GrumpyGhost Rusty 1999 GMC Sierra Z71 Ongoing build!

[GrumpyGhost]

Didn't do much tonight, cleaned and spray painted the gas tank straps, rear bumper stop brackets, and the spare tire crank. Also painted my chrome pitted exhaust tip. I didn't por 15 these items because well, they are replaceable.

 

Also ordered new ebrake cables, and the rubber bump stops. I decided I may as well get it done while everything is easy to get to.

 

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[GrumpyGhost]

I finally had that moment were I went, oh S*** what have I gotten myself into! Because I have a 3 door extended cab, I have to do about twice the work to replace the driver side rockers!

 

When I was ordering panels a couple months ago, I saw there was a inner cab corner and I just brushed it off as no big deal and originally didn't order it. I could have just cut out the bad of the inner cab corner, but it actually helps support the middle pillar for the roof.

 

I am in complete new territory when it comes to this kinda stuff, I don't have a manual or directions, I'm just cutting and drilling by the seat of my pants! I'm not a fabricator or a welder by any means, I more of a mechanic who watched and helped occasionally sand and buff at a body shop for a summer.

 

Good Lord is this crap testing my patience, I dare y'all to count all the spot welds I have drilled.

 

As to what I did today: I got all the old rust crap panels off of the driver side! Finally!!! I forgot to get a photo of finished product. Also had to remove my rear seat and panels. That was about the easiest part of my day today.

 

I also got the bump stops installed and the ebrake cables laying where they run on the frame, didn't get them hooked up. Other things on my mind.

 

Tomorrow begins fixing all the metal I bent out of shape with the air chisel and lining up the new panels for install, I'm hoping I can get the driver side finished in terms of pasting in and welding the new rocker on. There are so many spot welds I'm crying inside just thinking about it.

 

Im also considering not drilling all the holes in the new panels. Saves me from having to worry about not getting a good seal on the welds without a piece of copper to plug weld. And I don't have to drill holes. Only downside is I have to weld from backside by the frame. So I have to use a crawler and not burn myself or my helmet. I might invest in a welding jacket!

 

I also need to get a welding blanket cause the inner rocker spot welds literally are under the carpet! So many spot welds. It was a real nightmare. I can see why body shops charge so much for this job! I honestly feel that they should charge more!

 

Granted now that I've done it, if I ever had to do it again, it would still probably take just as long haha. Also I have never seen so much seam sealer. They packed the crap out of the floor corners at the factory.

 

Once again, I apologize for the essay!

 

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[GrumpyGhost]

 

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[GrumpyGhost]

New brake lines are mostly in, I need 2 unions to finish. Did I mention I hate brake lines!

 

All but one line on the abs module had been "fixed" before I did them. I ended up leaving 2 lines that were spliced into old lines as a quick fix from when they busted on me. I replaced the master cylinder lines up to were they had been spliced into.

 

I didn't like the shape of the unions on the side where they flared the old lines so I'm replacing them. I could tell they didn't double flare and probably had trouble flaring the old rusted line.

 

The third and last line ran from the abs module to the left front caliper which was tricky to route. I used a 70" line with a fitting converter on abs module. (Same as one pictured in master cylinder pic)

 

 

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[GrumpyGhost]

Welp, I didn't invest in a welding jacket and instead wore my old work long sleeve shirt and a sweatshirt, I then cut up an old cut off and used that to cover my head under the welding helmet!

It was a humid day and I went through 3 shirts. Not a fun day at all!

 

Now then, inner rocker and inner cab corner is installed. I still need to tach weld the inner cab corner in a few spots but I won't cry if I never get to them.

 

I am currently trying to fit the outer rocker and as I said before, it doesn't fit the best. It will work but I have to man handle the crap out of it. I may try slightly bending/adjusting it Tomorrow. I'm going to wait until I hang the door back on before I start bending the rocker however.

 

I feel like I got quite a bit accomplished today considering I've never cut and fit metal panels like this before. The inner rocker was the hard part and I'm glad I got it over with! Crawling under the truck and welding while trying to not burn myself was a real chore. I did get one hot spark go inside my ear and that was not pleasant. I can still hear fine and it doesn't hurt, but I probably have a piece of metal burnt inside my ear.

 

I also finished the brake lines today and man do I wish I waited till after welding in the inner rocker. It was fun squeezing the welding tip through all of my brand new brake lines and not accidentally burning one.

 

As always, sorry for the essay!

 

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[GrumpyGhost]

Well to start, apparently I pulled a muscle in my back behind my shoulder blade when I freaked out about the hot ember that went in my ear. So I took Thursday off the rest it. Today it still hurts but said screw it. Threw on some biofreeze and went to work kinda sorta.

 

I set the truck on fire, oops!

 

It took me about 3 hours to get the rocker fitting how I wanted it. It took awhile because I would tach weld it in place before test fitting the door and fender. I couldn't clamp the panel and close the door so I had to tach weld. Also the door is a pita to put on by yourself with a hurt back, don't worry, I used my legs!

 

I didn't finish welding it in because I have to make some filler pieces for gaps from cutting the panel a bit to much. Also I ran out of argon/CO2 gas.

 

Anyhow the fitment it a bit tight with the door towards the back of the rocker because I need new door hinges and the door sags a smidge. Oh well, something to tinker with in the future.

 

As always sorry for the essay!

 

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[GrumpyGhost]

It doesn't look like I did much, but actually it took hours to grind down my welds, and then go and weld in any holes that popped up, then grind again. I'm actually still not done filling holes.

 

I went to get more gas for my welder and they didn't have and 75/25, so I got a tiny tank of straight argon which is mostly used for welding aluminum. I had to crank the heat up on my welder to get it to weld properly. I don't see any significant difference between the two gases besides the heat setting but whatever, I'm no expert.

 

Cab corner is on, it sticks out past the door a smidge but nobody will notice unless your a body guy or I take it to a car show or something, which I will probably never do. (See pic 2)

 

Just a paragraph or 3 today!

 

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[GrumpyGhost]

Passenger side was off to a great start. I cut out the cab corner and missed all the stuffing by like and inch or two which was lucky. Then the outer rocker was drilling and separating easily. I decided to cut it off before the front section cause it's actually in good shape up there. I might try cutting it out a bit further up and see if I can salvage the front.

 

Then I discovered that there are basically 2 inner rockers. As to why that is, is beyond me. I guess it gives the rocker a bit more strength since there is no pillar. But I can't even find a new panel to replace it with, so i will not be trying to save or install a new "middle rocker.

 

Other than that, it's going quickly considering I started the day doing some final touch ups with the welder on the driver side.

 

As to the reason I want to try and salvage the front section basically is because the front of the rocker was a real pita on driver side and I won't have to worry about lining it all up with the front fender as well as the doors. Like Srsly! It was not fun trimming the outer rocker on driver side, but I imagine I'll get into it and ultimately decide to tear it out.

 

As always, I hope y'all didn't fall asleep reading this!

 

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[GrumpyGhost]

The passenger side is now ready for the new stuff! It took a lot of drilling and chiseling and hammering to get to this point.

 

The door sill trim brackets have completely rusted. It caused some surface rust on the inside floor panel but its really not a big deal. One bracket is so rusted idk if I'll be able to save it. Just more time consuming crap to add to the list.

 

My deadline is coming up quick! Was hoping to have truck completely painted by this weekend. It is still doable but I'm gunna have a lot of long nights. Plus I still have to put it all back together.

 

I've got my nephew tomorrow so I won't be doing much, I may have him help me bleed the brakes followed by lots of Xbox games as a reward. He's 9, is that old enough for call of duty? Haha jkjk he likes NASCAR and Forza. I did let him play Halo once in a little one on one, little bugger was actually good!

 

As always, why am I apologising again? Oh yeah for those few who actually read my rambles haha. Pics are for people in a hurry!

 

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[black&grayHD]

This may be my favorite build thread. You sure are putting some effort into that truck

[GrumpyGhost]

Ran out of argon once again. Hopefully tomorrow I can get the correct 75/25 and a big tank instead of the little small guy in last pic.

 

Anyhow I decided to work smarter not harder and used the old outer rocker I cut off as a guide to cut the new one. It fits almost perfect!

 

The rear of the rocker I didn't cut out in one piece, so I used some masking tape and guessed! It also came out perfect. I'm honestly in disbelief that I got the rocker cut on the first try and didn't have to do any grinding or trimming. You'd think I've done this before or something.

 

Anyhow yesterday I discovered that my left front bleeder valve is stripped beyond all belief. I got some vice grips on it and it turned! I haven't tried to remove it but I'm hoping I can get it out and just put a new one on instead of putting a new caliper on. I'm guessing if I do one side only it will throw off the brakes and make me need to replace both. I'm trying to hold off on replacing the calipers as I want to put some 18 inch rims on my truck and upgrade to the 2005 and newer calipers that a bigger!

 

I did put the gas tank in and the battery back on. Truck started right up!

 

Anyone know of any way to cheat the abs module into cycling so I can bleed my brakes properly without paying someone to do it with a tech 2 scanner?

 

As always sorry for the essay and plz help if ya know of a way to bleed brakes besides removing the ground wire for the abs module from the frame. That doesn't seem like a good idea to me!

 

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[GrumpyGhost]

The place I get argon for my welder is still out. Small town problems! So I've been doing some other stuff.

 

New bleeder valves and rubber lines for the front calipers. Did both sides even though I only need to do the driver side. You can see how I almost crushed the old bleeder valve with the vise grips getting that sucker out. Let's just say it was a scary 2 minutes.

 

My rear diff has been leaking and I never got around to looking at it. It was only like a drop or 2 a day. Anyhow it was just me not making sure the drain plug was tight. Pretty dumb mistake on my part but thank sweet baby Jesus that's all it was!

 

I also installed the rear bumper and was getting ready to put on my tow hitch when I remembered that it doesn't have the bracket for the trailer lights. This is not the original to the truck. I got this at a pick a part place in Florida for $20 or $30 bucks and it didn't have a lick of rust on it. I also took the bolts for it with me since I cut the old ones when I removed the old hitch. Someone cut the bracket off for who knows what reason but I didn't care at the time.

 

I have also decided that I should probably redo the rigged wiring job that I'm guessing my father did when he owned the truck. I also finally hooked up the e brake cables which was of course a pita. Oh and the gas tank is finally back in the correct way and not just ratchet strapped on as I had it previously.

 

As always, sorry not sorry as I'm a bit mad that I can't finish the rockers!!! Probably go steal my grandpa's gas off his welder, he'll never notice!

 

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[GrumpyGhost]

So maybe I had a little gas left for the welder. Anyhow its all gone now. Welded on bracket and rewired and then slammed the truck hitch on. I threw on some quick spray paint. I'll probably repaint it in future, or probably not! Maybe with more spray paint!

 

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[Psych73]

Looks fantastic. Keep up with the great work and keep the photos coming!

Looks fantastic. Keep up with the great work and keep the photos coming!

[GrumpyGhost]

The outer rocker panel has been a real chore to get to fit correctly. I cut the seams perfectly but the front door would not close to the rear sucide door.

 

So I finally got it adjusted and had to put in a small spacer about the thickness of a credit card on the striker. I used washers but will cut out an old credit card to fit behind the striker. It already has a plastic spacer from the factory on it so I think the credit card will be better than a metal washer that will eventually rust.

 

In the last pic you can see how well the rocker fits to the door sill. Gunna be a lot of hammering and shaping going on tomorrow.

 

Also I'm still out of welding gas "lol" "hehe"

 

I also enlisted the help of my brother in law who is a welder by trade and fixes up old Harley Davidson motorcycles in his spare time. He changed the settings on my welder and gave me one of his spare welding helmets, wow what a difference a $500 welding helmet makes. I need to throw my $50 Amazon one away! Mine looks cooler still though!

 

My brother in law is also going to take my truck bed to my grandpa's shop and paint it for me using his expensive (don't quote me on this but I think it's a "Proline" ) hvlp spray gun and equipment while I finish up the work on the truck. I have some borrowed spray guns that are inferior to his equipment. So cheers to him helping me out!

 

As always, beer before liquor, you'll never be sicker, liquor before beer, your in the clear! Cheers! (P.S. I'm American it just writes better to use our across the pond brethrens wording and say cheers!)

 

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