Old Yeller 4x4 upgrade
 

So I found this forum late in my build and never thought to start a thread on it.
A bit late but I am still working on it so I will start documenting upgrades as I go.
A bit about the truck-
It was a fire truck originally from California and was purchased from the city of San Leandro from my buddy Keenan. Ever since he bought it everyone I know tried to buy it from him. Must have been tiresome saying NO. That was back in 1986. I asked him too but let it go for 24 more years and lost touch with him.(bought the Blazer instead) Ran into him one day and asked him if I could do some laundry at his house-I was homeless.
I ended up staying with him for a while and we got real chummy and his parents called me their second son. I still send them Christmas cards.
Anyway-I go outside to get the mail as Ruger the hunting dog is making a fuss and Remington is right behind him.
I notice in the mail there is a bill from a storage facility and I asked him why he had storage as he owned his home and there was plenty of room. He said it was Old Yeller and he was not going to pay the bill this time. Well I had a job and asked him if I payed the bill could I buy the truck? He said sure. WOW! I bought it sight unseen for $600. Had a camper on it (should have bought that too) That he wanted to keep maybe. So he got the camper and I got the truck. I brought it home-Long drive with a bad U-joint and a trans that jumped out of gear and bald separated tires and IFFY brakes and a big 44caliber hole in the windshield. (glued up with some shoe-goo.)
So I don't have much money but decide I am moving to Florida-and so I leave the truck with him for a year or so and it sits in his backyard.
I Wreck my Blazer and got some insurance $ so I sent for the truck and had it shipped from Cali. New life to begin soon. This is when I got her home.

Re: Old Yeller 4x4 upgrade
 

So I had built a tough Blazer in Cali and drove it out to Florida-Another long drive but this time with a fresh 406 and rebuilt 700r4 and a Dana 60 and 14 bolt and a 203 crawl box mated to a 205 with some Tom woods driveshafts and a 35 gallon gas tank. Oh and cannot forget the spanking new 36" Super Swampers! 12,000 pound Ramsey winch in case all that fails.
Drove that baby daily til some jack wagon pulled out in front of me on Highway 41 and I had the wonderful choice of hitting him in the front-middle-or rear but I was going to hit him. BOOM and a big foot-full of however much horsepower I had a little tippy when I hit the curb and I made mincemeat out of a Dodge Magnum! Couldn't have killed a better POS! Well bent the frame and I was pissed! But I was OK and I could someday fix it-maybe. This was what it looked like.I felt like someone revoked my man card.

Re: Old Yeller 4x4 upgrade
 

So Old Yeller shows up and I use the snot out of it. Cut up 25 tons of trees and hauled it off and pulled some stumps. I was always afraid the coupler was going to let go but it did not. It had this horrible sounding clunk and it ended up being the shaft on the output of the tranny had worn out and the coupler was shot too. 205 case was ok but it was time for an upgrade and I had all those nice parts on the Blazer that was still over there crying for attention. Yeller had a 307 2 barrel and I think a SM465 trans and a 205. Relatively unmolested but very tired and it showed and drove kinda scary. Even after I fixed it up a bit. Dang tree limb fell and took out the spotlight. It rains tree limbs in Florida.

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Oh and that's my dog Molly the beer wench. She will actually fetch you a beer. Or two doesn't matter how many-she loves it.

Re: Old Yeller 4x4 upgrade
 

Cool story, wish I could find a decent 4x4 around here.

Re: Old Yeller 4x4 upgrade
 

Thank You! I hope your search lands you a cool 4x4 too!

Re: Old Yeller 4x4 upgrade
 

So the front shocks had some welded on the frame contraption to make it into double shocks. Guess it was an 80's thing. So when I cut that off I found the original hole for the mounting bolts were rounded out pretty bad. So I slept on it. Came up with a solution. I had some old double mounts around and they were pretty thick so I cut the hole side off the front of the bracket and welded it on the inside of the frame. then welded the oblong hole on the out side to be flush with the 1/4" piece of metal on the inside and boom. A 3/8" thick hole that will never come loose or oblong again. I then used what was left of the double bracket as the outer shock mount. BEEFY and probably as close to bullet proof as it gets. The axle mount will come loose first. Pics to come.

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I hope you fellas don't mind lo-buck builds. This thing drives awesome-so I thought I might help someone somewhere with my mods.

Re: Old Yeller 4x4 upgrade
 

Nothing wrong with lo buck builds. Keep your list of mods coming!

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Been a while-forgot about this thread. How could I???
So one day while pulling the boat I think...What would I do if the coupler busted right now with a boat attached at the ramp???
So the itch got scratched and I ripped it apart.
Now this also involved letting go of the itch to rebuild my old Blazer. Very tough decision.
So I deconstructed two trucks and put the driveline from the Blazer into Old Yeller.
Now its all the little things that will add up. But that's all I have money for at the time of the build. I also just needed a truck to use and having one in the back yard (that wasn't running) was torture. I could list all the gear that was installed but it's in my signature and would be redundant. That was a lot of very hot days and greasy wrenching. Not to mention moving one ton axles around in the sand by myself.

Re: Old Yeller 4x4 upgrade
 

Thanks for this thread--can't wait to get my 68 on the road. I've been messing with little things including rebuilding the GM 2 Jet carb, re-sealing the valve covers which pissed oil like a racehorse and so on. The engine runs good but smokes on start-up and then when I was letting it idle the other day a god-awful chatter started underneath so I pulled the flywheel cover and couldn't narrow it down. Probably have to pull things apart this winter..... anyway, your thread has me motivated again..... that and all the great support I've gotten here.

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I missed this thread before, so thanks for bringing it back. Always something to do on these trucks in our life-long relationship with them. My '72 has been up on jack stands all summer. Started with a caliper and I decided it was time to service the brakes and front end. New suspension going under it now, 4" lift and bigger tires. I can't seem to get time in on it, though. I've missed using it all summer.

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Intresting, kinda in the same boat. My son soft rolled my 72 K20 a few years back and its been sitting. Finally got all the Rust Free sheet metal / NOS parts together to rebuild it back to its previous glory. Hopefully starting soon.
But hey, if you need a 72 4x4 Blazer frame, I have one over in central Florida, all matching numbers. Good luck, I'll be watching your progress.

Re: Old Yeller 4x4 upgrade
 

You ned to get the moderators to move this thread to the 4X4 projects and builds section.

Great story and cool truck, cool pup too!

Re: Old Yeller 4x4 upgrade
 

Thanks for checking in guys. Damn Child support is taking the biggest part of my checks so you won't be seeing anything real shiny going on here so bling is going to have to happen in some other thread.
Don't get me wrong-I love them kids-young ladies really. NOT so in love with their mother.
Well anyway, I put this thing together as solid as I could on a no money budget. Just cured the dreaded Death Wobble in another thread eating my words about the stabilizers fixing it. Not the case. My kingpins were real loose and I just put some large washer on top of the spring and fixed the the wobble for about a dollar.
It was a gooey adventure so no pics were taken.

Re: Old Yeller 4x4 upgrade
 

So just driving her lately and towing my 20 foot trailer moving stuff from house to house as today I have become a landlord and my first tenant has moved in. Rock solid towing with the wobble gone and those trailer brakes are a thing of beauty. This new house is going to be stealing my time from me for a bit and then it's back to work on my babies.

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Thanks for the offer on the frame. I did not see it before. I ended up finally finding one and the fella delivered it with a 2wd conversion already started with front disc brakes and rear axle that I sold that ended up paying for the frame. $175 wasn't a bad price at all for a roller delivered. Almost gave up on her but it sits in the back yard now. Just need a bunch of body work and a 67 hood and windshield. The thread on it is in my signature called No Daggum Money. Any leads on a hood would be much appreciated though.

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House is for the most part done and I will get back to wrenching soon. I just have to build my workshop in the back yard. Oh how I miss my little slice of heaven workshop.
Drove the old beast today and got a shiver. Goosebumps really. Thing has some real gumption!

Re: Old Yeller 4x4 upgrade
 

Cool story ... keep us updated with pics ...

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Soooo... I am taking apart the Blazer when I find the adapter between the t-case and the trans is cracked in half. Still worked fine but no good. I go ahead and look for one. What do you know these things are now like gold! 2-300 bucks or get an advance adapter... What?
Craiglist here I come. Search and search and no truck to go get one anyway. I find a trailer hitch for the Toyota Echo and a hitch hauler and now I can go get one if I find it. Bam! I find a 205 case listed for $100. I look closely and see it has the adapter. I go get it and bottomed out the Toyota for about 30 miles scraping the tail all the way home. Boom. 205 case for a spare and an adapter to put in Old Yeller. The newer 205 has a slip rear shaft but I change out the guts with the original unit from the 70 and now I have a 205 with the 4wd light switch. (not yet installed) Should I also call this build NO DAGGUM MONEY?

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Im in .

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Not much money anyway. It's crazy what an adapter costs when you can get the whole set-up for cheap.

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So... Long time no post. Sorry. I had that darn life thing get in my way. I f anyone is still out there. Child support all paid off. Kids are out of College. New house yet again. Old Yeller helped us move hopefully for the last time. In the last house, My mom gave me a 58 Bel Air that had to go in the garage for insurance. So Yeller went outside for a time until I sold that car. Squirrels SUCK. I am still pulling empty Acorn shells from the darndest places. Oh and the puppy in the early pics, Well she lived a great life and is missed every day. I don't have anyone to help me work on my trucks anymore. I have to find a new routine now.

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Good to have you back on here again! Sorry for the loss of your pup though....

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Thank you. That was tough and we are hesitant to find another. We will though. So just been tinkering on the truck a little at a time. It had some valve cover spacers on a standard height set of covers (to clear the roller rockers) I had from my first car. Finned covers from an RS/SS Camaro engine. They eventually sucked the gaskets and has been leaking for some time. I found some MT covers in my junk that are tall enough so I am switching them out as well as swapping the gasket out from cork to silicone. That should seal it up good. Then I can see if that old rear seal is leaking as I had the block Align-honed and needed the bigger seal. They were on B/O when I built the engine and could not wait because I had to drive this thing to Florida so I got the one with the shim. I know, DON'T skimp here. NO choice though.