I think the single square headlight is 1980 only, but I could be wrong.
Body certainly looks solid!
Looks like fun!
(I'm dailying my '77 Silverado - you got this!)
In reply to Bobzilla:
That looks very much like the truck I had as a demo when I sold trucks at the local GMC dealer.. That color, wide wheels (not those though) a lowered front and rear end. Sure just heat up the springs on a brand new truck.. My boss wanted to keep me happy since I sold so many trucks and motorhomes for him..
Yeah the single square was a late 1980 thing. Mom and dad had one in almost the same color when I was a youngster they bought new in 1980. I will tell you that bench seats + mountain roads = rock hard abs. Getting an earlier start this morning in anticipation of more miles. We only have 1200 more to go!
great looking truck, and thanks for the update!
My 83 Sierra wishes you safe travels home! Looking forward to reading about the adventure.
One more day. Made it to Nevada MO for the night wiped. 300 miles of dust storms, 200 miles of rain.
Last day! About 400 miles left to go. She's used about a quart and a half in the last 1300 miles running at 3500 rpms. Still running stupid rich so I'll need a tutorial on carb cleaning and adjusting when I get home. Even with that she's slipped up to 16mpg average over the last 3 tanks running 65-68mph at 3500-3800 rpms.
I have to say that I have completely fallen for this thing. Im hopelessly in love with a 40 year old truck.
Glad it's going well!
Yeah, we had some pretty gnarly weather roll through last night. I'm sure that wasn't so fun to drive through. Here's hoping today goes smooth and you're getting 30mpg by the time you get home 
Got home last night at 8pm. 1885 miles, 123.5 gallons. Truck runs ridiculously rich, choke isn't even hooked up.
Awsome!!!
Wheres the build thread?
THis is it. Since I just got it home... there will be plenty more coming. I'm just surprised that there were no break downs, incidents or near misses the entire trip.
Sometimes God Smiles on us. And sometimes are roadkill Style Adventure and the whole lot better for us than it does for them. Looking forward to seeing where this thing goes and how your love affair with financial ruin develops.
Congrats on making it home safely! Post as much as you can about the carb tuning/learning process. I'm dipping into this soon myself.
So I just got my first quote. Tremec TKO transmission kit, complete with driveshaft fir $3700. I am going to need two extra jobs for this project!
I believe the GRM solution here is a used wide ratio Super T-10 and some better rear end gears. Or if you're gonna drop $4k on a trans and are mildly insane you can probably get a used road race Jerico (or similar) setup for under that if you're patient.
Having done a tko, keep looking. Especially if you are planning ls. Id personally do a paddle shifted 4l80e and 4.8 ls swap. Both from the same donor.
If manual is a requirement, lt1 six speed.
Bobzilla wrote: Got home last night at 8pm. 1885 miles, 123.5 gallons. Truck runs ridiculously rich, choke isn't even hooked up.
15.2 MPG? Not bad! Whats the rear end ratio? 3.08?
I'm leaning towards keeping the old school sbc. Eventually slip on some aluminum heads and the like.
Having a great laugh my T5 transporter work van does 32-35mpg, in traffic :) around these parts 500 litres of fuel would set you back $750. Awesome trip be watching to see how the carb tuning goes. If the edelbrock is similar to a Holley, then it sounds like main jets are too big. Carbs are cool, great excuse to drink beer while swapping around jets, power valves emulsion tubes etc. quick look on edelbrock site lots of info have fun!!
Another thought, NV3500 5 speed might be a possible cheap trans, not a sporty trans (though a lot more sporty than a SM465) but reasonably strong and came behind SBCs in the GMT400 trucks. Or going back to the LS idea, the cheapest way to get one installed is to buy a whole truck so you have all the little odds and ends. GM built some GMT800 trucks with a 4.8 and a NV3500, some of them are totally rotted out by now with good powertrains.
fidelity101 wrote:Bobzilla wrote: Got home last night at 8pm. 1885 miles, 123.5 gallons. Truck runs ridiculously rich, choke isn't even hooked up.15.2 MPG? Not bad! Whats the rear end ratio? 3.08?
If the tach is to be believed it's a 4.10-5.14. 31" tall tire in 4th gear at 65mph was 3700rpm. If then tach is set up for a v6 than that would translate to around 2800rpm at 65 which would make the rear end closer to a 3.73.
In reply to BrokenYugo:
The problem for me with the NV is the requirement to switch to a hydraulic clutch. I'm not going to lie, I like the feel of the manual cough. A lot.
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