Starting to start starting a C4 conversion on my 84 SWB GMC

[Tagg33]

I was just looking at another truck on here that is tan and it reminded me of my first square an 86 I bought back in 95. It had a 305 that worked great and never gave me any trouble. I started converting the interior to grey tweed but never got the money to paint it another color. But I was rockin the 17" Centerline Scorpions. Here's a pic.

[shirks@cox.net]

Hey Tagg any chance you still have that HD crew cab lowering kit for sale?

[fxdxharley]

Originally Posted by Tagg33

I'm "still" just about to send my dropmember to the powdercoater but now I'm unsure about my color choice. As you have seen my frame is silver but I don't know the exact color. I was afraid the silver powdercoat options would be close but not exact so I was just going to get these parts done in a darker metalic gray like gunmetal-ish. What do think of the idea to have all these bolt on parts gunmetal with a silver frame and raw aluminum corvette parts. Does that sound like 1 too many colors? I could skip the powdercoating all together and paint these parts and touchup my frame with all with the same silver.

This example pic is all I could find that kind of shows three colors. What do you all think?

Where are you getting these pics from? Im planing on putting the same setup in a 70's blazer. any info would be much appreciated.

[Tagg33]

Originally Posted by fxdxharley

Where are you getting these pics from? Im planing on putting the same setup in a 70's blazer. any info would be much appreciated.

Here's a pic of the Flat-Out Engineering kit but it just gets you converted not lowered or airbagged if that was your goal. Nate at Porterbuilt has items available to install a C4 IRS with bags or shockwaves, with 4-link or any custom way you like.
I have lots of pics, if you want more ideas just PM me with your email address and I'll send you more.

[fxdxharley]

Thanks tagg. pm sent. i have been to the porterbuilt website, cool stuff.

[Tagg33]

I got a fair amount done today, despite waisting an hour on my bottle jack it finally works again.
I mocked up my C4 DM, the rack & pinion, the arms, spindle and even a wheel. I installed the Borgeson uni joints and cut the D rod. That's a lot of visual progress. I was so excited that I even set the fender back on to see how it looks. The wheels are too small but oh well they're only temporary.
Last weekend I cut the frame for the R&P C-notches and welded them in.

[tvblazer78]

Man that is just the way to go, I love it..

[menace121978]

that is awesome man!

[moneyeater]

Wow,great!I could kick myself in the back!!!!!
I had a C4 irs with 3.07 gears laying in my storage that i wanted to install in my truck but never got to install it because i couldn´t figure out how to align it and didn´t want to cut the frame!
Now i see there´s a kit to bolt it in and i want to start a project again!
Do i have to cut the frame for the install? It should sit like the flipped axle sits now!
Volker

[Tagg33]

Originally Posted by moneyeater

Wow,great!I could kick myself in the back!!!!!
I had a C4 irs with 3.07 gears laying in my storage that i wanted to install in my truck but never got to install it because i couldn´t figure out how to align it and didn´t want to cut the frame!
Now i see there´s a kit to bolt it in and i want to start a project again!
Do i have to cut the frame for the install? It should sit like the flipped axle sits now!
Volker

That kit doesn't seem to require any frame cutting. I'm not using that kit on my truck I was just showing the picture for another example. Here's another picture of a square body truck with a C4 under the frame. This guy seams to have made his own mounts. This truck was on ebay not too long ago.

[moneyeater]

Doesn´t look too difficult.He even used the original monoleaf and the stance lookes good too!
I wonder how the mounts for the trailingarms might look?
Any progress on your truck?

Volker

[Tagg33]

Not much progress on the rear end setup. Now that my previous axle is gone/sold I have positioned my C4 center section using a floor jack to see if my existing rear notch is going to work. In order to keep my notch I will have to create my own batwing that mounts inside the frame rails. I'm still considering all my options. I did learn that my existing exhaust pipes are in the way so I unbolted them and set them aside for now.

[moneyeater]

Any Updates?

[Tagg33]

Nothing exciting to update. I have raised some money selling some things thanks to craigslist! It's not much but it will help me move forward with some part of the project. I need to buy paint supplies so I can touch up the frame and then paint the firewall.

Nate is working on my front upper bag mounts this week. Since I am going with regular bags and shocks he has to make a different mount. His C4 DM kit is designed to work with the all-in-one Shockwaves. The upper mounts are the final thing I need to complete the front, well besides shock mounts.

Since my engine is out of the truck and on a stand, I have been cleaning it. I decided the block is going to get repainted red. I sanded off the casting slag from the block. I have removed the serpentine accessory brackets and pulleys. Yesterday I sanded the casting lines off of the aluminum acc brackets. These aluminum parts are all going to get bead blasted and cleared. I still need to pull the balancer so I can change the timing cover gasket and seal. I have a one-piece oil pan gasket to install. And I'm considering pulling the intake and replacing the head gaskets too. My engine is a ZZ1 from 1991, it only has 4k miles on it but as you can tell it has sat much of it's life. Do you think I should go as far as to replace the head gaskets now? I'm also looking into upgrading my TH400 trans to a 700R4, my brothers friend owns a trans shop and I'm hoping to work something out with him.

[moneyeater]

Changing all the seals on the motor is a good idea because they dry in when the engine stands for a long time!I experienced that myself! But changing the headgaskets shouldn´t be necessary if they worked fine the last time the motor ran!
Why aren´t you using the shockwaves? Seems like a good all in one solution!
Volker

[Tagg33]

I decided against the Shockwaves originally because of their cost but also because of the limited range of motion. With the bag setup I should have a total of 9-10 inches of lift. I've also heard that if your Shockwaves have any problems, ie. leaks you have to send them in for repair that creates a lot more downtime.

[Tagg33]

Just baby steps right now. Spent the day cleaning up the engine some more. Pulled the timing cover and change it's gasket and seal. Cleaned up the block for new paint (same color). Removed oil pan and replaced the gasket with a new one-piece. Hoping to have the small oil leaks under control now. As you can see on the block I sanded down some of the sharp edges of the block. Next I will paint the block. Then I will remove the TPI plenum and runners so they can be sanded smooth. I think they will get the same bead-blast and clear that I plan to do on the accessory brackets and corvette suspension parts.

[love my 72]

Looks good, cant wait to see more!

[Tagg33]

My brother finally had time to stop by and get me started on the firewall body work. After a little hammer & dolly time he smeared on some All Metal filler. I worked on sanding it for a while, it needs a lot more work but the improvement is very encouraging. I also got some new items for the engine, March billet pulleys and a polished 140 amp Alt.

I went to the Barrett Jackson auction today to look around. There were a lot of trucks and it was a good time. I hope to make more progress on the body work this weekend as I'm heading to Las Vegas for the next couple of days for work.

[Tagg33]

I recently bought a blast cabinet from Harbor Freight. My thinking was that $120 for the cabinet was a great deal compared to the cost of having a shop do this work for me. It does cost more than that when you realize the cabinet doesn't have a light or it's own air hose and you have to buy the blast media. I bought a cheap light fixture, a spiral air hose for flexibility and connected my shop vac. I started with glass beads but wasn't getting the result I wanted. So I emptied out the cabinet and put in 120 grit aluminum oxide. I had some of this aluminum oxide here at the house already because I sell it for sand blasting people's faces, I sell skin care equipment . I really like the result it creates the aluminum parts I am working on are left with a sparkly finish like metallic paint. In these pictures you can see my accessory brackets first just after blasting. And next with Duplicolor 500 degree clear coat.

[smashingchuck]

Coming along! Those bead blasters are handy, my dad built one about 15 years ago (from TiP plans) and I have used the hell out of it.

[Tagg33]

I spent the afternoon bolting these items on the front of the engine:
Edelbrock Water Pump with near chrome powder coat
Accessory brackets, blasted and cleared
Power Steering pump painted silver
Alternator, Power Master, Polished
March Pulleys
Stainless Allen Bolts that I polished now replace every visible bolt.
and a few other little things.
Here's the before and after.

[smbrouss70]

That came out looking really good!

[moneyeater]

Looks really good!
Volker

[SatisTraction]

nice build.

here is a c4 suspension that you may find interesting.
http://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=65041