Project: Custom 71 4x4 hotrod

[silver7]

Finally was able to get a little bit of work done on the truck.

The fuel tank was mounted and also removed the front hubs and rotors so I can have them milled for longer wheel studs. The stud I went with was from summitracing and very expensive ($68 for 5) but the knurl was the correct distance from the head and the head diameter was small enough to fit the recessed stud mounting holes in the back of the rotor. The tricky part is the press fit/knurl holds the hub which is mounted on the outside of the rotor. This means the rotor gets drilled to one diameter while the hub gets drilled to a different diameter. This set me back $70 for both rotors and both hubs - 24 holes total. I took it to my regular shop, R&B machine shop, but they did not feel comfortable doing it so they recommended the shop I took them too. I pick them up next week so I'm keeping my fingers crossed he does a good job.

Also ordered stainless u-bolts and other fasteners for my my tie rod and dual steering stabilizer up front from Totally Stainless. Again, it wasn't cheap (about $140 for everythings) but then again they made it to my custom specs so I can't really complain. 4-6 week lead time though. . .

[silver7]

Got my hubs and rotors back. Everything went back together without any issues so I'm back in business. The 3 in ARP studs and 2 in lugs did the trick. Also ordered my rear wheel studs and bought a Craftsman tap and die kit that I hope to work on later this week. Went with 3" screw-in studs from Moroso for the extra strength. My son's Pony baseball tournament is going on now so my time is limited.

[freakshow108]

SWEET! I cant believe you havent thought of this before, why arent you using the available resources at your disposal, free labor, a whole baseball team, all they would require for payment would be some icecream maybe! Seriously its good to see progress, keep those pics coming!

[silver7]

The craftsman tap and die kit worked very well. Unfortunately, the tap wrench broke yesterday so I had to return the kit and get a replacement. Kinda disappointed in Craftsman.

[silver7]

My Craftsman tap and die kit worked very well except that the large tap wrench broke yesterday with two holes left. Craftsman disappointed me but I took the kit back to Sears yesterday and got a replacement. Either way the studs screwed in fine and I bought some locking washers to seal the deal.

[silver7]

Also bought and received my stainless steel brake and fuel lines from Inline Tube. The tags ID bends made for shipping which need to be straightened out for installation.

I'm trying to find installation instructions or diagrams to help with the install. A lot of people have complained about no installation instructions coming with the Inline Tube kits but I found this site. It has some stuff but I hope to find more info in my factory manuals or on the web.

Inline Tube tech support

[Booya]

Looking good, I need to buy a set of brake lines so I'll be watching. I took photos of my lines before I removed them so let me know if you get stuck, maybe I can help. Bill

[freakshow108]

Originally Posted by silver7

Also bought and received my stainless steel brake and fuel lines from Inline Tube. The tags ID bends made for shipping which need to be straightened out for installation.

I'm trying to find installation instructions or diagrams to help with the install. A lot of people have complained about no installation instructions coming with the Inline Tube kits but I found this site. It has some stuff but I hope to find more info in my factory manuals or on the web.

Inline Tube tech support

Silver, I installed my brake lines from inline so if you need pics of specific locations let me know, I found that if you keep the lines on a flat surface when trying to straighten them out works very well. I did not get my fuel lines from inline, I plan to bend them up myself so I cant help you there. Good luck.

[silver7]

Originally Posted by freakshow108

Silver, I installed my brake lines from inline so if you need pics of specific locations let me know, I found that if you keep the lines on a flat surface when trying to straighten them out works very well. I did not get my fuel lines from inline, I plan to bend them up myself so I cant help you there. Good luck.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind for sure. How did you know where to put them?

[freakshow108]

By shear luck I had saved the old brake lines and pretty mutch just matched them up and from process and elimination got em figured out, Im sure its going to be much easier than you think.

[msgross]

my inline tube order is still in the box, let me know when you figure it out!

[silver7]

Originally Posted by freakshow108

By shear luck I had saved the old brake lines and pretty mutch just matched them up and from process and elimination got em figured out, Im sure its going to be much easier than you think.

You are probably right. That has been the case more often than note.

Mike - if I crack the code I'll be sure to share.

[TheWhiteElephant]

I recently installed them on my 1973 from Inline. The way I did it is I left all the old ones on and installed the new ones one at a time after removing each of the old ones one at a time.

All went well with the exception of the larger one with the shipping bends. I found myself forcing it in between the frame rails/engine mounts more than I wanted to, but you shouldn't have those issues since the body isn't on the frame.

The only other issue I had was that the 2 rear lines had 3/16 inch fittings while my wheel cylinders had 1/4 inch threads. The threads changed to the smaller 3/16 thread in '74. I didn't check them until a couple of months that I purchased the lines, so they wouldn't return them. I solved the issue by getting 3/16 to 1/4 inverted brass adapters at Oreilly's. The rear lines should have had a 45 degree bend, but they didn't. Inline actually sent me the wrong ones, but hand bent the lines and they look good.

[TheWhiteElephant]

If you're interested, here's a thread on the issue...

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=470423

[silver7]

Thanks for the help White Elephant.

[silver7]

While cleaning up my frame I filled in some holes that were rusted out or drilled out to make larger than needed. I took measurements but it is hard to tell where I need to be. Anyone out there with a 71 K10 frame who could measure the distance from the back of the front cross member to the first hole of the cross member? That would be a huge help. Thanks.

[freakshow108]

Not sure what your looking for, post a pic and if the k20 is the same ill hook you up.

[silver7]

Originally Posted by freakshow108

Not sure what your looking for, post a pic and if the k20 is the same ill hook you up.

Thanks man. I am looking for the distance from the rivet holding the front cross member in place to the first hole which the engine cross member mounts to. I can't see why the K20 would be any different.

[freakshow108]

As I measure it in a straight line it is 18 inches. I hope that helps.

[silver7]

Great. Next chance you get can you tell me the distance from the bolt which holds the bumper bracket in my top pic to the first cross member rivet? This will tell me if your K20 is set-up like mine.

Thanks,
Shawn

[freakshow108]

Holding the tape measure level, and measuring center to center i have 10 5/8 inches.

[silver7]

Perfect. Both measurements were right on for me - thanks for the help buddy! Now I just need to redrill the back two holes and I'll be good to go.

[freakshow108]

Any time!

[Conroe trucker]

Been a while since I have been on, lots of progress made.
My Boyd tank leaked, out of the box, and after it was all mounted up and full of gas.

He fixed it, but we had to ship it back and forth, etc.

Might want to fill yours with water or something and check it out.

You will need to take lots of pictures to show mating the new trans and stuff to the old frame.
You'll be a hero later.
It should get it's own thread.

[silver7]

Originally Posted by Conroe trucker

Been a while since I have been on, lots of progress made.
My Boyd tank leaked, out of the box, and after it was all mounted up and full of gas.

He fixed it, but we had to ship it back and forth, etc.

Might want to fill yours with water or something and check it out.

You will need to take lots of pictures to show mating the new trans and stuff to the old frame.
You'll be a hero later.
It should get it's own thread.

Thanks for the heads up with the tank, I'll do that.

Wish I had more time, I really enjoy working on the truck. Spending most of my free time coaching my son's All-Star baseball team. No complaints, life is good.

Just trying to get my brakes completed so I can move on to my tranny, transfer case and engine. Not overly complicated just tedious. Finally figured out where all the lines go so I'm trying to get everything mounted now. I think I am going to have to cut and weld my rear disc brake brackets to provide more clearance.