Ice cream getter
 

What I started with...
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Clean!

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Yeah, that looks nice. More pics please.

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I’m really just looking to put something together that the family can enjoy cruising around in. It will probably have 35”-37” tires with a 6ish inch lift. I picked up a 5.3 and 4l60 last summer but those were quickly replaced with a 6.0 LQ9 and a 4l80e. For the transfer case I chose to stick with a NP205. Axle ratio is still a little up in the air between 4:56 and 4:88. The rear will get a posi while the front will remain open, at least for now. The truck will never see mud or trails so I guess some will probably call it a poser truck. That’s fine with me. It will see plenty of sand and asphalt and of course plenty of ice cream shops.

Tear down is not my idea of fun but it’s nearly over. I pealed the body of off the frame today while listening to the longest Daytona 500 ever.
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End of the day, most of the mess cleaned up and still no 2010 Daytona 500 winner. I’m actually not a huge NASCAR fan. In fact the last MIS race that I went to, I fell asleep and spilt my adult beverage on the guy sitting next to me. He was cool, just gave me a little nudge and said something like “hey buddy, your missing the race”. Never even mentioned his wet legs!

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I have already posted these pictures in another thread but I might as well post them here too. I really like the original slot type of wheels so when MT came out with these I wanted a set. Problem is, that was a while ago and I believe they have been discontinued for a while. I found these on eBay, new never been mounted. Tires came with the blazer and are in great shape but I’m not sure about the size. Maybe a little to narrow? What do you guys think?
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Truck is on a lift with really no weight on the tire at all. I just had one mounted up so I could see what it was going to look like.

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I took the engine away last week and should have it back around the end of the month. More about that later of course.

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2006 6.0 LQ9

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2007 4wd transmission left yesterday. Should have it back by the end of next week. Before it left I wanted to make sure I had my transfer case concerns or questions worked out. Some of this topic was also touched on in another thread but here it is again anyway and this time with a conclusion I think. I had a couple of options for NP205 lying around. One was a 10 spline and the other was a 27 spline. I had read up a little about the AA kit and had fully planned on going that route. Their kit is for mating a 27 spline np205 to a 32 spline 4l80e. It sounded really good but pricey, not to mention all you will need to do beyond the kit such as swapping out the output shaft in the transmission and some machining inside of the transfer case to allow for the new input shaft. After down loading the instructions I made a call to speak with one of their techs. My question for him was if your kit is basically converting a 27 spline np205 to a 32 spline np205 what would be needed if started with a 32 spline np205? He said he could sell me their adapter for $200 and some change but the adapter was not offered in their catalog as a separate piece. And that the transfer case would be a bolt on but that I would still need to change the out put shaft in the 4l80e because of length. So far so good. I know a local guy that is really into muscle cars and really wanted the case from my M20 because the part number was just what he was looking for for one of his numbers matching restorations and he just so happened to have a fairly fresh th400/np205 that he had no use for. Honestly I made that happen so fast I’m not sure who made out better. I called AA again and spoke to the same tech and told him I have the 32 spline np205 and am ready to order their adapter but before I did I started asking more questions that somehow led to my new case was from an ’86 one ton. He then told me his adapter was for the “old” style or the race track bolt pattern case. ’86 and up have a small circular pattern with six bolts.

Here is what I ended up doing so far. I took both the ’86 and the ’07 adapters into work and did a quick layout on our CMM. Using the large OD I was able to confirm that both adapters have virtually the same six bolt pattern centered off of this same feature. For some reason the ’86 adapter had a lot more meat at one end making it very difficult to eye ball a match. The only real difference was the large OD itself with the ’86 being 4.870 and the ’07 being 4.800. At work I’m thinking reducing the ’86 OD by .07 is my answer but at home where I can actually line it up with the 4l80e I can see there will be clearance issues with the transmission case and the perch area at the bottom of the ‘86 adapter. It also looks like the output shaft on the 4l80e may be too long. After staring at the two adapters for awhile I decided to make a spacer out of the aluminum ’07 adapter. The surface that mates to the 4l80e is a little less than .500. Almost perfect to help with the clearance issues and it’s already a fit to the transmission. I made a few marks on it where and how I wanted it machined and brought it to friend who has equipment and abilities that I do not. Once back home I used layout dye to verify that there was enough overlap between the input and output shafts. According to AA I needed a minimum of 1.5” and I ended up with 2” – 2.25”. I will still need to add a reluctor ring inside the 4l80e but that would have been the case no matter what direction I choose. Total cost was about $60.00 for the machining. Once all the pieces come home I can begin mock up in the truck. I know I will have to make a spacer to allow use of the stock ’72 transfer case cross member.

'07 - '86
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'07 - '86
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Picture doesn’t show very well but clearance issues between adapter and trans case.
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Picture of ’07 adapter after machining, factory side.
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Picture of ’07 adapter after machining, side to be mated with ’86 adapter.
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Picture of ’86 adapter showing some material removed for clearance even with spacer.
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Picture of trial fit with layout dye.
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Picture of results of trial fit.
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Picture of DONE!!
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Picture of next challenge – ’86 vs. ’72 adapter height
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Subscribed.

Welcome to the board.

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I don't think I could have brought myself to tear down a truck that looks that good to start with. I like the direction your going though. Nice shop you got there. Good choice on the wheels. I got a set on a parts blazer that I'll be using, but not sure yet if I'll polish them or keep the original finish.

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Love the Wheels too, been looking but had give up on finding any....

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I actually like the width of those tires. For your intended use you don't need a wide tire and of course those are hard on wheel bearings and eat up more mpg.

Looks like a great project and I certainly wouldn't call it a poser truck. Build it the way you want it and enjoy it - that's my moto for sure!

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Wow - in MI and it looks that solid - they must not have driven it in the snow since it came from out West - nice truck!

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I applaud your tenacity with the adapters. :clap: To be honest, I am a little fed up with AA at the moment. I have called them a couple times and each person I talk to had a different take on how to mate the 4L60/65e to a np205. Good for you taking the bull by the horns and making it work. There is more good info on this site than most of the vender's! (The ones not affiliated with us, of course ;))

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Don't they sell a new output shaft for the 4l60 that will allow it to mate to the NP205? It's the same shaft as the one that allows you to mate a 700r4 to a NP205. Do you have a TH350 or a SM465 now?

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Hgs_notes,
I did have a hard time tearing it down!! Not because it was mint by any means but because I knew it would be down for too long. I really missed driving it last summer. By the way, two at once? You’re a better man than I!!!

Yukon Jack,
I like your motto, my problem is I only have one Blazer but I like’em built so many ways.

Lks dcvn,
The truck was never registered in Michigan. After the sale I got to know the guy I bought it from pretty well. He had bought it to drive and enjoy while building another that was already well underway. He bought it, had it shipped to Michigan, replaced a ton of parts and then lost all interest in both. I really wanted to buy his other Blazer but at the time he was planning on “just setting it back in the corner for awhile”. Someone else owns that one now.

Critter,
Thanks for the kind words. This place is full of tenacious guys. As for AA I definitely feel your pain. I’ll have to admit some of the confusion was my fault for not giving detailed enough information up front. Not all techs were created equally but I had great luck with Steve at ext.526. As far as making mine work, I’m a bit of a pessimist so until I’m driving it I’ll be second guessing it!

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I feel the same way, I guess great minds think alike. :lol: Thanks for the contact info, When I am actually ready to place my order I will give Steve a call.


The shaft isn't the problem, it's the adapters. If you just want to spend the $1000 and buy every part they offer, it's pretty straight forward. I have the original 27 Spline th350 setup and half of of the time AA tells you "oh with that set up you don't need the full kit, you just need part # blah blah blah." Then I call back to double checks something and the next guy says, "Oh you have a 72 27 spline 205, you need the entire kit etc...". THEN the next time I get a guy that doesn't realize a 4L65e has a different tail housing than the original 700r4 so we get in an argument about that. Anyway, sorry to take my frustration out on SONOSADSACK's thread. Let's let him get back to work. ;)

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Looks great. Interested in everything you have planned!

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Ah I wasn't aware of the tailhousing difference either - guess I'm lucky with my 700r4 swap being rather easy.

Agreed. :chevy:

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I went to check progress on my engine yesterday and again today (sorry Gus) and snapped a few teaser shots while I was there.

From this

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To this

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To add these!!

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Not much for progress. Frame has been blasted and primed with black epoxy primer. PO made a few custom holes and cuts that will need a little attention but other than that I am very pleased. No cracks, rust pitting or collision damage that I have found yet anyway.

Also decided it was time for Jr. to put the DSI down and pick up a tool or two. I’ve been trying to get him to spend a little time out in the barn with me but he has no interest in helping on the Blazer so we’ll try this. It’s an old Shriner’s car that I used to ride when I was his age and now I’d like to see him on it before he is too big. Hope to see it in our little Memorial Day parade this year.

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Nice shop dude. I look foward to seeing more pics. Later, Mario.

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Thanks Mario, It was a long time coming but damn glad to have it.

Very little progress on the Blazer but I did get some pictures. I put the body back on today so I can start mocking up motor mounts and transfer case cross member. Ok, that’s not really why I did it, I just really needed to get a sneak peak at what it’s going to look like when it’s finished!! I chose to go with Skyjacker’s 6” all spring lift to go with the 35” tires I already have. At first I wasn’t sure. Its way higher than I was expecting and I know it’s really going to be a rough ride but after staring at it for a while I think it will work. I’d like to put a 37” tire under it but for now the 35’s will have to do. I will need to move the rear back to re-center but I expected that. For the axels I ended up going with a 4:88 gear. Most of the driving will be on the street so I choose a Detroit Truetrac for the rear and left the front open for now. Transmission and transfer case are both finished and ready to go in and I am planning to see my engine back in two weeks. Before I start fitting anything I still need headers. I plan on using the Doug Thorley headers but would really like to hear from someone that has used them in a four wheeler first. Anybody???
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Comparison to bone stock 4x4
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