'72 K/30 Longhorn Conversion

[mx289]

Very nice Longhorn you have there.
And you are making great progress.

Gonna be a cool truck when it's done.

[RThree]

Hey guys! Just got back from a much needed vacation, but now back to the grind.
I found my rear 1972 Dana 60 with 3.56 gear ratio and a stock Detroit Locker in it! Now getting it all cleaned up and sandblasted for paint.
Does anybody know about the Detroit Locker from 1972 and if/how it's different from modern Detroit Lockers?

[RThree]

Originally Posted by RThree

Hey guys! Just got back from a much needed vacation, but now back to the grind.
I found my rear 1972 Dana 60 with 3.56 gear ratio and a stock Detroit Locker in it! Now getting it all cleaned up and sandblasted for paint.
Does anybody know about the Detroit Locker from 1972 and if/how it's different from modern Detroit Lockers?

Here it is.

[RThree]

Hey guys!
I have been parts hunting all winter and have come up with some good stuff! I had gotten my original 4 speed transmission and 205 transfer case all cleaned up and painted when i noticed a crack, we tried to weld it but it just didn't work out so i ended up switching to a different plan.

So instead i found a 1993 NV4500 5 speed transmission with over drive and then located a new 32 spline 205 transfer case that came with the better front drive shaft that with an adapter from Advanced Adapter is working out great!

While looking around i also found a Dana 60 Rear with 356 gears and a Detroit Locker, Lucky find!

So now I am aiming to have it driving by June so that i can take it to Pismo Beach on a family trip, Wish me luck!!!

[mx289]

Truck is looking good.


Keep up the good work.

[7dee2]

Sweeeet! Any more progress?

[skrenly]

Sweet Longhorn 4x4 on EBAY for inspiration

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1972-Chevrol...16.m2518.l4276

[7dee2]

Originally Posted by skrenly

Sweet Longhorn 4x4 on EBAY for inspiration

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1972-Chevrol...16.m2518.l4276

Somebody's gonna get a great truck, I would have been all over this one a year ago! Time to get back to my build, I'm motivated!

[RThree]

Originally Posted by 7dee2

Sweeeet! Any more progress?

Well got the NV4500 tranny and 32 spline 205 trasfer case married together with and adapter from Advanced Adapter, and we used the original bell housing by drilling and tapping new bolt holes in the transmission to match and it actually turns out looking pretty good!

I spent yesterday dedicated to getting the truck on the ground and rolling also got to put the tranny in as an added bonus.

But when we got it down on the ground as you can see we have some issues with the leveling as we found out the rear on this truck as it is a 2WD doesn't have the same tall front shackles/hangers the 4WDs have for the rear leaf springs so its dramatically lower in the back than the front...

So now I have two choices I either need to find a donor for the right shackles/hangers or I could use some 4" blocks I have laying around to level it out, which I really would rather not do.

Any ideas? or does anybody know where I can get the right Shackles/Hangers?

(the front of the cab is lifted a little making it look bent)

[mx289]

You should be able to find the correct 4x4 hangers on the parts board or I would send DLTRUCK1973 a PM.

I bet he has a set ready to go.


Keep up the good work.

[7dee2]

I 2nd that suggestion! Replace the rear hangers with 4x4 hangers. Tom & Thomas (DLTRUCK1973) are great to work with.

Square body in the front position would be stronger but 67-72 fit better. The square body ones would need the tops trimmed off the bracket to follow the frame shape.

ORD makes a flip hanger for the rear position that I think would be perfect for your truck.

[Tylerz181500]

loving this so far

[RThree]

Alright! Well i was able to get ORIGINAL 1972 4x4 hangers from Tom & Thomas (DLTRUCK1973) Big shout out to them thank you so much! And thank you to Brett (7dee2) for the hook up! Here they are all prettied up and painted. Ill be mounting them up tomorrow more pics to come!

[RThree]

Well today the we took and mounted the 4x4 hangers and pretty much fixed the rear ride hight problem it might need just a little 1 inch block to totally level out as the front is still a little high with my 292 6 cylinder. It should settle into a perfect stance with the 454 when i get that worked out.

So we torched off the rivets, cleaned off the frame of the undercoating and drilled the new holes. I will be doing a bed off restore of the rear eventually so its not as pretty as i would like but that will come later.

We also worked on moving the engine and transmission forward by an inch so when i do get my 454 ready to install we will have enough clearance for the distributer cap and will be able to bolt it right onto the transmission.

[7dee2]

Tom (MX289) did beat me to the punch on the hanger suggestion as well as the vendor. And he was right it looks good that does get it really close to level!

What did you decide to do for the rear hanger, rear position? In order of least to most lift would be the stock C20-30, then 67-72 K series, then square body 4x4 using factory type hangers (each step will change the pinion angle some). Here's a link to the ORD Shackle Flip Kit http://www.offroaddesign.com/catalog/shacklekit.htm if needed.

[Tylerz181500]

wait dso you can do that and the stock 73+ truck brackete up front as well?

[RThree]

Originally Posted by 7dee2

Tom (MX289) did beat me to the punch on the hanger suggestion as well as the vendor. And he was right it looks good that does get it really close to level!

What did you decide to do for the rear hanger, rear position? In order of least to most lift would be the stock C20-30, then 67-72 K series, then square body 4x4 using factory type hangers (each step will change the pinion angle some). Here's a link to the ORD Shackle Flip Kit http://www.offroaddesign.com/catalog/shacklekit.htm if needed.

To my best measurements of the 4x4 truck my father-in-law is restoring the rear hanger seems to be the same height as my C 20 rear hanger. The only thing that seems different is the reinforcement right angle bracket that sits under the frame attached to the hanger for strength. Either way for the moment I'm going to stick with my current rear axle rear hanger until I do a bed off restoration on the rear of the truck. I might swap it out if I come across one in the meantime.


sorry Tylerz181500 I'm not sure what your asking...

[7dee2]

Good choice IMO we're going to go with the same hanger arrangement on our K30 build.

My earlier comment generalized too much and should have said "67-72 C10, earlier C20-30, later C20-30 & K series". We found the earlier Longhorn rear hangers are different and am not sure when they made the change from cast to a stamped style. Here's a pic of my 68 cast style. I agree the later stamped hanger is the same thing without the rear brace and appear to give a little more lift over the cast version. Guessing DLTRUCK1973 can probably get those rear L braces for you when you’re ready.

[RThree]

Oh ok good to hear that I wasn't going crazy thinking they were the same, I'm really happy I was able to keep it original '72 and not have to go with the aftermarket shackle flip. I'll be keeping my eyes pealed at pick-n-pull for those L brackets as I continue my build.

Here is a pic of my stamped '72 rear hanger for reference.

[Tylerz181500]

sorry i was tired that night but to conclude, my 72 had that bracket you added from factory instead of the other one.

[7dee2]

Originally Posted by RThree

Oh ok good to hear that I wasn't going crazy thinking they were the same, I'm really happy I was able to keep it original '72 and not have to go with the aftermarket shackle flip. I'll be keeping my eyes pealed at pick-n-pull for those L brackets as I continue my build.

Here is a pic of my stamped '72 rear hanger for reference.

Here's a pic I took earlier comparing a 72 C30 (157" RV chassis) hanger we already had to one we'd just received from DLTRUCK1973 oops, looks the same to me without the L-bracket. Also here is a comparison shot to a later square body style that came off my 84 K3500 crew.

[David_houghton92]

Lookin good, subscribed

[ryanroo]

this is a perfect build! i love it!

[sboris]

Wow. Love this. Thats a hell of a nice truck too. I like the look.

[Ol Blue K20]

Nice, very nice. Keep it up.