The GMT400 thread (88-98 GM full-size trucks)

I'm doing a little project right now for my 97 model long bed pictured earlier in this thread. 
 

A set of early 8 inch wide rally wheels to replace the GMT400 wheels which are 7 inches wide. The early wheels are not only wider, but the offset it a bit more aggressive so they visually fill the fender wells better. 
 

I love it!  I have a set of those painted up waiting on a good deal on some tires to go on my shortbed someday.

SkinnyG (Forum Supporter) said:

This is how it starts.  And then soon you're "that guy" with all those vehicles in the back yard, and then more and more and more of them start showing up, because people know you collect them.

Excellent progress!

I am envious.

Oh boy. I'm already that guy with the Saab 900s in this area... Its good to be back in the 400 game though! My '94 C2500HD Suburban diesel served us well for many years. 

In reply to frenchyd :

Okay tell me more.

In reply to Cousin_Eddie (Forum Supporter) :

Those look great! My truck really needs some rallies.

In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :

Sorry I got busy. 
  1997 I purchased it ( 1997  1/2 T  4x4 350 V8  short box step side ) new for $20,000  20 years later I called the junkyard to haul it away. The engine was untouched with 371,xxx miles on it still using less than a 1/2 quart of oil every 5000 miles. Original untouched tranny, starter, etc etc etc .  In fact in 20 years and all those miles I spent only $1000 for repairs.  
 Yes regular and quality maintenance was done. 
  The remarkable thing was not just the low cost  and great number of miles but the work it did. 
 It honestly hauled my house to here. Pieces at a time. Timbers, stone, plumbing wiring tools  windows and even equipment to be used lifting up those Timbers or providing a platform to construct my home 
   

In reply to frenchyd :

In reply to rattfink81 :

I have ordered universal seatbelts from Amazon and some brackets ordered from seatbeltplanet.com they'll be here in a week or two, I'll post an update when I get them in.

Seatbelts- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09PHWKGMZ/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_ZMHB6G509VEQGD692XEM

Brackets- https://www.seatbeltplanet.com/i-30498159-hardware-kit-1.html

In reply to frenchyd :

It sad you still don't have it.  I want a 2WD short bed stepside..... quite a bit. 

In reply to TheMilkman :

Awesome. That would be great if they work well.

I got my 8 inch rally wheels on today finally. The difference in stance between the OBS 7 inch wheels that I had and the squarebody 8 inch wheels is quite striking in person. They really fill out the fenderwells better.

Looks great!

It took me three months to restore the old rusty wheels and save up the cash for new trim rings, center cap decals, center cap bolts and installation. 

In reply to Cousin_Eddie (Forum Supporter) :

That's beautiful!  The stance with that squarebody offset is spot on.  You've just convinced me to put the late model sport mirrors on my 91 too.

06HHR (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to Cousin_Eddie (Forum Supporter) :

That's beautiful!  The stance with that squarebody offset is spot on.  You've just convinced me to put the late model sport mirrors on my 91 too.

Funny how people do things. I'm going the other way.

My next little project on this truck is to go full 1988 grille and mirrors to backdate the look. I have a bunch of NOS GM parts to get the quad sealed beam front end look. 

Buyers Guide ?

Someone told me about a 1992......

Where are the rust spots ?  Its a California Car now but no idea if it always was in California.

Thanks

Cousin_Eddie (Forum Supporter) said:

06HHR (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to Cousin_Eddie (Forum Supporter) :

That's beautiful!  The stance with that squarebody offset is spot on.  You've just convinced me to put the late model sport mirrors on my 91 too.

Funny how people do things. I'm going the other way.

My next little project on this truck is to go full 1988 grille and mirrors to backdate the look. I have a bunch of NOS GM parts to get the quad sealed beam front end look. 

Think twice about the sport mirrors.  Then think again.  
 They do look nice, looking at them but they are horrible to live with. 
 Yeh I probably got better fuel mileage because of them.  But not have a clear picture of what was behind or around me  regularly scared the beejezzus out of me. ( and offended plenty of motorists who's prolonged use of  horn and a single finger salute ) 

In reply to frenchyd :

I think i could live with the later ones from a 95-99 MY, they are much larger than the early ones and not much smaller than what I have now.  I'm mainly tired of having to re-adjust mine from them getting bumped out of position, or lately moving on their own at highway speeds.  It's more for that then the looks.  

Going from this: 

to this: 

Won't lose me too much mirror area, and once adjusted (i'll get the manual versions) should stay in place.

I hated to do it but I had to take the Burb out of storage today. Taking a little road trip this weekend and it's the only thing I own big enough to haul the full crew.  ~500 mile round trip this weekend and then time for a very thorough cleaning and back in the garage until April. 

In reply to rattfink81 :

The Seat belt worked great but I did have to extend the buckle cable with some steel cable and some wire rope clamps, both bought at Home Depot, as it was too short to mount securely to the bolt under the seat. 

Thanks for the follow up!

528 miles. No problem, even after sitting for 4 months. It snowed several inches last night. 

it looks awful now but I will be hitting the car wash hard with a lot of underbody washing. 

Just bringing this one back to the top. I was using my truck today to haul a drill press and snapped a picture of it sitting in my driveway. That is all...