Complete build change. Lifted 2wd

[Devil Pup]

Well this weekend started out with a disappointment. We had our hopes set on getting the motor ready to go in. I ordered an AC-Delco transmission filter/gasket and had a corvette shift solenoid for the 4l60E thats goin. Everything was good until we pulled the pan. There was a Ton of what looked like clutch material in the pan. I knew this was a possibility considering I got the motor from the junkyard but i was optimistic. So now we either have to try our hand at rebuilding it or have it done. We've never done one before so any tips are appreciated.

This is after we wiped most the junk out. the whole pan was covered



holding up the whole project now

[kehstr]

when you wrap up the park brake cable setup, make sure you post pics. I hope to be able to do something similar with the rear end of my truck one day.

[Devil Pup]

Originally Posted by kehstr

when you wrap up the park brake cable setup, make sure you post pics. I hope to be able to do something similar with the rear end of my truck one day.

Will do. I was surprised it looks like it should lay out pretty nicely.

[RichardJ]

On your first page you had a picture of this reinforcement bracket you found on the later front end. I found the same reinforcement on the '76 C30 SRW that I took the disc brake parts from for my '67. I believe they added the reinforcement, because the brackets on the outside of the frame that the upper A-arm bolts to is a lighter weight pressed steel piece, rather than the former Forged Steel bracket, riveted to the cross member.

I used my '67 cross member with the Forged brackets and added the inside reinforcement brackets as well. I used the six cylinder coil springs, but everything else including the brake lines and forward mounted Combination Valve is from the '76.





I realize that you are well past the cross member, but the original, later Combination Valve mounting on the small cross member, under the radiator might be worth considering. It is hardly noticeable down there and there is already one usable mounting hole. Later you will need easy access to it, to hold the Metering pin in for bleeding.

Just a thought.

[Devil Pup]

Originally Posted by RichardJ

On your first page you had a picture of this reinforcement bracket you found on the later front end. I found the same reinforcement on the '76 C30 SRW that I took the disc brake parts from for my '67. I believe they added the reinforcement, because the brackets on the outside of the frame that the upper A-arm bolts to is a lighter weight pressed steel piece, rather than the former Forged Steel bracket, riveted to the cross member.

I used my '67 cross member with the Forged brackets and added the inside reinforcement brackets as well. I used the six cylinder coil springs, but everything else including the brake lines and forward mounted Combination Valve is from the '76.

I realize that you are well past the cross member, but the original, later Combination Valve mounting on the small cross member, under the radiator might be worth considering. It is hardly noticeable down there and there is already one usable mounting hole. Later you will need easy access to it, to hold the Metering pin in for bleeding.

Just a thought.

Hmm ya I had wondered why it had that bracket. So that must mean these springs are 1 ton as well would you say?

as far as mounting the prop valve down there, we had considered it but ended up mounting it just behind where the motor would sit because I want the lines to go right up as close to the firewall as possible. hopefully keep it clean. Im hoping, like the front mount that it too is easy to get to. I appreciate the suggestion though.

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice work on your new frame. Sorry to see about the trans. Could you find a decent used 4L60E to keep you going for now?

[Devil Pup]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Nice work on your new frame. Sorry to see about the trans. Could you find a decent used 4L60E to keep you going for now?

Thank you sir! For now as suggested by a few members im going to try and run it. worst case, im out fluid. . best case it works. lol. but yes if it comes down to it not working, I will look for a solid used one I think.

[Devil Pup]

Well this weekend was a ton of work. Started by getting the cab off the bagged frame. was a bit sketchy because we had to do it in the dirt but it was surprisingly sturdy.

[Devil Pup]

The Cherry picker sank into the dirt when the cab was lifted which actually made it vary sturdy and easy to roll the new frame under it.
With the cab on we set the front clip on just to see how it was gonna look. Pretty happy with it.

My brother is 6'2" so you can compare how tall the truck is to him.

Im thinking this will come down slightly when the motor is dropped in and when the rear is raised to match the front. But for now on 29" tires the fender opening sits at 42-1/8".

[kehstr]

what are you going to do about the bed, since the floor was raised to fit the bagged frame?

[Devil Pup]

Originally Posted by kehstr

what are you going to do about the bed, since the floor was raised to fit the bagged frame?

Well thats been kinda a headache as of recent. I want to save the original sheet metal because my dad gave me the truck when I was young. The bed was only really modified on the inner walls but it was somewhat a lot. Been looking for patch panels but cant seem to get a deal on anything. A buddy has a complete bed that I might just settle on for $250 bucks.

Other option is to just run it as a raised floor for temporary. Not ideal but it would match and still function.

[kehstr]

Originally Posted by Devil Pup

Well thats been kinda a headache as of recent. I want to save the original sheet metal because my dad gave me the truck when I was young. The bed was only really modified on the inner walls but it was somewhat a lot. Been looking for patch panels but cant seem to get a deal on anything. A buddy has a complete bed that I might just settle on for $250 bucks.

Other option is to just run it as a raised floor for temporary. Not ideal but it would match and still function.

If it's important to you to keep the original sheet metal then you could always cut the bedsides up from the bed you have now and the bed your buddy has to make your bedsides good. Not ideal and would certainly make the purists on this site go crazy (especially if the other bedsides are in good shape), but would most certainly work.

[Devil Pup]

Originally Posted by kehstr

If it's important to you to keep the original sheet metal then you could always cut the bedsides up from the bed you have now and the bed your buddy has to make your bedsides good. Not ideal and would certainly make the purists on this site go crazy (especially if the other bedsides are in good shape), but would most certainly work.

I've considered it. Just not sure what to do there. For now its last on the list. I can run it without temporarily while I work that out. Still need to get it running and driving first haha

[Devil Pup]

Small update but feels like big progress. Finished making the brake lines up to the master cylinder. Gotta give credit to my brother, he really did well on all the bends I asked of him in my opinion.

Just need to get some more clamps to finish tidying them up. bled the system and only had one small fitting seeping, tightened the fitting and no leaks. I got brakes!


Onto the Parking brake cables. Ideally I would have liked to have them not run across the rear end but I wanted to use the stock mounting points for the frame to keep all the other cables on the truck factory, So we used 2 Driver side E-Brake cables from the newer silverado. They function well so this is how they will stay.

Hooked into the stock cable and have full adjustment

The cables have little mounting tabs which allowed us to mount the cables and keep things from flopping around.

Next is to install the motor and start the wiring!

[NewType72]

Sometimes you gotta do what makes ya through some areas of the build, no worries as we all have faith that'll you find a better solution but over the rear end is no biggie. Keep truckin!

[Devil Pup]

Originally Posted by NewType72

Sometimes you gotta do what makes ya through some areas of the build, no worries as we all have faith that'll you find a better solution but over the rear end is no biggie. Keep truckin!

True that! Its gonna stay this way unless it becomes an issue with exhaust or something. fingers crossed!

[noteron]

Killer build so far. I plan to do the same to one of my C10's soon. Subscribed and taking notes

[Devil Pup]

Originally Posted by noteron

Killer build so far. I plan to do the same to one of my C10's soon. Subscribed and taking notes

Thanks man, Ill keep it updated in hopes of helping others looking to do the same!

[RRR18]

Following.

[Devil Pup]

Picked up some inner fenders from a buddy and started the prep for them to get installed. Pretty solid other than a small amount of rust on the passenger side front

Driver side is in great shape and cleaned up nicely

used a spray on bed liner for the under side. Looks really nice in person, has a good texture to it and seems durable. we'll see how it holds up.

Set the motor in. Fought us a bit but we got it done. Unfortunately we are planning to pull it again to do the harness. We haven't done an LS before so we figure it would be easy to miss a sensor or something if we try to wire it without the motor sitting in front of us in the garage.


I do have a question if there is any experts. The motor seems to sit slightly higher than others i have seen. The pan is only about a 1/4" below the cross member. No clearance issues with the firewall or anything. I have a 73-87 cross member and 73-87 motor mount towers, 73-87 clams and Poly motor mounts with 3/8" thick adapter plates. Does anyone see this being an issue or just sit slightly high? Hood still closes also.

[Devil Pup]

Started on the wiring. Turned out not too be as terrible as we thought it was gonna be.

Basically done but we are not finalizing anything until it is in the truck and we know where the PCM is gonna mount exactly.

Also turned out that the manifolds my buddy gave me were not TBSS. They were off a F-Body. I test fitted both and the truck manifolds fit with such little adjustment and have the O2's in the down pipes already that I'm gonna run those.

Starting to come together. Im just ready to drive this thing.

Started work on moving the battery tray to the driver side. Ended up tacking it up in the dark and its sideways add that to the list of stuff to do. It's also a little rustier than I would like. Might get a replacement or patch it. Not sure yet.

[Devil Pup]

Well Photobucket officially deleted most the first page pictures in this thread. if anyone needs any info or wants to see anything specific just ask and I'll repost it.

Picked up a new battery tray thanks to my buddies at Brothers trucks. Good group of guys and quality parts, fit like a glove and saves me a lot of time.

loosely fit the fuel lines onto the motor for a test fit. looks like I can use the stock lines from the motor all the way to the frame, will adjust the bracket slightly but i will even be able to use the stock fuel filter.

Harness is completely figured out. just need to tie up loose ends, put the plug on the leads that are going into the cab and its ready to go.

used two of the doorman fuse blocks because I plan to run dual electric fans,power windows and a light bar and such in the future.

Got these nice connectors from ebay so the wires that run into the cab can be easily unplugged if needed. http://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-Set-of-8-...53.m2749.l2649

Also fabricated a bracket to mount the PCM up under the inside lip of the fender by the battery tray. Its coming together. lots of stuff still to do but one step at a time its slowly gettin done.

[Devil Pup]

Made a ton of progress on the truck since last updated this thread. Hoping to be driving it within a month.

Stock transmission linkage worked simply by moving the frame mount back about an inch. Actually lines up perfect on the gear shift indicator on the column and I'm able to get from Park all the way to 1st without binding or issues. "Need to clean and touch up the frame"


Chopped up the stock 2000 Tahoe pedal and used the stock 69 pedal bracket mounting holes on the firewall. lines up pretty good. will look into either changing the chrome trim pad that I have for a standard waffle pad, or upgrading to the chrome trim gas pedal once its driving.


cleaned up, resealed the diff and topped off the fluid.

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice work on the truck! It looks mean with those wheels and tires on it! Great work. I have to say I love the new look of it!

[Devil Pup]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Nice work on the truck! It looks mean with those wheels and tires on it! Great work. I have to say I love the new look of it!

thank you! it was a ton of work but it sure does drive nice!