72 K20 build thread, need good name

[Captain Knievel]

Pulled the same thing out of my shop vac a few weeks ago -- shows how often I actually clean.

Somehow, between the mouse, the pending return of your fiance, the Dodge rims, etc., a name for this project has to emerge. Just hasn't hit me yet...

[msgross]

I had three nest in my truck, both side vents and one behind the seat...

Ditch the heater core and get a new one.... while you're in there...

looks like that steering stabilizer is rubbing too...

[Rust Buster]

Made some major progress today, taking both the bed and cab off. Definitely getting tight in the garage though...
No major problems but I think I tore my shoulder lifting the bed up against the wall. Somethings are just not supposed to be a one man job.

[Rust Buster]

Cab

[msgross]

so what's the plan for this truck? Those flowmasters don't look good up against the driveshaft though... Take a look at my sig and you will see my bare frame pics...

[1969k10stepside]

Oh the joy of taking the body off the trucks and you know its going to be a long time till it goes back on..My cab is coming back off my 4wd this weekend too..I agree with Mike on the flowmasters,they are too close to the driveshaft

[Rust Buster]

That pic is fairly deceiving, when I look at it now it looks very close, but there's actually plenty of clearance.

The goal is a daily driver with modern techology and reliability yet retaining a 99% stock appearance on the outsidef. I'm sure things will change as i go along though...

[Yukon Jack]

Originally Posted by Rust Buster

2. Are these leaf springs stock? At first I thought they were sagging a bit but doing research, all the stock replacements for 72 K20s are 3 leaf while I have 4. Any thoughts? I can't imagine why they wouldn't be stock...

My 69 K20 also had 4 leafs. I think the 3 leaf springs were for the K10's. The stock spring does have a reverse arch when installed with the engine in place.

Here is a pic of my stock spring



And it next to a 4" Tuff Country spring

[Yukon Jack]

Hmm, looking at my stock spring, looks like it actually had 5 leafs.

[1969k10stepside]

Yukon Jack,I think you are right on the 3/4 tons having more leafs.My 71 K10 had 3 leafs stock,I think.I would have to go check in the parts shed where the stock ones are to see for sure though

[Rust Buster]

Thanks for the info. How do you know if they need to be replaced? If I don't replace them, I will need to get another retainer clip that wraps around the springs. Mine is lose and detached. Where can I get that?

[1969k10stepside]

I would know to replace mine if they were cracked.If you want it to sit a bit higher you could have the springs re-arched.I don't know where you can get the retainer clips...Oh,I just went out and looked at the set of stock springs I have,and they have 4 leafs.It was a 1/2 ton 4wd

[BurnoutNova]

i would think a suspention shop in your area might have the retainer, or maybe you could have a local welding/ machine shop make you one?

[Spanky_Pete]

Wow, that cab is in tremendously good shape. You're starting out with a better truck than a lot of us have *after* restoration.

[Rust Buster]

It's really strange. Where I thought there would be tons of rust, there isn't any. And where I though there wouldn't be rust, there is rot. I wish I knew the history of this truck better. All I know was that it was a farm truck in Tennessee for most if not all of its life. The best part is that I have only had to cut off a few bolts as opposed to many when I did this on my 71 K5. It's been easy so far to dismantle

[msgross]

My 68 K-10 has three front leafs and it has the HD spring option. I purchased leaf spring clamps at my local machine shop (speciailize in suspension) for a few bucks a piece.

[Rust Buster]

At least they are cheap. How do you get them on though?

[msgross]

They are "U" shaped then there is a back plate that goes on. You bend the ears down after you sandwich the spring. Or there is a stronger type that has a U shape and a bolt that locks it around the leaf.

Is there a hole in the spring? The old one's had the U part riveted onto the leaf. The new one's have a notch to fit into that hole, or you could put a few tack welds on it.

If you have trouble finding a set I can send you some for actual cost. I would need to know how wide the spring is though.....

[BurnoutNova]

my 71 K10 also has 3 leafs in the front... with the heavy front spring option.

my 69 K20 only had 2, (maybe 3 i cant remeber) leafs in the front... i cant imagine that was the right spring though, it should have been more like yukon jacks springs

[Rust Buster]

I was away on business for the last week, so not much progress.
Cut my head pretty good on the bottom of the cab last wing and will have a decent scar from that, but no guts no glory, right?

Today I started cleaning the bottom of the cab. It has some pretty heavy duty undercoating on it that was taking forever to get off with a wire wheel, so I switched to a torch and a scraper and it works much better, just has some nasty fumes, thus the protection. This will be a very time consuming process, but well worth it. Hope to make some more progress this week.

[msgross]

ouch!! add one tetanus shot to your build thread....

torch and scraper is the best way for under coating.... then I sandblasted it once it was removed... my frame had the same thing...

[Rust Buster]

That's the great thing about being in the military...you're forced to have your shots up to date. Also made me realize it's probably a good idea to know where the nearest hospital is...

[msgross]

I hear ya... might wanna wear a hat.. The hairline almost took a turn for the worse... I'm in the same boat and we need to preserve it the nest we can!

[Rust Buster]

I hear you, what little is left is precious. I am getting close to just shaving the whole thing...

Got some more done today. Pulled the transfer case (man that thing is heavy, anyone know how much it weighs? Had to bring that down a set of stairs and it was no fun), transmission and clutch out. Cleaned up some more little stuff. As soon as my engine cradle comes next week (on sale at summit for $24), I'll pull the engine and start prepping the frame for paint..

One thing I found was that the frame was ground on both sides like it was done for clearance for headers, but the ram horns are still on it. Anyone know what this could be for?

There's not much left on the clutch.

Also I'm going to start posting for sale post in the classifieds for a bunch of the stuff I have taken off, some of which will be a complete TBI system with fuel pump, computer and painless harness, SM465 tranny, original 350 engine, rear driveshaft, and a few other things.

[Rust Buster]

couple more