1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion

[newstedcomeback]

So after about 20 seconds of sandblasting the frame I realized that my air compressor was not up to the task... So I picked up this bad boy. Now I will need to run some wiring to hook it up to 230v I should be back to sandblasting by this weekend. My neighbors are going to HATE me. But..... I dont care. It's all In the name of truck restoration. They can deal with it.

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by newstedcomeback

So after about 20 seconds of sandblasting the frame I realized that my air compressor was not up to the task... So I picked up this bad boy. Now I will need to run some wiring to hook it up to 230v I should be back to sandblasting by this weekend. My neighbors are going to HATE me. But..... I dont care. It's all In the name of truck restoration. They can deal with it.

Thats a 60 gal? Let me know how it works for you with the sand blaster, Thanks!

[newstedcomeback]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Thats a 60 gal? Let me know how it works for you with the sand blaster, Thanks!

It works great! I couldn't imagine getting anything larger than a 60 gallon for home use. I have a glass bead cabinet for small stuff and a 40lb pressurized tank blaster that I use for the big parts. The compressor turns on pretty often but it definitely keeps up with the pressure demands. I thought I could live with a 30 gallon compressor, but sandblasting takes a ton of air. with the 30 gallon I could blast for about 20 seconds and then the pressure would drop so low the sand would be dropping straight down out of the nozzle.

I paid about $500 for this from home depot and so far its working out good for me. I believe that it is made in the same Chinese factory as the craftsman ones.

[newstedcomeback]

Sway bar

[newstedcomeback]

So today I decided to take the knuckles off the dana 44 so that I can change ball joints and clean everything up for painting.. One knuckle came off in about 5 minutes with a pickle fork.. The other took me almost 2 hours. I beat on that thing like a million times and it wouldn't come loose. I finally got out my little propane torch I use to start the BBQ. And after about 2 minutes of heating. The lower ball joint came out on the first good whack. I'm buying all MOOG parts. I never want to do that again. I have broken loose many stubborn ball joints in the past, but nothing compares to this one I did today...

[newstedcomeback]

It looks like Santa came early this year... 4" all spring lift with shocks.. Yes! My girlfriend is awesome!!

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice project, and great work. It looks like you've got a good stash of parts now too. On the 208, the 600hp deal may work with baby tires..... I had a 84 K20 with a 650hp 388 stroker, TH350 with NP208 and 4.11 gears with 38's. I blew the NP208 up the second play time out. I purchased another and wasted it in no time too. Went back to the old trusty 205 and then broke the semi float 14b. All I'm saying is if you don't get too animal with that 208, it should be ok. Good luck

[newstedcomeback]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Nice project, and great work. It looks like you've got a good stash of parts now too. On the 208, the 600hp deal may work with baby tires..... I had a 84 K20 with a 650hp 388 stroker, TH350 with NP208 and 4.11 gears with 38's. I blew the NP208 up the second play time out. I purchased another and wasted it in no time too. Went back to the old trusty 205 and then broke the semi float 14b. All I'm saying is if you don't get too animal with that 208, it should be ok. Good luck

Im gonna be running 35x12.5 BFGs I have some 36' Super swampers that were given to me for free and those might be put on every once in a while when I really feel like having fun, But im not even close to the 600hp range. I would say my 383 is maybe putting out about 400 hp. maybe a little more in the torque department. Its pretty mild for a 383. Im hoping the 208 will hold up. If not I will replace it. The one I have now only cost me $50 on craigslist.

[newstedcomeback]

Well today I pressed the ball joints out of the knuckles and I took the carrier out of the dana 44. That badboy was in there good. I know there is preload on the carrier bearings. But I had to use my engine crane to get the damn thing out. I checked backlash before I removed it and everything looked great. I used chains and 3" u bolts for clamping the steering stabilizer to an axle housing. They fit perfect and pulled evenly on both sides of the carrier. I fed a pry bar into the axle housing and pounded out the axle shaft seals. Now I just need to clean and re assemble with all new seals.

[newstedcomeback]

I got my raised steering arm and stud kit. This arm corrects the angle of the drag link. And helps to prevent problems associated with lifting a truck, like death wobble. This is made by rough country and was about $60

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice work, and nice parts. What's the toy in the upper left in the last pic?

[mjensen]

Looking good! Subscribed!

[newstedcomeback]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Nice work, and nice parts. What's the toy in the upper left in the last pic?

haha Thats my colt "MODEL OF 1911 US ARMY" I was showing a buddy. It was made in 1918. I picked it up a few months back. It has "UNITED STATES PROPERTY" stamped on it. I still haven't shot it yet. Its a classic piece but it has been well used. definitely not a show piece but I think its pretty awesome.

[Dieselwrencher]

I thought it was an older 1911. Very nice! I love old guns, well all of them!

[newstedcomeback]

This weekend I found a little time to make some progress on my axle. I got my glass bead blasting cabinet cleaned up and put a bigger air dryer on the compressor and then I blasted and painted both steering knuckles. I used VHT Epoxy paint. My ball joints came in the mail and I also picked up the special spanner socket required for setting the correct preload on the upper ball joint. I'm sure that after this build I will never need that socket again. lol

[msgross]

nice project, those knuckles are flat top so you could switch to crossover steering easier in the future...

Is the 208 a passenger side drive like the 205?

[newstedcomeback]

Originally Posted by msgross

nice project, those knuckles are flat top so you could switch to crossover steering easier in the future...

Is the 208 a passenger side drive like the 205?

I thought about the crossover steering option. But I don't plan on lifting more than 4" so there shouldn't be any need for it. I'm using the 4" raised steering arm and I think that should be the best steering correction for my application. I have 2 Dana 44s for a 71-72 both with flat tops. Might be selling the extra one soon.

Yes the 208 is from an 86 blazer with the passenger side diff. I scored it for $50 and the local pick & pull has tons of them every time I go. So I'm pretty comfortable running it. I know that if I grenade it I can get a replacement easily. I got the drive shaft also. But my Dana 44 uses a smaller u joint than the 10 bolt did.. I wonder if the pinion yokes are interchangeable between the 10 bolt and the 44... Or I might have to buy another yoke. I would prefer to use the larger u joking than to get a conversion u joint. I wonder if either method would be a stronger setup. I have no experience with conversion u joints..

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice work. It's cleaning up really nice.

[newstedcomeback]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Nice work. It's cleaning up really nice.

Thank you. I have been trying to get this axle done. It has been raining a lot lately so I can't take it outside and sandblast the housing. I'm almost done collecting parts. Today I'm gonna try to press the ball joints in and go pick up the wheel bearings.

[msgross]

I would do the conversion before I started pulling yokes and what not... How often are you really gonna use the 4 wheels drive? If if you aren't mud bogging/pulling then it should be strong enough for that 1/2 ton axle anyways?

I've beet the snot out of some 1/2 tons and never had a problem. If you do then you know what and when to upgrade.

[newstedcomeback]

Originally Posted by msgross

I would do the conversion before I started pulling yokes and what not... How often are you really gonna use the 4 wheels drive? If if you aren't mud bogging/pulling then it should be strong enough for that 1/2 ton axle anyways?

I've beet the snot out of some 1/2 tons and never had a problem. If you do then you know what and when to upgrade.

Yea good call. I'm gonna put a big tool box in the bed with extra axles, u joints, hubs and other stuff that I might have to fix while I'm out having fun. I plan on going off roading as much as a i can. And I want to move out of state in the next few years so I need to build my rig before we move and I have to tear apart my garage. Haha

[newstedcomeback]

I haven't been able to post any updates lately, but I have been working on the truck. I am almost done prepping the frame for paint and I have been gathering tools and studying the proper setup of differentials. When I put the Dana 44 carrier back in after changing the tube seals the gear contact pattern was way off! I decided that it's about time I learn how to set up gears. It's really not that difficult. You will need a shop press, bearing puller kit and a dial type inch pound torque wrench. The easiest way to set up shims is to buy an extra set of bearings and use a sandpaper flap wheel to "hone" out the center and open up the diameter so there the bearing slides on with no press. This way you can trial and error setup the gears and change out shims as needed without having to press the bearings on and off. The holiday was not a good time for me to get much done on the truck. But now that it has passed I am back in gear!

[newstedcomeback]

Today I had a fun adventure. I got tired of wishing I could find the right 14 bolt FF on Craigslist or at pick n pull.. I have tried several yards in my area and no luck. I have a '71 and the leaf spring perch witch is 40.5 . I know that a 14 bolt from many 1 ton trucks have the 40.5 spacing. However many are dually axles or C&C axles. Well today I totally lucked out. I know of a woman that owns a couple acres of old auction land with many Chevys rucks that were abandoned there. I found A 14 bolt out of a 77 camper special 3500 SRW truck. It has the 40.5 spring width and a 4.10 ratio. Absolutely perfect for me. The only mods I plan on doing are welding the shock mounts to the front and possibly a disc brake conversion. Anyways I am really happy I got the complete rear end with wheels and tires for $100! It was a pain in the ass to pull out in a muddy field but I had a buddy help me and we made it work. Of course I can't leave anything alone and I have to make it all pretty so I have already started scraping the crap off it with a screwdriver and degreaser. I will post pics tomorrow after I pressure wash it . I plan on painting the housing. I want to run the gears as is because they look great. But there is a ton of backlash I mean like .030-.040 or more. I will check tomorrow. Oh yea.. I'm gonna put a Detroit locker in the carrier as well. I wish I could run a locker up front. But with a Dana 44, 35" tires and a 383 stroker I am afraid that I will be snapping axle shafts in the 44 with a locker. I feel confident that I won't be hurting the 14 bolt with a locker.

[swamp rat]

Keep at it!

[newstedcomeback]

I had a tough time getting the axle out of the junkyard, the trucks were all really tight together and we had to drag it a couple hundred feet. we ended up using a heavy equipment to remove it from the yard. haha I have been trying to clean up the 14 bolt before work. one of the hub seals went bad a long time ago, the drum was caked in sludge. The other drum had the shoes seized to it. I had a hell of a time getting the drum off. I had to cut the pins and impact that monster bolt on the top of the backing plate that is above the wheel cylinder. then a slide hammer on the studs finally got it off. after hours of scraping, scrubbing and washing, it looks pretty good. I cut off the shock mount brackets and I ordered my disc brake conversion brackets, Weld on shock tabs and U bolt reversal kit from DIY4X. this weekend I plan on moving it into the garage. I need to clean up and make some room, Moving this thing around is a chore.