1996 GMC 5-speed

[DanStokes]

I guess we got 2 feet or so.

Me too. They're under the desk as I type this!

Dan

[Barry Donovan]

Me too. They're under the desk as I type this!

Dan

I only got a foot and a half.
whatever works.

I went for a favorite ride. I never feel so good to find a road with no one else, on my own.. stuff I built or keep.



I have a video, dash cam. 6 -8 foot piles on the side. I wanted the woods to verify total amounts. It is more than 2 feet.
The top of the cab is 74 inches.

note the delicate thumpiness of my my gentle 305. ( I need to check for 350 on the block)



I am the yellow dot
Found this today from our NOAA gov't website.
It is official.

We now have another foot on the way for tomorrow.

[Barry Donovan]

new editing

---

My truck would like to talk to you.




I really like the Sony SLT. No need for a mirror anymore, the DSLR does not have the chroma necessity like in old film...mirror not needed. Sony proves it. I like sharing the photos it takes.

I have admitted to making hundreds of videos, it may be thousands. Cameras that should have gone to junk adding to what I did for fun.
Other subjects caught up to me, I let the digital stuff go. Even my music.
Besides, mentioning a hobby that uses my own man's imagination brings a gonorrhea through the sky...all that from welding and car and trucks videos only.
I blamed my locale, or bad internet filters. By the time it went content, I do not even have a counter ticking on you tube.
My first 3 years on the net was a hijacked dial up, I got saved by the gov't and ebay and amazon. Bizarre dark history I have. I ponder some echo of things that never changed to my normal path, as a haunt.

except for this 24 seconds of fame.
My too tall big blue eyed mother would certainly understand what I just said.
Turning 44 is not a crisis.. but there is changes.
I often wonder what my mom would have gone through...she only made it to 39.

I'll goal not to be a cold disabled veteran as much as possible.

Anyway, I forgot my quest for a time, thinking of health and future..did not even make a new years goal.
I am going to attempt more videos at my level. I left off gaining attention in transitions, use of sound.
That scared me.
I have accepted my unique ways..and I have fun. Will get back into it.

I am staying real simple...getting old you know.
This dash camera is not easy for edits, hence cheap for HD.

Sony editing stuff has struck a good note with me, the editing. I fell right in, read no instructions. Got into complex things right away. Being a custom PC man, I don't hesitate to wander away from Adobe clans.
They are considered the best, like final cut to an apple.
I have found quirky things more than a decade ago, that would be considered mistakes to older gurus in my old videos.. gone to good use by younger you tubers that even became famous.
I feel uplifted to see it.

A huge lesson for internet career dwellers is the sheer amount of opinions. Incredible.
I get to stay away from that too..
the real winners, are real workers adding to a new realm with no reward but seeing it repeated.

Not sure what I want to take in through my lense.. but journalism of any kind is always a subject.

[Barry Donovan]

the sun

---

a new sight for me, almost blinding.. this thing called the sun.
The ground is still very cold, but air creeped past 32F.
Truck was caked with ice/snow underneath. Hard version.



Took it to a truck wash and hammered the ice off with pressure, wanted to get a look at the framing and mounts etc.

I did indeed make something strong.
Frost heaves to go along with the slop, it is like having a baja ready machine, but not for fun.

looks like more density on the right rear after this winters harder months. I was expecting that last year.. took awhile.

the rear left has a 3 foot run, easy going welds with a plate etc. ..but the right rear has a short run of very dense laminate and even boxing in. Very hot weld it was. I remembered my 1979 at the same spot...wanted to go extra on the extra.

I may give it a new spring hanger, right rear...but might cut out the old one in the top half and replate. Those do not like to change, you weld the frame behind it, you could even crack a young one.
This one went to some springy layer on one side, no measure by eyeball changed. Quite strong, pulling a subaru sideways out of a snow pile up to my chest was a good test. I noticed the bumper at the hitch..that middle plate bends if to over do it. Gotta stay aware of wimpy half ton limits.

Very tough subject if to really think about it, after committing to it. Especially here. Just cryogenics alone, into 20 below is quite a mastering.
I am in for the win. Don't even know what strength above oem I made.
Years of Nature's abuse only need a memory to call it knowledge.

a 77mph cruise on the longer highway home, a small group in the 80s mph went sneaking on by. Smooth as can be, alignment still right on.

Pretending this is older is easier than acknowledging no speed limiter into 140mph for sure.

[Barry Donovan]

warm and water drops

---

I got a 45F reading on my thermometer. It seems hot. Even a disabled neighbor is walking around in a T-shirt.

Enough snow on the ground to make the subaru look like a toy leaning off on some ice foundation.



The pathway is strangely inline with it, the snow perfectly cut off the sides is as tall as the front end.

The truck being freshly cleaned gets another look over. Water drops sounding like a little empty barrel hitting the front part of hollow fenders on the bed as snow melts from the inside.
Monolithic welds of just a couple of summers emerging back through in the definition I gave them.

Not even the paint has flaked on the frame. Bouncing around like a baja and demanding an 80mph cruise control, wind sideways, ice rain, blizzard, and a not so bad -16.6F was our low this year.

It is now mine...with my own approval.

A coon dog echoing its call off in the distance reminds me how big things will start sounding for the coming weeks. Real air density and temps climbing back through the engine and all iron pieces, earning their way for the vacation land.

I remember quiet moments like this with my dads rigs. Pondering the 120k mile of the prior year, now the year being new. Creaking noises just sitting still knowing the summer sun is coming back.. like aching bones to a giant human we never knew to exist.

My vehicles and chores seem easy. The rigs are my dinosaur standard to look up to.
Inspection for next month, I like to take it to real builders places..but this one can go anywhere...except dealer. They are very sneaky in making up false facts for the naive.

That may be where my truck came from. I learned what GMC did with the turn ins of the older trucks. They want them off the new lots in time intervals.They end up at auctions, and then another realm of dealers takes them in to flip for a sale. My own had lines drawn at needing steel work. The pain of seeing the very long repair list of an owner that cared for years.. it ended up my best purchase ever.

These two trucks had my interest since the new facts. Especially the duramax. The duramax coincides with my factory half ton of 20 years old. Same GVWR, same max tow.

The secret to the wimpy half ton is let out on my own build, as the 6200 is the minimum beginning. The Manual trans is what drops another 200 off the others. These are "normal" at 6500 - the gmt400 half tons. Any welds or structure changes and its exponentially going past some HD or even 3/4 ton.

I wouldn't know what to call my custom today. Maybe a GVWR of 7000 real easy...and potential to go way beyond that as well.

Anyway, I really like the new duramax, would love to get one.

[Barry Donovan]

inspection time

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I am all ready for another one.
Called my usual place.



That is me and my subaru, it is part of the google ad apparently..I used to live next door.
This photo is 5 years old in google maps.



I seem to be ready to go, but they will let me know on balljoints. they did upper and lower on the passenger side last year. That is the only thing I don't check.
I changed sway bar end link, checked brakes... but it was an elusive balljoint.

the only gmc truck death due to a mechanical fail I had ever read about in local news was a balljoint snapping... It went right off the road in a bad place to do so.
I like the pros to get at them.

the torsion years do have a way of being sneaky. I remember trying to move stuff around, could not. They make it easy.
it is in the way they jack it up and use their machine, it can find any slop at all.
it is a lift with a front end extras, just for those types of repairs. They can even measure the slop..not just bang stuff around.

[Barry Donovan]

passed inspection

---

I am thinking way back to the last time I had to do nothing for inspection...
it must have been the 1990s. I had a nearly mint monte carlo SS.



proud of this old beast. It is only my third of 23 vehicles that have gone past 20 years and to pass state inspections. I do not cheat on that subject ,as it is life and death.
I was a military crew chief you know.
1. my first 20yr ols northern daily driver was a 1974 chevelle in 1994. Needed nothing.
2. one of my 1987 subarus... it had one lucky year after turning 20.
3. This GMC. By far the most robust of course.. and welding is super easy.

This trucks claim to frame (pun) is my welds carrying a legit grade, and it is by far the most high miles I have ever had to look and sound this good.
Even the mechanic complimented the sound.

$12.50, came back home. spent more on the jamaican curry chicken and two coffees...and 20 in gas.

Going to do more in the back, my design of weight dispersion to go way beyond on the factory bumper. I still limit to factory numbers, but want to go beyond anyway.
odometer: 358,600 miles.

[Barry Donovan]

I thought this was cool. they be living a common daydream I used to fulfill..
just drive.

The diesel trucks was always ultimate, never got one.
The fuel mileage is better than a modern subaru wagon.
this truck weighs more than 6000 empty.

I got a look underneath of this one, in one of their videos.
they removed the cat, runs straight pipe.

I would not be surprised if the tails are broken (no bumper), and they fill the tank despite the crossmember with a big rotten chunk missing in the middle.

I ponder 1997 is the magic year...
or late 96.
late 96 is May of 96.
The steel is freakishly long lasting, and welds very easy. Accepts 70k psi no problems...even advanced rust, and chunks.

my prediction for these mechanical young-ins.. I won't say out loud.. but I am sure it is going to happen (it is good).

[Barry Donovan]

hot brake!

---

We used to yell that when tankers came in smoking the old main gear brakes. One of my common jobs was to approach it with fire crews, give it a thumbs up or down.
second year in a row, late february. The left front brake is coming out of arctica. Brake fluid does in fact expand and shrink....

Never siezes.. but it does get tight. Reminds me of a 1984 GMC my friend J used to drive..
dense fog, flood warning and quite warm...the pavement in this parking lot is little more bent than I am used to seeing. Entire swaths of land are going to go through a change.
I have joked to call this place a bit of california and texas at the same time.


back to internet explorer
"ACTION CODE : ISR completed" is back smacking me in the face for no reason random.

..and I cannot upload images from internet explorer.

[Barry Donovan]

canadian ad - craigslist.

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This is a first.

https://sherbrooke.craigslist.ca/cto/5996390416.html

I look for the diesels with manual tranny. Maine is surrounded by canada, never see any ads until now.

This is a bargain BTW.
203k, 10 years old, 6 speed manual.

Oddly enough, maine has the gas trucks huge prices, heading south they get cheaper. Diesels drop off cheap here, and heading south they quadruple.

6500.

kilometers on the odom.

[Barry Donovan]

kenhadden border and back.

---

I remembered something on the hot brake.. front left.
this happens to vehicles not driven into spring time expansion enough.
Took it for a 200 mile loop.

back to normal.

I also recorded it due to my close encounter with a deer northbound.
recorded the ride home.





forgive my aim out the window blind.
this sign mentions the last exit on I-95.
I got on the first one headed south instead.

kenahadadans are scary people.

still recording for timelapse. I watch too much of 3-10 seconds at a time. Forget there is a real world with half a million miles on it, engines made out of iron and no automatic gears squishing the dream of power.

This may be the vehicle with my longest ride yet to come...

I-95 had some baja sections, rutted gulley and vibrating type bumps if on little wheels...was not expectong tat near 80mph.
I never altered cruise control to gently pounce through on the pillowy 31 inch tires. In the clip, that is where the ford ramp truck slowly passed on the right. I had no desire to go faster.. left cruise control alone.
2250 rpm... for decades.
77mph.

inspecting this the following day found a exfoliation chunk off passenger side shock mount, still sitting in the bottom of the C-rail, where I left it last summer.
Ready to go.

I did think of little cars or my dad's old leaf spring rigs. Damn this place used to hurt. I never took a little car north, not once.

I have some extras I will share for this summers welds. I want to make the fuel tank cross member end on the driver side to go back to the weird gas strap design. Those used to unhook on the wrong terrain, from brand new onward. Will see what I can do to humor OE with mods. For now it is rugged with a custom hook right over the top of the whole fuel/frame crossmember. No doubting that welded setup either.

The other weld was to finish the spare tire crossmember into an internal weight dispersion. There will be no more drop hitch on this half ton. The only two dumb things the GM pickups get, and I am working both. I want a genuine 400-800 pound tongue weight. common numbers.

Used no fluids on this ride either. Strong drivetrain.

[Barry Donovan]

spring time hot brake!

---

sticky brake.. late february-march.
Not just my truck that does this. My subaru etc... depends on the vehicle.
I have reason to believe , the newer it is, the more likely it will do it.
brake fluid coming back out of arctica is the culprit.

Now I remember the fix. Pop off master cylinder cover, and scoop over whatever is unbalanced between the two chambers. Will do it on its own..but good fluid takes its time through the slit sized balancer. Don't have to wait, just move it around with a scooper of makeshift variety.
it is supposed to do this on its own..but that is the way of a sealed system after months of maine winter. Must be slight vacuum after a long cold winter to shrink it. Gains a pressure to expansion. Some master cylinders do not let it out. My GMC would have to pop the lid off, like my subaru. It does not account for fluid density changes.

like ATF in a lot of ways, some power steering fluids.. the engineers invent it at 70F and assume the whole planet is 70F at all times.

front left brake let right off, back to smooth cool sailing.




rode around in this fog, loving the thought of the bright modern LED headlamps. This weather was my first admiration for them on a truck coming at me some years ago, I could see it coming through the density.

full speed ahead. Maine chore list complete. Except for bumper push bars. A soft version comes in handy.

[Barry Donovan]

cold records

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I can see the X with a circle around it from here.

Just a few days ago was warm records...that which maine also ignores.
Watch out for zombies!



awoke to 2 below, wind howling..going on 36 hours?



the high was just over 9F, now 430pm, at 7F..dropping quick.
looking at canada, james bay, hudson bay to the northwest.
incredible cold.. that is where the wind is coming from.

I wager well below zero for dawn.
12 below is my guess.

mt. washington broke a 40 yr old record today.


the oddity with this cold..
the march sun still warmed my trucks cab to 43F.. even in the wind.
It is proof there is a measure missing. All I do for vehicles revolves around the missing link.
A pun that kicks the monkey out of the monkey.
Still alive is evolution, on the ground flopping around... muttering nonsense, bordering insanity of invention.

Will post this evenings low tomorrow morning.
I am glad the cryogenic brake did not lose for another year. I went for a ride to the store. Truck is doing good.

[Barry Donovan]

burning brake!

---

359060 miles.



it went too far today, started smoking.. driver side front.
I am an odd physilogical experiment being the disabled veteran realm I am in.
I had joked my brake pedal knows when there is no rubber pad on the pedal between it and my foot.
I replaced that just a couple of weeks ago.
I ponder my nuclear foot retreating with a rubber buffer tightened up the calipers.
Pads were in good shape, leaving rotors in excellent condition. Thick like new, no grooves.

Got my shopping done, still cold enough in the sun to leave frozen goods in the hot black bed.

I waited in sam's club parking lot to be sure a rim did not crack or tire pop.. it was that hot.

Went to O'reillys to price calipers and pads.. I was ready to just swap the whole thing in pairs...
55 bucks with veterans discount.. and core return.
2 new calipers, and both side new pads.. semi metallic. It even came with new bolts. Bonus.

exactly what it needed.
As it turned out, the passenger caliper was bad, the driver side was overworking.
The brake got so hot, it smoked the entire time I replaced both front, bled, and was back out in the driveway as it sat on the garage floor.

That was damn hot. I wonder if turned red.
I was lucky to be able to attack it right away.

A huge power increase, I had no clue I was dragging a brake for a year.
good fuel saver: stop dragging brakes.
GMC hypermiling tip of the day.

brought it up to needle buried, (75 maine miles an hour) then gave the tach a few seconds beyond that... a maine 80 mph.
Smooth as glass, wind whistling past on this calm sunny day.


The passenger side was old, the rubber on the bolts was an old style nitrile, in decay. Someone got the driver side not long ago, but given how hot it got, I simply replaced both fronts. Both new.. or remanned.. whatever it is, they get modern quality assurance.

in other road going news.. another beautiful house was up in smoke in mn road south Hampden. I felt bad to see it.. a lot of pride in that stretch of road. Did not find it in the news..

Right behind me was what I thought was a red porsche boxster..
but no, it was one of those new 718 speedsters.

No, they do not sound like a subaru.. at all. A nice dense engine sound, higher compression. Takes off pretty quick.
This area is not exactly billionares.. but I remember stephen king had a mercedes coupe, bright red. We used to see him driving all the time. I wondered if it was him, cruising through his old hampden maine.

Truck ready to go, I have some Veterans Admin hospital taxi chores for this month, as well as my own doctors appt. Making sure it all good for the 222 miles.

[Barry Donovan]

brake followup

---

brakes do several things here..
when humidity hits 10% wind howling at 15 below. a lot of things happen to many things.
A desire to change dope laws to further goop a beef jerky brain is indeed a maine outcome.

me? I go for a thing called "water", that is "agua" in spanish. Something tells me other people in other countries use it too...
you know, to stay ALIVE.




anyway.
the March sun, even behind the clouds.. keeps the ice off the trees that are waking up, but the roads are very slick.
Great time to try out ABS, and it is doing great. I also check the banjo bolts on new calipers a day or two later.
Back to normal, driver side needed one little kick on the 11mm banjo bolt to squash a new copper washer.
A very common outcome: the banjo bolt is never sealed first try.

Given the scent of the changes, leftover dribbles. Nothing in the brake system is old. It must have had a routine in just a couple of year intervals. There is some tiny amounts of slop in the master cylinder, a little slimy carbon.. nothing to think about.
Something tells me this had a garage that smelled good...

back to beating it some more, a longer trip for this Friday. I wanted it squared away , ready to go.
one last followup is for density gains.. I'll wait for a 60F day to give it one pump bleeds on both front calipers. A trick for cold weather swaps is simply to wait for it to gravity feed to an open bleeder.. button it up and drive.

Hammering it in below freezing can have a spring time surprise. Modern brakes are smart.. but I still found a change.
60F is close to ambient of the earth. I also choose that number for night temperatures of serious steel welds. Too hot is no big deal.. snapping things to density too quick is like a hard skin with mush under it.