Legacy build

[VA72C10]

Originally Posted by Dunenutt

Thanks for the compliments! It is going slow right now. I am restoring the trim, and it is tedious to say the least. I decided to change it up a bit, black chrome, with chrome accents. I will be doing it with powder coat, hope it looks good. I started polishing the trim, and that is WAY to time consuming.

I understand the trim polishing thing. I can do it and they come out excellent but at a certain point you look at the time invested and the cost of new and wonder if it's worth it.

I'm looking for a cheap local polisher. Maybe someone out of work who needs work and it will help both of us so I can take care one of the other 1000 things that need to be done to the truck.

[Ronnny]

Wtg on your project. Read most of the way through it but some parts in the middle. i do the 12 hour shifts also. Nice to be off 7 of 14 days. I have a 68 long bed and found a 77 k10. Just wanted to ask a few questions. Were there already holes for your front spring mounts or did you just measure and drill them. Also is the frame width the same between the trucks so that the front axle assembly just pretty much bolted in? I do have a welder, torch, diegrinder and all the other stuff. I thought about keeping the 2x4 steering box and doing a cross over steering setup but to keep it simple might swap over like you did. Will have to look over the thread for more details but a nice job you have done there.

On another note i do not like the all-terrian bfgs. they do not grip wet grass well. But have never had or heard much bad about the mud ones. They seem to do a lot better than most other brands on and off road.

[Ronnny]

Is there a special reason you kept the coil springs over going with leafs in the rear? I guess you moved the track bar because of the tank not because of the lift right? If it were just a lift you could just lengthen it right? If one went lift springs in the front i do not think you would want to level the rear with still using the trailing arm setup or do you think the trailing arm setup would be ok with about 4 more inches of lift? Another thing on my mind is would it of been ok to just do a 1 or 2 inch body lift than to modify the floor of the cab? I am not a fan of body lifts and i am sure that might open up another can of worms but solve the bed and cab floor issues.

[Dunenutt]

Ronny, The holes for the front spring perches are there. There is one hole that doesn't line up exact, and will have to be drilled. The axle bolts right up. I will be converting to crossover steering in the future, but may wait to see if I can find some 60's. I have all of the parts to do the crossover, but will see how it articulates as is.

The KM2'S come highly recommended by some off road racing friends, as well as rock crawler friends. I have had extremely bad luck with BFG in the past, and said I would walk before buying another tire from them. 20 years later, I am giving them a shot again (mostly because they are one of the few that make a 33x10.50). Time will tell!

Leaving the coils/swingarm has some great advantages. There should be zero wheel hop in the sand, greater articulation than stock leafs, and a great ride. Look at the rock crawlers and trophy trucks, they run link suspensions for a reason. The track bar was moved from the pumpkin to the link arm for two reasons. I replaced the axle with one that does not have a mount for it, and also longer/flatter is better. The gas tank did not seem to be a factor.

I only wanted 4" of lift, so it is fine for me. If I wanted 8" of lift, I would have made custom arms to correct pinion angles. I also would have gone shopping for some jeep springs/ or coilovers. I would have stuck with the swingarm though.

If I had a clean cab with no rust ( like it was when I parked it), I would have lowered the motor and trans mount a couple of inches. I like the factory look on this truck, so the bolt in mounts made it worth chopping the cab. The choped part is hidden by the seat.

You are right, body lifts have more issues than they solve.

[Beat68CST]

Sweet ride man, definitely puttin some good work into that!

If need anything tig welded or something I might be able to help ya out too.

[Dunenutt]

One other note, I am not a fan of "lift kits". If a lift needs blocks of any kind, it is a poor design. My hunting truck is a F..D F-250 that has 36x12.50-16.5 tires with no lift. I chose to put Bushwacker cut out flares on it. It rides like it did from the factory, and all of the geometry is correct. It will fit 39,s with no further modifications.

Being a classic, I chose to lift the 69 just enough to eliminate any possible tire rub instead of chopping the fenders. If it was to be "customized" I would have probably cut and sectioned the fenders. I have seen a 72 that had sectioned fenders, and it looked factory, just really wide wheel openings. There are many options available, just think outside the box.

[Dunenutt]

Originally Posted by Beat68CST

Sweet ride man, definitely puttin some good work into that!

If need anything tig welded or something I might be able to help ya out too.

Thanks for the compliments, and the offer. I hope I am done with the welding on this one for now. Between me and my buddy, I think we have the fab equipment covered.

I am finally going to be putting some bling on this truck now, WHOOHOO!

[Beat68CST]

Get us some picture of it coming together!


Good deal man! I should probably go weld up the holes in my floorboard D: Silicon Bronze, here I come, in a day or two...

[Dunenutt]

Right now, I am working on the parts. Kind of boring stuff really. I will post pics when there is something raesonable to take a pic of.

[Dunenutt]

Got the aux battery box installed, that I got from CKEXSWB! Looks great with some new paint on it.

Started working on the tailgate that I got from C10SECONDS. Got bored with wiring. Body work helps the A D D.

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Very nice work cant wait to see it finished..

[dougminton]

cool story, cool truck. subscribed

[Dunenutt]

Originally Posted by FRENCHBLUE72

Very nice work cant wait to see it finished..

Niether can I, The suspense has been killing me for over a month!

[70LonghornCST]

Very nice work. Subscribed!

[Dunenutt]

PAINT! I will let it dry for a couple of days, tape off the letters, and shoot the lower part of the gate white. It's getting close

Two years ago yesterday, I began this little adventure...

[VA72C10]

Nice!!! Congrats!

[QKENUF4U]

AWESOME MAN !!!! wish i still lived in phoenix so i could see this bad boy for real... (3hrs away in havasu now)

[Dunenutt]

Originally Posted by QKENUF4U

AWESOME MAN !!!! wish i still lived in phoenix so i could see this bad boy for real... (3hrs away in havasu now)

Hopefully it will spend some time in Havasu, Flag, Show low,Tucson, ect. soon. I'm going to drive the wheels off of it when it's done.

[custom72c20]

This gives me inspiration to work on my truck. Keep up the good work.

[mcbassin]

Hey that paint looks great! Keep at it. Nice!

[Dunenutt]

I had a couple of days to work on it this week. Was slowed down by a bad burrito ( when you are certain that you are empty, you are not EVEN close).

Got the tailgate finished, installed the grille and bumper, and installed the cowl. I am going to have to fab some outer bumper struts to clear the blazer core support mounts. The turn signal holes in the bumper will be filled with some " Not leagal for highway use" bling.

Pics...

[Dunenutt]

Got a little done this weekend. Windshield in ( took the two installers 2 hours to get it in), I have more gray hair now! Back glass in, I installed it, and wished someone else did. Tailgate on ( the truck has a flat, its not that bent).

[Dunenutt]

This week, I am puting the doors back together. It always amazes me how the sharpest metal on the entire truck is inside the doors. I have taped the openings, wear socks over my arms, and still slice my arms up.

[mcbassin]

Looks great Man!

[Dunenutt]

Thanks! It's getting close.