1988 S15 GMC Build/Resto/BS

Well, not sure if there is really a audience here for this kind of a build. But i've been in love with the 1st generation GMC/Chevy S10/S15, ever since i was a kid and first saw them with my dad at the hot-rod shows.

Little bit of a back story on the truck.
Its a 1988 GMC S15, 2.5L iron duke. It was my neighbors brother-inlaws, he unfortunately passed away about 4 years ago, and the truck was gifted to him. My neighbor drove it for a 3 months before it blew a head gasket, and thats where it sat for a few years. Last week he asked if i wanted the truck since he was clearing out his property. Picked the truck up 1/18/2020 and dropped off at my house. Spent a total of $0 for this beauty, but i suspect that the cheap cost will mean expensive repairs

Immediate plans:
To get it running under its own power again, and for it to be a reliable daily.
Engine will probably get rebuilt, it has 196k on the ODO.

Future plans,
350 Swap, Lowered and murdered out.

thanks for taking the time to read my thread!

 

Cool little rig.
Looks to be in nice shape
Have fun with the build.

 

thanks! yeah it was pretty rough before the wash but it cleaned up really nice. Few deep scratches and one small dent. I think ill live

 

Looks like fun! Even with a 4.3 swap it’ll be quick.

 

While I've never been a GM guy and have never owned one, I love those little first-gen S10/S15 pickups. The styling was so clean and simple, and they look awesome with a deep black paint job - there are plenty of flat surfaces to give you those nice reflections.
My suggestion would be to throw a set of '80s Corvette "sawblade" wheels on it and do a Syclone tribute.

Good luck with the build and keep us posted!

 

Good looking little truck.

 

Of course there’s an audience for it.

I’m not really a fan of lowered trucks, tbh, but this is clean for the year. Subbed for build nudes

 

Thanks for the words of encouragement guys! Going to pressure test the radiator, and hopefully ( not hopefully ) see if its the head gasket leaking. While i trust my neighbor, I've learned never to go off of just one guys assessment, without double checking first.
I ordered a lot of misc stuff for the truck today on rockauto. Love that site, everything is so cheap compared to the box stores.

New Belts,
New Headlights,
New Brakes,
New Rear tail Lights,
New Seat cover,
Bought a new battery,
and I also got a Ozone cleaner. There was a couple critters that made this their home while it was parked those few years. Never used one before, but it looks pretty straight forward to get the smell out. (legit smells like Satans asshole)
I'll try and get more pictures of the interior and truck tonight after work.

 

Looking forward to seeing the interior of the truck. How’s it look?

 

Interior is clean, except for the seat. which is pretty rough. I'll snag some pictures tonight.

 

This was the first vehicle I ever owned. Put about 320k on that thing before it finally gave out. Engine was tired, but mostly suffered from rust.

 

Side note,
There is a few rust spots that ate through the paint on the passenger side, talking dime sized spots. What would be best for repair on that? not looking to repaint the whole truck quite yet. but I don't want it to spread anymore. Also, anyone got any tips on cleaning up rims? The front rims are pretty stained with brakedust, I scrubbed them pretty good and most came off. Someone said to try a little kerosene on a rag for the deep stuff.

 

Surprisingly the frame just has some surface rust. I will be sanding it, and painting it to make it look clean. Rest of the under body is pretty rust free.

 

Yea, it looks clean. The 1/4 panels on mine had holes in them lol. It lived most of it's life by the beach though, so the salt air got to it.

 

On mobile so I apologize if the pictures come out weird.. just about the worst news I could have regarding the 2.5l. Well I’ll just let the pictures speak for themselves.
And here’s some of the interior.
Quoted over $900 to machine the block, haven’t called around to get pricing at other places but, at this point I might just go straight for a swap.
Going to be looking for a complete donor truck. Preferably a older 1500 something I can pull the whole wiring harness and such. Engine will be going carbed to keep stuff simple.

 

Little update,
Going to look at a 1997 Tahoe that has a 5.7L and 4L60E transmission this weekend. Guy said it has axle problems but the engine and transmission were strong only 130k on the ODO.
he's asking $600. hopefully i can snag it for less to use as a donor vehicle. I'll scrap/Part out the rest to recoup some $$

 

Engine out, transmission has 2 bolts holding it on. But it’s getting late so it’ll be a job for tomorrow.

 

Everything is out, going to spend the rest of the weekend cleaning up the engine bay. ended up buying the Tahoe as my donor vehicle. The 5.7l looks like it’ll fit in super easy. Only things I don’t see fitting or getting to work are power steering, ac, and the radiator.
(Mobile sorry for wording)

 

thanks! truck should be a fun daily. After this I’ll turn my tacoma in to a full time trail rig!