budget beater c10 to k30 swap over build.

[sweetk30]

today was productive .

got the steering box off another delayed build project truck . since i have a locker in that trucks front end and want hydro assist i figure take the reg 4wd box and use it on this truck . plus its a AGR box i got in labor trade from friend may he r.i.p . . . and he had only used it for around 5k miles i think he said so its like new .

then i dug out a jeep shaft i got from another member in the past . then i have my ORD bolt in box brace kit ready to install with it . also my new MOOG drag link setup from the other delayed build truck .

the mix and match of parts is helping get this truck together but at the same time it helps use stuff from others i would not need or have to modify anyways . so unbolt / use on this one and get the correct ones later for the others .

then i got my other new fuel pump sock from NAPA today for the pass side tank i am using the stock tbi sender with tbi pump as a transfer tank to the driver side high pressure pump setup . got it installed and ready to hang on the brackets . . . got to clean them up quick and paint them yet .

i also got the lines run on the engine from the HOLLEY sniper down the back of the engine and over to the driver side frame rail and down to the area for the tank sender . just need to finalize the length yet one my fuel filter get here . i got a WIX 33267 metal unit with mount tab bracket rated for 9micron filtration . they were used on gm fullsize efi cars from 90-93 . they get me the micron size requirement of 10 micron from HOLLEY but better at 9 micron and 3/8" in/out quick connect like my connectors i got up on the sniper unit . basically it will almost be a factory looking setup minus a few tweeks .

then i dug out my power steering pump and remote reservoir unit from a 95 g20 fullsize van i parted years ago . its a direct install on the serp belt bracket and vans were hydroboost so its goo that way . then the remote reservoir will be mounted on the core support to be a fast easy check and fill like the engine oil and trans fluid dip stick units i used from a g-series fullsize van also .

o.k. thats it for now time for a drinky

[sweetk30]

dinner break . now digesting the food before more work .

stuff i got done today :
AGR box bolted on for good with a ORD bolt on brace kit .
p/s pump pulley pressed on .
return line from box to pump installed .
ORD sway bar disconnects re-bushed / greased / installed .
sway bar re-bushed with ORD kit / greased / installed .

had to drop off my plow pump drive pulley and crank pulley to the machinist . need a bushing made to have the center boss up-sized to register in the serp belt crank pulley . this plow pump pulley was from the older style engines and smaller center hole in the crank pulley . easy to whip out and told him make it tight so its a press fit on the plow pump pulley but snug on the crank one .

one of the last things i need to do on the suspension is change the worn out bushings on the lift springs upfront then its done .

[sweetk30]

well doner truck tanks had 2 good brackets on 1 side . the other side had 1 good and 1 rusted out bad . so after going in my pile of parts i dug out 4 total extra brackets i had . well it took the 1 bad / 1 bottom half / 1 strap all from 3 to remake one . then a pile of scrap on left / good parts middle / rebuilt right .

then i under coated all 4 of them after i cleaned up the welded on nuts and strap stud . got to make sure there good before undercoat and hang time .

well they flashed off good in a hr or so . this let me hang them on the frame and finish off tonight to hang the tanks in the am . but i ran in to a possible problem when i went to hang the left side front bracket . the welded on nuts didnt line up to the holes . :doah: been so long i forgot the front brackets use sloped hole layout for the slope of the frame . well i got lucky and the pass side was the same way wrong for his side . so i just swapped the brackets left to right and dodged that bullet of rework .

got my roofing tar paper ready to cut in strips to wrap the tank like factory did and install the tanks in the am . this will let me finish out the lines and crossover to fill the left tank from the right side .

[sweetk30]

been busy wrenchin . . . lots done . . . super close to fire off .

few pics of fuel system DONE .

tanks in . filter in . stock 454 c/k aircleaner mid 80's ya it would work . . . but then i have a 88c/k new body cleaner with a hypertech salad bowl unit with modifyed base and i think this will work much better . and last is the fuel adapter unit to give me 2 1/8" pipe thread ports so i can add in my gauge to keep a eye on the system .

[sweetk30]

few more to show .

got my MSD 8.5mm cut-to-fit wires done the way i wanted them . i hate boxed so-called direct fit 10 miles of extra wires . i also used the MSD wire separators and love them little guys .

[sweetk30]

then finished the exhaust system today with stock parts and flowmaster 50 series delta flow 3 chamber single 3" in/out muffler . chopped / cut / welded up what i had to dump it out in front of the driver side tire area . i will finalize the tip after the box is on .

[sweetk30]

well i lost a day and around 50 bucks of nylon hose but its all redone for a 2nd time .

i was not thinking when i did the fuel system the 1st time about exhaust on driver side . it left me hardly any room to service the fuel filter and also required a massive heat shield i was not about to make .

so i tore it all out and went back to right side fuel system for the lines . crazy thing is it went in better and layed out nicer this way . no pics as its about the same but goes across the cab support cross member like oem did . then fuel filter just behind the t-case on the frame . lines cross over and run up with the t-case/trans vent hoses on the trans dip stick .

ready for 5 -10 gal of gas for a system pressure test and also transfer tank test . since i buttoned that up today also . tee'd in the 5/8" filler neck hose and letting the 3/8" feed from pass side tank drop in from there . nice cheeting with tbi sender and pump in pass side tank . i got a autometer gauge for that tank and BIG red clearance light to light up when pumping so i dont forget .

[sweetk30]

fuel system passed the pressure test today . dumped 7gal of gas in the both tanks and the new autometer gauge read just about 1/4 tank ( 20 gal tanks ) knowing oem always kind of sucked i call that good .

so i then powered up the main tank with the autometer pressure gauge in and powered up . she come up to 60 psi kind of slow but i figure that was from 100% empty/new system . then i let her sit there and run for a min or so and she held 58-59 psi the whole time just a hair under the 60 psi mark . then power off to pump and wait 5 sec and repower and she come right back up .

i then sent power to the transfer tank / pass side and she feed fuel over to the main tank nice and easy .

i also got 6 qrt of brad penn 30 weight breakin oil / high level zink & phos . put 5 in the engine after i pre filled the filter 98% of the way up before install on engine .

other than finding TDC #1 to set the dist in the hole for good i think we are ready for body set down and start hooking up a few wires and coolant hoses for a fire off and see what we get .


budget beater
plow machine

[skyphix]

This is an impressive project! Sub'ing to follow.

[daddyjeep]

Originally Posted by sweetk30

i also got 6 qrt of brad penn 30 weight breakin oil / high level zink & phos

Brad Penn.... I can see the refinery from my desk.

You're getting close now.

[sweetk30]

well daddy jeep i am not to far from them also in horseheads ny just north of the boarder and east .

nice to see local guys .

always heard good things about there oil mix's . figure give them a try on my brand new engine .

and hopping fingers crossed possible fire up sat . . . .

[sweetk30]

last few days busy . here some info and pics .

so far today we are getting a LOT done on the list of crap to do .

steering column bolted back firm . just need horn gut out of a spare fixed parts unit .
brake pedal hanger and hydroboost pedal in and tight .
hydroboost unit ( from a k30 ) bolted on and in place. need new master bolted on yet .
p/s van remote fill can bolted to core support . just need to make filler hose to clear live hydro pump for plow yet. and fill with fluid.

more by the end of the night will be done .

------------------

so p/s system is hooked up and mostly blead out . got to get it running for the rest with hydroboost .
3 core rad from old truck installed .
remote trans spin on filter with gauge temp sensor installed .
lower rad hose installed . upper here in the am at local napa .

need to swap horn guts to finish the steering wheel/column redo .
add coolant .
add a bit more atf . only put in around 4 qrt . had it drained and on stand upside down so its almost all out .
some wires add in for sniper to get key-HOT & CRANK power .
snow plow live hydro pump bolt on .
snow plow joystick in dash .

i am sure there is more .

but my trusty yellow paint pen is marking them as i get done with each one on the truck .

few pics . and a nod to my buddy jim with the hunk of copper pipe on the truck . every one of his hot rods has copper for a section of pipe someplace . i needed to lengthen my p/s can to pump hose and had this in the scrap pile .

1-2 pic are before hydroboost installed today and column bolted backup after brake pedal/mount swap from vac to hydro setup .

and pic you see my jw speaker headlights .

--------------------

well today was half a wash out . had aptment in the am i had to do . then friend showed up i had not seen in a bit .

but i did get to napa and got my hose clamps / heater hoses 5/8" & 3/4" and 4ft gave me around 5-6" extra for both i cut off .

got my upper rad hose for the 1990k5 blazer to match the serp belt setup . the lower is the same for years . the upper has a different bend molded in to match the serp belt specific t-stat housing . got 4gal of coolant in the system . bleed out good with the burp jug system and drilling a tiny hole in the t-stat . . . reg t-stat 6 bucks . jiggle valve t-stat 20 bucks . . . i drill my own hole for less . and i did a 195* t-stat i like my heat in the winter .

finished most all the power wires and grounds for the battery feed to the engine / frame / batt / core support . batt is charging up a bit today from sitting so long . she was at 12.18 volts before charge .

p/s system stayed up good over night .

new master bench bleed . . . and FU*K them block off plugs for bench bleeding . it went rock hard . so i dug out my old school lines for bleeding masters in the loop style like old days . i got a LOT more air out of it . block off plugs in till i hook up the lines and bleed the system .

tryed to use the willwood bracket i had got for the valve . that didnt work to good untill i took a 4lb mini sludge hammer to it and made it flat . then she cleared the hydroboost lines and master . then i made up the rest of the lines from the ruff in job to engine bay . flared my ends on and anti-seized the line to nut inside area and used green coated line . just need 4 calipers on and 2 hard lines in master and pump-n-bleed .

fingers crossed might be Saturday for the ........ FIRE OFF TEST

[sweetk30]

so we fired it off around 5:15pm . . .well tried to anyway . . . everything was there until we cranked it .

no crank fuel pressure / no tach / no info from the ecu screen showing crank / no timming light flashes from spark .

well lets just say i hooked the msd hot wire to the coil . . . . just never hooked the key hot/crank wire to the coil

well we fixed that real quick . then we turned the key and instant BOOM out the muffler and purring like a kitten . she was a little loaded up from each key cycle from the no coil power cranks when it gives it a primer shot .

other than a small fuel leak on the fuel adapter / gauge sender thingy my fault we had no real problems. took him off . cleaned the pipe dope off and teflon taped it good and retested no leaks .

only real problem yet is the ecu touch screen likes to change options / places all by its self . got to figure that out .

my buddy and i did get the brakes all hooked up caliper's and hoses . fronts bolted on and rear stuck a block of wood between pads . then we bleed the system all out before we fired it up .

still need to put the guts back in the 14ff and install the brake rotors and brackets .

measure for drive shafts . and have them re-tubed at the local shop.

finalize the sniper wiring layout and loom it .

install the windstar fans and relays that will be feed by the sniper or a extra switch for backup .

make sure the air cleaner fits under the hood . . going to be close .

box on / filler necks hooked up .

exhaust tail pipe out the left .

and few more things .

[RDrancher]

Congrats on getting her fired up! And thanks for the lead on the timing cover plug. That's a sweet little item.

[sweetk30]

good day today .

got a lot of wires cleaned up / crimped up with heat shrink / loomed up / zip tied or clamped / still got a few more to layout and do yet for some gauges on the top of the dash .

steering column was STILL fighting me . in total i had to swap in a good used ignition sector unit / lube up a LOT of dried out grease spots / loctight red the 4 tilt screws / bend the lock plate back in shape in the shop press it was skipping / get horn guts from parts column . . . wow what a chore . but the horn even goes honk honk

then i got the front drive shaft to the drive-line shop to get checked over and re-tubed . flange flat to center of cap in the truck for my weird piece meal combo was 35.5" long . th400/custom almost 1" spacer / 203 adapter / 203 range box / ord doubler plate / 205 with 32 spline front and 208 flange / with 3" ish lift springs front / ord shackles / sbc 350 engine / k30 frame .

took a look at he sniper throttle linkage area and like others i have decided to make my own extender arm . there stuff is to short and stiff in the cab . also with limited travel my th400 kick down switch don't even come close to hitting . i have come up with around a 1 1/4" hole to hole extender . still need to test it for 100% and no binding or bottom out . but it will be a bolt on item .

she is getting super close to a shake down run .

[sweetk30]

few shots today . got the box on/in place . the exhaust buttoned up in place . 3" single outlet driver side front of tire .

and those pics the truck had a 1" zero rate in the back . it was almost 3" taller than the front via the body line . i took it out and now its perfect new pics of that later when it drives .

[Old57]

Great looking truck! Should be a good work horse.

[sweetk30]

thanks for the complements guys . helps keep me motivated .

and after my current ordeals with holley i need all the help / motivation i can get .

[SBTork]

Good work man! It looks good and hang with it, it'll be great and totally worth it once all the kinks are worked out

[sweetk30]

got more done .

rear brakes .
rear guts back in and lube filled .
rear suspension all tight .
custom rear shock hanger made and shocks in .
both front and rear drive shafts in and painted .

almost ready for road test .

[sweetk30]

almost ready for the road . might do a small test drive sunday .

got the hub caps on / grill all in / fuel filler necks and hoses all in . super close to road test . . .

[sweetk30]

went hunting today and spotted the tracks of a rare K30 . i tracked it down to its home but it was hiding inside . mabye next time . .

[rgunlock]

Looks like the test drive was at least somewhat successful. Congrats!

[sweetk30]

ya got a drive line clunk i need to figure out a bit . but otherwise seems o.k. didnt drive it much with no inspection sticker in the window . even tho i know most of the cops from my old job and have a inspectors lic i figure why push it on 1st drive and a sunday also .

[SunSoaked]

Nice project! I'm subscribed to this thread as it is similar to my current project. I'm interested in your exhaust. I too am wanting a single 3'' out the back but am stuck on routing pipes in and around the trans/T-case. I have headers. Can you get a few pics of your system front to rear next time you get it on the lift?

Is this test drive you did today with the Sniper?