Ray's Chevy (and GMC) Restoration Site
Page 1 of 6 ... June 2003 - August 2003
This 1977 Sierra Classic was purchased new by my grandfather Phil (on Dad's side of the family) in December 1976. He special ordered it with a number of options including:
I have searched through some old family photo albums, but have yet to find any pictures of this truck back when Grandpa owned it. Dad bought the truck when Grandpa passed away in 1988. It was getting a bit rusty so Dad replaced the fenders, doors, and RH bedside with new GM parts in 1989 and had the truck re-painted in it's original two-tone blue color. The first photo above was taken some time shortly after that in the early 90's.
The aluminum side trim that originally separated the two-tone paint was in poor condition so it was left off after the re-paint. Dad also made a few other changes such as replacing the original wheels & RPO P01 wheel covers with a set of GM PA6 wheels, and swapping on a pair of '79 headlight bezels and lower grille trim along with some '73/'74 amber parking/turn signal lenses. And he added a few aftermarket accessories including a Lund sun visor, guide posts, diamond tread aluminum running boards, light bar, and a Fisher Plow Pushmate (when not using the plow in the summer).
The second photo above was taken in 2001, shortly before we started the restoration. As can be seen in that photo, the paint was getting a bit faded and dull. Although most of the panels Dad put on back in '89 were original GM, he did end up going with an aftermarket LH bedside since the GM one for dual tanks with the round filler hole had been discontinued. Those GM panels were all still in good condition, but that aftermarket bedside had started rusting out above the wheelwell and had to be patched & re-painted in the mid/late 90's. The driver side cab corner (which was still original) was starting to show some rust bubbles under the paint as well.
One of the areas that needed the most restoration work was the original wood bed floor. It was getting quite rotten and had earlier been patched in a few sections. The steel flanges that mate the wood up to the bedsides and inner wheel tubs were also getting rusty.
We stripped the rear half of the frame down in preparation for sandblasting. The rear spring hangers and the rear crossmember were heavily rusted so we removed them. The rear spring hangers were replaced with new GM parts and the crossmember was replaced with a good used one off a parts truck.
Here is the rear half of the frame after a couple coats of semi-gloss black paint. The rear axle housing was also sandblasted and painted. The leaf springs, shocks, and brake lines are all new. We also refurbished the rear brakes with new drums, shoes, wheel cylinders, and hardware.
The cab was still in good condition for a truck this age. The passenger side rocker panel and cab corner are original and were not showing any signs of rust. The driver side rocker panel and cab floor had already been replaced when dad fixed the truck up back in 1989. The original driver side cab corner was starting to get a little rusty at the bottom so I replaced it. The inner cab corner was also getting rusty so I replaced that too.