1977 GMC Jimmy High Sierra

[warrpath4x4]

Picked this up back in February and really have not done much with it, 1977 GMC Jimmy High Sierra with the gold/yellow trim, blue plaid interior, a/c, cruise, roll bar with detachable off-road lights. it has 126,000 original miles, was picked up at an estate auction from the guy I bought it from, he pulled the tank and had it blasted, replaced the fuel lines and pump, changed the diff fluids, changed the tires/wheels (it was already lifted). Right now the plans are to finish cleaning it and more maintenance. It has a 400/TH350/203 with Dana 44 front 12 bolt rear with 3.73's.

[warrpath4x4]

The battery that came in this thing was SMALL, I am putting a group 31 battery in but it wont fit the original tray, plus the original tray while not rusted clean through... wasnt in the best shape. I am using 1/8" angle iron and some sheet metal to build a new tray.

I made my supporting bracket 90 degrees, then realized the core support is not straight up and down so I had to modify it.

[warrpath4x4]

This was basically from February until this last weekend.

This thing really hates starters lol

when i got it the starter was hit and miss, we will call this starter #1

starter #2 blew up after a couple cranks. (thought i had a pic) the end housing of the starter broke off.

starter #3 cranked a couple of times then got stuck on the flywheel I am aware the issue was that it was not shimmed correctly but with the nose cones on them its a pain to get the measurements. i was playing with the quantity of shims when it got stuck and i could hear the solenoid buzzing.

starter #4 i wasnt playing around. i got a mini starter without a nose cone, had to shim the starter back from the starters mounting block, then use 4 shims between the starter and the engine block. i have never had to run so many shims or had such an issue installing a starter lol.

BUT it runs again, also changed the transmission filter since the pan gasket was leaking (most bolts were finger tight). The front driveline gave way at some point in the past because the flange of the trans pan is bent, the exhaust is smashed in that area, and it has an aftermarket front driveline from a shop in my hometown.

I also installed a ford solenoid and built all my own cables (dont have a finished pic)

[mrtoni]

I looked for that interior used for two years! Only bought two front highbacks buckets. Missed a bench on eBay. My favorite

[warrpath4x4]

Originally Posted by mrtoni

I looked for that interior used for two years! Only bought two front highbacks buckets. Missed a bench on eBay. My favorite

The passenger seat has a couple holes in it, other than that the seats are in pretty good shape.

[Corts60]

Awesome rig! Love the interior. I dated a girl from Mabton a loooong time ago. There was a junkyard in Sunnyside or maybe Toppenish I think that her Dad and I would go to a lot. It was a goldmine!

[warrpath4x4]

Originally Posted by Corts60

Awesome rig! Love the interior. I dated a girl from Mabton a loooong time ago. There was a junkyard in Sunnyside or maybe Toppenish I think that her Dad and I would go to a lot. It was a goldmine!

small world

[warrpath4x4]

waiting on parts this week,

the shift rod/mechanism is really sloppy and the metal is worn so i am replacing it with a new lever kit.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/clp-cpt-sl

"Heavy duty" headlight harness from LMC, I ran this on my 72 K5 and it really brightened the headlights.

[warrpath4x4]

Last Friday night I replaced the brake master cylinder, since the previous owner snapped off one of the bleeders. Then I installed some ORD extended brake lines I got from a member on CK5 put the front brake lines back into the frame holes, someone bent the lines under the frame when installing the lift.

Also while changing brake lines i noticed the frame is cracked behind the steering box, common issue, so i ordered a weld in repair piece for it.

found this while changing the master cylinder, gotta love previous owners wiring.

[warrpath4x4]

Who would think upgrading the headlights could be a multiple night project.... this guy!

I picked up a LMC heavy duty harness (used one on my 72 and it made a huge improvement), and some new headlights PHILIPS H6024CV Crystal Vision Ultra from rock auto for $12 a light.

old headlights, one was labeled halogen and the other i could not find a brand.


passenger new, driver halogen. not the best picture but you can make out that the driver side has more yellow tint to it


both of the new headlights, the thing i did not expect is the old lights illuminated more of the ground closer to the jimmy, and the new lights seem to illuminate higher up (no adjustments were made)


unlike the 72 where the harness made a huge improvement, adding the harness did not make much of a difference here, it is slightly brighter.

[warrpath4x4]

I have used several different relay banks before sealed, non-sealed, bussman, blue sea, some I have liked and others not so much. While planning the lighting for this rig I was looking for a relay bank with a switch bank like SPOD but without paying $600+ so of course to amazon I go.

Less than $100, looks well made, not completely waterproof though.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1



I was thinking of running the switch panel into the ash tray, seeing how i needed to modify it. no modification needed, the tab that put pressure on the ash tray puts pressure on the switch panel and holds it snuggly.






Now I just need to make up my mind on what off-road lights to run, I am going to run some reverse lights, fog lights, and rock lights off the switches.

[warrpath4x4]

put a little work into the Jimmy this weekend while doing winter preps.

check out the spare, had a tire cover over it.




not sure if this is a date code or not


the monster was crawling all over it


so i put him to work

[zellway]

That's a great find. I like the idea for the switches in the ash tray. I picked up a 1976 Jimmy back in May. Your seats are sweet! mine needs loads of love but I might have to get my seats done like that!

[warrpath4x4]

Originally Posted by zellway

That's a great find. I like the idea for the switches in the ash tray. I picked up a 1976 Jimmy back in May. Your seats are sweet! mine needs loads of love but I might have to get my seats done like that!

Thanks

[warrpath4x4]

After my sons rodeo Saturday morning I pulled the steering box and shaft to prep for the weld on brace. I knew the frame was cracked, I did not realize it was cracked this bad.







I know its not as bad as some others I have seen pics of but its just crazy with this thing only having about 150,000 miles on it. Sunday was windy and snowing and I was not able to get back out there to finish it in the driveway.

[warrpath4x4]

I took yesterday off work to try and fix the frame before the bad weather were expecting this weekend. Of course I was not able to work on only my stuff for a whole day between helping my parents move stuff, smoking cheese, and working on the Jimmy i was able to get the cracks welded up and get the frame repair panel welded on.

[zellway]

I have seen cracks like this on a few trucks in the past. What type of braces will you be going with? Even if mine is not cracked I will be plating it. I didn't realize all the options available.

[Corts60]

Originally Posted by zellway

I have seen cracks like this on a few trucks in the past. What type of braces will you be going with? Even if mine is not cracked I will be plating it. I didn't realize all the options available.

Yes, very common. Even on two wheel drive trucks, these frames always crack right there.

[LT7A]

Originally Posted by warrpath4x4

I took yesterday off work to try and fix the frame before the bad weather were expecting this weekend. Of course I was not able to work on only my stuff for a whole day between helping my parents move stuff, smoking cheese, and working on the Jimmy i was able to get the cracks welded up and get the frame repair panel welded on.

I've heard that smoking cheese really kills your motivation. So good work, pushing on through, haha. I really like this rig. I look forward to following along as you get it back into shape.

[warrpath4x4]

How do you hold a steering box up that's still hooked to the steering and a bolt on steering brace while putting the bolts in all by yourself?

you hook a chain hoist to a 4x4


Got the box mounted yesterday but nothing else hooked up yet.

[warrpath4x4]

UUUUGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

I get home from work Tuesday night, wife and I are going outside to take care of the livestock, she is telling me about the electricians and the power company being out today, and she keeps walking closer to the Jimmy "the electrician hit the Jimmy with the boom truck"........ are you F'ing serious????









The electrician says he will take care of it personally (which means he doesn't want his boss to know), I'm gonna take it to a body shop for an estimate. The two things that piss me off the most about this is its a 1977 so that's a 1 year trim, and i was keeping the original patina to the paint.

I already had Wednesday scheduled off to work on rigs, so I finished hooking the steering box up and fitting the Borgeson steering shaft. The Jimmy now drives in its own lane with the cracks repaired, weld on brace, bolt on steering box brace and the new shaft.

[Willowrun]

The fender damage is a major bummer! Insist on a rust free OEM or NOS replacement fender.

[warrpath4x4]

I need to replace the rubber fuel lines on this thing, if it sits for more than a day I have to dump gas in the carb to prime it.

No pics but the other day I used the jimmy to move our irrigation trailer around with its flat tires lol. its just been sitting while my son and i put out efforts into the Cherokee.

[Corts60]

Dude that sucks. Big time. I agree with above. He needs to buy you a NOS fender and not the cheap china stuff.

[68Timber]

I would be talking to a few paintless dent removal guys before I replaced it. I agree that the patina is great on that truck, you might be able to preserve it. The gouge in the paint will still be there, and the trim will probably need to be replaced on that fender, but they can probably get most if not all of the dent out. Keep the paint gouge as a battle scar.