Project: Custom 71 4x4 hotrod

[Dieselwrencher]

Very nice progress! That blue looks pretty nice as well.

[silver7]

Thanks brother. This custom thing is a bear to complete but if done right it can be something special. Glad to hear someone appreciates what I'm doing here.

[silver7]

Still having issues with my rear disc brake conversion kit. Ready to move on to another. Anyone have any ideas for a good kit for a k10?

[MTCK]

Where are you at with the breaks? Your last post it looked like you got them mocked up. Are they still too tight or just not the rotors you want? Stainless Steel Brakes makes a nice kit for a C10 (5 lug) but not sure about a K10...
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[silver7]

With the bracket mounted the opening between the pads does not line up with the rotor - still some interference. Might be able to grind down the caliper and bracket a little but would prefer not to.

[MTCK]

Yeah I don't like the grinding idea... You'll definitely own them then! Here is the SS brake kit I was thinking of. Application shows 75-86 trucks, and I'm not sure what it would take to make them work with your axle. It could just be the brake line fitting... I know you wanted slotted and drilled and these are solid. I'd call Stainless Steel brakes and see if they sell a rotor that would work with the kit.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SSB-A126/

[red71cheyenne]

Awesome build so far! Great forethought getting all this stuff lined up before hand. Have you talked to Blackbirds customs about rear brake? They do a lot of them and are fairly reasonable. I haven't used them myself, but am going to when I put them on my Blazer.

[silver7]

I'll call them both and see if one of them can hook me up. Thanks fellas.

[silver7]

Not a lot of progress to report but I've been working hard. Hopefully this will change soon.

Engine block - Took my engine block to R&B machine shop to get it ready to start building the engine. Had it magna fluxed, cleaned in the hot solvent tank and new cam bearings installed. When I figure these other few items out below I should be able to shift to this. Can't wait.

Rear brakes - Finally finagled the brake caliper and bracket to where I think they will work. What a pain in the keester! May require some light clearance grinding down the road since my outside pad is almost touching the rotor but won't know until I can drive and try to stop the truck.

Steering - Finally was able to get my pitman arm of my old steering box. The pitman arm puller I rented wasn't big enough, the 3 jaw puller was inneffective, so had to use the shop hydraulic press at work. The bronze/brass mount for the pitman arm looked damaged so I went ahead and bought a remanufactured steering box from LMC truck. Should have it in a few days.

Front Hubs - Tried wire wheeling the front brake caliper brackets/dust shields but there was a lot of pitting so I ended up sandblasted them. Hoping to paint these today and tomorrow so I can finish assembling my front end this weekend.

Painting - In addition to painting the front brake caliper brackets I plan on painting the new front brake calipers (LMC truck) and rear brake calipers (Kirker epoxy primer, Nason Rio Red base, Nason clear), new pitman arm, new power steering pump, front brake caliper brackets and steering box (Kirker epoxy primer, Kirker single stage Jet Black, Nason clear).

[silver7]

Got my 12 bolt pinion yoke and front brake caliper mount/dust covers primered tonight. Turned the regulator pressure down low and tried painting in a box in the garage. It worked ok using a couple of hangers to move the piece around to ensure coverage but ended up with numerous runs. Discovered my brake calipers need some more prep so I'll take care of them another day. New steering gear just arrived from LMC while writing this. The pitman arm mount looked a lot different than my old one so I guess it was good I bought a new replacement. Unfortunately, it will need to be painted too but I can do this when I complete the 4 brake calipers.

If the weather holds up I'll base and clear coat tomorrow - outside.

[MTCK]

Look'n good.

[freakshow108]

Makes me jealous! Its coming along nicely.

[silver7]

Merry Christmas fellas.

[silver7]

Snowed today so no painting. Really stinks because I need to reprime because I had to sand out the bags in my front caliper brackets. Wire wheeled the calipers and part of the steering box last night. Wife and son thought I was crazy sitting at the kitchen table today taping my front and rear calipers. I guess it will work out since I should be able to primer everything at the same time now - steering box, power steering pump, front caliper brackets, front and rear brake calipers. Yesterday I bought a quart of Transtar epoxy primer/catalyst for $65 from O'Reilleys since I ran out of Kirker epoxy primer. That's crazy since I paid about $80 for a gallon of Kirker epoxy primer/catalyst. I'll probably return it and buy some more Kirker primer Monday since I won't get a chance to paint now until later in the week. www.smartshoopersinc.com usually gets it to me within 1-2 days. Plus it saves $ in the long haul.

[RandyL1966]

Looking good Silver I'm still watching Merry Christmas

[caviness]

nice build.

[72longbed]

Great job Silver7 ! I'm enjoying reading your Thread. Building one from the frame rails up really gets into your soul doesn't it? Great memories for the rest of your life!

Keep up the great work!

72longbed

[silver7]

Thanks fellas.

I bet I spent 2 hours on my new steering box with a wire wheel, scratch pad and degreaser getting that black junk removed so I could paint it! It ought to be the best looking steering box you've ever seen when I'm done.

Finally got tired of waiting on the snow and epoxy primered my parts today. Received my Kirker Epoxy Primer so I'm taking the expensive Transtar stuff back. Hopefully I can base coat and possibly clear tomorrow.

[speedfreekk]

Hope my truck looks this good when done.

[silver7]

Spent a good part of the day yesterday laying down Nason Rio Red on my brake calipers. It took 5 friggin coats! It was my first time shooting red and I must say I'm in no hurry to do it again. Brake calipers aren't easy to shoot either - lots of nooks and crannies. Finished up today with 2 heavy coats of Nason clear. They look better than expected.

I'm off tomorrow so tonight I hope to start laying down some Kirker single stage Jet black on my front brake caliper brackets, 12 bolt yoke and my new steering gear so I can clear coat them tomorrow.

[msgross]

That Harbor Freight gun works pretty well doesn't it? I just used mine to clear coat my kitchen cabinets....

[silver7]

Yes, it's not too shabby for a cheap gun. A LVLP gun would be nice but this works for me with the little bit of painting I'm doing.

[silver7]

Unfortunately I am not a very good painter yet. Although the calipers turned out well, I had a few bags on my black brake caliper brackets so I wet sanded, hit it with a red scratch pad and will repaint soon. I could have left them as is but my obsessive compulsive side wouldn't allow that. The week long sinus infection and third week of rain, snow and ice hasn't helped speed things along either.

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice progress and great job painting your parts!

[silver7]

Things have been crazy lately but I've been able to get a lot of research and some work done.

Changed my mind on my transmission, again. After a lot of research I decided to go with a NV4500 out of a 93 4X4 that should arrive next week. Thanks to Big Mike for turning me on to the idea a while back. Really like how much better it will match my powertrain and enable me to take it on long highway trips if needed. Also dig how the NV4500 tail shaft direct matches directly with a late model round 6 bolt pattern NP205 versus the early model NP205 figure 8 bolt pattern I have now. They are hard to find at a decent price because of this reason so the search is still ongoing. No AA adapter for me, thank you very much.

The pic shows the progress I made on my front end. Driver's side is complete with only about an hour's work left on the passenger side. Once I get some tall jack stands I'll get my front tires mounted and finally have a pseudo rolling chassis.

I probably set my pinion depth and backlash close to ten times and took the hub apart and put it back together 5 times for different reasons but I sure know my truck now. It was a lot of time and money but the effort is finally starting to pay off. I must say it was overwhelming at first, and I made more than my share of mistakes but it was all worth it.