1986 GMC Crew Cab, Dually, 4x4

[ssapach]

Well I figured I would start posting a little more info on my truck, so I guess the easiest would be a build thread.

I started off with a 1986 GMC crew cab, dually, 4x4 with a 454 and a 4 speed. The 454 was running on propane when I got my hands on it, I think that's the only reason the truck was for sale as long as it was....which allowed me to get a hold of it.

The truck had a touch over 130 000 km's on it when I went to see it, and I even took my 1/2 ton with the tow bar and lights in anticipation of driving the dually home.

This is how it looked the day I drove it home:






It had a few too many mud flaps in the rear for my liking, but I wanted it to hold my welder and tools and such. Did a fine job of it for how much I drove it.

As far as square body trucks go, this one is as close to new as I have ever owned so far and I really enjoyed driving it around with or without anything in the back. It handles nice and rides nice for an old truck.

[ssapach]

I tried out some HID headlights for my high-beams, but there was WAY too much interference with the radio. They were nice and bright, but they didn't last long before I got rid of them.

[ssapach]

The old propane tank didn't even have a handle on the main valve on the driver's side:



It was time to get rid of the propane tanks and replace them with some gas tanks. I had a pair of tanks given to me for free, one was practically brand new and the other was older, but still in great shape.

So I tore into the motor a little...

[ssapach]

I figure if I'm taking stuff off, I'll put some shiny new stuff on!





I actually would have preferred a blue distributor cap, but I was in a hurry to get one and I live over an hour drive from any real aftermarket parts stores. I can always switch it out later anyways.



And the valve covers and air cleaner were just an easy touch up.

[bilfman]

Looks great so far, I love the 4x4 duallys, I just did a 4l80e/np205 swap into my 79.

[ssapach]

This is the pile of junk I pulled off the truck. Running boards and brackets, mudflap brackets and whatever else I didn't like....



And this is the pile of miscellaneous wiring I ripped out from under the hood. Nothing serious, but cluttered wiring always looks scrappy.



This truck came from the factory with dual batteries, not sure if that was an option on its own or if it was part of the "Camper Special" package. Either way, I removed the isolator, because I had no use for a second battery unless it was going to be used for cranking the engine.

This little guy had to go:


So I made some nice new battery cables for everything out of some 1 ga welding cable. Soldered and crimped the lugs on the ends and put heat shrink tube over them. They should last a fairly long while.



I also added this little gizmo inside the cab. Not planning anything just yet, but the truck is capable so might as well have it.

[ssapach]

Originally Posted by bilfman

Looks great so far, I love the 4x4 duallys, I just did a 4l80e/np205 swap into my 79.

Thanks!

I love the looks of the dually trucks, but for something to just drive around with I think a reg cab, long box would be a very nice ride. The 4 door dually is a big long truck, not exactly parking lot friendly.

Bear with me for a little longer, I have a few more pics to post!

[ssapach]

So I had to have the truck outside to remove the propane tanks, didn't want to have a serious leak at all, nevermind inside! I was a little worried that the one valve missing the handle wouldn't close, or would break if I tried to force it. I gave it some penetrating oil overnight and luckily it closed with the help of some vise grips.

Getting ready to unbolt the lines and tanks:



I think I got a little too caught up in my work, I don't seem to have any pictures in between removing the propane tanks and installing the gas tanks. The only thing I really did was pressure wash the frame a whole bunch. There was quite a bit of caked on mud and gravel sitting all over the frame.



In that last picture you can see the brackets for the previous hitch the truck had in the box. Someone thought it would be a grand idea to weld those brackets right to the frame. Not only were they simply vertical welds, but they looked like boogers too! Needless to say, those brackets came off.

Then I thought it would be a great idea to still have a hitch:



That is a unit meant for a GMT400 style truck. I bought it mostly for the centre plate that has the removable ball, as the front and rear brackets were too high for the box to bolt on over them. The box has slightly over 3/4" space between the frame at this point, so I made some brackets out of 3/4" plate.





I had to modify the release handle a little, but it was minor.

And of course I was in a rush and this was probably a Sunday....I didn't have a hole saw large enough for this either.





The final product:

[ssapach]

This is the hitch receiver that came attached to the truck, it looked a little home made, but very beefy:



So I had it sand blasted and touched up a few rough looking welds. It was too sturdy to toss out, even though it's got a 3" receiver tube.

It also came with this long bugger inside of it:



I cut a piece out and made my own hitch for it though:



I still have another piece in case I need a different style hitch, but so far the double tongue is good for a variety, even attaching a ball if needed.

This darn plastic piece on the tailgate bothered me a lot. And of course it was attached with screws right through the tailgate itself. So I had to weld up all of those holes too.



Then I put some new clearance lights:



This part seems minor, but it still makes a difference in the final look:



Just some plain old flat white spray bomb.

[ssapach]

These are my nice new headlight housings I bought from JB's Power Centre in Edmonton:



They are non-sealed and accept H-something bulbs, I can't recall off the top of my head though. They do put out some nice light though. I did learn that the stock high/low beam switch cannot handle the newer bulbs. It would start to flicker with the high beams on because it was about 18 amps running through the switch. So I had to add a relay for at least the high beams. Works fine now, I just have to fix up my relay install later and make it look prettier.

You will also notice my experimental west coast mirror on the passenger side. I don't mind the looks, but these ones just didn't fit right so I abandoned that idea. Besides, my stock mirrors provide good visibility. They just aren't heated or have a fancy clearance light on them....

And this is after the conversion and cleanup:

[ssapach]

This:


Is a result of this:




I learned that no matter what, clean the fuel tanks really well before putting them onto a vehicle. Clean them 5 times if it makes you feel better.

I was driving to the city for some exhaust work and my truck was losing power badly. Luckily I had a spare inline filter at the time, so I spliced that in and yanked the filter out of the carb. I'm actually a little surprised it ran with the filter that dirty.

So after that ordeal, I put in a VHF radio. Works for the farm and I can listen to highway chatter if I want.



Then I decided to order a whack of LED's from superbrightleds.com

[ssapach]

The truck sat through most of the past winter without any work happening, I moved it a few times just to move it and keep mice away from it, but nothing major.

Then this summer I took it in to a local body shop for a repaint. I figure I should get it looked after early on, before the rust takes over too much and it becomes less worthwhile.











And the sand blaster even found a hole in a cab corner. Minor hole at least, not rotted right out.

I had thought about doing lots of the prep work myself, but for how much time I spend at work, it would take me forever. So I just drove it to the shop and let them tackle the whole thing. I was quite pleased with the work all the way through and the fact that the guys didn't mind me stopping by randomly. They seemed to have the mentality of "nothing to hide" and would actually call me if they ran into problems or wanted me to have a look at something before they went ahead and spent a bunch of time working on it.

[ssapach]

Nice new paint, still in the paint booth:



And this is the very day I got to drive the truck home:

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And this is how the new box liner looks:





And a little bit of window tint:



I still have to take the truck back to the body shop, there was a little bit of a bubble on one of the dual fenders and a few small scratches in another spot that need a touch up. The guy told me to bring it in in a couple weeks and he'll look after it.

After that, I'm planning on some 3M film on the dual fenders and probably the front end of the hood as well. I also have some mudflaps to put on the truck, just need the time to do it.

Of course, like many other people's projects, it never seems to be finished. I could use new light covers all around for one thing, a new rear bumper, an NV4500 swap, an air conditioner tune-up and probably a few other things.

Overall I am happy with it though, it still drives great and has low km's on it for the age and now it's really starting to look great too!

Hope everyone enjoys the pics, and I hope I wasn't too much of a forum hog posting all my pics at once either....if so, I'm sorry. Seemed a little long winded too, but I was in a bit of a sharing mood tonight so I thought I would post!

[wwj75c30]

do you know where the light to the runnig lights on tailgate wire to? my dually has them and i cant find where to plug them in it(tailgate was off most trucks life)

[ssapach]

Originally Posted by wwj75c30

do you know where the light to the runnig lights on tailgate wire to? my dually has them and i cant find where to plug them in it(tailgate was off most trucks life)

If I'm not mistaken, there is a single wire plug under the bed floor. There should actually be a small hole in the vertical flat sheet metal that is between the rear bumper and the bed floor. So somewhere on the underside of the bed around that small hole, there should be a plug. And if memory serves me correctly, the ground it just through the tailgate mounting points.

I cut the factory plug off and just put in a 2 contact plug of my own so that I could have a good solid ground contact.

You never know though if someone has fiddled with your truck previously and perhaps even ripped the factory plug and wiring out for the tailgate lights. Even then, it would be simple enough to just splice a new wire into the tail light wiring.

[UPNADM]

Very good looking truck. I had a crew cab dually 4x4 in the past, it was fun.

I like your color!

[survivingalone]

factory color? it looks like there is metallic in the paint.

[low n slow 1965]

Looks great man
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[ssapach]

Not the original color, not even a GM color. I believe it's a Chrysler color, but I loved the color so I wasn't going to be too picky about having a true GM color.

It's got a fair bit of pearl in it, makes it sparkle and shine quite nicely in the sunlight.

[Greenlee]

Nice work! The truck looks great. I like the one ton 4x4's.
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[Woogeroo]

sweet dually!

-W