Project Screamer - '72 GMC K2500 + DD 4-53T

[Dieselwrencher]

If I could find a good deal on an inline 6-71, I'd be doing one. I did an 8v-92 in a military truck chassis with a 86 crew cab drw body years ago. I should have kept it. The engine was 550hp silver series with a 10 speed. It rocked!

[burnitg]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

If I could find a good deal on an inline 6-71, I'd be doing one. I did an 8v-92 in a military truck chassis with a 86 crew cab drw body years ago. I should have kept it. The engine was 550hp silver series with a 10 speed. It rocked!

Check out the Detroit Diesel group on Yahoo! https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/DetroitDiesel/info
I have seen a number of DD engines offered at good prices.

I would have liked to have seen your truck. It sounds awesome.

[Dieselwrencher]

It may still be around. I sold it to a guy in Nebraska. The Lincoln area I think. I saw a video of him pulling it at the Wahoo truck pull years ago, but can't find the vid now.

[burnitg]

A few more rainy afternoons and a little more progress...

I have had some time to work on the exhaust since it has rained the last couple of afternoons.

Here's the section from the down pipe to the muffler on the bench:



Here's the view from the front:



Here's the view from the rear:



Here's the view from the driver's side. I knew that I would have to pop up and over the transfer case cross member. I think that it worked out pretty well.



Note the size of the muffler. It's a MagnaFlow straight through design. It should sound pretty nice...

[ryanroo]

Looks fantastic! The t case looks like it's swaddled in cozy blanket made of extra manly beef!

[Dieselwrencher]

Great work on the exhaust!

[burnitg]

I finally spent some time on the old '72. I have been doing everything but working on it for the last couple of weeks.

I have finished the exhaust tubing. Here's the tail pipe on the bench:



Here's the top view:



Here's the rear view:



I need to purchase hangers and fabricate the supports. Then I can call this task done.

[nsulacountry]

That is an awesome, massive pipe. 4"? Keep sending pictures, this is becoming an epic build.

CT

[burnitg]

Originally Posted by nsulacountry

That is an awesome, massive pipe. 4"? Keep sending pictures, this is becoming an epic build.

CT

Yes, it is 4". The donor truck came from the factory with 4" exhaust so I decided to keep it that way. I'm not planning on any engine modifications to increase the power output, so I need to keep the exhaust restriction low.

[ERASER5]

Way back on post #43 you mentioned the engine stop leaver. Could you show it close up? I assume the lever shuts off the fuel flow.

I don't have a diesel in my '70, but and "Engine Shut Off" leaver just sounds cool!

[burnitg]

Originally Posted by ERASER5

Way back on post #43 you mentioned the engine stop leaver. Could you show it close up? I assume the lever shuts off the fuel flow.

I don't have a diesel in my '70, but and "Engine Shut Off" leaver just sounds cool!

Here's a close-up of the engine stop knob. I got it from an Army Surplus dealer.



On the 2 cycle Detroit Diesels, the engine stop allows the rack that connects to the injectors to retract fully, stopping fuel flow at the injectors.

[ERASER5]

Thanks. That looks cool, of course for you it would be functional as well.

[Lemield]

Originally Posted by burnitg

Here's a close-up of the engine stop knob. I got it from an Army Surplus dealer.

Attachment 1442793

On the 2 cycle Detroit Diesels, the engine stop allows the rack that connects to the injectors to retract fully, stopping fuel flow at the injectors.

I put that exact style cable/knob on my 1949 Willys Jeep when I put in a Kubota turbo diesel last year..... It's pretty cool!

BTW....your build is coming along GREAT. Would love to see your truck in person since we are neighbors...almost.

[ryanroo]

Nice tail pipe!

[burnitg]

I ordered a radiator, exhaust hangers and cruise control. Since the radiator arrived first, I thought I would sit it in the core support and see how it looked.

The radiator is a 2 pass unit from Speedway Motors. It is based on the Chevrolet pattern. I ended up with a 2 pass radiator because the A/C compressor blocks the path from the engine thermostat housing to the driver's side radiator outlet. I couldn't mount the compressor on the passenger side because of the location of the water pump & alternator. That's why I like to mount the engine accessories early...

It is a couple of inches shorter than the OEM radiator (it is the widest one that they make). I priced a custom radiator so I could get the exact dimensions - very $$$ - more than 3X the price of this one.

Here it is on the bench:



Here it is sitting in the core support. The core support has 2 positions for radiator supports and this radiator would work in the narrower position. Unfortunately, the fan would be way off center so I am thinking this is where it will end up.

Here's the front view:



Here's the side view:



It is a gorgeous radiator and I like the look of aluminum; but, I really want to paint it black...

[burnitg]

Not much happening on the project these days. The aspen leaves are already starting to turn so my time for working outside in comfort is limited.

I did get the opportunity to weld the exhaust hangers on for the back of the truck.

Here's a view of the one attached to the transfer case cross member:



Here's a couple of views of the one at the rear of the muffler. I had to build a bracket for this one:





I am planning to attach a hanger to the transmission rear support. I haven't been able to start on the rear support because I can't get the plugs that fill the holes for the mounting studs out of the back of the transmission. I'm being patient and working on them gradually since a busted transmission case is a $1000 mistake.

The radiator had to go back - it didn't have any threads in the filler neck for the overflow. I will work on mounting it when the new one arrives.

For now, outside work takes priority...

[BajaKBob]

Looking good! Too bad about the radiator. Are you going custom, or going to use something similar?

[burnitg]

Originally Posted by BajaKBob

Looking good! Too bad about the radiator. Are you going custom, or going to use something similar?

Thanks. I just returned the radiator for a replacement.

[burnitg]

We got 4" of wet, sloppy snow today. Woo Hoo, a truck day!

I started work on mounting the new radiator in the core support. The tanks of the new radiator are about 1/2" taller than the original radiator, so I had to modify the bottom mounts so it would look "stock" at least from the top.

Here is the modification for the passenger side tacked in:



Here it is welded:



I don't know how the guys on TV mount a radiator in 10 minutes. I spent all day and don't have much to show for it but a big smile...

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice work. The guys on TV have the pause button on their side. Haha

[nsulacountry]

Creative and functional. Nice work, even though it took longer than 10 min!

CT

[burnitg]

Another snow day - I'm starting to be concerned - I'm looking forward to snow days...

I completed the radiator mounts. It looks good in the truck.

Here's a front view:



Here's a side view:



While mounting the radiator, I noticed that there was no drain. Don't radiators always come with drains? Apparently not.

I purchased some 1/4" NPT aluminum bungs from Summit Racing so that I could make my own drain.

Here is the drain bung in position:



There's no turning back now!



No leaks!



Job done. Now I need to find some hoses for it. I have tried a couple from the Gates catalog. It looked like they might have worked; but, unfortunately they didn't.

[ryanroo]

Looks great! its always nice to get things like that checked off the list. big ticket items like cooling, fuel, exhaust... the things you have to have to make bad air.

i like the CO2/Ar bottle cover. mine usually has similar fashion sense.

[superduty_59]

Nice progress!

[burnitg]

Originally Posted by ryanroo

Looks great! its always nice to get things like that checked off the list. big ticket items like cooling, fuel, exhaust... the things you have to have to make bad air.

i like the CO2/Ar bottle cover. mine usually has similar fashion sense.

Yes, he's stylin' in that leather jacket.