GMC Safari resurrection

GMC Safari resurrection Here you can follow the progress, as we aim to restore a 1994 GMC Safari back to its full glory.

A couple of weeks ago my cruise control suddenly stopped working. Well yesterday my 'airbag' light came on.Typical Aliso...
25/08/2026

A couple of weeks ago my cruise control suddenly stopped working. Well yesterday my 'airbag' light came on.
Typical Alison style, panic mode activated, thinking the worst as always.
Logical thinking required.
1st job, Air Bag light. Removed the fuse, cleaned the contacts, refit the fuse. Problem solved 😁

2nd job, cruise control. After tracing the wires I found the connector I needed to test the wires at. It was broken!
Now, I have never seen a connector like this (and wouldn't have if I wasn't searching for it, because it was hidden behind the parking brake pull handle.)
It is a small piece of circuit board with 2 tracks on each side as contacts. This slots into a female connector and then is held in place with a clip.
Turns out the board has snapped. Considered trying to bodge a fix and finally settled on bypassing the connector altogether and soldering the wires directly to each other.
Just need to take Blue for a run to test the cruise control, but I'm quietly optimistic.

Update - Cruise Control works again 😁💪

Something special is in the making🤫.... Watch this space!Alternatively it could all end in disaster. Who knows?🤷
25/08/2026

Something special is in the making🤫.... Watch this space!

Alternatively it could all end in disaster. Who knows?🤷

A productive weekend on some of the bodywork and another rattle can emptied lol.Sometimes it's good to reflect how far B...
16/08/2026

A productive weekend on some of the bodywork and another rattle can emptied lol.

Sometimes it's good to reflect how far Blue has come. 3 years of hard work, disasters, doubts, regrets, surprises, failures and much more. Looking back through the photos, shows just one aspect of the transformation.

Update - simply the fuel pump relay. Normal service resumed.Well he's looking better.... Shame he won't start - again. 🤷...
11/08/2026

Update - simply the fuel pump relay. Normal service resumed.

Well he's looking better.... Shame he won't start - again. 🤷🤦

Fix one thing.... Another thing breaks.
After 3 years, I finally solved the passenger window switch mystery. It's always worked from the drivers side master, but never from the passenger side. Over time I've replaced, both switches, added relays, bypassed the wiring, etc. but nothing worked. When I finished putting the passenger door card on etc. I put it all back as it was and gave up. The window now magically works!
What did I do? Well during the investigation I found a 115ohm bleed, which is why I added the relays for a true zero ground. However it turns out that when I replaced the back of the master switch (which has always been missing and held together with insulation tap), this solved the 'bleed'.
The simplest things are often the most overlooked.🤦

Now onto the next problem.... 😔

Freshly painted wing mirror. Really starting to put the whole theme together, bit by bit.Red, white and blue all the way...
05/08/2026

Freshly painted wing mirror. Really starting to put the whole theme together, bit by bit.
Red, white and blue all the way! 🇺🇸

No dogs were harmed in taking this photo. I've not run over Loki. He always lays in the stupidest places when I'm working on the van 🤦🤣.

New exterior door handle ordered. Found a crack in the casing causing it to twist and keep coming unhooked.😔Replaced the...
01/08/2026

New exterior door handle ordered. Found a crack in the casing causing it to twist and keep coming unhooked.😔
Replaced the lower roller bracket on the sliding door. Can't believe how bad the old one was. Both rollers were completely jammed and the hold-open catch was seized open. Cleaned 32 years of crap out of the gully, including a pencil end with rubber, a couple of pen lids and a bunch of random bits. Cleaned, degreased and lubricated all parts.
All in all, quite pleased with today's progress. I can finally close the sliding door without a fight. 💪
Oh and also repaired and repainted the wing mirror. 😎 (No pic yet)

The door is on! What a task 😱.New hinge pins fitted with the 'new' door. Handle and key lock transferred from the old be...
31/07/2026

The door is on! What a task 😱.
New hinge pins fitted with the 'new' door. Handle and key lock transferred from the old bent door. I never want to replace an exterior handle ever again.... Fiddly is an understatement and certainly stressful.
All the wiring done today. Including another attempt to work out why the window switch doesn't work. 2 switches tried, 2 wiring looms tried, every single wire tested and working as it should.... But it remains a mystery 😔. It works from my side, so I guess he'll have to carry on requesting the window up and down lol.
Started repainting the wing mirror, once that is done it can be fitted, then the door card can go back on.
Unfortunately putting the new, straight door on has highlighted a dent on the sliding door I'd not noticed until now. So whilst I'm replacing the bottom roller bracket, it looks like that will need sorting 🤞.

And another transformation taking shape. 😁
19/07/2026

And another transformation taking shape. 😁

Coming along nicely now.Removed the old door pin (lazy door removal = cut hinge off van🤦).Couple of coats of blue on the...
19/07/2026

Coming along nicely now.
Removed the old door pin (lazy door removal = cut hinge off van🤦).
Couple of coats of blue on the inside, so far.
It's gonna be the best part on the whole van, once it's finished and fitted 🤣🤣.

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