1987 GMC V1500 Sierra Classic LS swap/build

[NastyBuzzard]

So I started on the brake swap.



First thing is that the caliper was too close was riding the rotor. The rotor wouldn't seat on the hub all the way.





Another thing to note. If you buy oem or AC-Delco rotors like I did, the M14 wheel studs wont fit through them. They are designed for M12 studs. I had to drill out my rotors. Also on the rotors there is a bevel on the inside of the hat to allow the chamfered end of the wheel stud to go in to. That was also too small so I had to open it up to allow the rotor to seat all the way.

Once I did that, it was fine.



But still not a lot of clearance.



So now that fits, lets try wheels.



Wheels kept hitting the caliper. Ok, I remembered he needed a 1/4" spacer to allow his wheels not to hit.

So I stacked on 1/4" of washers, thinking my wheel was the same exact specs as his.

Ended up needing at least 3/4" of washers to space wheel out which left me barely no studs to attach my wheel. ****.





It turns out his cragar 17x8 have 4.5" backspacing with 0 offset. While my vision wheels that are 17x8 have 4" backspacing with -12 offset. So the spoke of the wheel is rubbing the caliper.

I was ok with a 1/4" shim but I am bummed I will have to use a 1" spacer to be able to bolt my wheels on.

I am currently trying to find some wheels that will fit but no luck at all. I basically need a wheel that will fit a H3 hummer but with 4" of backspacing.

ALSO the drill size to make the 14x1.5 studs go in the 87 hub isn't 39/64 like he said. He said when he used that size they didn't fit tight and he had to use loctite. The perfect drill bit size is 19/32. They go in just like they should!

Another thing to note is that the face of the caliper sticks out about 7/8" from the face of the rotor. So rim selection here is very important!

[y5mgisi]

Perhaps you could grind the caliper some to gain some clearance?

[NastyBuzzard]

Originally Posted by y5mgisi

Perhaps you could grind the caliper some to gain some clearance?

I could only gain maybe a 1/4" and that is a maybe. So I don't think it is worth it. I still don't think I would want to use 1/2" shim type spacers that dont actually bolt down.

I would prefer just to find some actual wheels that would fit.

[NorCalAnthony]

Sorry to hear about the trouble with the wheel fitment. Any idea what the Summit return/exchange policy is for them? It looks like they have the same Cragar wheels as the Cyclic on CK5 in 16x7 for $77 or 17x8 for $92. Looks like they also have the 1/4" wheel spacers for $7/each if you need them... Don't suppose you have any friendly tire shops nearby do you? Might be able to throw those H3 rims you have on the truck to get you where you're going and then try out a few different wheel combos to see what'd work.

Thanks for the caliper bolt specs earlier, for whatever reason I could only find the pins when I tried searching... I was able to get a set ordered at the Fastenal by my work but the expensive little f***ers cost $30 for a set of 4...

[NastyBuzzard]

Originally Posted by NorCalAnthony

Sorry to hear about the trouble with the wheel fitment. Any idea what the Summit return/exchange policy is for them? It looks like they have the same Cragar wheels as the Cyclic on CK5 in 16x7 for $77 or 17x8 for $92. Looks like they also have the 1/4" wheel spacers for $7/each if you need them... Don't suppose you have any friendly tire shops nearby do you? Might be able to throw those H3 rims you have on the truck to get you where you're going and then try out a few different wheel combos to see what'd work.

Thanks for the caliper bolt specs earlier, for whatever reason I could only find the pins when I tried searching... I was able to get a set ordered at the Fastenal by my work but the expensive little f***ers cost $30 for a set of 4...

Thorparts will sell you those bolts for like $6!!!

No friendly tire shops near me, at least not that have wheels in stock. I love out in the country, no one stocks anything that isn't essential.

Yeah I could go with the cragar and possibly resell the vision wheels. Idk I plan to call summit on Monday and see if there is a chance to swap them out. If not, I will just order 4 1" spacers off eBay and run it that way. Definitely not what I want to do but it will work.

[NastyBuzzard]

Whew.. My wallet hurts! Just ordered more parts with money I don't have to spend. Gotta get some stuff up for sale.

Looks like I will be running 1" spacers. Only concern I have is the rear with the original 7/16 lugs with the spacer that uses M14x1.5 studs. I guess we will see.

I need to install new wheel seals for the front as well.

Also, I was searching for some cheap used tires and a nice guy on facebook just gave me a set for free. I also had my hubs turned down to 7" for free, so I guess I can't really complain about spending the other $. Considering I had planned to have had to pay for the turning and some used tires.

I gotta get these put on my 17" wheels.



Ready to see the truck back on all fours. Then I can start finishing it up to be road worthy.

[NastyBuzzard]

Test fitting wheels and tires. Sorry for the crappy picture. I mostly have to work on this thing in the dark! I don't even have time to install lights in the shop. Still really wanting to be putting around by the end of the month.




I am guessing the front wheels will stick out past the fender now because of the 1" spacers. I don't really like that. I am glad I got 4 1" spacers so I can space out the rear to help match some. I am just hoping a 1" spacer that is designed for M14 studs will go onto my rear end with 7/16 studs. We will see.

Hopefuly it isn't too ugly. I am also considering a flush mounted solid back glass to replace the sliding one I have now.

Still need to find a 99-04 rear disc rearend with 3.73 posi. I am so kicking myself for swapping it into that 06 I built and then letting it go when I traded it for the 01 TA, but oh well. I love the TA.

One thing that pisses me off though, is recently my engine start to leak oil. I can see a little bit of oil spot where it has been parked for the last couple weeks. The rear was fine when I was installing but I guess it sitting for almost a year...

[NastyBuzzard]

Well here it is mounted with the 1" spacer. The damn wheel studs are too long so I have to find some shorter ones to accommodate the spacer. Currently I put in some rear wheel studs (which are shorter than the front) and used my grinder to grind them down another 1/4" to make my wheels be able to be bolted on.



Tires stick out a little past the fender, not too terrible.



Just for ****s and gigs to see if it would fit I put on the H3 wheel. Previously before this mod I would have needed about 1-3/4" spacer to clear the tie rod. However, now they fit perfect which was very unexpected.



Just barely clearing the steering.



These wheels sit flush with the fender... & I kinda like them.



The only way the rear will sit right though is after I add the 99-04 rear disc rearend that is wider than the 87 rearend. I think by 4".

I am hoping to get it back rolling today and I will post what studs and lugs I will need to use if anyone wants.

Also the difference in weight between the H3 wheel/tire and the 17" Steel wheel/tire is quite substantial.

[Hankster]

Lookin good!

[NastyBuzzard]

For anyone trying this brake swap. The stock brake hoses won't work. They are close but wont work. Wouldn't seal all the way and I wasn't about to chance ruining these expensive calipers.

The hoses I ordered are part numbers - Dorman H38621 & Dorman H38620

They have open ends on them without any of the nubs.

Changing brakes is going to be super easy, just pull two pins and replace!

The brakes and all are installed just need to get hoses, bleed and take it for a test drive!

Too much family stuff this weekend but I did finally clean out my carport and carport storage. I moved the 6.0 to the shop and some cabinets and benches. Also moved my craftsman tool chest.

Still itching to get this thing road worthy.

[NastyBuzzard]

Finally finished up the brakes!!

Got it out for some sun. I think I need to start considering a small lift.







That was all I got done this weekend unfortunately. It was super busy and I ended up having to do a side job on Sunday which took all day. I kind of miss building these buildings with my uncle.



I hate that I missed having it road worthy by the end of September. Just too much going on lately.

[NastyBuzzard]

I finally got some time to work on it Sunday!! I don't know if yall have heard about the rain we are getting in South Carolina but it is pretty damn ridiculous!

I pulled the steering column back out and the seats for the final adjustments, hopefully.

I even started buttoning up under the hood.

Then I got a wild hair and wanted my grill on and the front end back somewhat assembled.



I even had to sit my hood on to see how it looks again. I think it looks great!



I had such good motivation and was making great progress, even was getting to a point of fabbing up a setup for my wiper motor then a fuse blew on power lines and I lost power for the rest of the day!! So I only got a few hours in.

Hopefully I can get some more progress soon.

[silverbear]

I drove up to Greenville, SC last Wednesday in the rain and it had not stopped when I left on Friday. I heard they got 20+ inches of rain over the weekend. As wet as that seems, just be glad it wasn't snow.

Truck is looking GOOD. I like the cowl hood.

[NastyBuzzard]

Originally Posted by silverbear

I drove up to Greenville, SC last Wednesday in the rain and it had not stopped when I left on Friday. I heard they got 20+ inches of rain over the weekend. As wet as that seems, just be glad it wasn't snow.

Truck is looking GOOD. I like the cowl hood.

Thank you for the compliment! I need to find a different bed I think, I also need to start considering paint but that is still a ways off.

I love that style front grill that is for sure.

Yeah I live about 1.5 hours away maybe a little more from Greenville. I live less than an hour from Columbia which got hit the worst. We definitely got over 2' of rain just over the weekend. I am so glad I live on a hill so I didn't get flooded but I have seen bridges give away and roads collapse. Also seen how it is in Columbia with houses completely drowned. Like water above the garage doors and some very close to their roofs. Cars completed covered in water, it is crazy!

[NastyBuzzard]

So I have been developing a way to attach the 2001 silverado wiper motor to my 87's firewall. I tell you it is nice to have a friend with a plasma table!

My first attempt wasn't clocked right so my bracket that bolts to the firewall wouldn't work. Here it is clocked but needing changes.



A few changes.



Here it is today. Still a few changes needed and I plan to spot weld the two brackets together.



Here is a video of it working.



Now this has me in the dumps so to speak.. Very disappointing and depressing. Finally after two weeks of rain I finally get to drive my TA. I excitedly went out to fire her up to go to work and it just turned over 2x and then boom. I freaked out and just left it as is and went to work. Drove me crazy all day! Came home and checked the fluids, all were fine. Tried to start it again and KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!! I predicted it was in the bottom end on the passenger side, I thought I had broke a rod. No clue why.

Everyone was saying it was just a head gasket or something else minor, well...
















A little damage to the 241 head.


Pieces of piston I found in the intake.



So... Now I need to really get my truck on the road and get the TA in the shop, a little depressed about it but nothing I can do but fix it!

I also picked up this sport bumper for my 87, anyone know where I can find two inner brackets to mount it and if I need to drill holes or anything special? I see LMC sells the brackets but they want $125+ship for all 4 when I only need the inner two.

[NorCalAnthony]

Ah man that sucks. Sorry to hear about the TA...

On the other hand it looks like you're still making good progress on the truck. So are you swapping wiper motors for the additional wiper speeds or for some other reason?

[NastyBuzzard]

Originally Posted by NorCalAnthony

Ah man that sucks. Sorry to hear about the TA...

On the other hand it looks like you're still making good progress on the truck. So are you swapping wiper motors for the additional wiper speeds or for some other reason?

Thanks, it definitely sucks a big fatty. I love that car.

I am trying with the truck, I will be swapping insurance from the TA onto it this week sometime.

I am swapping wiper motors bc I pretty much have to. Since I swapped in almost the entire 2001 Silverado wiring harness, I couldn't get the pulse to work correctly on the 87 wiper motor. It would only do one speed, so that pretty much forced me to have to find another solution. This is my current solution, it isn't 100% perfect but it will work just fine. It is also a pretty big improvement over that old wiper motor.

[NastyBuzzard]

I feel like I made some decent progress with the truck.

I attempted to take it out for a good long test drive Friday and Saturday morning. Some pretty big issues popped up. I went out and got it up to 60 and while I was slowing down the front end began to shake like the front passenger wheel was trying to come off.

I brought it back to the shop and checked everything I thought, the bearing felt like it may have been loose so I opened it up and tightened it.

My buddy came over and hoped in and sat on the floor because still no passenger seat and this time we went out and I couldn't even get up to 40 and it started the death shake. On the way back it got even worse, like I don't know how to describe it but it felt like both wheels were trying there hardest to become detached from the front end.

I got it back in the shop and jacked up the front and tightened every bolt imaginable. I pulled the wheels off and torqued the spacers to 80ftlbs. One side was a little loose like 65 ft lbs, I also found my caliper bolts were just a tad loose on one side as well. After I went through and triple checked everything and tightened it all down, it drove like a dream! I went on a good 15 min to 20 min drive with no drivability issues. I went over 60 several times, the truck has so much more power it feels like. Even with the 3.42's and 33s it still has plenty of pull. I am cruising around 1200 rpms though at like 50 mph, so I definitely need to go up to the 3.73 gears. Just more motivation to swap in the 99-04 rear end with disc brakes.

After all that I wanted to put the hood on, the tail gate and pretty much assemble the truck to be legal to drive. Meaning all lights working and et cetera.


Well I screwed up big time when I was adjusting the hood and all. I got frustrated with the fitment and just slammed it close..

Well guess what! I never hooked the hood latch cable back up!

So I had a shut hood with no way to pop it!!

There is no easy way to fix this problem, I looked at my other truck and the latch mechanism over and over... The only way was to access it under the hood.

So I put it back on stands, pulled the wheels and the inner fenders.

I squeezed myself into the engine bay and tried to squeeze my hand in between the hood and the core support to pull back the latch. After several cuts to my hand, I realized it wasn't possible. I lacked enough room to access it.

This is what came next.



I unbolted the hood from the rear and tilted it to gain access. Even like this there was still barely any room to reach it.

I did this all by myself too, yall probably know how heavy those hoods are.

So after 4 hours wasted on fixing my screwup, I was out of time to do any real work on the truck..

So this is how it sits until next weekend.





I have a guy with a different bed, so as soon as I get all the lights functioning properly and installed I will be driving up to his place so we can swap for a better bed.

I also drained out some water and put in antifreeze and hooked up the hoses to the heater core.. I need to find out how to get the heat and defrost working here soon, it is getting chilly.

[NastyBuzzard]

So now all the front lights work like they should! They are also super freaking bright! Wow! 1 step closer!

I am having issues with rear brake lights and now I don't have reverse lights. An issue that has popped up after they were soldered so I need to go through them again. All turn signals work fine.


Now I need to figure out how to wire up the 87 ac/heat controller.

Anyone have clues on how to get the heat working with the LS engine? I know there is some vacuum line I can twist off and use or something from the engine. I will need heat/defrost here soon.

I also need to buy some 6x9 rear speaker bracket/holders and need to find some kick panels that have a spot for speakers.

[y5mgisi]

Just run the vacuum line to the line that comes out of the cowl and hook the heater hoses up. Done and done.

[y5mgisi]

Good progress btw! The tire shaking you described is known as death wobble. Usually caused by worn front end components or bad tires. If it comes back, try swapping the tires front to back and see if that helps. Also are sure the steering box is bolted tight to the frame and that the frame isn't Cracked.

[NastyBuzzard]

Originally Posted by y5mgisi

Just run the vacuum line to the line that comes out of the cowl and hook the heater hoses up. Done and done.

Heater hoses were hooked up last weekend, I will check on the vacuum line. I have to find a wiring diagram from the 01 ac/heat control panel so I can figure out which wires to use to supply power to the 87 ac/heat control panel. I am having problems finding that wiring diagram.

Originally Posted by y5mgisi

Good progress btw! The tire shaking you described is known as death wobble. Usually caused by worn front end components or bad tires. If it comes back, try swapping the tires front to back and see if that helps. Also are sure the steering box is bolted tight to the frame and that the frame isn't Cracked.

Thank you!! I am trying! It is so close!! Yeah it definitely was a death wobble, it felt like the front tires were trying to detach themselves and go their own separate ways.

Front end components are all less than 2 years old, I am pretty sure it was due to the loose parts that I tightened up. Hopefully that is the case and they wont come back.

I was afraid my frame was cracked but I checked it all over and it is fine... Thankfully.

[NastyBuzzard]

I got it legal enough to drive on the road! I have been driving it every chance I get. I clocked over 60 miles this weekend. It was so nice driving it into town and putting gas in it.

The speedometer is about 3-4MPH off. So when I am going 60 my speedometer says I am doing around 56-57 MPH.

I haven't messed with the stock tune or anything, YET. So the computer is set to 3.73 gears with 265/75/16's. I am running 3.42s 275/70/17 MTs which are close to bald.

I plan to go buy a 99-04 Silverado 3.73 posi disc brake rearend sometime this week or the next and swap it in as well.

I have a lot of interior work to do and cleaning up.

Here is the only pic I took out on my adventure. It is parked in front of my buddies 140'x40' shop.



This weekend a friend should be bringing me a replacement long bed that is in a lot better shape and picking up one of my square crew cabs that is in pieces. I actually bought it originally from him.

Still struggling to figure out how to wire up the heat to work..

I have also been fighting with getting the blown engine out of my 01 TA and the trans pulled so I can sell it. I am fighting 3 bell house bolts that were apparently put in with a damned impact.

I also put my outdoor meterbase/circuit breaker combo on my shop this weekend as well as drove in them damn 8' long copper rods into the ground. I am cheating a little bit with this box, because using it allows me to get final electrical inspection passed on the shop without even having to wire up the inside. So when that is done, I have to dig a 2' deep trench 250' long then put the conduit in it and then get the electric company to come wire it up. Then I will start buying the lights and things I desperately need.

[Hankster]

Cool that you got it driving now! Enjoy it!

[NastyBuzzard]

Originally Posted by Hankster

Cool that you got it driving now! Enjoy it!

It didn't last long! It is back in the shop now for a 2001 rearend swap so I can have rear disc brake and 3.73 posi instead of the 3.42 posi. I am also swapping beds out as soon as I can get it here. Picture updates coming tomorrow probably.