"Lock Jaw" the 1979 Stepside

[warrpath4x4]

So this is kind of a long term project that I picked up back in 2022. Obviously a standard cab is not optimal for the wife, kid, and I but the kid is starting high school this fall so this can be a longer term project for when its just the wife and I or just myself going on Veteran Overland trips. So lets get you caught up.

Starting with I had a GMC Jimmy that was too nice to modify and beat up and traded it for this which was originally going to be more of a wheeler but my vehicle ADHD kicked in several times lol.

I have a soft spot for stepsides and this one I think is the 4th one I have owned.

Plans include a wheel/tire change, small lift, body and paint work. It wont be a show truck but a nice driver and maybe a little off-road.

Theres a replacement fender in the bed for this side

gonna need cab corners

"appears" to be the worst spot on the stepside fenders

 

[warrpath4x4]

definitely gonna need to re-repair the tailgate

thought about chopping angles on the ends of the bumper to shorten it some but im gonna build a whole new bumper for it.

engine bay we have 350 with a small cam, headers, weiand valve covers. she fires right up, doesnt even crank just hit it and its alive.

passenger battery tray needs replaced, its got 2 scraps of wood holding it up

driver side battery tray looks ok

 

[warrpath4x4]

Interior looks ok, B&M floor shifter that's seen better days, the dash pad is in the bed, transmission pan leaks, PO threw in a new chrome pan

factory tach, it moves when you rev it but in this pic the engine was off lol

I cant say i have ever seen one with the indicator light next to the column, it says Fog Lights

theres one on the other side also but i cant make out what it says

out with the 20's and in with the 15's (the tents just sitting on the bed for right now)

 

[warrpath4x4]

Around August of 2022

in its natural habitat... working. trimmed the trees out at the road and hauled the branches.

installed a H4 relay wiring harness for the headlights.

before

and after with the same sylvania bulbs

 

[warrpath4x4]

we put the new 105 amp powermaster alternator in, still need to make new battery cables for it. I have more parts coming in this week for it too.

So obviously the battery tray needed some work, this was after already removing one of the pieces of structural press board lol

I drilled out the spot welds and cut the fender side mounting piece off, built a new tray, waited 3 weeks because i needed a new welding bottle and didnt have time. then today welded the original tray sides to the new tray and sprayed it with rubberized coating.

This was January 2023

We got the 105 amp alt install finished, changed the leaking trans pan, new starter, ford starter solenoid, all new 2ga battery cables, auxiliary battery install almost finished, replaced the dual battery solenoid, installed resettable breakers (good idea, bad quality), and mounted the gang switch relay box (have not finished wiring it), a new head unit and powered sub.

 

[warrpath4x4]

December 2023

picked up some 37x13.50x15 SS-M16's on Spyderlock bead locks

sometime early in 2024 I picked up the suburban

test fitting tires

threw the 33's from the stepside on the sub

and threw the 37's on the stepside which at this time is having charging issues and has sat for a while, notice the cab full of parts boxes (fuel injection kit, ORD shackle flip, ORD crossmember, rebuilt column, door and window seals and gaskets, and a ton more that i cant even remember at this time)

 

[warrpath4x4]

October 2024

the truck has just been sitting while parts piled up inside it. Last February I ordered an A-bomb bumper from DIY4X, in July they went out of business but i was told mine would still be coming, it showed up last week. That was the last piece I was telling myself as an excuse I was waiting for to get started lol. Well this weekend I found a parts rig for the truck and of course it changes the plans a little...

Dana 60

H1 wheels

Its got ORD shackle flip and ORD front spring mounts and DIY4X aluminum dash

December 2024 moving the fleet around the property

The truck has sat for over a year, had a weird charging issue and i just parked it and started gathering parts. Yesterday I was going to move it and decided i would see if it would start (i pulled the battery cable when parked), hooked the cable up, then pulled the toyota up and and hooked up jumper cables before even trying anything, dumped a little gas in the carb, hit the key and it fired right away... then the starter got stuck lol. Shut it off and it was still cranking, run around and pull the cable, touch the cable to the battery and it cranks, pull the cable and smack the solenoid a few times, touch the cable to the battery and it cranks. At this point im like screw it, I only have to move it one time before tearing it down, touch the cable to the battery reach up and grab the throttle on the carb and it starts spitting fuel all over the engine, lost a seal in the priming pump. So i just end up towing it.

Walk in the house.
wife "you had to tow it huh?"
Me "ya, but it did start"

February 2025 I picked up a hydroboost brake setup of marketplace for $65

 

[Correus]

I man... I had a stepside in high school, wish I still had it.

 

[warrpath4x4]

April 2025

So I dont know if you are like me but I get pissed off at a rig and dont want to touch it... Thats the suburban right now. So back to work on the stepside.

The other week the kid and I went out and cleaned the bed out, pulled it, and pulled the "wood" out.

The youngster can crawl around on the ground lol

I need to pull the springs and throw new bushings in, install the ORD shackle flip, pull the fuel tanks, fix up things on the bed and reinstall. I am going to put a blazer fuel tank in, but have to decide how far into the bed floor to recess it and how to configure the floor around it and what to use. Thinking about using composite deck material

I bought that parts truck with the one tons a while back, went out and pulled the covers and the Dana 60 is 4.10 and the 14BFF is 3.73 and open, now I have the ability to re-gear it to match the front but thats $500-600 when I can go buy a 14BFF 4.10 with (what im guessing right now is) a gov-lock for $100

well that wasnt as good a deal as I thought, when i went to work on the axle adding disc brakes and cleaning the housing they had rags wrapped on the spindles, well it just rusted them

So im going to pull the 4.10 gears and gov-loc out and put it in the good housing that currently has 3.73 gears

 

[warrpath4x4]

went out tonight and pulled the rear leaf springs to put new bushings in and start the shackle flip. Started popping the old pushing out when i noticed that both spring packs have broken leaves

on both sides

At this point I had decided I was going to use the parts truck frame and cut off the "offroad flatbed" the PO was building AND THEN realized it was a long bed frame he cut the back off of so I could either cut and splice the frame behind the cab, cut the spring mounts off and move them (but the PO used about 5 pounds of welding wire on the) or just strip the frame of the good parts and go back to my original frame which is where im slowly going now.

 

[warrpath4x4]

And catching us up to last night, I picked up an SM465/NP205 for $75 off marketplace, it has a mechanical bellhousing but I want to find a stock hydraulic bellhousing as the parts truck came with a set of hydraulic/hydroboost pedals. Ive been carrying around a brand new flywheel, new clutch kit, and new shifter for the last 13+/- years.

Currently the plan is pull the engine and reseal it, install the ORD crossmember, ORD weld in steering box brace, u-joint steering shaft (either XJ or I have a Borgeson shaft), install the rebuilt column, install the SM465 with the NP208 unless I come across a pass drop NP241 before then, add the Aces fuel injection, DIY4X A-bomb winch mount, new 4" zone leaf springs front, shackle flip rear with some 64" 2005 2500HD springs I picked up also about 13 years ago, Dana 60, 14BFF, Hydroboost and 4 wheel disc brakes, (for now) the 37" military tires but one needs replaced for bad wear. I still need to pickup crossover steering and a 2wd steering box. Down the road I might regear and install a locker in the front, i would prefer to install an NV4500 over the SM465 but thats just not in the books right now, but maybe later.

 

[Sparksalot]

Cool truck!