1970 K20 Restoration

[El Dorado Jim]

anything new done to your truck lately????

[K20rookie]

Originally Posted by El Dorado Jim

anything new done to your truck lately????

Unfortunately this project has been sitting on the back burner for a while. Money has been going to some projects around the house, and the baby of course. Found a shop up in Phoenix that will rebuild my dana 44 and build a 14bolt rear. Just a matter of having the funds to get it done at this point.

[K20rookie]

Ok so this project is finally getting rolling again. Dropped off my dana 44 front at AZ Differential in Phoenix yesterday. They're going to completely rebuild it, put in 3.73 gears and disc brakes. For the rear, they have a full float 14 bolt they're going to rebuild for me. Going to keep the drums on the rear, replace all brake parts/seals/bearings/etc, replace gears and add a posi.

Still looking at lift kits right now. Decided to go with a 2". I like the kits ORD puts together. I'll probably go that route with Bilstein shocks.

Sending the steering box out to Redhead Steering Gears for a rebuild and fresh coat of paint this week.

Looking forward to getting things moving on this project again. Here's a few before pics of the dana 44 and steering box.

[El Dorado Jim]

Nice!!! love the big hubbed dana 44, these look so awesome on our old K20's....gmcgrim has the blue anodized aluminum hub knobs for those old hubs,I have a set of them, he has them offered in the 4x4 tech and offroading section

[K20rookie]

Originally Posted by El Dorado Jim

Nice!!! love the big hubbed dana 44, these look so awesome on our old K20's....gmcgrim has the blue anodized aluminum hub knobs for those old hubs,I have a set of them, he has them offered in the 4x4 tech and offroading section

Thanks for the heads up. I just snagged those from him. These are really sharp looking.

[K20rookie]

Lift kit came this week. I decided to go with the Tuff Country 2" lift with EZ ride springs. I ordered the springs through Offroad Design along with their greasable bolts/bushings. I was pretty disappointed in the condition of the springs when I received them from Tuff Country. The paint job was garbage so I went ahead and sanded them down and repainted them. Cheaper than paying for return shipping. Tuff Country dips their springs after assembly, so the paint was chipped/separated in between springs and the paint runs and drips were laughable. Oh well, easy fix.





















Much better...

[El Dorado Jim]

finally some more progress!!! sucks you had to repaint them, you pay alot for these things , they should be ready to install, but not worth the hassle of returning them, looking good.

[K20rookie]

Originally Posted by El Dorado Jim

finally some more progress!!! sucks you had to repaint them, you pay alot for these things , they should be ready to install, but not worth the hassle of returning them, looking good.

My thoughts exactly Jim. I considered returning them and going with a different brand, but the shipping expense would have been a hard pill to swallow. It took quite a bit of time to clean em up and paint them, but they look 100% better. If I would have know about the poor craftsmanship of these springs, I never would have even considered them. What I really find strange, is that I've never heard of anyone complain about these springs! Like you said, for the amount of money we spend on this stuff, it should be like new.

[DWilbur]

Tuff country is like buying low budget off brand parts. I bought super lift springs for the front and they are short. shackle is in the wrong angle. called them and checked the dimension they said should be. Never got any where with them and will have 2 new main springs made to work with the rest of the stack.

[K20rookie]

Originally Posted by DWilbur

Tuff country is like buying low budget off brand parts. I bought super lift springs for the front and they are short. shackle is in the wrong angle. called them and checked the dimension they said should be. Never got any where with them and will have 2 new main springs made to work with the rest of the stack.

Man that's bad. Can't believe they didn't make that right for you. Now I'm glad my only issue was paint. If I could do it all over again, I would go with another brand, definitely not Tuff Country. Zero pride in their quality and finish. From all the research I did on springs, I never came across anyone saying anything bad about Tuff Country. I will say this, if you buy Tuff Country springs, they will arrive at your door looking like the pics above. Something to consider for guys looking at lift springs.

[K20rookie]

Had the steering box rebuilt by Redhead Steering Gears. Extremely happy with their customer service, turnaround time, and quality of work. Bilstein shocks came in as well. Hoping to get everything installed this weekend.

[El Dorado Jim]

Nice progress!! I used a skyjacker lift on my K20, springs in the front and blocks in the rear 2 1/2" lift, and bought their shocks as well, no problems with their stuff,gives a great ride

[swamp rat]

Even my high dollar BDS springs looked like that, but I didn't bother addressing it. I think your choice for the 2" is a better choice than the 4" for me, live and learn..

[K20rookie]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Even my high dollar BDS springs looked like that, but I didn't bother addressing it. I think your choice for the 2" is a better choice than the 4" for me, live and learn..

I almost went with a 4" but changed my mind last minute. What is it that has you regretting the 4", just curious. ORD actually sold me 2" front springs and 3" rear springs. Basically they said that Tuff Country advertises their lifts for the 73+ trucks. So a 4" rear spring would actually only provide 2" of lift on my 70. They said they had tested this on a blazer or suburban, but I decided to go with 3" rear springs. Not as much weight in the rear of my truck as a blazer or suburban, plus, if it's sits too low with 3" springs, I can just add a 1/2" or 1" zero rate to bring the rear up. If I had gone with the 4" springs and it was too high, not much I could have done at that point. So I figured the 3" would at least allow me to adjust it up a bit more if needed.

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by K20rookie

I almost went with a 4" but changed my mind last minute. What is it that has you regretting the 4", just curious. ORD actually sold me 2" front springs and 3" rear springs. Basically they said that Tuff Country advertises their lifts for the 73+ trucks. So a 4" rear spring would actually only provide 2" of lift on my 70. They said they had tested this on a blazer or suburban, but I decided to go with 3" rear springs. Not as much weight in the rear of my truck as a blazer or suburban, plus, if it's sits too low with 3" springs, I can just add a 1/2" or 1" zero rate to bring the rear up. If I had gone with the 4" springs and it was too high, not much I could have done at that point. So I figured the 3" would at least allow me to adjust it up a bit more if needed.

Mainly just the getting older factor and my legs aren't what they used to be. I had Rancho 4" lift (springs and blocks) on the Rat for the last 20 years so didn't give it much thought when I replaced them, the new BDS stuff made her real close to level where as the rancho stuff was noticeably higher in the back. I never took any dimensions before the first lift was installed but I know it made quite a difference in height.

[K20rookie]

Picked the axles up on Friday. Disc brake conversion up front on the original dana 44, kept the original locking hubs, 3.73s with posi. Rebuilt 14 bolt rear w posi. Got them home and realized the spring perches on the rear are 2" too wide. Should be 40", they're set at 42". Easy fix. Hope to have them installed under the frame in the next week or so.

I've decided to go with a different set of differential covers if anyone is interested in these. They should be up on the classifieds section soon.

[K20rookie]

More progress...rebuilt hubs and installed new anodized aluminum hub dials, installed shocks and frame bump stops. Also replaced diff covers with the G2 Brute. Still waiting on the cover for the d44. The rear spring perches and shock mounts still need relocated, but I've decided to wait until the drivetrain is installed before I adjust pinion angle.

[quadzero]

Both sets of diff covers look excellent. Great work here and very nice well lit shop. Very impressed with the quality of the frame. I would have been disappointed with those leafs too considering how top notch the frame is.

[K20rookie]

Been a while since I posted any updates, but the project is slowly coming along. Took the SM465 and NP205 down to a transmission shop to have them rebuilt, and ran into a bit of a snag. The countershaft is cracked and needs to be replaced, but the mechanic told me he can't find the same countershaft that's in my SM465.

Basically he said the countershaft that's in there has some sort of rubber bushing and he can't find a replacement. I'll be going down there to look at what he's talking about, but it sounds like early SM465s (68-70) used a rubber damper.

My question is, can he just replace the countershaft with a newer style that doesn't have this rubber piece?

[BASE]

Originally Posted by K20rookie

Been a while since I posted any updates, but the project is slowly coming along. Took the SM465 and NP205 down to a transmission shop to have them rebuilt, and ran into a bit of a snag. The countershaft is cracked and needs to be replaced, but the mechanic told me he can't find the same countershaft that's in my SM465.

Basically he said the countershaft that's in there has some sort of rubber bushing and he can't find a replacement. I'll be going down there to look at what he's talking about, but it sounds like early SM465s (68-70) used a rubber damper.

My question is, can he just replace the countershaft with a newer style that doesn't have this rubber piece?

I can't remember what all goes into it, but there is a way to replace that rubber stuff I think. Seems like when I rebuilt mine I got a kit that put a solid spacer in there. I ended up having to replace a bunch of stuff for other reasons though.

I wish I could remember what the guys name is but he has a youtube video on rebuilding these and he addresses that somewhere in there. I just remember him being pretty adamant it shouldn't go back together without replacing that rubber damper.

[52napco]

If it's not to late put a NV4500 best money you'll ever spend.. you need overdrive with 4.10 gears

[D.PASSMORE]

Make sure its not a SM420, also you can find a SM465 in a lot of junkyards. Might be cheaper to replace whole unit. Try NOVAK for tranny parts, they sell good replacement parts.

[K20rookie]

Yeah it's definitely a 465. I think I'll snag the NOVAK rebuild kit and have another shop rebuild it. Definitely going to be more expensive than replacing it, but I'd like to keep the original in there if I can. Appreciate the advice.

[K20rookie]

Getting closer. Started this restoration 7 years and still chipping away at it.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/kSY1KogRCvqU7WHd9

[LostChord]

Wow...looks great!