'78 3/4 ton 4x4 FRANKENTRUCK

[asphaltburner]

Oh,...and I hope to start applying gray primer soon. It'll be section by section until completed, and then may be a while until I get around to re-painting FRANKENTRUCK with a base coat/clear coat metallic green,...same color as from the factory. At least with it primed, I'll be able to protect the metal!
Sure won't be FRANKENTRUCK without the rust spots and multicolored finish! Oh well.
Todd.

[asphaltburner]

WELL,...here's the larval stage. Primer gray. Completed yesterday eve.





Sure took me a lot longer than I'd expected,...but my addition onto our house has kept me quite busy.
First time FRANKENTRUCK has ever been smooth and one color! And no more bullet hole,...That's sort of a bummer. It looked pretty cool before, but I think it looks better now. What do you think?
Could be a long time before I can paint it the factory blue-green, but I think this will be quite acceptable in the meantime.
Todd.

[Walts_restoration]

Looking good! Hows the ol camaro going for ya? I dont get on nasty very much anymore.

[asphaltburner]

Good to hear you're still around! I still monitor this site regularly,...I just don't post much now that FRANKENTRUCK is near done.
I still hope to give others some help via what posts I do place!
The Camaro is still doing perfect! It spends a good portion of it's time under it's cover, stored indoors, but it hits the road fairly regularly.
Now that FRANKENTRUCK is sporting gray, the Camaro will soon get a fresh coat of satin black. That's about all it needs!
I'd still like to get a video of it's sustained powerbrake burnout and post it!
Anyway, this is the truck forum, so I'll simply mention that I built the engines for FRANKENTRUCK and the Camaro nearly identical,...they perform quite nicely!
Later, Ryan. Message me with what you've been up to.
Todd.

[68 TT]

Todd, the truck looks much better all one color.

Do you have a color picked out yet?

[asphaltburner]

Ha ha! It sure does! Thank you so much, and good to see your post! 'Been awhile.
Adding on to the house has kept me, and FRANKENTRUCK, all too busy!
Since my wife named it FRANKENTRUCK (and it truly fits!), it just needs to be green, so I'll base coat/clear coat with the metallic blue-green that it was originally. It's a good color and my interior is perfect already.
Thanks again.
Todd.

[asphaltburner]

FRANKENTRUCK finally has a nice coat of primer gray paint over it's entire exterior, including the entire bed. It took a lot of primer! Now it has some real rust protection and doesn't look so much like a junker.
It could certainly not be more capable, or run better, so I'll just continue to work it and complete the final paint when I can.
Todd.
P.S. Now the Camaro needs a second coat of satin black!

[thirdstreettito]

Looking good! Hurry up!

[CSoliz]

Hey Todd,
What are your thoughts on the LMC grille? How has it held up and what is your opinion on the overall quality?

[asphaltburner]

How cool! I was going to respond to your post on the forum and just didn't have time. Glad you asked!
I wanted to say how much I like my grill replacement. It's cost was reasonable and it maintains it's original appearance without more than an occasional wash, despite neglect and my usual abuse. Appearance is just like the original.
It does not have the bow tie emblem, but that works well with FRANKENTRUCK's origins of new, old, and used. I kind of prefer it.
Sorry I didn't just respond to your post,...I probably need to re-prioritize my schedule just a bit and spend more time reducing my stress by sharing on the Chevy forum. It would be better for me!
Perhaps now that my house addition is essentially complete, and FRANKENTRUCK has a reasonable protective coat on it, I'll be able to participate more on the forum.
Sure glad you asked, and welcome to the forum!
Todd.

[asphaltburner]

Nice to see posts from the same folks that helped urge me along with the project when it was in the thick of planning and assembly, thirdstreettito! Thanks so much!
Turned out to be one hell of a truck,...I'd not let it go!
I was surprised at the amount of primer the full-sized truck took! Base coat/clear coat is going to cost some bucks, so it may be awhile before FRANKENTRUCK returns to it's 1978 factory metallic blue-green to match it's original interior.
Thanks again, and thanks for keeping tabs on FRANKENTRUCK!
Todd.

[77K10Silverado]

Any updates? Cool thread!

[asphaltburner]

Wow, thanks so much for checking out FRANKENTRUCK's thread!
Glad you liked it, and I hope it might be helpful to you,...I tried to include as much information as I could while building FRANKENTRUCK from the two 3/4 ton trucks.
And thanks for asking about FRANKENTRUCK!
First of all, for those that have not read the thread:
I pulled the '78 P/U from a Wyoming field and built what my wife christened "FRANKENTRUCK":
4 bolt main 350 with 2.02/1.6 67cc chamber World heads, Crane cam, roller tip rockers, roller chain and sprocket advanced 4 degrees.
Upgraded and tuned HEI, 600cfm Holley, Weiand manifold, Hooker shortys and “H” pipe duals.
TH400, rebuilt with a 1200 stall-speed converter and to mate to a machined ORD NP205 with twin stick.
Dana 44 front axle/springs with Warn hubs and 5560 lb rated full-floating rear axle/springs with 4.11:1 gearing,...all from my 1973 donor flatbed.
17” Foose Spanks with 285x70 Firestones.
Kenwood indash iPod/CD receiver, powering four 6.5” Kenwood 3-ways mounted in corner boxes.
To start,...what can I say? IT'S FUN!
FRANKENTRUCK continues to do mostly logging chores on our land (it pulls stumps really well!), but also acts as our tow vehicle for our horse trailer,...and our emergency vehicle, especially in really bad snow.
Everybody knows the truck at the recycling place and at Home Depot, and it makes occasional runs to the nursery for mulch,...so FRANKENTRUCK continues to strike fear into the hearts and minds of men and women throughout Weld County, Colorado on a fairly regular basis!
Todd.

[asphaltburner]

And apologies to all for leaving FRANKENTRUCK primer gray for now,...I fear banging up my new paint job on a working truck.
It'll happen one of these days,...and not too far in the future. My wife and I just retired, and I'm presently working on bodywork and paint on my '76 Camaro. Just a matter of time before I get to FRANKENTRUCK,...
Todd.

[glock35ipsc]

Hiya Todd! We moved to Severance almost 3 years ago, so I'm surprised I haven't seen the ol' Frankentruck running around. Hope everything is well with you.

[y5mgisi]

Good to hear it's serving you well!

[asphaltburner]

Yo! glock35ipsc! Good to hear from you,...it's been awhile, to say the least!
FRANKENTRUCK haunts Hwy 14 and 85, when loose, but does not escape daily,...more like a couple of times a month. My DD is a '98 LTD 4Runner. That's why you've not seen the truck, I'd guess. Should I be watching for you driving in "Goldie" soon?
And thanks, y5mgisi! It's very satisfying to have salvaged two beater trucks and their parts, added a few junkyard and new parts, and returned one really nice truck to the road.
Todd.

[asphaltburner]

FRANKENTRUCK on a usual day, workin':





Todd.

[asphaltburner]

Note: I don't usually have the camera readily available when we're doing the BIG jobs!
Todd.

[77K10Silverado]

Curious about the NP205 install on that 78 frame. Any more pics of the support/torque rods and drilling? Doing the same to my 77 K10

[asphaltburner]

Wow! Cool to hear from you, Mike!
First of all, let me tell you that it's an easy install. This was the most difficult part,...measuring and drilling for this NP205 side mount:



Secondly,...years ago, the hard-drive that had a number of those pictures was smoldered by the surge from a nearby lightening strike. I still have a lot of pictures, but not of the NP205 torque rods.
I can sure get some new pics, though! If you'll be patient with me,....
I'll PM you here for further,...
Thanks for looking for information in FRANKENTRUCK's thread! I'm glad it's helping someone.
Todd.

[DirtyLarry]

Hey Todd,

Glad to see you’re still around. Man, one day you will regret tying the transfercase to the frame. There are reasons why GM stopped installing that brace back in the early 70's. When your transmission to tcase adapter breaks you’ll know the tcase to frame brace needs to go into the trash
More on that HERE

[asphaltburner]

This particular mount came from a '73 flatbed. It survived 4x4'ing behind a TH350/NP205 for about 35 years there, intact, without fracturing an adapter, and has been doing just fine 4x4'ing behind FRANKENTRUCK's TH400/NP205 ever since. The TH400 adapter is massive, and I doubt that you could break it without totally abusing your truck.
Most 4x4 people on the internet are fabricating this very mount because they cannot find NOS. I it is there to control torque.
My internet search shows only your posts about this subject, DirtyLarry.
I'm no spring chicken, and I've never heard of this, so I'm going to keep mine in place and think of this as a fish story until proven otherwise. If I break my TH400 adapter, I'll sure post it right away!
Todd.

[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by asphaltburner

This particular mount came from a '73 flatbed. It survived 4x4'ing behind a TH350/NP205 for about 35 years there, intact, without fracturing an adapter, and has been doing just fine 4x4'ing behind FRANKENTRUCK's TH400/NP205 ever since. The TH400 adapter is massive, and I doubt that you could break it without totally abusing your truck.
Most 4x4 people on the internet are fabricating this very mount because they cannot find NOS. I it is there to control torque.
My internet search shows only your posts about this subject, DirtyLarry.
I'm no spring chicken, and I've never heard of this, so I'm going to keep mine in place and think of this as a fish story until proven otherwise. If I break my TH400 adapter, I'll sure post it right away!
Todd.

Fish story…..you think I just made this stuff up for no reason?? You’re right, I am the only one you’ll find with 40 year old tribal knowledge that says not to use it as I worked with the GMC Truck engineer that was instrumental in getting it removed from production over 40 years ago. Sure, there are many still out there that have not broke even after 40 years but the potential of breaking a bellhousing on an automatic or the trans to tcase adapter on manuals (and even automatics) is far greater by using that side bracket.

Torsion stress is the exact reason why GM removed it around 1974/5. Think about it, the engine wants to naturally twist one direction while the rearward most part of the powertrain is tied down on the side. Something in between will eventually break. If you think about it, you don’t have to be a rocket engineer to figure that out. Most damage occurs to trucks with manual transmissions as they have the ability to put more torsional stress in the driveline. SM465/205 adapters break easy enough but the side bracket greatly speeds up the carnage but breakage occurs to automatics as well. I hade a 69 K5 Blazer parts rig with a completely broken TH350 bellhousing many years ago. Never understood how or why it broke until many years later when I met Winston and we got to talking about this subject one day at work.

Why do you suppose GM stopped casting threaded holes in the side of 205 in the later 70’s? Any why do you suppose GM started supporting the transfercase via rod to the actual engine bellhousing instead of the frame. You might find out!

When yours breaks this thread will be the first thing you think of as you say SOB to yourself!!!! Hehe, you’ll never find that mount on anything I built guaranteed!

[asphaltburner]

Tribal knowledge, huh?
Todd.