Does Heavy Half mean my truck is fat?

[79gmcsierragrande]

Hi, new here, had a couple of questions about my truck if you don’t mind. I bought a 1979 2X4 short bed GMC Sierra Grande about a year and a half ago for $500. The guy I bought it from said it was a Heavy Half, but I was told by someone else that it would have a ¾ ton rear axle making it a 6 lug instead of a 5on5 lug. That didn’t make a lot of sense to me so I looked it up on Wikipidia and a few other sites and it looked like the heavy half was something different from a Sierra Grande. It dose have the 350 with the 4bbl carb, the heavier breaks, a 3.73 rear axle and the card in the glove box says Heavy Duty Chassis in the options box if that helps. Also if anyone knows what Heavy Half means I would like to know?


The trans is a 4 speed manual with a low gear (meaning you start in 2nd). Highway speeds out here (Grand Junction CO) are 75 mph and I’m out of gears at 30. I can almost watch the gas gage go down over 3 miles on the hwy. I would like to get better gas mileage without sacrificing towing capacity, is there anything I can do? Also I WON”T drive an automatic, I bought this truck because it was a stick so please don’t suggest a turbo 350 or 400 I know they are out there.


The other thing I was wondering about is, the truck has a drifting problem. My philosophy is if something breaks replace it and everything attached to it. So I’m replacing the ball joints (shot), tie rod ends (shot), shocks (shot, on the way), idler arm, gear box, adding a stabilizer, and replacing all the bushings. The power steering pump was supposedly replaced just before I got it but he must have gotten it from a junk yard because it’s old. I’m not going to raise or lower the truck, I did put on some 31 10.50 R15 Toyo Open Country A/T tires with 15”X8” rims, but that’s as far as I’m going with it I like the stock height. I was wondering if there is anything I’m missing and if anyone has heard of Energy Suspension? I found a site that has the full bushing kit for $192.57 http://www.energysuspensionparts.com...s.asp?cat=2330 but I don’t want garbage. If anyone has bought from them or knows about them I would appreciate the feedback.


This is the first truck I’ve tried to restore. I’m a welder by trade and I’ve always done all my own work on my cars but I’ve never taken on something this big before, I’m looking forward to it. When I bought the truck the breaks didn’t work and the clutch pedal popped in and out making the truck jump. I spent about $300 replacing everything accept the break lines and the vacuum assist (master cylinder, calipers, wheel cylinders, shoes, pads, and drum and rotor turn) and the clutch was a simple tightening of two nuts on the pedal. The body is in good shape accept for a dent on the tailgate, the driver door (my wife did, I could have killed her), and two on the hood, the paint is faded and there is minimal surface rust, and the interior is also shot but that just means I can do WHATEVER I WANT TO IT. I’ll post some pictures when I figure out how….



Sorry about the essay I don’t normally type this much...