Help with my little 70 truck.

[kopfjaegger]

Hi all!

This is my first post on this site having just joined recently. I have a 1970 4x4 with 4 spd. The cab is pretty bad (the floor rusted out almost completely, as well as the door sills, and such). The bed and fenders are a little better shape, though. Now the so-so news. It has a pretty nice running 350 with a Holley Dominator intake Manifold, and it sounds like maybe it was worked on a bit. I think it has a Dana 60 in the front, but I'm not sure since this is my first 4x4 ever.

I have a 68 2wd pick up which I am planning to use for parts (body wise), I have begun disassembling the 70. I would like advice from everybody on this forum since, like I mentioned, it is my first 4x4, but I love these old trucks so I just had to get one to wrench on. I would appreciate any advice, tips, tricks, or any other help since I'm on a tight budget due to child support, ex-wife bills, taking care of 85 year old ailing father, etc. (what a sob story, huh).

I will post pics as soon as possible. My first few things to take care of are these:

1. To start, I would like to identify the axles (front and rear), gear ratio, etc. and perhaps the transmission and transfer case in order to see what I'm working with.

2. I removed the front clip, cab, and bed off of the 68, and am working on them to hopefully transfer onto the 70. I am sanding the heck out of all the body parts and test fitting this weekend.

3. I think that I will have to cut the floor of the 68 at the hump in order to bolt the hump from the 70 to it. It appears that the hump is the only part of the 70's cab that is in good condition. Perhaps that will help in clearing the transmission when I mount the cab on there.

4. I have leaks in both the brake system and the steering system (can't tell if it's the pump or what, but I keep losing steering fluid). Once the cab is off, I'm pressure washing the frame and going through the entire frame and fixing anything that may be wrong.

5. The steering is pretty darn loose. The Haynes book talks of possibly (overhauling?) the king pin or some such. I'm hoping that it's that or something not very expensive.

6. Rewire the whole thing.

7. Relocate the fuel cell to the rear under the bed, if possible.

8. Hopefully mount the saddle tanks that were on the 68 to begin with.

9. Exhaust. It has some kind of weird wanna be headers and the entire system from the headers back is rusted, holes in the mufflers, bailing wire falling off, etc.

After I post pictures tonight, if anybody would like to write and share your experience and wisdom, I would definitely pay attention. I usually wrench on cars and bikes, so I'm not stranger to the shop, but all the talk about transfer cases, lockers, clearances, has made me a little unsure that I should just do it alone. I want this truck to use in my search and rescue team here locally.

Anyway, didn't mean to be so long winded, just wanted anybody that can help to get a picture of what is needed so I can hear some helpful suggestions.

Thanks to everybody in advance. I hope to be an active and contributing member of these boards.

Cheers


Jorge

[Yukon Jack]

Welcome to the board!

Is your truck a K10 or K20

A 70 4x4 should have a Dana 44 front axle. Drums were the only option for the 70's front axle. The transfer case should be the NP205.

Need to know if it's a 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton and I guess it will help to know if it is a Chevy or GMC to figure out what the rear axle should be.

If you can get us pics, we can tell you for sure on all those items.

[kopfjaegger]

Hi Yukon Jack,

Thanks for answering the post.

In answer to your questions;

The truck has k20 and is registered as a Chevy, k20, 3/4 ton. The reason I'm unsure as to the axle is that when I bought it, it was advertised on Craigslist as having a Dana 60. A couple of people have mentioned that it is indeed a different axle than factory, but they said it was something other than Dana 60, so I'm unsure. I used a page out of the LMC catalog to try to identify it, but the numbers stamped on it were confusing to me. They didn't match what was on it, anyway.

The truck has been worked on by the previous owner, or owners, that's for sure. I just want to do it right. I will take pictures of the underside of the truck. I have pics on my PC at home but they are of the body.

Thanks again for answering my post. I will definitely post those pics ASAP. Possibly tonight.

Jorge

[msgross]

Be prepared for a big job if you are doing all that work... sounds almost like what i've been doing to mine (except the body swap)

pics of the axle will help to ID it...

[Rack Man]

Here check out this axle ID chart...

http://www.coloradok5.com/axleguide.shtml

Dan

[kopfjaegger]

Thanks for posting guys. I posted pics of the truck.

A little more info came to view as I was standing there looking at this thing. The badging says C20 but the vin is a K, so maybe it isn't even the original skin on this. The front axle, as you look at it from the front, has an upside down number on the upper right side of the "pumpkin" as it were. It is C31255 with an upside down "3" below it, so if it were right side up it would be above it. On the lower right side it has a right side up 44-5F. The numbers on the long tube are (date?) "1 20 0B4" then, the BOM would be "603036-9" I will double check tomorrow. The numbers just don't match anything I have. I will post more pics so maybe they will help.

Thanks again.

J

[68K20 x Drill]

44-5F cast in the webbing probably denotes a Dana44 axle tubes less than 3" OD pretty much confirms this.

[kopfjaegger]

Thanks 68k20, I kinda suspected that but wasn't sure. I am guessing a 60 would be better than a 44, but it's all good. I got the entire truck for 800 bucks so no worries. I am going ahead with my plans and eventually I'd like to change over to a disc brake setup if possible so this 44 is just as well.

I looked under the cab and it seems that it has a body lift, not much but I'm wondering if by keeping or adding an inch or two in the body when I change cabs, I might be able to avoid cutting the donor cab to bolt in the transmission hump. I'm not sure if that will give me enough clearance.

I have my A-frame setup with my 5 ton hoist ready to lift the bed tomorrow. I still have to take some measurements for the cab, though. I will also visit junkyards to try to find a fuel tank... probably off a later Chevy. I'm thinking late 70's.

Thanks for the info and if there is any advice you have before I start cutting/grinding/welding, feel free to share.

Thanks again,

j