Wasted Dragon's 79' Chevy K10

[77ChevySharkBite]

Originally Posted by Wasted Dragon

Thanks man, that is awesome dude, I can't wait to get new tires and tie rods. It'll feel way better like yours.

Good news though, somebody called for the camper shell. So that'll help out a bit. Sucks though, my muscle memory deleted his voicemail by accident. He gave me his cell # because it turned out he called from his work place. I hope he don't get in trouble, I just asked if they can have em call me back.

Yeah it'll be smooth that's for sure.

Sweet!! Hopefully you get the sale man! it's always nice when your able to get rid of things not needed

[Wasted Dragon]

So I went into Napa today to tell them the tie rods they gave me were not gonna work. Basically the aftermarket parts are one long tie rod the stretches across to the other side, while it attaches to another tie rod using an aftermarket tie rod adjusting sleeve.

The one that I currently have now is stock, with two small tie rod ends (one a little longer for the steering stabilizer) and a long steering link that both tie rods thread into on each end.

The guy said he couldn't believe I still had mine. I said, seems it would be cheaper to buy two small tie rod ends than a really long one and a small one, because I'd rather stay original. Plus using the sleeve setup seems weaker than the original setup, that's just my opinion anyways. He informed me that finding original replacements were expensive, and a lot of people run the aftermarket setup.

So I just got the sleeve, and I'm gonna put on the aftermarket ones. I'm gonna keep the original steering link, just so I can find tie rod ends for it in the future when I have money to spend on OEM stuff.

But what do you guys think? Did I waste my money on the aftermarket setup? Napa is not cheap either.

[77ChevySharkBite]

Well I haven't gotten that far on my truck and well I'm not sure if I will have to replace that part either, hopefully some guys with some 4x4 trucks will chime in here and help you out better.

As far as OEM stuff its pretty pricey the guy wasn't lying, not to mention some stuff is hard to find, but that's where junkyards come in handy as well.

You able to sell the camper yet?

[Wasted Dragon]

It's still a maybe on the camper shell. The guy has work all week and he lives about an hour out. He told me that if I got an offer to just take it, but I told it would suck if he couldn't just come and at least look at it because of work. So I took it off craigslist and we're gonna meet up this weekend.

Today I had yet another parts nightmare with the tie rods. The only reason was because NAPA sold me the wrong adjusting sleeve. I went back and blah blah blah......ended up going to Pep boys, they let me see what they look at in the computers. Figured out that the one NAPA gave me was for the pitman arm to steering arm linkage. Went across the street to O'Reilly Auto and got a MOOG one.

All and all, still got it done just before my beautiful girl came and told me to go take shower

[Wasted Dragon]

Now I need to save up for tires, before one goes out on me. Need to look at pics of where to put the spare too.

[77ChevySharkBite]

Yeah man well hopefully he'll take it this weekend man!! Yeah work life sucks sometimes

Glad you got it all sorted out man! Yeah it's funny sometimes parts people hear you wrong but hey you eventually got it right so there you go buddy looks good!

You girl is a keeper!! Any girl to tell her man she needs to shower shows love!
Posted via Mobile Device

[Wasted Dragon]

She is a keeper, she loves that chevy too. I want to take her off-roading soon, needs a front driveshaft still.

[77ChevySharkBite]

Any girl that approves a guy to work on his truck that's a keeper just make sure she stays important too, and yeah buddy I want to see it dirty
Posted via Mobile Device

[THE "10" SILVERADO]

Originally Posted by 77chevysharkbite

any girl that approves a guy to work on his truck that's a keeper just make sure she stays important too, and yeah buddy i want to see it dirty
posted via mobile device

this.

[77ChevySharkBite]

Do we have any update on the truck?

[Wasted Dragon]

Haha sorry man, I've been tryin to save up for new tires. But that's easier said than done. Still don't really know what size I should get, the speedometer is 5 mph faster than actual speed, I'm starting to think maybe it has been regeared. I'm gonna check here pretty soon.

Wednesdays and Thursdays are my free days so I'll probably try then.

[77ChevySharkBite]

Originally Posted by Wasted Dragon

Haha sorry man, I've been tryin to save up for new tires. But that's easier said than done. Still don't really know what size I should get, the speedometer is 5 mph faster than actual speed, I'm starting to think maybe it has been regeared. I'm gonna check here pretty soon.

Wednesdays and Thursdays are my free days so I'll probably try then.

Nice!! It's all good man we all have lives just like to know if there are updates whether be big or small. Haha yeah tires are pretty pricey trust me I know first hand from my DD.

[Wasted Dragon]

Checked my gearboxes the other day, they were all practically new. Only thing that was bad was that the transfer case has a small leak. Replaced the fill plug on the rear diff, since the old one was rounded, barely managed to get the dang thing out.

Also, my instrumental panel lights that were once just dim, are now all not working. I don't know when it stopped working, but it's not really a big deal. Just kinda sucks when driving in the dark. Took out the guage cluster and looked at the bulbs, they were good though. Took the DMM to it just to make sure and sure enough it wasn't gettin any power. Checked the fuses and none of em were burned out, couldn't find anything to tell where the ground was for it. After a while, I look at the bulkhead connector and find what looks like burned wires.

I hope it's not, I kinda just pretended to not see it, went over to the glove box and sprayed pb blaster on the latch so it would keep the glove box up. Decided that was enough minor things to fix for the day and now I'm drinkin. Haha that's bout my only update. I'm still broke for now.

Thinking about plans though. As soon as I get done gettin everything back in order, I wanna give the interior a more modern look. With something like digital guages, all the bells and whistles, while keeping the exterior of the truck the way it is.

[77ChevySharkBite]

Originally Posted by Wasted Dragon

Checked my gearboxes the other day, they were all practically new. Only thing that was bad was that the transfer case has a small leak. Replaced the fill plug on the rear diff, since the old one was rounded, barely managed to get the dang thing out.

Also, my instrumental panel lights that were once just dim, are now all not working. I don't know when it stopped working, but it's not really a big deal. Just kinda sucks when driving in the dark. Took out the guage cluster and looked at the bulbs, they were good though. Took the DMM to it just to make sure and sure enough it wasn't gettin any power. Checked the fuses and none of em were burned out, couldn't find anything to tell where the ground was for it. After a while, I look at the bulkhead connector and find what looks like burned wires.

I hope it's not, I kinda just pretended to not see it, went over to the glove box and sprayed pb blaster on the latch so it would keep the glove box up. Decided that was enough minor things to fix for the day and now I'm drinkin. Haha that's bout my only update. I'm still broke for now.

Thinking about plans though. As soon as I get done gettin everything back in order, I wanna give the interior a more modern look. With something like digital guages, all the bells and whistles, while keeping the exterior of the truck the way it is.

Glad its getting a little bit smoother for you now.

Yeah that's the bonus to our old trucks can't be too hard to figure out whats wrong I hope your able to get those burned wires fixed soon, it's nice to have lights to see your gauges, except maybe the gas then your just reminded how well these trucks drink fuel haha

Well if you want digital gauges let me tell you get ready to spend about $700+ on them. Are they worth it I keep debating that question I saw a 76 square c10 that had them and they were sweet! I like your plan though man got to start somewhere with it!

[Wasted Dragon]

So, come to figure out the light switch is also a dimmer switch as well. I was playing around with it, and I saw my windshield wiper switch light up after a twisted the knob. Yep, I felt pretty stupid, but hey, I got some good wiring diagrams from this site out of it.

Also, holy crap you're right, I looked at some digital gauges and they are insanely expensive! Even the normal looking gauges are even more expensive. I hope I find a score on ebay maybe.

[77ChevySharkBite]

Don't worry man, I did the same thing with my truck I was like man my light are awful dim was looking into putting in some LED lights to illuminate them better and then I turned my light knob and it got brighter lol

What brand gauges were you looking at the only one I know that makes them digital for our truck is Dakota Digital and you can have a heart attack for there prices lol

I've thought about going the AutoMeter route, and get them all with the Chevy Logo but that's just as expensive too. oh well want good looking you got to pay the price that's for sure.

[Wasted Dragon]

Haha that makes me feel a lil better.

I'll have to look into autometer, for the gauges, I think what would be cool is have the ones that are almost completely digital, like some newer cars have. Like when you turn the car on, the dash board lights up and you see the needles go to the max then go back down. I think that would look cool.

Ultimately, I want to improve on the suspension a bit, since it already has a powerful motor already. Interested into looking into some long travel kits like I did with my Toyota. Or at least some long travel leaf springs, even though I don't mind the rough ride, I just want something that'll take me anywhere I want to go. Lockers is another option too, but I've never really needed em for what I do.

[77ChevySharkBite]

Yeah I can always tell you we all have our "blonde" moments

Yeah I'm sure with some searching it can be done, but it will also cost quite a few $$$$ too that's for sure.

Yeah I understand believe me I want my truck to handle like a dream so I'm putting a coil over kit in mine someday, to help me out but I mean you can even improve the suspension by just replacing the stock parts. Just as an option as well because you know like I do overtime they'll wear down and not be as good as new.

[Wasted Dragon]

Whats up fellas. Lot of things goin on for me lately. Basically, I'm moving from California to Wyoming by the end of next month, and I'm driving the truck up there. Got around $2,000 I can spend in that time to fix up the truck and go on the longest road trip of my life.

I've pretty much made a list of things that need to be done, in order, that I think will be most cost effective. I wanna know your opinions, and let me know if I should do something differently. It's gonna be a long drive.

1. Replace the other 2 tie rods (Pitman Arm to Steering Knuckle) [$100]

2. Buy Used Tires (33s or 35s) [$500-$600]

Reason: Mine are bald and I really want to go with 35s because I want to keep my RPMs down. Plus my speedo is 5 mph fast, which leads me to believe my truck is geared for it. Unfortunately, I only have a 2" lift, so I probably won't be able to go that route.

3. Replace Radiator Hoses

Reason: It might not need it, but better safe than sorry I guess.

4. Front Driveshaft (Mine's missing) [Junkyard Price]

Reason: You never know

5.Rear Disc Brake Swap [$800]

Reason: My drum brakes are gone, but I probably can't go this route anyways since it's expensive.

6. Replace Gauge Lighting [$20]

7. Figure Out Reverse Light Electrical issue and other issues.

8. Clean Carb

[motornut]

Hi,nice truck
seems you got a bit of a list
have you seen the results after painting the inside of the cluster white?
makes a huge difference
the cluster ground is about a foot from the cluster plug
have a look through my 78 below

[Wasted Dragon]

Originally Posted by motornut

Hi,nice truck
seems you got a bit of a list
have you seen the results after painting the inside of the cluster white?
makes a huge difference
the cluster ground is about a foot from the cluster plug
have a look through my 78 below

Thanks Motornut. I saw your second to last page of your build, it's an amazin difference compared to my gauges, even with a photo. I'll be lookin at more of your build after I sober up a little, but nice job man.

[motornut]

Originally Posted by Wasted Dragon

Thanks Motornut. I saw your second to last page of your build, it's an amazin difference compared to my gauges, even with a photo. I'll be lookin at more of your build after I sober up a little, but nice job man.

thanks man

[Wasted Dragon]

The other day I want to pep boys and wanted to get the other two tie rods I needed, but they didn't have it in stock. I was gonna go to the other stores, but I was tired from driving to Redding and back, so I just went home. Today I went on LMC truck for $h*** and giggles, and I couldn't believe how cheap some of the stuff were. So, of course, I burned a hole in my wallet haha, but I think it's worth it.

Just bought a 16 Gal. Gas Tank to replace my Passenger side one with the patch. That was $118.70 total. That was this morning.

After work, I was feeling good, and I went ahead and got more stuff.
Gas Tank anti-squeak which I forgot to get
Gas tank Lock ring and O-Ring
The two Tie rods I need with the sleeve
And a new steering stabilizer

That total went up to $172.45

And the crazy thing is I was going to get just the two tie rods and sleeve from pep boys for $173. Now I'm just lookin forward to the stuff to get here, and if everything goes well, I'll probably get more from there too.

I wasn't going to get the gas tank at first, but I decided it would be better than accidentally stranding myself and not having to stop at gas stations a lot.

[chevyboy73]

i thought the truck looked a little familiar. looks like my uncle's truck but a short box!

[Wasted Dragon]

Haha it does, nice touch with the stacks by the way.