The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

I don't have a name for the truck yet, since I have absolutely zero seat time at this stage.

Specs:
1970 K-20, factory AC cab 4spd, dana 60 front axle and 14 bolt rear, PDB and PS. Has a rebuilt 383 LWP setup in it but the AC stuff from the firewall forward is gone.

Previous owner painted the whole thing and built the bumpers for it. All I did was cut and buff it. It is a pretty nice paint job. Oh and yes it has been cut down to a SWB, as you could already tell. PO had it set for "monster truck" with a huge lift and 44" tires.

Mechanical is almost done, next will be interior. Most of what I had to do was goofy body guy stuff (throttle rod was zip tied to the carb, for instance) and some wiring. I know it won't be too popular a truck what with the chopped down frame and the 88-98 bed but I dig it.

Almost day 1
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps2jp7z64q.jpg

After cut & buff. He is good so it didn't take much wetsanding.
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps4jgb7w3d.jpg

Front bumper he built, awesome IMO. Made out of 3/16" plate. Had brackets made that mount in the receiver slot for the license plates. I found H4 headlights with built in turn signals so I didn't have to add on anything. I liked the clean look.

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...psikriex8q.jpg

As it sits now. Front springs were swapped to some Skyjacker softride 6" lift. Put some KYB shocks in.
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...psnfg8epyg.jpg
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...psybmsgxpr.jpg

New brake booster and master cyl. How bout those M/T valve covers!

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps2yf5rphl.jpg

Next is dash pad and seat cover. Interior was all repainted too. Then I'll slowly get the AC stuff and get that going by next summer.

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

looks way better with the lower stance. clean looking truck!

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

Nice truck!

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

Thanks for bringing that truck back to earth... :)

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

:agree: much better!

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

Would you believe I sold those hideous 44"s for a grand which almost paid for those wheels AND tires?

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

Went to take it for a test drive the other day and the brakes aren't good enough to hold it still in my driveway. Got the left rear drum of the 14b off and everything is coated with gear oil, so 1. no wonder the brakes can't do their job, and 2. it also looks like the cylinder isn't moving so I guess we'll be doing bearings, brakes, and seals!

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

Very nice truck I almost did a step side for my build. looks better with the 6" lift and new tires.

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

Did I say the mechanicals were almost done last august? Well here it is damn near next august and the thing is ready to go down and get plates & tags. While I was at it I replaced the broken gov-lock for a peg-leg, new ring & pinion, new front bearings & brakes, new aluminum radiator, heck its almost a new truck again!

The truck has been named "Brewtus" because, I'll be honest, I love beer!

Still need to replace that ugly cracked up steering wheel.
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...pshb4k0km8.jpg

Pulled the ol vac secondary holley off and decided it had to go, so I rebuilt a nice quadrajet which I actually pulled off my last truck, a 71 K20. It has great throttle response and idles super nice. Once I pulled the carb I saw it had a single plane intake, so I pulled that in favor of an edelbrock performer.

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...psibkhnsn0.jpg

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

Love that interior shot bud, did you have the bench reupholstered locally, or ordered that cover?

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

Cover is from Tim at truckseats. I installed.

This thing about ready to hit the road for good. I had to fix an overheating issue. New water pump and thermostat fixed that.

I still want to figure out some ebrake cable setup on this since I park on a sloped driveway. In the flattest town in eastern Oregon there isn't a single flat driveway or parking lot.
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Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

Inline tube should be able to get you set up, tell then how much lift you have and they should be able to extend the cable length, if you have the stock setup let them know how short the cable to drum is.

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

I tried to get them (Inline Tube) to work with us on our ebrake setup and they wouldn't customize anything for us. I was told they build to factory spec or reproduce a cable sent to them and that is it. :sumo:

We took forum member First c10 advise and went with Control Cables http://www.controlcables.com/, we'll be installing some of their stuff in my build thread this week.

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

Cool, i'll check it out and see how it goes.

I figured if I ran a piece of "bailing wire" from each drum cable and through the adjuster I could get a pretty good idea of the size I need. The thing I am wrestling with in my head is if I need some sort of bracketry to pull the cables up and out of the way.

In other news, I pulled off the evaporator cover, removed the evap a bit too aggressively and broke the small tube that comes out of it, but I suppose it is best to replace that anyway. Behind it was a massive vermin nest, got that all cleaned out. The inside heat/ac box is broken next to one mounting stud and has stripped out threads where the diverter screws to it, I found a good used one on the boards to replace it.

Turn signal switch is shot, which explains why the horn doesn't blow, the contact fell out and was laying in the bottom of the column. The upper column bearing looks to be missing a few ball bearings. Not sure if I can get away with packing this with grease and having it last a while since they are otherwise not available. (why not!)

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

Not a lot of experience with this vendor but they seem to be very helpful, I was dealing with Kyle. We went back and forth a little to make sure the peddle end was going to work correctly. I'm sure if you give them a call they'll have some ideas.

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

Got a new steering wheel (used a 3-spoke "comfort grip" ala 1st gen camaro) and put my new old lookin tach in, Bosch is the brand.

I always thought maybe this truck was just not gonna be very fast as I drive around 25 mph in 3rd, but it turns out it is my flex fan making all that noise, at 3k with that darn thing and the slowmasters it sounds revved out!

I have a severe duty fan clutch already, just need to secure a fan.

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...pscnylohvp.jpg

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

Cool old school tach!

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

That's a really nice truck you have there. I like the new stance, wheels and tires. The interior looks great too. Have you been able to drive the truck much yet?

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

Well after 7 months I figure it is time for an update.

I ended up replacing the rear leafs too with matching skyjackers and now the thing can actually go over bumps without jarring teeth loose. 1 ton springs + short fiberglass bed = bad news. If I stood on the bed before there was absolutely no squat.

I got the heater/blower working, just in time to not need it! I guess this whole time I should have been working on the AC huh?

I am driving this pretty regularly now, and it is a fun truck to drive so now I am working on sprucing up the interior some, and I'd love to get that parking brake working. This might be redneck (Ok, i is and I'm ok with that) but for now my "parking brake" is a half round of wood I just drive over on my approach into the driveway and seems to hold the truck just fine while it is warming up.

Next big deal will be to get a spray in bedliner, the factory paint in the bed is maroon.. which clashes pretty well with a silver and grey truck. But, I'm not doing that!

Next thing I'd like to figure out is if there is a better way to raise the steering arm on this dana 60, right now the arm is pretty much level but I can tell the thing twists a bit when I turn as the steering wheel is never "centered" in the same place. (some of this may be due to a worn rag joint as well) This must have a 2 or 3" block under the steering arm.

*EDIT* seems like this is the ticket:
https://www.summitracing.com/int/par...3040/overview/

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

You don't want to raise the steering arm.When you raise the steering arm they tend to twist and snap the longer studs. you are better off getting a drop drag link or pitman arm. The best way is to go with cross over steering set up.

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

x2 get rid of that block and go with the dropped pitman arm

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

X3, get rid of that steering block! Three of the studs broke on my steering block on my 72 in February. If you don't have ARP studs in that block, get them.

This is the ultimate fix though.

http://www.offroaddesign.com/catalog...0crossover.htm

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

Steering block is out, one of the nylon bushings was broken too. I was going to replace those anyway so I had them on hand. Truck drives GREAT now! No more steering slop. Time for an alignment and to put my steering wheel on straight.

Here is the unit, it is really stout.

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...psdy91llt5.jpg

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

nice, havent seen that draglink before, only dropped pitman arms, where did you find it, who makes it?

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

It is superlift suspension part number 3040. Found one on eBay for $71.24.

I hadn't heard of it either til I posted that update a week or so ago, found it digging around d60 threads on another site.

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

That's a sweet truck man!!

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

They used to include that in their 12" lift kits. I have no idea why they quit doing it. Those were hard to get them to make about 4-5 years ago. I'm not sure why though. You'll be much better off with that instead of the steering block for sure.

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

It made an immediate improvement.

Snuck out of work today and put my new fuel sender in, the old one only moved under 1/4 tank. The new ones outlet fitting is at a little bit of a different angle than what I'm assuming was the OEM unit, so it was a little bit of a challenge until I bent the outer tabs of the lock rings down a little bit, then it almost fell in.

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

Turns out if you replace the fuel sender, it creates a big void in your fuel system! I was fretting over a no-start issue til I disconnected the fuel line and very little came out. I "primed" the system by forcing air into the tank and it fired right up.

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

That's a nice draglink... I've made a few like that for lifted cross steer setups but never seen one for stock Chevy setup. I'm sure that made a Huge difference...

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

It looks like my overcharging issue is fixed. I installed a delco 12si internally regulated alternator this past weekend after the truck stalled and wouldn't start at an intersection. 2 guys jumped out of their car and helped me push it into a gravel lot and gave me a ride up to my house. I popped the hood and could hear the battery boiling.

The end of the hose clamp holding the lower radiator hose on interfered with the alt belt (I have a LWP setup) and caused it to flip which ruined the belt and also caused the PS belt to flip, so now I have to get 2 new belts. 2 steps forward, 1 step back.. Its nothing new is it!

I bought a new high hump off the board to replace the hacked up one I have. I think mine is a low hump so the trans sits way too high and the T-case hole was butchered in so I can't even screw the boot retainer ring down. I decided while I was at it I should also replace the molded vinyl "carpet" which is old, dirty and starting to crack. I ordered the ACC brand in grey since it will match the seats well and something different than black which is in every old ride I have owned.

Did I say I wasn't going to do my spray-in bedliner? After hearing what this costs I decided to order a kit from TCP global. This comes with tint to make it charcoal metallic so it will match the upper bed and cab, and mixes 4 liters and includes the hardener and schutz gun for $185. I figure with the short step bed it won't be too much work cleaning it up and scuffing. People 6' tall or so can see into the bed but it looks horrible in the driver's seat.

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

Bed is sanded to prep for Bedliner, need to blow it out and power wash one more time. Hoping to shoot by the weeks end. Put that new high hump in and can't wait to have retaining rings installed. Should help with the noise. Figured while I was at it I'd replace the old black molded vinyl carpet with new grey molded. Going to let it sit til tomorrow afternoon til I finish trimming and put the seat back in.

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...psjramd2q4.jpg
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...pskyijefoj.jpg

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

That looks very nice!!!

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

Got the thing all trimmed up and got the seat back in. Still gotta screw the T case ring down.

Anybody know why the T case shifter would hit back of the hole in the hump before going into 4 low? I guess I see why the previous one was cut! 4wd isnt operational now anyway but I'd like to make it work someday.

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...psehixkoey.jpg

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

The ugly maroon nightmare is over! Not too difficult.

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps7jacafks.jpg

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...psxexojp2b.jpg

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

Nice work. That looks so much nicer.

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

Well this thing is now a driver, so now what???

I put in those new push-on door seals with the mitered corner, those sure are nice. I think the factory units may have sealed large june bugs from entering the cab, but other than that they seem kinda worthless. Only problem is it leaves a gap where the old recess was where the old seal would have covered. Oh well.

The last 2 things I'll address is to get the bearings in the dana 60 replaced and make the 4wd functional again, and install the rest of the AC stuff. A functional speedometer would be nice too.

This thing was a hell of a lot more work than I anticipated, but when isn't that the case. Now that this thing is where I want it I can focus more on my 68 GTO ragtop I stepped away from to work on this.

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

Oh yeah, there are always a million little things that turn into months worth of work. :lol: The GTO would be nice to be driving right now. Someday, I have a 68 Buick GS400 convertible to restore. It will have to wait until a lot of other things are done first. Haha

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

Good for you webfoot! :metal: Pretty sure you'll find stuff to do on the truck, if it's like our old blue C30 it'll let you know what it wants next. :lol: Did you use the ones from Precision, or? Debating on gluing or push on myself right now.

Re: The project with no name - 1970 K20
 

Not to step on web foot's toes, but even after fighting my push on seals, I doubt I would go back to those pesky glue on ones IMO. :lol: