Big Red, my 68 3/4 ton GMC

[dmack91]

Looks like good progress. Keep it up!

[Jacfourteen]

Originally Posted by dmack91

Looks like good progress. Keep it up!

Thanks! It's been slow going since I've been really busy lately, but progress is progress right?
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[Jacfourteen]

Well I had another set back today, the throwout bearing in my wife's mustang went out so I had to work on the F@rd before I could play with my truck. I got the tranny and clutch pulled out and I'm gonna throw it back in tomorrow night. I've been waiting for it to go out because it has been rumbling for awhile now, I just hoped that it would wait till I got my truck back in one piece. Oh well, at least I bought the clutch about a month ago so it won't get into my truck budget (which isn't much ). Here's a picture of the 'Stang just because I know you guys like pictures even if it isn't of a GM.



And here is a picture of my Tahoe which also delayed me last week when it got to ride a tow truck home and then I got to change the fuel pump:



Anyways I wanted to post up the pictures of what I got done yesterday, I got the rear section of the frame painted along with the 2 crossmembers and the few little brackets. I used plain old rustoleum flat black oil based paint, I got the idea from TCB-1 on here after looking over his thread. He said it holds up well and it was cheap (I think it was $8.97 for the quart). I just rolled on 2 coats with a cheapy 3" wide touch up roller from walmart and it turned out looking pretty good. Then I got the frame bolted back together with some grade 8 hardware. So here are the pictures.











I guess I didn't take a picture after I bolted in the rear crossmember, oh well I'll take one tomorrow. Now I just need to get the carrier bearing crossmember cleaned up and painted along with the trailing arms and rear end then I can start to get the suspension bolted up. Oh one more delay was that a guy from airbagit.com called me to let me know that the bags I ordered that were supposed to be here yesterday are back ordered and won't be here till next week even though they sent me an email that it shipped last week! Oh well, I probably won't get that far till then anyways.

[Jacfourteen]

Well I got a few hours to work on the truck so I got a little done. First I started cleaning up the center crossmember. I had to pop out the two rivets that hold on the carrier bearing mount so that I could clean and paint under it and I also had to cut/grind off the exhaust hangers since the exhaust will be re-ran. Here it is after cleanup:



Next I cut two 3.5" holes out for the exhaust to run through:



Next I cleaned up the trailing arms and then I figured I might as well weld them to stiffen them up a little. I decided to do a 2" weld every 6", so there is a 4" gap between welds. Here is what it looked like after welding:





And the other side you can see the penetration (I hadn't cleaned this part up yet):



Then I started painting everything up:



I Slipped the crossmember into place and got the arms bolted to it but I'm gonna wait till I get the rear cleaned and painted and mounted so I can set the axle where I want it to sit in the wheelwells before I drill any holes. I'll have to get some pictures of how it looks now. My airbags are finally gonna come tomorrow, so I can start setting the rears up if the weather holds out.

[ChuckDriver]

Nice work, very clean!

[Jacfourteen]

Originally Posted by ChuckDriver

Nice work, very clean!

Thanks! I'm doing my best to clean things up as I go, the cleaning/painting takes way more time than the modifications do.

[Jacfourteen]

My bags came in today so I bolted them to the arms to check them out. I still need to slide the crossmember forward about 4" so that the axle sits in the right spot, but I just wanted to play with the bags as this is my first set. Here are some pics:







After that I started cleaning up the rear. I stripped off all the brake hardware and started wirebrushing all the years of grime off the rear. I didn't get it all the way cleaned up but I'm most of the way there. I hope to get some paint on it tomorrow, we'll see how that goes.

[Jacfourteen]

I started wire wheeling the rear end and one thing caught my eye, two of the plug welds where the tubes meet the pumpkin look to have had large pits in them. One of them must have leaked because someone had filled it with rtv silicone. here is what they looked like:

One that had silicone in it


The other one (not as bad)


So I figured the best thing to do was to grind them down some and weld them up then clean it up with the grinder, so thats what I did. Here is what they looked like after:





So then I finished cleaning up the rear with the wire wheel then wiped it down with acetone to prep for paint. Then I shot it with 2 coats of flat black out of a rattle can. One lesson that I learned today is not to wipe down before paint with new red rags, they left lint everywhere and I couldn't see it till I started painting. At least is comes right off and doesn't hurt anything. Here is the rear after paint:





Then I cleaned up and shot the rest of the hardware for the rear (ubolts, nuts, and shock mounts). After everything dried out I bolted the rear to the trailing arms. Here is how it looked.





So now I just need to figure out the panhard bar mount, upper shock mounts, driveline, get the brakes hooked up and run some scheader valves and I'll be ready to do some cruising. Hopefully it won't rain too much the next few days and I can get some time to work on this.

[Dieselwrencher]

Very nice work! Atleast you guys have some decent weather to be out there and working on your trucks already. I have 2 bays in my shop. One has a big conversion project, and the other has a friend's pulling truck. See my problem here? Neither are any of my turds!

[Jacfourteen]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Very nice work! Atleast you guys have some decent weather to be out there and working on your trucks already. I have 2 bays in my shop. One has a big conversion project, and the other has a friend's pulling truck. See my problem here? Neither are any of my turds!

Thanks for the compliment! Yeah our weather has been hit and miss here, usually by now we are in the 90's but it has been raining alot this year. So I've just been working on my truck when I can. I can feel your pain on working on other stuff, see my above post on my tahoe and my wifes mustang.
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[Jacfourteen]

I got a free day to do some work on my truck on thursday so I got a few things done. First I checked to see how the crossmember placement was and found out that I had it right where it needed to be so I started drilling the holes to get it mounted up. I got the 8 lowers drilled then found out that I didn't have a bit long enough to drill the tops so I had to run and get a longer bit from the hardware store. After that I got the uppers drilled and mounted. Next up I located the bags with the suspension fully compressed, I marked them out and drilled for the mounting bolts. Next I marked out the area to be drilled for the air lines, took the bags loose and drilled it out.

With the bags mounted up the next thing to do was plumb up the airlines for the manual fill setup until I peice together an air system. I got a little creative here and went different than most that I have seen on here and decided to use 1/2" solder together copper pipe. I used 2 male fittings, 1 ball valve, 1 tee, 1 female, a 1/2 x 1/8 threaded bushing and a 1/8" scheader valve to plumb it up. The reason I went this route is because I had all the parts on hand and I figured why not? After plumbing it up I aired it up to check for leaks, all the solder joints were good but the thread in male on the passenger side bag had a slow leak. To fix that I pulled all the mounting bolts and unscrewed the bag put more pipe dope on it and screwed it on tighter, then bolted it back up. This fixed the problem so I moved on to the next project.

The only thing holding me back from setting the truck on the ground was that the wheels I bought have smaller hub bore than the axles have so they wouldn't fit. I fixed this by cutting a 2x6 board to the right length so it would tap into the back of the wheel nice and tight to the hub mounting surface. then I flipped the wheel over and drilled a 1/4" hole on center through the wood block. Then I flipped it back over and used a 3 5/8" hole saw to drill through the block. This hole acted as a guide to keep the hole saw centered in the hub bore as I drilled through the wheel. I then used my template on the 2nd wheel. I test fitted them and thew fit well so I bolted them up and set the truck on the ground for the 1st time in over a month. Here are some pictures of how it looks aired up and aired out:

Aired up:





Aired out:





And here is a picture of how I plumbed it:



The valve is so that when open both bags fill or empty and when the valve is closed the bags are isolated to prevent leaning when going around corners.

Tomorrow if the weather holds out I plan on going to the junk yard to get some upper shock mounts and the panhard mount. I'm also gonna see about finding somewhere to shorten my front driveshaft.

[Jacfourteen]

Had some progress in the last few days. First I had to deal with the driveline. I did some research online and found a site where a guy outlined the steps that he had followed to shorten many drivelines with no trouble, so I figured I'd give it a shot if it was out of balance I'd go get another from the local junk yard for $25. So first I wire wheeled all of the rust and undercoating off of the driveline, I don't know how this thing wasn't out of balance to begin with because all the undercoating was on one side. Next I decided to take the 12 inches out at the splined end because there was no balance weights to mess with. Here it is after cleanup:



So I used a thin cut off wheel on my grinder to cut a shallow groove near the weld on the yoke, it only had to be about 1/16" deep to get through the shaft. Here's a pic:



After that the yoke popped right off with a few taps from a hammer:



Then I measured to see exactly how much needed to be removed, I determined that I needed to cut out 11 and 7/8". Then I clamped it into my chop saw and made sure it was square:



Then I made the cut, and cleaned it up using a file on the inside of the tube and a grinder on the outside and end. Then I had to press the yoke back in, I made a contraption out of 2 chunks of 2x4 and 2 clamps then I had to heat the tube with a propane torch and whack the block with a hammer and keep tensioning the clamps till it was seated:



Next I bolted the driveline into place a spun it and adjusted the runout of the splined section until I got just right. I didn't have a dial gauge to check runout so I rigged up a piece of wire to see how much it was wobbling:



Once satisfied I tack welded a few spots and removed the shaft. Then I welded it up good and used a grinder to knock down any high spots in the weld to help keep things balanced. Then I shot it with some flat black and threw it on.







Then on to the rear shaft...

[Jacfourteen]

The rear shaft didn't need modification, so I just popped out the rear joint, wirewheeled it, and shot it with some flat black in my high-tech paint booth.





However, the rear U-joint on the shaft is a 1350 series joint and the yoke on the 1/2 ton rear is a 1310 series joint so there are a few options, you can get a different shaft with the 1310, you can get a different rear yoke with a 1350, or you can do what I did and get a combination 1350 x 1310 u-joint. I did some research and found that these are fairly common and I got one at my local kragens for $20. For those interested the part numbers for these joints are:

Spicer 5-460X
Neapco 3-3140
RDL K460
Precision 348

So I got that and some U-bolts and I was in buisiness!



Next up was to get a panhard bar setup on here. I figured to correct for the new ride height I needed to either lower the mounting point on the axle or raise the mounting point on the frame. I decided to raise the frame mounting point and in order to do so I figured I could mount it on the crossmember just behind the axle. For this to work I needed to take out about 1.5" out of the bar, I know that this isn't optimal for side-side movement when changing ride height but it isn't too bad. I also needed to bend the bar for it to fit properly. Here is a shot of how it turned out:



Next up I needed an exhaust, so I checked it out and the bends that were on the exhaust were good enough to work I just needed to shorten the pipes up about 35" right after the collectors. This would place the mufflers right under the cab with the outlets of the mufflers aimed right at the new holes I drilled in the trailing arm crossmember. Then I mounted hangers on the crossmember and added about 12" of pipe behind the mufflers which got me right to the rear of the cab. I was concerned that this setup was gonna be alot louder that the previous one because of the shorter pipes (about 24" shorter), but really it is about the same and has a smoother sound now. I think this is because before I didn't have any pipe after the mufflers and now I do. It ended up tucking up out of the way about as well as could be expected having the longtube headers, in the future I plan on changing to a mid-length header and routing the pipes up higher. Here is a picture of how it looks under the truck and from the rear:





With this done I couldn't help taking it out for a quick trip around the block to see if there was any driveline vibes and just to see how it worked (even though the rear brakes weren't hooked up yet, but I crimped the line so I wouldn't leak fluid). I definitely noticed the decreased weight and shorter turning radius. Also I did a quick burnout and I loved the fact that there was no wheel hop like with the leaf springs, unfortunately the posi wasn't working and I did a one tire burnout. I also noticed how shocks aren't just for comfort, without shocks it bounced like crazy and going around a corner the rear started skipping sideways so I headed home.

So yesterday I started building a crossmember to mount the shocks. I had a pair of shocks off the front of a 99 4wd suburban laying around so I figured I try to make those work. They look to be very similar in length and mounting to the right one for our trucks so when I get the right shocks they should fit with little issue. I used a 38" long section of 1.5" square tubing for the crossmember then I just drilled 1/2" holes for the shock mounting bolts and for the bolts to mount to the frame then I mounted it up (I'll get some pics tomorrow when I pull it back off for paint). So then I went for another cruise to see how the ride improved. This time I did a more aggressive takeoff and it smoked the tires through 3rd and towards the end of it both tires started spinning. I figure after sitting all this time with no gear oil it must have taken a while for the oil to work into the clutches and now they are grabbing more, we'll see if they continue to improve or if I will have to shim them up. On this cruise I got up to about 70 and didn't notice any driveline vibes so I guess the shortening was a success!

Today I got all the brake parts together along with a tubing bender and a flaring set and two 6' sections of pre-flared brake line so I could get the brakes back in service. I started by bending the passenger side so that I could cut the excess and use it to practice my flaring. So after about 5 practice flares they were looking pretty good so I tried it on my line I had just bent up, well I did something wrong and the flare was no good and there wasn't enough line left to do another. So I grabbed my other line and bent it into the same shape as the first and this time I got a good flare so I threw it together. Next I assembled the brakes with all new hardware, wheel cylinders, and of course shoes. Now I just need to paint the drum with some high temp paint and that side is done. Tomorrow I'm gonna get some more brake line and finish the other side.

[Jacfourteen]

I got quite a bit done today. First I had to go to the junk yard because I misplaced one of the pins that goes from the wheel cylinder to the brake shoe and none of the parts stores carries it. While I was at the junk yard I decided to look around for a rear section of the drive shaft because I was concerned that the slip yoke on mine wasn't engaged far enough. Well I lucked out because the second truck I looked at had the exact one I was looking for so I pulled it out and payed $25 for it. Then I went to the tire shop and had them swap the 245/75/16's out for the 225/60/16's that match the rear so even though the wheels don't match at least now it has matching tires. So after that I got home and cleaned up and painted the new shaft and threw it on, here are some pics:

How the old shaft sat in the slip joint:


Side by side of old and new, notice how much thicker the new one is:


Back to the paint booth!


After paint:


How it looks now (notice the shock crossmember I built):


How it sits with the smaller tires:




After that I got the brake lines finished bent, assembled the other side of the brakes, bled it all and adjusted the fronts. Here is some pictures of how the lines turned out:

[Jacfourteen]

After that I worked on doing some touch ups on paint that I've ding during assembly and hardware that I missed. I'm entered in the gold rush car show here in Oroville this weekend in the "under construction" category so I figured since the bed isn't gonna be finished in time the frame better look good.

Now all you purists might want to turn away because the next thing I did was install the stereo that my wife got me for my birthday, so I had to cut the dash. Funny thing I kinda nervous about this for a moment, then I had to laugh at myself because less then a month ago I had my frame cut in half! So I installed the stereo but haven't wired it in yet, here's a picture of how it turned out:



Next project is gonna be cleaning everything for the show.

[yukon ratrod]

Very nice work! Could help you out on the box if you need some help!
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[Jacfourteen]

Originally Posted by yukon ratrod

Very nice work! Could help you out on the box if you need some help!
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Thanks! I've been watching your build and yours is coming together nicely. I liked the way you cut your bed down, when I get to the bed I'll definitely let you know if I have any questions.
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[yukon ratrod]

Originally Posted by Jacfourteen

Thanks! I've been watching your build and yours is coming together nicely. I liked the way you cut your bed down, when I get to the bed I'll definitely let you know if I have any questions.
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glad to help if I can!

[taank]

Maybe I missed it. Why cut the frame sections off?
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[Jacfourteen]

Originally Posted by taank

Maybe I missed it. Why cut the frame sections off?
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I cut the frame down to the dimensions of a short bed, next I need to cut the bed to match. I did it because I like the look of the short bed better.
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[taank]

Originally Posted by Jacfourteen

I cut the frame down to the dimensions of a short bed, next I need to cut the bed to match. I did it because I like the look of the short bed better.
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Ok short bed ftw!
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[JORGIE95961]

Originally Posted by Jacfourteen

Had some progress in the last few days. First I had to deal with the driveline. I did some research online and found a site where a guy outlined the steps that he had followed to shorten many drivelines with no trouble, so I figured I'd give it a shot if it was out of balance I'd go get another from the local junk yard for $25. So first I wire wheeled all of the rust and undercoating off of the driveline, I don't know how this thing wasn't out of balance to begin with because all the undercoating was on one side. Next I decided to take the 12 inches out at the splined end because there was no balance weights to mess with. Here it is after cleanup:



So I used a thin cut off wheel on my grinder to cut a shallow groove near the weld on the yoke, it only had to be about 1/16" deep to get through the shaft. Here's a pic:



After that the yoke popped right off with a few taps from a hammer:



Then I measured to see exactly how much needed to be removed, I determined that I needed to cut out 11 and 7/8". Then I clamped it into my chop saw and made sure it was square:



Then I made the cut, and cleaned it up using a file on the inside of the tube and a grinder on the outside and end. Then I had to press the yoke back in, I made a contraption out of 2 chunks of 2x4 and 2 clamps then I had to heat the tube with a propane torch and whack the block with a hammer and keep tensioning the clamps till it was seated:



Next I bolted the driveline into place a spun it and adjusted the runout of the splined section until I got just right. I didn't have a dial gauge to check runout so I rigged up a piece of wire to see how much it was wobbling:



Once satisfied I tack welded a few spots and removed the shaft. Then I welded it up good and used a grinder to knock down any high spots in the weld to help keep things balanced. Then I shot it with some flat black and threw it on.







Then on to the rear shaft...

this so needs to get added to faq's or somethin

[Jacfourteen]

Originally Posted by JORGIE95961

this so needs to get added to faq's or somethin

Thanks! I was gonna do a write up on this in a separate thread but never got time, I guess I could just cut and paste it though. I've had the truck up to 75 MPH and still no vibes from the driveshaft.

[dougminton]

cool build. subscribed

[Jacfourteen]

Originally Posted by dougminton

cool build. subscribed

Thanks!