Parts truck

[twistedchevy]

Nice truck

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by twistedchevy

Nice truck

Thanks! its ugly and old but i like it.

this old beast is still racking up miles. i'm not quite to 3 years and will probably hit the 36k mark next week.

i decided it was time to give it some love. it continues to get less and less zesty pulling hills and in general. like everything on this ol tank, its aging with grace. its still super reliable and cruises the road fine, but i want POWA. its useless for the most part for pulling my trailer and that aggravates me.

lucky for me i have things. things that are in the way but too good to get rid of. lucky for this old parts truck!

first thing is some more regular maintenance. back brakes have always been a little less than stellar. i assumed the right rear was asembled backwards as it worked, just need a quick double tap to grab well. turns out it was a seepy hub seal and sort of wet shoes. never really made any evidence on the outside and never ran low on 90w. anyhow, new shoes, hardware, drums, and slaves, as well as a bearing inspection and new seals.





then i replaced all the joints in the steering linkages and i also replaced the super clapped out column for a spare auto column i had laying in the garage and a later model wheel. the stabilizer also got replaced. so much nicer to drive this beast now.





i need to chase down a horn button, or more likely a better wheel. ill run this style in the green truck too, so ill need to chase down a couple.

i went around and around on what to do for the engine. i was going to toss a 383 together for it and keep on keeping on.

i did some soul searching and just couldn't stomach the idea of paying to keep a small block.

i have this thing, and it solves that issue. it is a gen v 4 bolt main 454 i have had for a while. the bores had some scratches from being turned over with crap on the rings, so away to the machine shop.









you may have noticed that the drivers rear spring was sporting a few busted leaves. that is lame. i happened to have this 4" spring kit under my workbench waiting on a rainy day. fixes the busted leaves and makes room for a bigger tire. ill be needing new tires in the reasonably near future and 35s would be no ish with more balls and more lift. win win. you may also notice the 4l80e sitting there. it was also stashed deep and far in the garage and will be included in the refit. the th350 is still going strong, so itll probably be later in the party, but i want to have some better cruise conditions for longer trips in this hog. and i like having an auto truck in the fleet that i can have anyone drive. and i have the trans, and rebuilding them is fun.



hopefully i will have some more updates soon!

[DeadheadNM]

Glad to see parts truck is still going strong. I've got a decent driver quality OEM steering wheel here with a few narrow cracks that you're welcome to have.

[MTCK]

This is super exciting. Good on you racking up so many miles!

What's the plan for the big block? Keeping TBI and running one PCM or going to go carb and stand alone controller for the trans?

[7dee2]

Oh yes, more POWA!

[swamp rat]

Lots of details on the swap please!

[Dieselwrencher]

Ol yeller is going to be the man shortly. Well, until the green meanie hits the streets.

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

Glad to see parts truck is still going strong. I've got a decent driver quality OEM steering wheel here with a few narrow cracks that you're welcome to have.

Pete, you have all the goodies! I would actually like a factory wheel in this ol bucket o bolts. Thanks!

Originally Posted by MTCK

This is super exciting. Good on you racking up so many miles!

What's the plan for the big block? Keeping TBI and running one PCM or going to go carb and stand alone controller for the trans?

I can't say I disagree. I split driver duties between this and my 67 m715 so this takes the brunt of the miles.

Current plan is stand alone and a Holley. I have machinations to make a marine lower and l29 upper work with a gm ecm that can tell the trans how to behave as well. I need to poke around and make sure I can get it all to work. The first goal is making bad air though, so that will be a side project.

Originally Posted by 7dee2

Oh yes, more POWA!

Love that big block powa!

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Lots of details on the swap please!

For sure. I am probably going to pencil out a new x member that accommodates the truck oil pan, I'm sure I'll have to figure out the trans x member too. And some other fun. I can't resist race car-ing up everything a little...

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Ol yeller is going to be the man shortly. Well, until the green meanie hits the streets.

They should make an entertaining couple. Covers the gamut. Bbc, cummins. five speed, auto. All the choices.

[ryanroo]

as mentioned before, the rear springs are toast. i also noticed that the rear shackle bushings were far past dead. past experience has showed me that the best solution for this is to remove the shackle with violence and replace it as a complete unit. i had a new GM set of rear shackles for years. i sold them a while back... haha

i did have an abundant supply of poly t-bushings sitting around and some bits and pieces. i decided to do an upgrade to easily replaceable bushings.



2" .250" wall tube with some plasma cut and bent plates. i didnt even price the replacement shackles, but i know i spent less on these. i had everything, so the replacement hardware is the most of it. and i consider that a given with leaf spring replacement on a 44 year old beasty



i replaced the springs with a lot of help from a cut off wheel. the spring eye bolts were all frozen to the sleeves.

new shackles doing the stuff



i did some guessing and added a little length to the shackle and removed the overload. gives it pretty much the same ride height as the 3" blocks and stock dead springs. and that matched the front with 2.5" lift springs just right.

i'll play it by ear with the big block later. if it squishes the front enough ill use the 4" springs and adjust the rear as needed with the overload or a zero rate. for now it looks pretty much the same and rides way better.



i dug this out of the hoard pile to start trying to reverse engineer a big block replacement.



i think ill shift the engine forward an inch or two. i dont think ill be able to fit the rockers under a stock valve cover so i'll need the room. also makes plenty of space for a distributor. it kind of goes against my general theory of everything, but i dont want to smash the firewall or make any difficulties of service. nor do i want to do tons of custom things that will be a pain to duplicate if something ever makes it a requirement. that makes it repeatable. since i like big blocks and 67-72s, that is handy too...

you probably saw these in the picture of the shackle



i did some tape measure stuff to this



the yellow truck had new upper shackle bushings put in the front when i put new springs up there. they are a little chez from the get go, and need replaced already. again, made from scraps laying around i have about zero bucks invested. ill need to replace the shackles too, but i havent made them yet.

they are welded out but i need to drill the upper holes in.



dont mind all the splatter. its there for traction.

the bushings are substantially bigger. 1.125" bore vs 1.5" and i will be able to use a 1/2" or even 9/16" upper bolt as well. it adds a notable leverage advantage over the stock set up to keep the shackle from deflecting and hopefully tightening up the entire front end.

[notchbackgta]

Originally Posted by ryanroo

DAMN! I wish I had to tools to make something that nice on my own :grrr:

[swamp rat]

Eh, it's just scrap I had laying around...... :/ Wow real nice work! If that's Mig welded than I want to learn the technique.

[70custom20]

As always, awesome fabrication skills. As far as the MIG welds go, is that pull the trigger and "fill/freeze" or are you on and off the trigger? I notice in your pics, it looks like you have the mirror heads flipped on your side mirrors, the longer part is supposed to be on the bottom, lol

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by notchbackgta

DAMN! I wish I had to tools to make something that nice on my own :grrr:

Gotta start the collections! i've built up to this for sure. when i started taking apart my green truck i had no welders, no electric for my Air compressor and only basic hand tools. slowly ive added to my stash to get to the point where i can make some stuff at home. i am spoiled by the abilities of the shop i work in too though. i did spin the tubes in the lathe and use the Messer to cut a few basic shapes.

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Eh, it's just scrap I had laying around...... :/ Wow real nice work! If that's Mig welded than I want to learn the technique.

i try to collect good pieces of scrap. i build all sorts of things from choice cut offs and drops! Thanks! as for technique, just pull and pause with with right settings.

Originally Posted by 70custom20

As always, awesome fabrication skills. As far as the MIG welds go, is that pull the trigger and "fill/freeze" or are you on and off the trigger? I notice in your pics, it looks like you have the mirror heads flipped on your side mirrors, the longer part is supposed to be on the bottom, lol

Thanks! the trigger is always on, the puddle pattern is just from manipulation. for these almost all of it is pull and pause to let the puddle stabilize and then pull again. some spots i make a pattern with the gun just to wash the edges out better, but not usually. i also heated the parts with a torch before i started. the welder is set low and slow so it helps to get a good weld in on the first few while its cold. never any on/off trigger stuff. that is for cracks and disasters. i never really thought about the mirrors, but i may switch them, they are annoying to look out of. i just assumed it was because they were cheapos. with all the other spectacularly ghetto work on this truck ive seen, i am not surprised they are installed backwards. PO's...

[El Dorado Jim]

nice old K20, love your work on it!

[$20071k10]

looking good

[Dieselwrencher]

Love the front upper shackle mounts. I'm sure you could produce and sell them. Make 2 of these finangled bbc 4x engine cross members. I'll need one before December.

[70custom20]

Originally Posted by ryanroo

as mentioned before, the rear springs are toast. i also noticed that the rear shackle bushings were far past dead. past experience has showed me that the best solution for this is to remove the shackle with violence and replace it as a complete unit. i had a new GM set of rear shackles for years. i sold them a while back... haha

i did have an abundant supply of poly t-bushings sitting around and some bits and pieces. i decided to do an upgrade to easily replaceable bushings.



2" .250" wall tube with some plasma cut and bent plates. i didnt even price the replacement shackles, but i know i spent less on these. i had everything, so the replacement hardware is the most of it. and i consider that a given with leaf spring replacement on a 44 year old beasty



i replaced the springs with a lot of help from a cut off wheel. the spring eye bolts were all frozen to the sleeves.

new shackles doing the stuff

:

In the first pic of the front spring hanger, my '69 frame, and my father in law's '70 frame have the shorter front spring hanger. (I believe my father in law's truck is a real early '70, as he bought it shortly after he graduated high school in '69) Does anyone know if that was a change that started with the '71/'72 model year trucks? I once had a '72 K20 parts truck that had the longer front spring hanger.

['63GENIII]

Just read this whole thread. I have no idea why I didn't see it earlier. May need a catchier title like "The resurrection of ol' pee bucket". All kidding aside Ryan, great job running' whatcha brung on this truck! And seriously a funny read. Your layout sounds a lot like mine with the neighbors, parts everywhere, my dog running around the front of the house while I'm wrenching and the wind tunnel ventilated cab. Been laughing the whole time as I can relate 100%.
If you ever do go with the L29 route, lemme know. Hopefully the Brick is running by then and we can compare notes.

That said, Im back on the edge of my seat waiting for the next installment!

Great job

[MTCK]

Awesome work. Ready for updates

[7dee2]

Really nice work Ryan, looking forward to see your BB cross member!

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by 70custom20

In the first pic of the front spring hanger, my '69 frame, and my father in law's '70 frame have the shorter front spring hanger. (I believe my father in law's truck is a real early '70, as he bought it shortly after he graduated high school in '69) Does anyone know if that was a change that started with the '71/'72 model year trucks? I once had a '72 K20 parts truck that had the longer front spring hanger.

as far as i know the shorter spring hangers are from 2wd trucks. i know some people have used them on 4wd frames to adjust ride height. there may be cases where they are OEM on a 4x4 frame but not as i have known.

Originally Posted by '63GENIII

Just read this whole thread. I have no idea why I didn't see it earlier. May need a catchier title like "The resurrection of ol' pee bucket". All kidding aside Ryan, great job running' whatcha brung on this truck! And seriously a funny read. Your layout sounds a lot like mine with the neighbors, parts everywhere, my dog running around the front of the house while I'm wrenching and the wind tunnel ventilated cab. Been laughing the whole time as I can relate 100%.
If you ever do go with the L29 route, lemme know. Hopefully the Brick is running by then and we can compare notes.

That said, Im back on the edge of my seat waiting for the next installment!

Great job

Thanks!

Yeah, i may have to retitle this one. the yellow turd has earned the affection of my wife and i like it to much to consider getting rid of it. it is now a truck looking for its own parts truck!

i have been reading a little and have come to wonder if the l29 manifold will do what i want. the intake runners are super long and work well at lower RPM. i dont want a racey motor, but it needs to flow above 4500 for what i have in my head. i think i could make it all work at a lower power level and i would be perfectly happy, but i want mo powa. i think i have an idea of what i want to do, but a good ol holley will feed it for a while.

Originally Posted by MTCK

Awesome work. Ready for updates

Thanks! coming in hot!

Originally Posted by 7dee2

Really nice work Ryan, looking forward to see your BB cross member!

Thanks! i am too. the OEM spare is still sitting on my work table awaiting some attention.

so, some more goodies for ol yelloo.

when i did the front brakes i re-packed the wheel bearings. at that time i decided that the next time it was apart, they get replaced. they were OK but felt a little ratchety. and they were some china brand cheapos.

i was dinking around under the truck at some point recently and noticed that the axle ujoints were toast. that was the tipping point for all of this. its heading into winter and i am fond of locking the hubs and forgetting. that means good ujoints. i also decided that if the axles were coming out, i was doing inner axle seals too. they were clearly leaking, just not fast enough to cause much concern.

if knuckles come off, best be ready to do kingpins. i hadnt looked at these, but figured given the mechanical history of the truck they came from as i can figure it, i had better just replace them.

so, a box of goodies



with some new spicer u-joints



parts falling off



u joints in



my guess on the KP situation was right. toast



probably cant see, but the tube is clean inside and there is brand new seal at the end. i did clean the dirt of the C before i re-assembled.



back in with the new seals



back together. always should use new nuts if they are deformed thread lock nuts, as these spindle stud nuts are.

[ryanroo]

while the steering arm was off, i decided to add this steering block. i had this in my toolbox from a while back and used this opportunity to finally install it and the new studs. its a nice unit, from ORD.



the drag link is very flat now. i had intended to do the front soft lines and shocks at the same time, but it rained me out one day of the weekend so those wait.



replaced as much hardware as i could along the way.



in the cap too. you can see the new parts looking out of place in the old crustiness.



back together. it sure does ride better, and has fewer rattles. the steering feels better across the board. not sure if its the fresh kingpins or the drag link angle change, but ill call it a double win.



i had this spare bumper. i built it a while ago and it has aged since...



i cleaned it up and put some satin black on it.



pulled the old hokey crooked ugly pipe bumper off



drilled the new mounting holes



and for now the new one is loosely bolted on. i need to finish the mounting today and then get ready to do some new wiring for the rear. the harnesses are distgusting and no way i can add into them without making them good again.

[MTCK]

Awesome, you have been busy. Nothing worse than going into the white season with 4x components that aren't 100%.

[quadzero]

There are some really impressive updates here with your amazing fabrication skills. That bumper is the cat's pajamas. The shackles also look like quality pieces. Keep up the great work.

[70custom20]

Ryan, in the pic you have of the kingpin, what tells you it's junk?