1971 K20- project just get driveable!!

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice work on those rear discs. The only reason I didn't go with discs on my truck is because I would have had to buy a very expensive caliper and big rotor to get the stopping power that the big drums on my D80 can provide. In your case, this is a great upgrade!

I also have become a fan of the Bilstein shocks. They aren't easy to fork the cash over for, but they ride and work so much better than the others I've had on these trucks. Makes Ranchos and Skyjacker shocks feel like a joke.

[Robwoods70k10]

I'm new,I've got a 70 k10,I wish I could find a truck like that to build,as far as axle shafts go,I Dana 44 and 10 bolt shafts will interchange and in some the stubs are different on non lockout trucks,as far as axles go ford ones will go right in there,as long as it's a 44,I know that for sure I mud with ford guys,yuck I know,but I enjoy tuggin them out

[Vintage Windmills]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

Almost there. Might have it ready to go by the time I stop by for a visit. I need to get a good look at those rear disks.

That reminds me, when do you want to stop by? Drive the blazer! I've got 2 weeks off work starting this weekend, so this truck should really come together soon. Maybe you can help me get the rear bumper bolted on, its a pain with less than 3 guys.

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Nice work on those rear discs. The only reason I didn't go with discs on my truck is because I would have had to buy a very expensive caliper and big rotor to get the stopping power that the big drums on my D80 can provide. In your case, this is a great upgrade!

I also have become a fan of the Bilstein shocks. They aren't easy to fork the cash over for, but they ride and work so much better than the others I've had on these trucks. Makes Ranchos and Skyjacker shocks feel like a joke.

Hmmm, I better price the Bilsteins out again, good to know there is a substantial difference. Not sure they have a good fit though for my lift, the one front one I looked at is as follows, which doesn't have much compressive travel left.

Bilstein 185590

no plow with plow
comp length 13.66 13.66
ext length 21.63 21.63
travel 7.97 7.97
comp travel 3.97 2.47
ext travel 4 5.5

I need to check to see if they have a shorter shock

Originally Posted by Robwoods70k10

I'm new,I've got a 70 k10,I wish I could find a truck like that to build,as far as axle shafts go,I Dana 44 and 10 bolt shafts will interchange and in some the stubs are different on non lockout trucks,as far as axles go ford ones will go right in there,as long as it's a 44,I know that for sure I mud with ford guys,yuck I know,but I enjoy tuggin them out

good to know, should be easier to find an axle for the spare D44 given that!

Originally Posted by erikoj

very interesting to me as I just purchased a califonia K 10 1972 with the same ochre color scheme and the parchment white interior. Mine is in a little better shape ! I plowed snow for 10 years (45 driveways) with a 1966 k10 . I miss that truck , it was a workhorse with a 292 cu inch 6. keep up the good work, looks like you are an experienced mechanic. I will be using my truck daily in my building business. I just can't let it sit !!

Thanks for checking out my thread. Did you buy the one on ebay a month ago? I think the previous owner was on this forum too.

[hgs_notes]

I planned on coming after Christmas. I'm off til Jan 2nd after this weekend too. Those parts weren't for me so I kinda need to wait for the money to show before I buy anything that's not mine. Jimmy probably won't be making that trip. It's one thing to play in the snow for a little while at 30F. It's a completely different animal taking a 2+ hour drive at 10F without the top. Probably not in the C-10 either. Too much salt out there now.

Will just have to settle for the company car Fusion with the free gas and fold down rear seat for the long parts.

And I can help you out no problem. Bumpers get a little unwieldy don't they.

[Vintage Windmills]

Do you guys recommend a drop pitman for a 2.5 lift?

Also, anyone know of brake pads that are a tad thinner than others? Suppose I could sand them down. They are pretty snug on the rear rotors. Can turn by hand but there is drag there, probably 5 ft lbs or so

[Ol Blue K20]

I would see what the company that made the lift suggests. I've always used a drop pitman or raised steering arm on the diff. but the smallest lift I ever used was 4". Those pads will wear in pretty quick, they're supposed to drag a bit...

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by Vintage Windmills

Do you guys recommend a drop pitman for a 2.5 lift?

Also, anyone know of brake pads that are a tad thinner than others? Suppose I could sand them down. They are pretty snug on the rear rotors. Can turn by hand but there is drag there, probably 5 ft lbs or so

I purchased the correction for mine but decided to see what it was like before i installed it. the block is still sitting on the shelf. i drives and handles just fine without it.

[Dieselwrencher]

Jud, on the rear pads, I'd almost just run them and let them break in. If you sand them and get them out of square it might cause a sticking or pulsating issue.

[Vintage Windmills]

I measured another set of pads that came preloaded on the stock front calipers and they are 0.020" thinner so I will just put them on and keep an eye on rotor temp. It sure would stink to warp them and have to replace, since they are behind the hub on these.

Ryan and Ryan, thanks for the input on the drop arm. OlBlueK20, I'm sure skyjacker would say run a drop arm but they have a drop arm they sell for the lift kit. Given that, they are inherently biased with advice to sell more parts.

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

I planned on coming after Christmas. I'm off til Jan 2nd after this weekend too. Those parts weren't for me so I kinda need to wait for the money to show before I buy anything that's not mine. Jimmy probably won't be making that trip. It's one thing to play in the snow for a little while at 30F. It's a completely different animal taking a 2+ hour drive at 10F without the top. Probably not in the C-10 either. Too much salt out there now.

Will just have to settle for the company car Fusion with the free gas and fold down rear seat for the long parts.

And I can help you out no problem. Bumpers get a little unwieldy don't they.

Bah, throw some warm clothes on or a top on the blazer and rock it that way! Either way, sounds good on the bumper

[Vintage Windmills]

Got the rear all buttoned up a few days ago, will upload pics soon! Just need to finish fabbing the new parking brake cable brackets and weld them on the eaton. Also, install a vent assembly in the eaton vent hole. and fill with semi synthetic.

I am replacing the rear park brake cables at the same time. Also got some Gr 5 carriage bolts to finish bolting the bed down.

[Vintage Windmills]

Routed lines, still need to weld on brackets to support them:


Parkiing brake brackets I made from plate steel:


Put rear bumper on, have to drill a couple more holes in frame though


Put 1" blocks in the rear to level out the truck. Rear was always higher than the front by a couple inches but the 2.5 skyjackers were more like 3.5 inches of lift, hoping they settle a little more yet.


Letting lube flow out to both hubs:


Took it for a drive in the field Saturday and hualed some stuff out back. 4wd works good but I should have rebuilt the double cardan joint since it knocks some. Figured it may be coming out before too long anyways when I yank the t case to regasket/reseal it.


Was dragging diffs in the snow a little. It sure is a one wheel wonder in 2x4 mode, need to get a no spin installed!


MC painted with Eastwood brake gray (supposed to be fluid resistant) .


Brake booster is shot, luckily Oreillys had one, got it painted and need to bolt in. Look at the broken spring in the shot booster, this was from the running rusty 72 K20 parts truck. How does a spring break in so many places!!:

[hgs_notes]

Excellent! Running and driving. Glad you got it out of the garage under its own power. I've never seen the inside of a brake booster. No idea how the spring would shatter like that. So just a few loose ends to take care of and the goal is met, a bit late, but nobody is gonna penalize you for that.

[swamp rat]

Well, i'm a little jealous of how nice your rear brake lines turned out great job! My flex line was mounted to a bracket that bolted to the cover and put it in an odd spot, but i just bent my lines and put it in the same location, yours looks clean!

I had no idea there was brake fluid resistant paint on the market, wish i had known before i painted mine, but I'll remember for next time.

First time i have seen the inside of the power booster as well, i cant help but wonder how strong the spring pressure would be if not broken?

Nice work!

[Vintage Windmills]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

Excellent! Running and driving. Glad you got it out of the garage under its own power. I've never seen the inside of a brake booster. No idea how the spring would shatter like that. So just a few loose ends to take care of and the goal is met, a bit late, but nobody is gonna penalize you for that.

Funny you mention that, I was thinking not much has happened since I remember being at that point a couple months ago- then I remembered at that time, it had the front axle with no lockouts, and a broken axle, no brake system at all, no power steering, leaky worn eaton. So, I guess its come a long way, even though there is so much left to do. Pretty much everything on this truck needed to be rebuilt. I am realizing that it will be almost fully restored, except for perhaps the sheetmetal by the time I'm done with it!

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Well, i'm a little jealous of how nice your rear brake lines turned out great job! My flex line was mounted to a bracket that bolted to the cover and put it in an odd spot, but i just bent my lines and put it in the same location, yours looks clean!

I had no idea there was brake fluid resistant paint on the market, wish i had known before i painted mine, but I'll remember for next time.

First time i have seen the inside of the power booster as well, i cant help but wonder how strong the spring pressure would be if not broken?

Nice work!

Had to have the machinist at work drill a hole in a metric bolt for the one front caliper, it was metric for some reason and the new hoses only left 2 threads engaged. Nobody carried a longer metric banjo bolt so I had to make/have this one made:


Finished welding in the brackets and spent forever getting all the air out of the system. Gravity bleeding did not work, what a waste of time that was. I ended up having to hook up vacuum pump then get a buddy to help me bleed the old fashioned way. Fought a couple leaks in my new lines but am happy to report I finally won the battle and the pedal feels good. It will lock them up on snow

Made some brackets for the parking brake cables, so the system is bolt on:




Oh, and this is now consuming my time as well, tearing down walls and ripping up floor in the house for a new bathroom/master closet

[glimmertwin01]

nice! im jealous... makes me wanna get my 73 elco ou of the garage and start on the 68 K20 again.....

[Ol Blue K20]

Looking good...First time I ever saw the inside of a booster too.

[Vintage Windmills]

Thanks for the Support guys, it is nice to know people are following the build.

Here are a couple pics from Sunday when I used her to haul some scrap wood from bathroom remodel out to burn pile. This is why I have 4x4's!


and bring in a good load of ash wood to prepare for the -23F weather we had earlier this week. You can also see that I have a deck project in my future! No shortage of projects, so little time!

[DeadheadNM]

Congrats! Looks great Jud.

[ryanroo]

Another good looking old work truck!

[glimmertwin01]

this is what old 4x4s are for... not that its a bad thing but I dont "get" building a nice shiny perfect truck and afraid to use it... Im building my 68s to use...

[glimmertwin01]

living in the rusty northeast, I wont drive my old iron on the salty roads, but I want them to be functional and cool... Yeah I do use the CUCV in the winter, on a limited basis. its a plow truck.It was used in the salt before I got it... its far from mint.
I dig the 71 because it has all the style and substance of old iron, and added upgrades, add to it it is ochre and it looks tough.... I have always liked the vinyl seat vinyl floor gyppo strippo models.....

cool cool cool.....
My 73 K2500 Burb is slowly coming back to life, and its going to be all steel.
original look and feel... i am contemplating a cummins /NV4500

[Dieselwrencher]

Jud, nice progress! At least you can use it now. It does really look nice for a truck that was near a crusher a few months ago. How did you fair the extreme cold? Be glad you didn't have all diesels to drive. Good luck on the bathroom project too!

[Vintage Windmills]

Thanks Gents! Yep, it feels good to have saved it from the crusher and see it now, but it probably still needs more work than it appears in these images. It was severly damaged and left for dead for probably two decades in a field.

Oh, and screw it just being a plowtruck, this thing is too fun to not take on the road.

I put together a list of stuff to do on the truck, but at least its running and I can pick away slowly at the list while only having down for a day or two for most things on here:


Must haves to hit the road:
- hook up tail and side lights
- hook up replacement voltage regulator
- figure out why no headlights
- straighten cab back enough to install rear window
- install shocks
- patch floor temporarily
- install seat
- install gas tank
- replace pass door handle
- install drivers mirror
- change oil
- install front bumper
- drill frame for 2nd set of rear bumper bolts (this one was off a C20, which have closer holes in the rear.
- balance tires

Nice to haves:
- rebuild heating system (core is plugged big time and fan doesn't run)
- install grille
- reseal/regasket tcase
- replace bent tcase member
- install Gearvendors I have
- rebuild double cardan joint
- install 285’s
- replace battery tray
- weld trim holes and paint tailgate and install

Long Term Wishes:
- Replace driver door, and both front fenders
- Patch rust in floor
- patch rust above visors or replace roof
- replace inner fenders
- install rear slider
- install floor insulation
- paint front clip and cab to match box.
- Drop the Cummins in there?
- Swap the Dana 61 in front?

[Vintage Windmills]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Jud, nice progress! At least you can use it now. It does really look nice for a truck that was near a crusher a few months ago. How did you fair the extreme cold? Be glad you didn't have all diesels to drive. Good luck on the bathroom project too!

Yep, the rolling restoration is definitely nice, since success never seems extremely far away As for the cold, theres nothing like wood heat! The -20F temps actually help slow down the stupid emerald ash borer bug since the larvae start dying at those temps. They found it in the cities here and my property has about 80% ash trees on it It feels hot out today at 32F

[glimmertwin01]

those emerald ash borers bad news.... they hit upstate NY a few yrs back and have decimated alot of hard wood and u cant transport firewood more than 50 miles fromits origin in NY