72 k20 project

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by jbclassix

Crazy thought, thinking about going this route on my Cummins swap, what about raising the cab mounts the necessary height, and dropping the bottom of the core support. Since you are pretty much building a bed, why not drop the bed floor. I say all this knowing that you are already way past that point, just agitating that twitch.

That would work, but to what real benefit? you could spend a million hours modifying the body to have taller mounting points but in the end, you have just made a really time consuming body lift.

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

I'd vote for something like an argent silver - keeps with OEM-color theme for a factory step bumper. White my second vote.

i knew there was a reason we were friends, Pete! that is basically what i am thinking

[6BT 56]

I really think that will look cool with the bumpers painted that way. I have always loved the look of a highly modified truck that makes the average joe think it's mostly stock . The period correct colours are where it's at. I even vote for 10 wide steelies and stock hubcaps .

[swamp rat]

What about a charcoal color?

http://paintref.com/cgi-bin/colorcod...ette1982WA7420

[Snork]

AWESOME WORK!!!! I am impressed with the core support rehab. I may have captured some screen shots to use for ideas. I am mostly interested in the mounting of the a/c condenser, and clearance from the grille and hood latch. I will be following this thread until completion, once again, great work.

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice work Ryan! The suspension looks great! I vote white on the bumper since the front will be white. For some reason, I just think white will look better than black on that green.

[mx289]

Those cab pics make me want to call Rambo for a recon mission.

That bumper is stout.
Now,i almost feel bad for what you back into with that !

And i think like Dieselwrencher on the bumper.White.
But,you and Pete are right.Silver would look good too.
Decisions.

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by 6BT 56

I really think that will look cool with the bumpers painted that way. I have always loved the look of a highly modified truck that makes the average joe think it's mostly stock . The period correct colours are where it's at. I even vote for 10 wide steelies and stock hubcaps .

i like a subtle touch as well. just enough of a clue that something is a little different but who knows what, to the average joe.

due to my choice in brake upgrades, i have to run a 17" minimum. i am going for 18". with all the super duties out there with OEM 18"s i think they will get cheaper and be easy to find. so aftermarket wheels are the plan.

Originally Posted by swamp rat

What about a charcoal color?


http://paintref.com/cgi-bin/colorcod...ette1982WA7420

In retrospect i wish i had chosen a color like that for my engine accents. i still like what i have, but i think that silver would look good on the black. still a little to dark for the bumper for what i am seeing in my head.

Originally Posted by Snork

AWESOME WORK!!!! I am impressed with the core support rehab. I may have captured some screen shots to use for ideas. I am mostly interested in the mounting of the a/c condenser, and clearance from the grille and hood latch. I will be following this thread until completion, once again, great work.

Thanks! i was really happy with the core support when i was finished. i am sure you can get the same result.

i cant say for sure right now, but i think the condenser will fint with only a little additional trimming of the grill support. i have not even figured out the condenser i will use so that is a bit in the future.

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Nice work Ryan! The suspension looks great! I vote white on the bumper since the front will be white. For some reason, I just think white will look better than black on that green.

Thanks mister. I am a fan of satin black, but when i close my eyes, my brain sees the truck with a light colored bumper. i can still remember the truck when i was a little kid, still relatively well preserved and the bumper was silver.

Originally Posted by mx289

Those cab pics make me want to call Rambo for a recon mission.

That bumper is stout.
Now,i almost feel bad for what you back into with that !

And i think like Dieselwrencher on the bumper.White.
But,you and Pete are right.Silver would look good too.
Decisions.

Oh dear...

itll be bolted to the frame, so best get arnie to help. sly is to itty bitty for that!

i pity the fool that takes a crack at the back bumper. i feel like i will win.

[ryanroo]

I did a little water jetting today.



those go together like such.

fuel sender and the new draw tube.



turned a lip on the weld-in piece .



i also got this all mounted.



in a bit of hidden fastener trickery, the bolt threads through the clamp and sets the filter in place. does not take much, just a little pressure. that also mounts the clamp.



jam nut on the bolt makes sure the clamp is tightly mounted to the pump bracket.



i had a friend already on the way to four states gasket, so i had him pick up an appropriate sheet of fuel safe gasket material to make a seal.

[Vintage Windmills]

Good progress Ryan!

I vote white like this from 66knsmodels:
Second pic is CG's awesome truck shown for a look at black.

[shopteacher]

Awesome Work!
Totally impressed !

I have read and looked through the pictures SEVERAL times and I find something new every time!

Oh, that Cab shot doesn't get old, just looking better every time I look at it !

[Dieselwrencher]

That's great work on the sender rehab!

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by Vintage Windmills

Good progress Ryan!

I vote white like this from 66knsmodels:
Second pic is CG's awesome truck shown for a look at black.

That darker green looks good with a black accent, but i just think it would look funny against that minty medium green. the white is really cool too. jeez. hard to decide what is the coolest.

Originally Posted by shopteacher

Awesome Work!
Totally impressed !

I have read and looked through the pictures SEVERAL times and I find something new every time!

Oh, that Cab shot doesn't get old, just looking better every time I look at it !

Thanks! the cab on the frame is a motivational sight in the garage. makes me want to plow on.

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

That's great work on the sender rehab!

Thanks!

here are some more.

burned a hole in the tank.



welded in the flange.



added a pick up tube of appropriate size. also made a gasket. the material was Buna.



an as spec'd -10 fitting for fuel pump draw. the sender is in as well.



and jabbed in the tank. it looks a little like it is on steroids. i suppose that is ok though...

[6BT 56]

Return line ? Or dosent a p pump eng use one like my old 92 cummins ?

Awsone work as always.

[ryanroo]

Thanks!

that is the draw tube for the lift pump. the lift pump is that big gnarly black thing. since it moves a lot of fuel, it specs a #10 feed so it doesn't starve and cavitate. since i didnt have the pump at the time i made the tank, i used a #8 fitting for the draw and didnt want to risk the expensive pump. this was my best solution. the return port is located on the front of the tank at the top.

[mcmlxix]

Did you add a slosh tube to keep the fuel gauge from fluctuating?

[ryanroo]

this sender is has the alum. tube with small holes in the top and bottom for the float. with the baffles in the tank and that, i dont think it should be to reactive. i could probably add a tube over it, but i'm not sure how i would make it less sensitive to the fuel slosh. does this style sender have a reputation for that sort of thing?

[6BT 56]

i see a lot of senders like that one in boat fuel tanks . they dont seem to jump around too much . Maby thats cuz they dont have time to slosh as 400hp at 5000rpm for a few hours wont allow enuf time for sloshing . lol

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by 6BT 56

i see a lot of senders like that one in boat fuel tanks . they dont seem to jump around too much . Maby thats cuz they dont have time to slosh as 400hp at 5000rpm for a few hours wont allow enuf time for sloshing . lol

boats...

all of my friends have them. most of them have several. i think i have either worked on or built parts for all of them. i am glad i don't have that problem too.

i wish i had pics of the stainless transom i built for my buddies 21' cat. he decided to hang some monstrous 2 stroke outboard on it and was worried about the motor pushing the transom out of the hull. i made a fancy 7 guage stainless super beefcake transom with 4 link style kickers for it. that thing is FAST.

i just emptied the wallet again on parts, should have some v-bands for the 'gate and boost piping coming, and a sealer kit for the fuel tank. after reading reviews and dithering i went with the KBS tank sealer. lots of good reviews. and it was half the cost of the Caswell kit that i was also considering. we shall see. most of the bad reviews on any tank sealer kit i read come from tank restorations, and i bet a lot of them were prep issues. i have a clean fresh steel tank, so i bet i will be extra stoked. as it turns out, even buying a little extra coating(i am on the upper end of the capacity for the kit) it cost less to build the tank from MS and coat it that to do it from SS304.

[6BT 56]

Why do you even need to coat the tank ? Is it just in case of leaks ? After 40 pages of watching your handy work I hardly tbink it would dare leak

[ryanroo]

for work, i have built a significant number of tanks in AL, steel and a few 300 series stainless varieties. i hate to admit that from experience(...) i know that no matter how good you are, there are sometimes leaks. this one i know is solid though. i had everything sealed and capped and a few weeks ago when i cracked the cap, it sucked in a bunch of air. i capped it when i welded it to protect the threads and never pulled the caps. so, it held a noticeable vacuum for well over a year. i want to coat it so it wont ever rust. i built the thing out of pickled and oiled steel, but that oil will dissolve into the fuel and leave behind raw steel. i live in a desert-ish environment that can have significant temperature changes just day to night, and its mountainous so the weather can change drastically through the course of a day. in a relatively sealed system the raw steel can flash rust from the condensation of moisture in the tank. over time it turns to rust. bad news bears. could have done stainless and it would have lasted till the robots harvested its remains in salvage a thousand years from now, but at the time i built it i hadn't actually priced the coatings. all told i still would have probably spent more on a stainless tank. provided i get the inside all well coated i should see a long service life from this, hopefully longer filter life, and at least tell myself i made good call!

[6BT 56]

Sounds like a good plan to me . I heat my house with a outdoor wood furnace and its always making rusty water if you shut the circulation down for any period of time . I wish it had some coating inside or better, was stainless. Its been 6 years now at least . working well but i can hear a loud ticking in my head every time i walk by the thing if you know what i mean .....

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by 6BT 56

Sounds like a good plan to me . I heat my house with a outdoor wood furnace and its always making rusty water if you shut the circulation down for any period of time . I wish it had some coating inside or better, was stainless. Its been 6 years now at least . working well but i can hear a loud ticking in my head every time i walk by the thing if you know what i mean .....

i hear ya. wood furnace heat is a chore. shortly after my parents parted ways we lived in a house with wood furnace heat. i dont really miss it.

a little fiddling

i got a box the other day with some mandrel bends.

if you remember the wastegate port i milled into the turbo flange, it was long and flat. i did a little amateur(very) black smithing on this bend and then some strong tweaking out to get it looking a little bit less beat to death.







then i mocked this up a little.





waiting on a few more parts, but i can get to looking on the rest of the plumbing now i hope.

i need to get some 5" so i can get after the exhaust a little. i also need to either pull the trigger on an exhaust brake or decide that i want to live without for a bit.

[ryanroo]

i have a couple flanges on order. i want to be able to pull this apart easily

[Dieselwrencher]

Looking nice Ryan!

[brimc]

Awesome work!
I had to go back and look at those cab pics again. I really like that color! Can't wait to see this one finished!