 

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[GrumpyGhost 27]

Got most of the parts in! I have been gone all week and my mom had to drag all the boxes in the garage, she wasn't too happy haha! (FYI: I'm a typical millennial who still lives at home) I just opened all the boxes literally minutes ago like a kid in a candy store!

 

I also got all of these panels off of Amazon! Way cheaper than LMC Truck or anything else I found! I got a mix of keystone and classic 2 classic panels!

 

The only one I'm not happy with is the driver side cab corner, the rocker indents on bottom don't match and is a very poor cheap look! Check the photos out and you'll see the difference. I guess it'll do though since it's the bottom and who would think to check it.

 

Most of the panels had scratches in them but I didn't see any dents on the first look. I also included a photo of the "bondo" I'm gunna use and I got some metal prep and weld thru primer and stuff still on the way! Oh and POR15!!!

 

I'm gunna try and get started on the bed this weekend! Still need my truck to do truck stuff, will start on it in a couple weeks!

 

More updates to come!

 

 

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[GrumpyGhost 27]

Got most of the parts in! I have been gone all week and my mom had to drag all the boxes in the garage, she wasn't too happy haha! (FYI: I'm a typical millennial who still lives at home) I just opened all the boxes literally minutes ago like a kid in a candy store!

 

I also got all of these panels off of Amazon! Way cheaper than LMC Truck or anything else I found! I got a mix of keystone and classic 2 classic panels!

 

The only one I'm not happy with is the driver side cab corner, the rocker indents on bottom don't match and is a very poor cheap look! Check the photos out and you'll see the difference. I guess it'll do though since it's the bottom and who would think to check it.

 

Most of the panels had scratches in them but I didn't see any dents on the first look. I also included a photo of the "bondo" I'm gunna use and I got some metal prep and weld thru primer and stuff still on the way! Oh and POR15!!!

 

I'm gunna try and get started on the bed this weekend! Still need my truck to do truck stuff, will start on it in a couple weeks!

 

More updates to come!

 

 

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Totally forgot, the box with the wrapping still in it is the new rear bumper, it's powder coated black, I'm getting rid of the chrome on this truck, sorry old timers. I like chrome, but not for Ol' Grumpy! (name of my truck)

 

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[GrumpyGhost 27]

Didn't get a whole lot done today, 6 inches of rain has flooded the yard and I can move my bed to the car lift to do some real work on it. I did find some annoying things that will have to be fixed on the new bed that I wish I would have noticed when I bought it, mind you it was night time when I picked it up!

 

I'm gunna have to drill out the spot welds and replace the front of the bed with the one from my old bed. I don't think I can bend it straight without doing damage to the rest of the bed as it is already out of whack! I have a porta power but I don't wanna chance it, I don't see how I can secure the bed safely to pull on the front hard enough to straighten it out! See pictures!!!!

 

Also found some bubbling on driver side wheel well we're I'm gunna have to separate the wheel well from the bed to clean it out well enough to keep it from getting worse.

 

It had some sort of ladder rack on it that bent the driver side top rail as well which I knew about when I bought it. I did discover the passenger side had a whole new bedside replaced which is not a bad thing!

 

I peeled off the Z71 sticker and the chrome trim. Then I found some bubbling under the paint inside the bed floor so I took a grinder to it and it's doesn't look serious. (All in the pictures)

 

I posted a photo of some more rust in my current bed which is main reason I opted for a new bed. Also pulled the new bumper out of the box, it came with new mounting brackets and new black licence lights and harness!

 

I'm still undecided if I want to sandblast the bed or just use a DA Sander since I'm just gunna rhinoline the inside! Shoot me any thoughts or questions y'all have about my build!

 

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[GrumpyGhost 27]

Forgot photos of bent bed rail

 

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[GrumpyGhost 27]

Upon further inspection of the driver side "surface rust" on the wheel well, I decided to remove the outer wheel well panel and boy did it reveal someone's past attempt to cover it up!

 

It was a real bear to remove the spot welds of the outer wheel well as I don't have a spot weld drill bit, and couldn't get to the ones inside regardless! Out came the air hammer! I'm going to have to piece in some new metal for the wheel arch as well and I found duraglass and cover-up of rust!

 

I went ahead and checked the passenger side wheel well by sticking my phone up in a hole to snap photos, it's all new which further proved my suspicion of a new bed side on the passenger side, it is covered in lots of dirt already! So a good wash is in order soon for the whole bed before I sand it down.

 

I was hoping to reuse the outer wheel well by just treating it with por15 metal prep, but I'm just going to order a new one! Most body shops don't do rust repair, so why should I, I could probably fix the outer wheel well, but meh!! As you can see in the photos, it is pretty rusty! I'm just lucky I don't have to patch in a new wheel arch, literally caught it just in time!

 

So far this bed has been more trouble than it was worth, I'd now change my statement of 97.5% rust free bed to 85%, I highly doubt it came from Texas as well, just had extensive repair done to it! I also posted photos of the lack of spot welds on the front section on passenger side compared to the driver side! I will have to remove the front section as I have stated before and replace with one on my current bed.

 

I had to order a sander as the one I was going to use is a bit dated and was going to cause me headaches, I had to edge it for it to do any sanding, and I didn't like the way it did its job!(see photos)

 

Also shown is the driver side cab corner and rocker panel comparing the rocker indents that do not match at all! I also removed the bottom panel supports because​ a couple of them were bent in "transit." So I'll have to save those off my current bed as well. I also had time to get the bed rail Mostly straightened out, still needs some more hammering, but I won't be mad if I just leave it like it is either.

 

Im going to brush on por15 to the underside of the bed, or as much as I can get too. I also ordered some raptor spray on bed coating that will cover the inside and top of the bed rails. I was going to order it on Amazon, but my local parts store can get me more than the standard 4 liters they sell it in at a cheaper price, Im guessing I'll need 6 or 7 liters to cover the area I want.

 

Probably won't have any new updates for awhile as I'm need to order parts and pick up my Eastwood welder from someone who is borrowing it.

 

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[GrumpyGhost 27]

I should also note that I am not an auto body tech or mechanic for that matter, I did an internship at a body shop that also does classic car restorations and was in auto shop in highschool, I am self taught for the most part besides my knowledge from the internship at the body shop. Most of my knowledge for cars ranges from old carburetor classic cars to modern GM vehicles, I can also rebuild and tune modern/carburetor engines, but again, I mostly only know about GM based vehicles because that is what I have owned​ and research and work on. Just a regular Joe smo with access to tools and equipment that most Joe smos won't have in their 2 car garage.

 

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[cjb321 59]

If that bed came from Texas then it was from the coast, I live in west Texas and my truck is 11 years old and barely has surface rust on the frame.

 

I'm in the same boat as you , self taught with auto shop class in high school but i dont have as many cool tools as you do lol. Hell i dont even have a garage

 

Good luck with the truck, i enjoy watching the progress on peoples projects

[GrumpyGhost 27]

Welp, I ordered a new wheel well and went ahead and got a inner cab corner from browns of two Rivers. No Amazon this time! They literally came the next day (forgot to get photos of them).

 

Photo 1: ground down wheel arch to see how bad it really is!

 

Photo 2: cut out rusty wheel arch, will replace with 18 or 16 guage steel, depends on what u can get my hands on!

 

Photo 3: shows 2 layers of paint, I.E. paint on left is new, paint on right is factory paint that was painted over. If you look closely, you can see the filler primer(light grey), the finishing primer(dark gray), then the new red base coat and then the clear which is the scratched up red color.

 

Photo 4: new hook and loop vacuum sander off of Amazon, literally didn't plan on doing any sanding today, but this came in mail and next thing you know it's 6 hours later and bed time

 

Photo 5: the arch is rusted through just above the angle for the bottom of wheel well, going to metal prep the inside of arch, then cover with 2000°F engine primer, then tach weld in some thin 22 guage steel on inside so I can still fit in the inner wheel arch followed by por15. Then I will duraglass the outside followed by "Bondo"

 

Photo 6: only have 120 grit sandpaper, actually need 80 grit, but this is 6 hours worth of sanding, mind you I am also sanding 2 paint coverings, originally I was just going to take it down to primer, but the bed sides I'm going to take down to metal since it is unknown what all is there, the inside I'm just gunna rough up with 120 and spray in the bed liner. I did find filler in a few places to cover a low spot, but nothing major.

 

This post will actually be the last update for probably a week or so.

 

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[GrumpyGhost 27]

Finally able to work on this again, removed the exhaust heat shield and sidewall supports that I couldn't get off before because of well, Rusty bolts! No photos of heat shield removal(my bad). I broke all but 3 of 8 bolts that hold on the heat shield! Guhh, I'll worry about it later!

 

I tried heating bolts with cutting torch, no good! Had to cut off bolts for the sidewall supports, one pictured is gunna get replaced with one off of my current bed.

 

I drilled 43 spot welds to remove front portion of bed! The factory spot welds I used a 1/4" drill bit. The passenger side had been redone since a new bedside was put on, I had to use a 3/8" drill bit paired with a air hammer chisel and lots of hope and luck was involved to not tear up the panels. That being said I've dealt with much worse, so it went pretty smoothly.

 

I also got some 16 guage steel to replace driver side wheel arch, shaped and cut it then called it quits for the night!

 

Next step is to scrape, wire brush, and clean underneath the bed with por15 degreaser and then metal prep, it will be dirty wet and time consuming. So I've been putting it off needless to say. I should have done it before I brought the bed inside, but there is a center drain and por15 product is environmentally friendly water based.

 

Hopefully by the end of this weekend the bottom will be painted and then I can install the new wheel arch panel, weld the makeshift wheel arch, and take bed off my current truck and take off the front portion and install on this bed.

 

We'll see if I can get it all done by Sunday evening! I'm really not looking forward to not driving my truck for a few weeks or months depending on how much hidden rust I find and have to repair, it's seems to keep popping up on this "new" bed.

 

My temp car is a 1974 Pontiac LeMans that has no AC or radio, but it'll be fun to drive for all of 2 minutes! It runs and drives but needs to be restored! I hope it holds together as it's all original with 70,000 miles and sat for 20 years in a barn before I got a hold of it, when I say original, I mean it has all original rubber hoses and vacuum lines. The tires might be original but show no signs of dry rot so who knows, it'll get me to work and back, but I won't go cross country driving in it lol. If it doesn't last I have another car, but it's a show car and not technically mine yet! (1966 Chevy Impala convertible that me and my dad restored a few years ago) I guess technically the LeMans isn't mine either but I'm the one who takes care of it! It's only been driven by me in last few years, kinda took it without asking and nothing was ever said about it. My parents are awesome!

 

Enough rambles! Last pic is current status of build.

 

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[GrumpyGhost 27]

Pressure washed last night, also used degreaser, then sprayed metal prep on whole bottom of bed! Rinsed after an hour, then came back this morning to find were the metal prep showed hidden rust under paint and caused it to Bubble. Needless to say I've done nothing but wire Wheeling and scraping the bottom of the bed all day today!

 

I had to set the bed up, kind of a pain but my arms are tired from laying on a crawler. I included a pic of the passenger side wheel well all cleaned up, or as best I could. I'm to the point now with this bed that I'm deciding another bed will be in the future, I'm going to get what I can cleaned and then slap on por15 paint tonight, I'm not spending more money on new bed support beams for this rusty bed that is only slightly better than my current one on my truck! I'll drive to Florida for a good rust free bed if I have too, I just need this one to last for about 5 or so years.

 

I keep telling myself this is a work/toy truck, not a show vehicle, but it still just bothers me not fixing things 100% more pics to come tonight!

 

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[GrumpyGhost 27]

Was an all day process, but it's finally painted with por15! Passenger side has black primer from replacement panel, so that's why you can see where I stopped with paint, I only went to just above wheel well bottom. This is one coat with about 5 45¢ foam brushes. I'm only doing one coat!

 

The lighting and camera make it seem darker than it really is, you can still see some red factory paint in areas! But it's the bottom, who's gunna check it lol

 

To prep I used a wire wheel, red Scotch Brite, and sanded a few spots with 320 grit, then wiped down with Omni ms251 multi-purpose solvent. Probably a bit strong of product to wipe down, but meh! (No I didn't tack it, it's por15 and rust). Oh I also used an air nozel about 1600 times to blow crap out of the bed support rails.

 

I honestly think if I wanted to take the time to drill the spot welds, all the bed support rails could be saved and reused, I cleaned the outside of them good, but they will eventually rust from the inside out. Ain't nobody got time for that!

 

Time is starting to become an issue as I need this truck to be done and ready by the end of July, and I haven't even gotten to the actual truck yet!

 

As always I'm rambling!

 

Included is pics of me still trying to get settings on welder set, (pretty poor job so far lol, I don't claim to be a professional and 16 guage sucks! Can't wait for 18 guage body panels!), and my new driver wheel well and inner cab corner I forgot to show before!

 

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[GrumpyGhost 27]

Weld through primer I got is red. Then I covered it with por15. I also painted the wheel well with por15. After paint dries I'm going to weld in one side of wheel well, and then set bed back on the stands.

 

I also got engine paint in a spray can to top coat the bottom of the bed, it is flat black. I poured to much POR15 out to paint wheel well, so I went ahead and painted my new rear bumper brackets that were all scratched up from shipping.

 

Paint is not dry in pics!

 

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