The Hillbilly Deluxe dually build

[badpeanut]

Were you able to swap your core supports without removing the front fenders?

[Stoney]

Have you tried XL parts? These guys have everything. Well the one here does.
http://www.xlparts.com/Home.aspx

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by texastruckjunky

I have a grill if you want, pay for the ride and its yours. Nice build, I've always like the 1 ton. I my self have had many of them. just PM me for your address on the grill.

I appreciate the offer but I've already got this one paid for and installed. I'll see if the looks grow on me before I do anything to change it.

Originally Posted by badpeanut

Were you able to swap your core supports without removing the front fenders?

Yes.

I did have to remove the fenderwell bolts under one of the fenders. I didn't have to remove the fender or the fenderwell, but removing the bolts allowed me to splay the front edge of the fender out an inch or so which allowed the old core to slip out and the new one to slip in. I also didn't mess with the cooling system. I just unbolted the radiator and carefully set it on the frame, hoses still hooked up, while I was doing the swap. I did it all by myself and it wasn't much of a challenge. Just be careful with not hitting the radiator with the core support when you're wrestling it in and out.

Originally Posted by Stoney

Have you tried XL parts? These guys have everything. Well the one here does.
http://www.xlparts.com/Home.aspx

I have a pretty great aftermarket place here called Certifit, which sells the typical Chinese body parts, and I have a good buddy who is a long time GM dealership parts guy. Plus I like Rock Auto because I can work all day and compose a list of needed parts then hit the interwebs before bed that night and order them. It's usually two day delivery and no sales tax.

The reason I steered away from collecting the parts for an original grille is that GM has discontinued all of it, and to assemble one I'd need the grille, the two face plates with moldings, and the bow tie emblem. That's a lot of stuff to scrounge up, so I just hit the buy-it-now button on the billet grille for 61 dollars.

Next up is to swap the bellhousing and give the transmission anything it needs while it's out. Then on to lowering the truck and doing something about the wheels and tires. The paint being screwed up on the front of the truck is starting to dig at me a bit too now. That will need addressing.

[Tx Firefighter]

Had to make a run to town today. After driving it to town and back, I am feeling that something has got to give. 4.56 gears and non overdrive is not ideal for my usage. I was in high gear well under 30 miles per hour. I have an extra, very nice, complete 14 bolt cab and chassis 4.10 rearend under my workbench. I could put into it, but I might even be feeling 3.73s more than that. I hate to go to too much trouble and expense to swap from 4.56 to 4.10 and it still not be enough change. I need to do the math I guess to figure out my revs.

[spudz]

I got 410s in my 79 c30.... and its screaming at 55-60. I feel the only way to make one of these traffic friendly is to stick a nv4500 or 4l80 trans.

[Zane M]

Great truck, and I love reading about your attention to detail.
Also, thanks for showing what you have done, it will come in handy during my current resto/mod.
My input on the gears: I have a different set up(350/Turbo 400/4:10 gears/265/75/16 tires). I'm turning 3000 RPM at 65MPH. I know it is an Apple to Tangerine comparison, but at least it gives you something to compare to as you contemplate your gear selection.

[Cheng]

I really enjoy following your work. It is great stuff, very similar to what i am trying to do, but i struggle on the cosmetic details.

I am using the below link to check engine rpm with different gear ratios or hoping i will find an NV4500 for a good price.

I find it easier than running the numbers by hand each time.

http://www.bgsoflex.com/rpmmph.html

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by Cheng

I really enjoy following your work. It is great stuff, very similar to what i am trying to do, but i struggle on the cosmetic details.

I am using the below link to check engine rpm with different gear ratios or hoping i will find an NV4500 for a good price.

I find it easier than running the numbers by hand each time.

http://www.bgsoflex.com/rpmmph.html

Thank you for that link. I just ran the numbers and going from 4.56 to 4.10 will drop my revs by 300 at 60 miles per hour.

[aggie91]

Sent you a PM about the 14 bolt...

[bigblock73]

Great build Kevin, one of my favorites...keep the info coming!
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[lolife99]

Definitely go to the 3.73's!
Those 4.10 still scream,... unless you drive 55 mph everywhere you go.

[ryanroo]

4.10s really work well with the NV. if that is even an idea you are considering, i would do that. if not, you probably will be best off with 3.73s. if you will be pulling trailers much at all, i would really consider the NV route with 4.10s

[Tx Firefighter]

I appreciate the nice comments from all of you fellas.

As far as the NV4500 thing goes. I'm not leaning that way simply due to the cost. The NV4500 is in such demand lately that the prices are being held pretty high. I could do gears for significantly cheaper than the OD swap. Plus, the SM465 that I have now is my favorite transmission. Can't anyone say they aren't strong and reliable.

I suspect I'll wind up dragging the 4.10 rearend out from under the workbench and tune it up. I could do that pretty cheaply and it would certainly help drop my revs at cruising speed.

[Tx Firefighter]

Slow progress here lately. My wife drug me to Mexico for some stupid sit on the beach crap. After I finally got that horsesh1t out of the way, I could come home and work on trucks again.

Today I started to get the bellhousing ready to install.

Of course, it started off like all of them, greasy and nasty. That took a bit of scrubbing to get it clean.



The Advance Adapter bracket interferes with the threaded bung where the factory linkage pivot ball screws in to. I had to grind that back some to get the clearance for the bolt holes to line up.



Then to glass bead blast it and powdercoat. I used this neat powder that makes it look like freshly blasted aluminum, which is quite handy for old stained aluminum castings.



Close up of where I had to grind and sand to get the clearance for the AA bracket.



Then to double check all of the bolt holes with a tap and screw the pivot ball into place with loctite. New grade 8 bolts for the trans and bell housing mounting too.

[squaredaway]

Great work! I love the attention to detail!

[Greenlee]

Wow, looks like new!
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[Black 'n' Blue]

My truck has 3:73 gears and with 4,500lbs on the back it'll idle along at 1600 doing 80MPH.

[881ton]

Nice work! I like your attention to detail. Powdercoating looks awesome!

[Tx Firefighter]

Short update for today. I spent most of the day powdercoating some wheels for a fellow who is building a neat 53 Ford F100. Since I had the gun loaded with gloss black and the shop was already dirty, I decided to work a little personal project into the workflow.

The bellhousing came with a clutch lever which I'm hoping to use when I swap the bellhousing. But, it needed some real help before I'd be ready to use it.

Notice the giant grooves worn into the ears there....





The grooves were worn so deep that the ears had bent under the pressure since the material was ground so thin.



First step is to straighten the bent ears. Out comes the Crescent wrench and the bench vice.



Then weld up the worn areas and sand smooth with a flap wheel.

Now, remember I said I already had the gun loaded with black powder ? An extra part hanging in the oven never hurt anything so...





One more part ready to go. One piece at a time. Hopefully when the time comes, I'll have all my ducks in a row.

I'm kind of dragging my feet on the bellhousing R&R. I'm going to do a lot of interior work at the same time (reason why will become obvious when I get to that point) so I have a lot of stuff to round up and decisions to make.

[Wrecked1982]

thats such a nice thing the advance adapter bracket !

[aggie91]

Your powder work is better than the "pro" shops around here. Awsome job!

[Tx Firefighter]

I appreciate the comment Karl. I put my work up against anyone, but I just hate being a business man so I prefer to just not do much of it.

[aggie91]

That all looks great. At least you got the "RIGHT" side of that Honda Trail bike the "RIGHT" school!

[UPNADM]

Those parts look fantastic... job well done!

[Greenlee]

Wow, that looks awesome! I have an old Honda Passport scooter I should bring up there for powder coating. It's got sort of a patina look going on right now.
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