Clarkie
Junior Member
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2023
- Posts
- 23
- Reaction score
- 81
- Location
- Markdale, Ont, Canada
- First Name
- Brad
- Truck Year
- 1985
- Truck Model
- Sierra Classic 1500
- Engine Size
- 355
Hi all, this is my first post to the forum after joining about a month ago and I have enjoyed looking through the various threads. Anyway, here’s a short-ish story about my ‘85:
I learned about a month ago that the ‘85 GMC Sierra Classic 1/2 ton that I owned for 19 years and sold 12 years ago might be for sale. I always missed the truck, but I replaced it with my dream car: a 1972 Buick GS Stage 1 4-speed, so I never really thought about it much. I sold it to a local guy and I figured I’d never get it back again because I already had my dream car. I’d see it around occasionally, but I never really gave it a second thought.
Anyway, I called the guy and it turned out that I missed getting it back by three weeks. My heart sank, but then he told me who he had sold it to. The new owner turned out to live four kilometres from where I work. He gave me the new owner’s phone number and suddenly I had hope.
I made the call and I told him that I used to own the truck and he said he would sell it. I went to see it that evening after work. I was super excited to see it up close again. It has been lowered since I owned it, the paint was really faded, there were dings in the body that weren’t there 12 years ago. When I opened the hood, I could see that it hadn’t been detailed since the day I sold it. But, the decals were still on the firewall from when I built the small block in 1997. I couldn’t help but smile.
I have a lot of history with the truck. My dad painted it in 1994 (the summer after I bought it) because I didn’t like the original paint scheme. I’ll post a pick of another truck with the same paint scheme to show you what it looked like (it’s kind of grown on me now though). My dad passed nearly 12 years ago, so there’s lots of sentimental value there too. I rebuilt the engine. I pulled the original 305 and built a 0.020 over 350 four-bolt main, swapped to a TH350 so it would work better with the Holley double pumper and added a shift kit and I put in 3.73 rear gears along with an Auburn posi unit.
The truck had been stored inside when it wasn’t being driven, so it was still a very solid truck.
I told the new owner that I was definitely interested in it and he told me his number to let it go. Those three weeks were going to cast me $2k.
I went back to check it out a week later, just because. Anyway, this past Monday, I drove the old girl home. The lope of lumpy 485* lift/280* duration cam through the 40 Series Flowmasters (both of which were added by me all those years ago) was music to my ears.
Slipping in behind the wheel and assuming the driving position felt like the last time I drove it was only yesterday, not 12 years ago.
Below is a couple of pics. The cap was an addition done by the guy that I sold the truck to and it certainly won’t be staying.
According to him it’s dropped 4 inches in the back using Belltech lowering shackles and it has 3-inch drop spindles with stock springs in the front. As you can see it’s a little nose up. I’m wondering about using 2-inch lowering springs to level it out. What are your thoughts? You folks know a lot more about lowering these trucks than I do. I was always content with the stock ride height.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading and thank you in advance for your advice regarding what to do about dropping the front a little more.
I learned about a month ago that the ‘85 GMC Sierra Classic 1/2 ton that I owned for 19 years and sold 12 years ago might be for sale. I always missed the truck, but I replaced it with my dream car: a 1972 Buick GS Stage 1 4-speed, so I never really thought about it much. I sold it to a local guy and I figured I’d never get it back again because I already had my dream car. I’d see it around occasionally, but I never really gave it a second thought.
Anyway, I called the guy and it turned out that I missed getting it back by three weeks. My heart sank, but then he told me who he had sold it to. The new owner turned out to live four kilometres from where I work. He gave me the new owner’s phone number and suddenly I had hope.
I made the call and I told him that I used to own the truck and he said he would sell it. I went to see it that evening after work. I was super excited to see it up close again. It has been lowered since I owned it, the paint was really faded, there were dings in the body that weren’t there 12 years ago. When I opened the hood, I could see that it hadn’t been detailed since the day I sold it. But, the decals were still on the firewall from when I built the small block in 1997. I couldn’t help but smile.
I have a lot of history with the truck. My dad painted it in 1994 (the summer after I bought it) because I didn’t like the original paint scheme. I’ll post a pick of another truck with the same paint scheme to show you what it looked like (it’s kind of grown on me now though). My dad passed nearly 12 years ago, so there’s lots of sentimental value there too. I rebuilt the engine. I pulled the original 305 and built a 0.020 over 350 four-bolt main, swapped to a TH350 so it would work better with the Holley double pumper and added a shift kit and I put in 3.73 rear gears along with an Auburn posi unit.
The truck had been stored inside when it wasn’t being driven, so it was still a very solid truck.
I told the new owner that I was definitely interested in it and he told me his number to let it go. Those three weeks were going to cast me $2k.
I went back to check it out a week later, just because. Anyway, this past Monday, I drove the old girl home. The lope of lumpy 485* lift/280* duration cam through the 40 Series Flowmasters (both of which were added by me all those years ago) was music to my ears.
Slipping in behind the wheel and assuming the driving position felt like the last time I drove it was only yesterday, not 12 years ago.
Below is a couple of pics. The cap was an addition done by the guy that I sold the truck to and it certainly won’t be staying.
According to him it’s dropped 4 inches in the back using Belltech lowering shackles and it has 3-inch drop spindles with stock springs in the front. As you can see it’s a little nose up. I’m wondering about using 2-inch lowering springs to level it out. What are your thoughts? You folks know a lot more about lowering these trucks than I do. I was always content with the stock ride height.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading and thank you in advance for your advice regarding what to do about dropping the front a little more.
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