1978 Chevy K20 longbed with nearly 500,000 miles! LS Swap begins!

[focusedontheprize]

Nick the truck is looking great. It is a great feeling put parts on rather than taking them off. I did the H4 relay in my ‘88 and it made a huge difference, I am interested in those fanless bulbs.

[Nick_R_23]

Thank you! And yes, it's certainly nice to be moving the needle more towards the assembly side of things! As far as those LED lights, I think these are the way to go. I've used them on 10+ vehicles now, even 4 wheelers, and haven't had a single failure. I find them on ebay, I believe the seller's name is SOCALLED, but I think there's more than one seller with this style. It's usually a black box with "G6" on the side, although it looks like they may have white boxes now. regardless, they're easy to find in whatever socket size you need, just simply type in "H4 led fanless" (or whatever type you need) and they come up. They're about $41 for a pair, very reasonable.

This weekend I started on rebuilding the hydroboost unit, which probably really didn't need it, but I've never done one before so I wanted to try it. They're almost stupid easy!

Disassembled and painted the housings!





New seals on the actuator shaft.



Paint is dry, lets get this together!





Guts installed, housing bolted back together!



Gas canister installed!



I also started running the wiring for the Holley Terminator X. I greatly underestimated how long the harness is, so I made a change of plans and decided to run the ECU outside, likely in about the same place that the air box will end up being.



Hydroboost is installed! The lines fit just about perfect!



The engine bay as it sits now!

[93M6Formula]

I absolutely love your attention to detail. Looks great!

[Nick_R_23]

Thank you!

So, I finally made a little more progress. I've ran into another transmission leak, this time the front bearing retainer plate and I've severely lacked the motivation to deal with that problem.

However, after a month wait, the new dash harness has arrived! This is from M&H, and the quality is astounding! This is the Classic Update series, which has a few extra circuits built into it. I likely won't be utilizing those, however, it also updates all the fuses to the modern blade style!







Once the harness was mostly laid out, the steering column was able to go back in!



Along with the steering shaft!



Two questions now - Does anyone know where to buy a 1978 clutch pedal safety switch? It seems that nobody lists these anywhere.

Also, does anyone have a picture of where this is supposed to be clipped to?

[Flames97]

Wow! Great work.
I'll definitely be watching and taking notes.

[Nick_R_23]

So this isn't really much of a massive update as I would like it to be, but I finally got a few parts in.

Adapter for the MAP sensor



98-02 Camaro/Firebird throttle cable that FINALLY came off backorder!

[Nick_R_23]

Wow, an actual update!

I got the throttle cable installed today. Not a perfect fit, but I'm going to make it work. Looking back, I really wish I would have used the original intake and throttle body, as this one has given me way too many issues for the small gain in TB size.

The cable fits decently, but is about an inch or so too long. My potential fix for this will be to buy a 1" throttle body spacer, which will give me room to mount the cable bracket rearward off the throttle body to take up the slack in the cable.



I also FINALLY worked up the motivation to fix the transmission leak after putting it off for nearly 3 months. It went smoother than I anticipated, which was a nice change of pace.

The offending leak spot, with the transmission slid back.



Leaky plate removed! This is the first time in my life I have actually had a legitimate use for a Z-driver.



New billet aluminum plate.



I ran a small, thin bead of case sealant around the outer edge and bolt holes on both sides of the gasket. I'm 100% not chancing any more leaks with this transmission! New plate installed!



The transmission is reinstalled!



I also took care of the ground wire for the fuel pump, since I was underneath.

[Nick_R_23]

Another decent update!

I've been posting this thread alongside the LS1Tech forums as well. Another member there, RedXray, turned me over to these Glenn's Auto Performance throttle cable brackets, specifically meant to use on TBSS/NNBS intakes like mine.



We speculated that the position of the bracket (plus the fact that it has a slotted adjustment) sat further back in relation to the Nick Williams bracket, and should eliminate the need for a TB spacer. The bracket also has the Silverado style cable mount, which theoretically should let me use the 99-02 Silverado cable I originally ordered.

So what did I do? I went out and destroyed the 3-month-backorder 98-02 F-Body cable in the name of science. I think this may actually work really well.

The 99-02 Truck cable has two “stoppers” on the pedal end of the cable, as seen in the pictures. The little plastic clip that inserts into the pedal arm is on the end one. Installed like this, the secondary “stopper” won’t allow the cable to retract enough to bring the pedal all the way up. So, the F-Body cable donated its plastic clip, installed in the inner “stopper”, which drastically shortens up the cable and also allows the pedal to come back up to the top fully. If this works, the extra cable past the inner stopper can be removed later.



Since the cable is now much shorter, I moved the TB cable end up one hole in the throttle body. As you can see, this puts the cable a little bit further back than the Nick Williams cable bracket, which appears to be nearly identical to where the Glenn’s cable bracket appears to sit. Even if it does end up in the same spot, a 3/8 to 1/2” TB spacer should easily take up that length, and the adjustability of the Glenn’s cable bracket should allow me to fine tune in the correct amount of free play. So, I ordered a bracket!



A few other things showed up alongside it! A new coolant reservoir, new cap, RH battery tray brace, and a new PCB for the gauge cluster!



I also got a set of battery terminals for the dedicated Holley wiring.



The GAP bracket showed up, and it is a NICE piece! I was all too happy to throw that Nick Williams bracket in the garbage. This gave me the proper throttle cable free play and still has plenty of adjustment left! the 99-02 Silverado cable worked great with the 2nd clip on the pedal end. Gets to full throttle with no pedal modification.



Next, I mounted the RH battery tray support. This will eventually get modified to house the new style Silverado air filter.



The new coolant bottle was mounted next, with a new overflow line installed!



Following this, I came back inside to focus on the gauge cluster. The needles were pretty faded, so I decided to try my luck repainting them. I picked up some Neon Orange paint from Walmart, which also has the interesting effect of glowing under blacklight. I also picked up some LED bulbs for the cluster, heater panel, and wiper switch.



Starting off! Here, you can see the needles are almost faded to white. The lens is also scratched beyond saving.



Completely disassembled!



The old PCB was unusable also.



Cluster housing cleaned and dried! I would've replaced this one also as it has a few superficial cracks, but a factory clock housing is not reproduced and I didn't want to perform the same modifications to make it fit.



Cleaning and surface filling all the contact points, and coating all exposed points with a thin film of dielectric grease.



The new PCB is laid out!



All the retainers and bulbs installed!





Gauges cleaned and reinstalled!



Now for the real tedious part, don't get neon paint everywhere! All the gauges except the clock were painted in place, the clock needles were removed and painted individually. It's not as professional as I would've liked the results to be, but it still turned out good! An airbrush would certainly be the way to go for a professional restoration.



I ended up going with two coats, and this is the result!



And to button them up, the gauge bezel and a brand new lens is installed!

[Nick_R_23]

Wow, TWO updates today!

I picked up a few things I forgot about yesterday, namely fluid for the transmission, a few various sizes of cable routing clamps, and ground straps for the engine to firewall, and engine to frame grounds.



After confirming that my engine to frame strap was the proper length, I put an end on the Terminator X's ground wire.



General routing of the engine to frame strap.



All three grounds installed! The third is the secondary ground for the headlights, from the core support. I also installed a cable clamp and a piece of sticky padding to keep the wires from chaffing on the fenderwell edge.



Installed a clamp on the throttle cable once I was satisfied with the routing.



Installed better looking cable clamps on the Terminator X harness running along the firewall, and also the engine to firewall ground can be seen peeking out behind there.



I installed another cable clamp at the rear of the intake to support the oil pressure and unused knock sensor wires to prevent wire whip. I also put another piece of sticky padding under the knock sensor wire cap to prevent rattling.



And the same for the injector wire connector where it rests against the back of the intake!



And finally, a cable clamp for the MAP sensor wiring.



One thirsty transmission. The SM465 takes 4.2 quarts!



I think I forgot to call this out on the previous post, but a new junction block was installed on the firewall.



The remaining two LED's were installed in the wiper switch and heater control units. The phone camera doesn't pick up the light as well as I would like, but they're very well lit and the light seems to distribute pretty evenly. Bright and white! I can't wait to see what the whole dash will look like with the gauge cluster installed!

[LT7A]

I like seeing all of the tidy work on a truck that's not had the easiest life. It held out this long and deserves the good treatment.

[Nick_R_23]

Thank you. One day it will get the full send restoration treatment it truly deserves, as it’s more than earned it. It will likely be a full replacement of everything but the cab, and even that cab is going to need some severe rust repair once that happens, but I would love to get it fully restored while still keeping it the way I remember it.

[WilliamFd55]

Very nice work! I'm currently working on an LS swap with Terminator X as well. Your thread is going to help he out ALOT. Thanks

[Nick_R_23]

Thank you, and awesome! Feel free to let me know if you’d like any additional pictures of harness routing or anything else that might help you.

[Nick_R_23]

Since I changed all the lights over to LED, new flashers were needed. These came in from SuperBrightLEDs, and should hopefully make them all function like stock. HD ones were ordered for the additional load that trailer lights add to the system. Black is for regular turn signals, red is for hazards. Just FYI for anyone else doing LEDs, the flashers are wired at different polarities at the flasher terminals on these Chevy trucks, and will cause issues if the flashers don’t match. Hence the need for two different flasher units.



Summit also delivered more fire sleeve for fuel lines, solder connectors for a few more bits of wiring remaining, and the fuel pressure sensor wiring extension so I can safely mount it to the fender instead of the engine.



I also picked up a headlight switch which I had forgotten to order earlier.



Headlight switch installed!



Flashers installed in the fuse block!



Extended the ground wire for the fuel pump relays, and changed to a ring terminal.



Under dash grounds finished!



I also ran the secondary ground wire for the fuel pumps themselves. This interties with the ground wire near the switching valve, to eliminate any chance of grounding issues with the pumps!

[Corts60]

Just went through your whole thread! Man you are moving along speed! Very nice work on the details. Gonna be awesome to see this thing back together and on the road.

[Nick_R_23]

Thank you! I’m really hoping I’ll have it on the road by summertime. It’s coming quick!

So, I am EXTREMELY happy to report that the transmission has not leaked a drop of fluid all week. I think I’m finally moving past that saga. The next step now is the transfer case! Yeah, it’s dirty. We’ll fix that though.



I scraped off most of the big chunks that I could, then heaved it up on the bench for disassembly.



Case housing stripped, wire brushed to remove all the fine dirt, and wiped down with brake clean.



Internals! Which will get cleaned at a later time. Everything appears to be in great shape, so I’m happy.



Taped the housing off for paint! Unfortunately this side is all I have time for this weekend.



Aaaaaand paint! Hopefully by this time next weekend, it will be a complete transfer case again!

[MalibuSSwagon]

I didn't know that a pre-made bracket existed for cable throttle on a NBS intake. I made one using a stock 99-02 truck bracket, cut it up and used a chunk of angle steel to make a brace. Measured the distance between the cable rotor and the bracket on a stock intake and replicated that. Works well.

[Nick_R_23]

I’m honestly surprised there isn’t more. I would think it would be a fairly common part, but apparently not!

I started off the weekend by painting the other side of the case.



A few other parts showed up as well. Airaid intake tube, and a few more wiring pieces from Summit.





Depinned the Holley accessory connector for the electric fan relay grounds only.



This is something that always bothers me on these trucks. In order to remove the harness, either the harness needs to be depinned, or the tanks need to be dropped. Added a quick connector for the fuel sending unit in case this one ever needs to come out.









I also blanked off the currently unneeded Tach wire.



This is a sub harness for the remaining wires on the Terminator X. Power, Ignition, and Fuel Pump. Power is the ring terminal, which will run to the factory junction block for battery power. Ignition is on the two pin connector, and will utilize the distributor power wire on the engine bay harness. Fuel pump is the other wire on the two pin connector, and will connect to the fuel pump harness to drive the relays.







Next, I mocked up the air intake system just to get an idea of where everything will potentially sit. Unfortunately, I had to remove the factory jack mounted on the fender, but it likely wouldn’t have ever been able to get high enough for this lifted truck anyway.









Back to the transfer case now that the paint is dry!





New shift shaft seals installed



Lockout pins



Idler gears and shaft installed



Shift forks and input shaft





Front output cluster



Front output bearing retainer with new seal



Rear support plate!

[Nick_R_23]

More transfer case fun!

I painted a few more parts overnight. Installed the front output cover and yoke, and the serial tag.



Also installed the PTO cover plate.



Then the rear output gear assembly.



I had to make my own gaskets out of an extra one, because these weren’t included.



Detents and plugs installed!



Installed the rear output extension housing.



Along with the seal housing and speedometer drive components.



Rear output yoke installed!



Shift linkage installed, it’s complete!



Prepping the gasket surfaces with some sealant for install.



About ready to roll this thing into me and bench press it into place!



After a few choice words and a little bit of struggling with turning the input shaft and holding the transfer case from crushing me with just one arm, it’s installed!

[WilliamFd55]

Like how you are keeping the factory airbox, looks right at home in there.

[Shugalou]

Goddamn impressed!!! Way beyond my skill level so I gotta salute you! Entertaining too, I laughed good when you showed the fuel tank and fuel pump going in for the first time - was looking for the KY in the background. Keep up the good work.

[Nick_R_23]

Thanks guys! Glad to hear it’s an enjoyable build!

Several more parts showed up for the weekend! Exhaust elbows, catalytic converters, dash clock and door switch harnesses, and another electrical connector all came in!



I started on this little side project since it’s been bothering me, and I know I’ll need to tackle it before the dash is buttoned up. I could have sworn that a few years back, individual components for these HVAC control panel were available, but now you can only buy a whole unit. This one works fine, but has the paper trim worn out and the knobs are missing. Instead of shelling out $100 for a new one just for a piece of paper, I’m going to refinish this one.



This one is in bad shape.



I have no idea where I got this from, but I had some very thin, textured plastic sheeting laying around that I knew I kept because I would need it some day. Well, that day is here!



Overlaid, and cut out a template.



Test fitting, it needed very minimal trimming!



Lens cleaned and reinstalled.



And new knobs! It looks much better than before.



I also ran the door pin harness and clock harness.

[Nick_R_23]

A few more parts showed up later in the day! I ordered a factory stereo off of eBay. These are going for stupid money, untested. This one turns on but unknown beyond that. Time will tell if I bought a $100 paper weight. At least it’ll look pretty! The headlight switch knob and clock knobs both came in as well. I also picked up an assortment of exhaust connectors and adapters from the parts stores.



Headlight knob installed!



Clock knob installed!



Time to finally start on the exhaust system! This was one of the first parts I purchased for the truck, but one of the last to go on! It’s a Hooker 2.25” true dual system, designed for this truck but meant to be a header-back system. Since this is obviously no longer a small block based platform and I’m also not utilizing headers, I’ll be making a few modifications to adapt to the manifolds, as well as adding a pair of high flow catalytic converters to the system. I sized these slightly higher than the rest of the system, at 2.5”, to provide a small additional increase in flow through them. I started with the elbows and a pair of bare flanges to make the downtubes from the manifolds.







Test fitting alignment. I don’t think I can get that much better!



The downtubes were also 2.5”, so the header pipes needed a reducer to go between the two.



I’m slitting all of my slip joints, so I can make all of the connections with band clamps, which will allow for any future disassembly to be done with ease.



Catalytic converter done on the front.



Muffler outlet completed. I had to cut quite a bit out of this extension pipe due to the added cats.





And here’s how the passenger side looks all assembled!









Drivers side tomorrow!

[Nick_R_23]

Started on the driver’s side today! This will go a lot smoother now that I’ve figured out what’s happening on the passenger side.



Started with the reducer for the header pipe.



Set up the adapters for the catalytic converter.



Decided where the O2 sensor was going to mount. I ended up going with just after the collector on the drivers side since there was quite a bit more room.



Bung installed!



Header pipe mounted.



Catalytic converter and muffler mounted.



Tailpipes mounted over the axle.





Approximate mounting once everything gets bolted together.





And as a final touch, I installed fire sleeve over the length of fuel line that sits nearby the pipe. It probably wouldn’t have been an issue as it’s not super close, but definitely better to be safe than sorry when dealing with fuel!

[Nick_R_23]

Time for a little change of pace! I’ve been planning on running an electric fan, and been doing research on what everyone seems to like using. Ford Windstar seemed to be the pick for Square Bodies, but I wasn’t a fan (pun intended) of how it mounted or had excessive bracketry all over. After junkyard hunting and looking up endless specs on fans, I settled on a 2010-2012 Ford Fusion fan. The fan seems to fit the radiator opening well, I believe is PWM capable, is available in much newer vehicles, and it drops right in place at the bottom, just like the factory shroud. I’m not kidding! I’ll be having a few pieces of sheet metal bent up to properly fill the side and top gaps, but I feel like this will be a great fit.









Here are the drawings I made for the three pieces that will be made up, if anyone is interested in producing them themselves.