47-55.1 My 53 GMC 3/4 ton project

[Nima]

Also, I have been doing some brake work:

[6DoF]

just a heads up for ya. i run the D52 calipers on the rear of a lot of my stuff, and my TJ should be light in the rear like your truck will be. a few tips ... just turn that adjustable proportioning valve down all the way and back off 1/4 turn so it doesn't stick. then even after that during soft braking around town you'll be using the rears pretty hard vs the front. they'll wear out pads quicker than you expect.

well, that assumes you use the same on the front and not some huge 6-piston

[Nima]

Originally Posted by 6DoF

just a heads up for ya. i run the D52 calipers on the rear of a lot of my stuff, and my TJ should be light in the rear like your truck will be. a few tips ... just turn that adjustable proportioning valve down all the way and back off 1/4 turn so it doesn't stick. then even after that during soft braking around town you'll be using the rears pretty hard vs the front. they'll wear out pads quicker than you expect.

well, that assumes you use the same on the front and not some huge 6-piston

Thank you for the tip. I'll keep that in mind.

[Nima]

Before I finalize the steering box, while there is more elbow room, I wanted to finish up the headers, intake and the oil pressure gauge sending unit for a dedicate gauge. These parts are done!

[Nima]

Okay, it has been few busy weeks but now I got a chance to get back on the project.
Finalizing the steering set up. Moving the steering box couple of inches to the outside has created issue with pitman arm and drag link. The drag link gets too close to the tire and also, it doesn't line up with the spindle:

[Nima]

So, my fix was to cut the lower section of the pitman arm and weld it 180-degree opposite! Since I wanted to be sure the pitman arm stays in one piece, I added a 1/4" angle iron as additional support:

[Nima]

Flipping the pitman arm like that, created another issue with the drag link which you can see on the 3rd picture above, the spindle end of the drag link faces up, instead of down. The solution, I cut the drag link and rotated it downward! To keep its strength, after welding the cut, I used section of pipe to add additional support. Finally, everything lines up as they supposed to,

[dsraven]

not sure how things work where you are located but heating, cutting or welding a steering part is strickly forbidden where I come from in Canada. maybe check with the local authorities or your local front end shop. if you need an inspection at some point it may not pass if that is the case locally.
they do make an adjustable drag link that could be put togther as you have yours. pitman arm, maybe not.

[Nima]

Originally Posted by dsraven

not sure how things work where you are located but heating, cutting or welding a steering part is strickly forbidden where I come from in Canada. maybe check with the local authorities or your local front end shop. if you need an inspection at some point it may not pass if that is the case locally.
they do make an adjustable drag link that could be put togther as you have yours. pitman arm, maybe not.

Thank you for pointing that out. I am not aware of any laws in that regard in WA. Obviously, the steering and brake systems are the two important (at least some of the most important ones) systems in a vehicle. My issue is trying to keep the 3/4 ton components to keep my 8 lug setup. It seems everything aftermarket is based on 1/2 ton. I knew about the adjustable drag links but I don't know of any 3/4 ton pitman arm compatible with them. I believe the spindle forks are different too.

[dsraven]

You could check and if illegal in your area you may be able to have a new Pitman arm made for you. Same for the drag link, find some ends the right size and have the center section made and use some connector sleeves from something the correct size and easily found. The taper in the Pitman arm and steering arm could also be modified to fit something readily available.

[Nima]

So, working a little bit here and there.
I just went with Heater/defrost unit from Vintageair for now since I rarely use AC. Also, I spent some time finishing the tranny tunnel.

[Nima]

So, it has been a while!
I have been able to do a little with 53 since I got involved with another LS swap! My 67. I am hoping to finish the 67 fast and get back on 53.

[6DoF]

other projects happen! that's what my problem is ...

[Nima]

Okay, back on the project a little bit. Doing the enginebay wiring and also working on the coolant recovery tank by making a bracket for it:

[Jason 56]

Looking good! That bracket came out nice. Wiring can be so time consuming, but not too difficult once you have it all labeled. Keep the progress going

[Nima]

So, working on the radiator and tranny cooler braclet at the same time.
I am mounting the raidator on the outside of the rad support to create more room for my junckyard taurus fan.

[Nima]

Moving the radiator to the outside, and using chevy radiator with top fill cap created an issue with top ratiator brace/bracket. My solution was are in the pcitures!

[Nima]

Radiator and tranny cooler lines are done. I know it is not pretty but it feels solid and I am hoping for fucntionality.
The pictures doesn't show but there is aboutr 1/4" space between the upper rad support brackel and the radiator itself.

[8man]

Nice solution and fab work.

[dsraven]

good thinking on the ras support. should work good.
nice to see an AD that still has air under the frame rails. most lately seem to be sitting on the bottom of the cab. nothing wrong with that either, just nice to see a taller one too. should be a great driver. did you get the steering figured out to work with no problems?

[Nima]

Originally Posted by 8man

Nice solution and fab work.

Thanks

Originally Posted by dsraven

good thinking on the ras support. should work good.
nice to see an AD that still has air under the frame rails. most lately seem to be sitting on the bottom of the cab. nothing wrong with that either, just nice to see a taller one too. should be a great driver. did you get the steering figured out to work with no problems?

I am with you on the height. It is cool to see the dropped ones but I'd rather to have some heights.
I have just started to work on the wiring. Hoping to finsh that, along with the steering soon.
Meanhwile I am finsihing up the cooling system. This is my solution for the cooling fan: a 2 speed junkyard taurus fan. the fan with its shroud is almost perfect fit turned at its longer length. I just had to trim the bottom of it to clear lower radiator hose. I made a little bracket at it bolted up to the original radiator nuts on rad support It clear the front accessories nicely.

[dsraven]

I would wire it to the ecm fan connection or a thermo switch and also install a manual overide just for peace of mind.

[Nima]

That is the plan. I did the same set up on my Nova's LS swap and it works great although the high speed has never come on so far.

[Jason 56]

Nice fab work so far. That fan fits great. Looks like it wade made for your application. Keep it the good work.

[Nima]

While I am waiting for few electrical connectors to arrive by mail, I finished most of the exhaust. I just need to add the tail pipes but I am not sure if I am going to cross the tail pipes over the axle all the way back since on the driver side, the coilovers have limited the space over the axle.