jimmy build

[70 beast]

so about a 2-3 month ago i got a call from my dad saying he found a truck for $750 that he thought id be interested in and asked if i wanted to go check it out. of course there's always time to go see a one of these trucks. turns out to be a 71 gmc jimmy that's been sitting since '02. its got some rust but nothing that can't be cut out . so the next day my dad calls me up n asks if i want to get it....hmmm. at the time i had 70 gmc k25, and a 87 s15 so my only concern was where to put it? my apartment has already given me 7 noise complaints from my 70, and that's just from me idling into a parking spot ( 496 and 3" exhaust don't do well with grouchy neighbors). after a buddy said i could keep it at his house, i called my dad up n said lets go get that truck. so fast forward to now, the trucks been moved from 3 cities and is now at my parents where i get to work on it whenever i can/want. its got 3/4 ton axles (looking for 60 on the cheap) new trans (sm465/205) and some body work. the intended purpose of this truck was to get my girl into this type of hobby and so far its working...so now on to the pictures

here it is when we got it to its first home in a town north of the town where i live. starting specs were 350/350/205/ d44/12 bolt with some shot snow tires up front(which came off asap) and some decent 31's out back. full removable top etc.


my girl painted the rear half of the truck (not bad for her first time painting)


decided to run 52's up front so i ordered diy4x's spring hangers



here's a shot of the inside cleaned out and the sm465 in after the swap



got a good deal on a Eaton h052 with a 072 third member in it. 4:57 gears but no locker


took out the old 12 bolt, threw in the Eaton, found out the front axle was going to turn into a money pit
so drove 8 hours for a d44 w/ a Detroit that i had sitting in storage and put on the 8 lug parts. and this is how it sat last time i got pictures.



now i do have one question...or two.
when i swapped on the 8 lug parts and went to go put my locking hubs back in i ran into a problem. i asked my dad and he thinks because the 8 lug parts came off a 85 burb 3/4 with auto hubs that i need to get new locking hubs. i checked out how much they were and seen that there was a spindle nut kit of some sort that needs to be used when swapping in manual hubs from auto. has anyone run into this problem and if so what do i need to do?
(oh and the 8 lug parts also are off a 8 lug ten bolt. i was told that its all the same.)

[70 beast]

painted it this past Saturday. i masked and my gf painted behind me. turned out pretty good.

[onlyifihadachevy]

We could also use a close up of where the hub should be. I'm pretty sure you will need that kit that you speak of because i have that exact stuff on mine and its from a burb, but i have a different rotor setup than you from the looks of it.

[70 beast]

thats what i was thinking.

ill try to get a closer shot this friday.

what set up do you have?

[onlyifihadachevy]

dana 44 external hubs from a 80s burb, and putting a 14bolt from the burb in the back with 4.10s

[Hoods69BadBowTie]

Awesome score on a cool Jimmy. Looks like its coming along pretty good so far. I am also thinking your having problems from going from Auto to Manual hubs. Glad to see you swapped in a 4 speed

[special-K]

I have a`91 3/4t Suburban that came with automatic hubs.I bought Warm Premiums and put those on.I`ve never heard of any other parts or kit involved.Maybe they come with the hubs.I just bolted the Warns on and was good to go.Did you buy new hubs or pull them from something?Maybe you don`t have everything?

[70 beast]

i was carefull to pull everything from the burb that i got it off of.
the hubs im using now were from the 6 lug hubs that were originally on it.

Hoods69BadBowTie, im glad i did too. automatics dont seem to last too long me

this is what was left from the last one that was in my 70 pick up


bellhousing broke clean off....thinking about mounting it on a plaque and hanging it

[70 beast]

got the hub dilema solved



and started putting the lift in it



im taking the lift outta my 70 pickup so that its easier to get up into for my pops.

[onlyifihadachevy]

nice i love the two tone blue and white they look really hard like that. And we need a pic of the blazer, when it gets the lift. And did you sand the paint down to paint the rest gray or what.

[70 beast]

i got the truck with a few different color primers so i decided to do just one. the blue came along just recently.

[70 beast]

oky doke, got the lift all on just need to tighten a few bolts and turn one of the rear springs around but otherwise its sitting on its own feet now...and its pretty damn tall



can someone say demotion????

for a tow/dd rig this hight is good for my pops than me. old knees dont jump to well

[onlyifihadachevy]

yup, its a good height and the jimmys pretty tall but are you going to get spacers for the rear.

[TATE228]

What size lift is that?

[70 beast]

ya. i need to drill out the rear for 9/16" wheel studs then get the appropriate spacer to even it out.

the lift is a super lift 6" all spring kit.

[70 beast]

got some more done.
got the steering hooked up, the brakes bleed, the motor fired, and the wiring buttoned up.
all thats left to do if get the Z bar mount bolted in, the hole drilled for the rod, get the rear driveline cut down, and mount the seats.

heres the new front axle. im debating on keeping the truss on or hacking it off



and the Eaton out back

[70 beast]

little update on the truck

took her for a test drive...not so good results

turns out the master brake cylinder is shot so ill need to get that fixed, and also been having problems with the carb/motor.
sounds like the motor wants to die when you raise the rpm's. almost like its being suffocated. there's not air cleaner on it. any ideas?

will be getting to the front in the next week or so and painting it also

[70 beast]

i just noticed my legs

[Thealien]

Originally Posted by 70 beast

i just noticed my legs

I was trying to think of something witty to say? Looked funny!

Jimmy is coming along nicely

[bigbadchev72]

sounds like it may be a vacuume leak, good looking jimmy, what size tires?

[70 beast]

thats what i was thinking. a buddy said it might be a vacuum advance thats not hook up.

were checking everything so hopefully we get it sorted out.
went n got a remanded master braked cylinder yesterday.

im running a 38x15.5x16.5 tsl radial. im pretty sure they'll rub but i still need to trim the fenders.

also went and looked at the original d44 and decided to build it up, crossover, chromo axles, possibly ctm's, and 4.56 gears to match the rear.

[70 beast]

went to the junkyards on Friday. buddy had to get a third for his front Eaton cuz his rear was 4.56 and turns out the front had 5.13. so he needed a 4.56 for the front asap cuz he was going camping that day. found one no problem.

got a carb kit for it on Saturday n freshened up the carb. had to leave before it got finished but my dad said it drove a little better. it still wants to hesitate a little but he said its only slightly so im thinking there's another leak somewhere that's small but still making it do that.

things have been pretty hectic around here with me starting school again and working while trying to juggle my family/friends so hopefully things will work out n i can get the jimmy figured out n on the road.

[70 beast]

got some work done over the past couple of weeks.
had a couple midterms so ive been studying more than working on this but its back...for now.

bought some undercoater and painted the floor. turned out ok but didnt cover well in some spots.



put the seats in. found some seat mounts from a 2000ish Chevy van. worked great.seats are from a 70 chevelle. real comfy

[70 beast]

little update.
the passenger side seal finally gave so went to napa to get a new one. ill post the part # later for people with eatons, but after putting the new one on and trying to reinstall the hub, the outer bearing gave away also. a few of the tapered bearings fell outta the encasing and turned sideways and upon inspection, it completely fell apart. i found napa had to options for outer bearings. one was a cheap $28 replacement, came with race and bearing, but apparently that is only available online and the local napa said the only one they can get is a $63 replacement. but its supposed to be a good one so im going to buy new outers for both sides.
also went to the local pick n pull and got a window regulator, arm rest, door panels, radiator clamps, battery tray, and misc. other small parts. so its a few steps forward and a couple back.

[70 beast]

went to get a newer style hub off an eaton to replace the existing one...went all over nor cal pick n pulls to find one and finally thought i found one that would work....not. turns out the hub design is diffrent between the two so i ended up buying a new style eaton off a 1972 gmc 2wd. (50% sale on rear axles) and if that wasnt enough it even had 9/16" wheel stud so no need to re-drill the 1/2" studs. swapped that bad boy in and it sits one step closer

hubs off the 72

axle swapped in



and a shot of my old 70 that my dads been revamping. he likes the old skool hub caps


and what our driveway looks like at the moment..you wouldn't imagine how many people stop by and stare or inquire if their for sale.