72 k20 project

[notchbackgta]

Originally Posted by ryanroo

The wheels are cragar soft eights. They don't come white, but I had them blasted and powder coated. 17"x9" 5" bs. This truck is a little wider than a normal gm so they would look a little more tucked on gm axles

Sweet, thanks. I have been looking at the Mickey Thompson wheels since they are one of the few that I like, this wheel is similar but I didn't realize they made it in 8 lug.

[mx289]

Eh,a limp is a small price to pay.
Now the bad back,bad ankles and bad wrists, that's another story.

Truck looks great.
The stance looks just right.

[ryanroo]

Thanks!

finally did some uploading. here are a few from the photo dump!

i worked up some oil supply for the air compressor and the IP. the p7100 has been loosely sitting in place for a while because the oil ports are a super pain in the pooper with everything mounted up.

started with this fitting in the comp case. this was a really close call getting it installed. par for the course on this turd, it was a bit of a pain.



i used the double ferrule compression fitting and SS hard tube for this as well. simple little bracket to keep from getting the shakes.



using this fancy swivel 90 npt to AN #4 fitting in the block...



i got started with the oil line.



the tee splits the oil out for the air comp and the IP.

after some enhancements i was able to use the OE dodge IP supports and made up some more line.



the line is all loomed in convoluted loom. no holes rubbed in my oil lines please!



and a crappy shot of all of the oil line in and the IP installed

[deejaaa1]

looking good!

[brimc]

Wow. Looks awesome!!

[Chevy_mud_truck]

Seriously some killer fab work

[Dieselwrencher]

Great work! You definitely have a little more room for the air inlet than I did with the HT60.

[burnitg]

Ryan:
I love the look of the white wheels. I did something similar on mine.

I noticed your concern about coolant boiling. Have you considered waterless coolant? I have been running Evans waterless coolant in one of my pickups and one of my tractors for about 3 years now. It has performed great. I am planning to use it in my GMC when I get it finished.

Burnett

[burnin oil]

Just unblocking that plug does wonders. I have personally shot that freeze plug out of a motor before and it is a pain to fix in the truck. I was not fortunate enough to have the bolt out center hump in the ram! I ended up using a factory adapter that does the same thing. Its original purpose was for coolant to an air compressor. Either way you will be happy with that mod when you spin 4k RPMs a couple of times and don't puke the antifreeze like Niagra Falls. Another thing this mod will do is help keep from tearing up the cylinder walls on 5&6. All that extra heat tends to expand the rings and you will see a lot more scuffs on the rear holes.

[jgh64pkup]

Great build! I just read all 60 pages.

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by deejaaa1

looking good!

Originally Posted by brimc

Wow. Looks awesome!!

Originally Posted by Chevy_mud_truck

Seriously some killer fab work

Thanks Guys!

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Great work! You definitely have a little more room for the air inlet than I did with the HT60.

relocating the a/c comp and moving the alternator really gave me space. relatively. haha that five inch is not that far from the alternator case and very close to the inner fender too. it fit, but it was close.

Originally Posted by burnitg

Ryan:
I love the look of the white wheels. I did something similar on mine.

I noticed your concern about coolant boiling. Have you considered waterless coolant? I have been running Evans waterless coolant in one of my pickups and one of my tractors for about 3 years now. It has performed great. I am planning to use it in my GMC when I get it finished.

Burnett

Thansk Burnett! the wheels just needed to be white. it seems to blend with the factory colors well.

so far as the evans, i have considered it. when i get to the filling with fluids stage, that is what it will get. the pressure problem is more of a dead head issue with flow anyway, but i really like the properties and idea of waterless coolant.

Originally Posted by burnin oil

Just unblocking that plug does wonders. I have personally shot that freeze plug out of a motor before and it is a pain to fix in the truck. I was not fortunate enough to have the bolt out center hump in the ram! I ended up using a factory adapter that does the same thing. Its original purpose was for coolant to an air compressor. Either way you will be happy with that mod when you spin 4k RPMs a couple of times and don't puke the antifreeze like Niagra Falls. Another thing this mod will do is help keep from tearing up the cylinder walls on 5&6. All that extra heat tends to expand the rings and you will see a lot more scuffs on the rear holes.

i will be using that fitting for the same thing! i looked at the factory stuff, but i got this flashy aluminum jobber from Ryan, and even though you can never see it, it matches the theme!

Originally Posted by jgh64pkup

Great build! I just read all 60 pages.

Thats dedication! thanks for stopping in and for the kind words!

[6BT 56]

Been a while singe I stopped in for a update. Excellent work as always. It would take a guy who hasn't followed this thread days to spit the trick stuff. Wheels are very period correct looking . Great choice

[6BT 56]

Ha ha. I can't spell. I meant to say it would take someone who hasn't followed this thread weeks to spot all the trick stuff. Not spit all the trick stuff. Lol. Can I blame this on auto correct ?

[Dieselwrencher]

I almost sent him the cast cummins rear freeze plug but was afraid he'd kick me in the nuts next time he saw me because the cummins one is about 1.5" thick. These billet ones are a lot easier to get in a tight firewall area. That missing clutch fork should be to White Rhino Fab by mid week next week.

[DirtyLarry]

Holy cow you’ve been a busy boy Ryan! Your work looks great as always. If there was ever anybody I would allow to touch my truck with a wrench it would be you and Mosesburb Nick. The truck pictures in post 1468 make me feel funny in my pants. I can’t wait until you get this bad boy done and come with us on a weeklong off-road excursion somewhere in the Southwestern desert to enjoy these rides. You’re thread is huge so if you already mentioned it, I apologize but when is your road-ready completion date ETA?

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by 6BT 56

Been a while singe I stopped in for a update. Excellent work as always. It would take a guy who hasn't followed this thread days to spit the trick stuff. Wheels are very period correct looking . Great choice

Originally Posted by 6BT 56

Ha ha. I can't spell. I meant to say it would take someone who hasn't followed this thread weeks to spot all the trick stuff. Not spit all the trick stuff. Lol. Can I blame this on auto correct ?

Thanks! i've said it before, most of the stuff i spent the most time on is the stuff that you never get to see. the mounts for the prefilter in the fuel line are some of the trickiest things, but you can hardly see what they are with no bed. put the bed on it and you dont even know its there.

I accept autocorrect as the perpetrator. happens to me all the time, even on my computer.

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

I almost sent him the cast cummins rear freeze plug but was afraid he'd kick me in the nuts next time he saw me because the cummins one is about 1.5" thick. These billet ones are a lot easier to get in a tight firewall area. That missing clutch fork should be to White Rhino Fab by mid week next week.

it may have even fit. with the engine so low, it actually has some measure of room. im still glad you didnt though...

Originally Posted by DirtyLarry

Holy cow you’ve been a busy boy Ryan! Your work looks great as always. If there was ever anybody I would allow to touch my truck with a wrench it would be you and Mosesburb Nick. The truck pictures in post 1468 make me feel funny in my pants. I can’t wait until you get this bad boy done and come with us on a weeklong off-road excursion somewhere in the Southwestern desert to enjoy these rides. You’re thread is huge so if you already mentioned it, I apologize but when is your road-ready completion date ETA?

Thanks Larry! a compliment like that is about enough to make a guys face turn red! you and Nick are a never ending reminder/inspiration for me to do it right and make it look good. i'm ready for it to be done, but my tendency towards the higher end parts and the rebuild and refinish as deeply as i can on the take out parts makes me slow. the flow of parts has always been directly related to the amount of cash i can spend without using a credit card or making the monthly bills skip a month. if the current pace is any indicator, i will have the drivetrain done very soon. as far as big systems after that i will have steering and HVAC to accommodate and i still need my DD guages. then its all the little stuff i cant remember and the rest of the electrical. i hope to be test firing the new engine while it is still cold and maybe driving it around the neighborhood this spring. there are a million little things that are left to do and figure out and probably as many dolla bills to spend on it. haha.

i set myself timeline goals, but my goal is to never stress the 'end' date so i can be focused on the details of it as i go. right now, my timeline goal is to be able to drive it to Iowa late in the spring. i have a buddy that has a get together for first gen cummins trucks around fathers day every year and even though i have a 2nd gen 12v and not a dodge, i still get the invite. id love to make it this year and show those dodge boys how you can have your cummins and still not have an ugly truck too.. hahaa

[ryanroo]

So, after the clutch was installed, this went in



then with a lot of jacking around and ample frustration the trans went it.





after a few false starts i got all of the parts for this in a pile





this was my first time working with a np241dhd. i missed a few parts the first order.



the starting point was a 241dhd with a small output. it was from an auto truck so it had a 23 spline input. i built a 29 spline big output case. that included the new input and output as well as a one piece tail housing it was a wide bearing case to start with. so, i think it has all of the big boy parts.



i ordered a 4x indicator switch for a chevy 241c. hopefully it will go in place of the nasty looking dodge vacuum switch.



i still have to detail a few of the little parts, but its ready to go in for the most part.





the tag is no longer accurate, but it looks good against the case!



put the 6061 pto cover on it. this is counter sunk and uses std 82 degree flat heads. the pto hole is considered the weak point in these. hopefully an accurate location and countersink bolt will help add some stiffness to the game. if not, i had fun making it.



hope to start the install soon. looking forward to getting shifters and drivelines working on this.

[Billhilly]

Looking sharp! Build quality on this whole rig is !!

[1985-GMC]

Like brand new, nice! How hard was the NV4500? Had you done one before?

[Dieselwrencher]

The transfer case looks great Ryan. I really like the pto cover! Great work.

[jbclassix]

Ryan, there are at least 2 different shift "combs" that chevy used for the 241C, there's a break in years, I think it's 93, or something like that. Check to make sure the 4wd indicator switch is the same against the Dodge suck switch. there is a visible difference in thread-to-ball length in the GM variations. you should be able to tell if it will work in the DHD just by looking at it

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by Billhilly

Looking sharp! Build quality on this whole rig is !!

Thanks! i have a ways to go before it looks as good as yours!

Originally Posted by 1985-GMC

Like brand new, nice! How hard was the NV4500? Had you done one before?

I had never rebuilt a nv4500. ive done a handfull of other manuals, all older 4 speeds though. it was pretty easy. there are no clearances to set other than end play. for the most part its disassemble and re-assemble. there are a few bearings that require creativity or the correct tools to remove, but i did OK without

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

The transfer case looks great Ryan. I really like the pto cover! Great work.

Thanks Mister!

Originally Posted by jbclassix

Ryan, there are at least 2 different shift "combs" that chevy used for the 241C, there's a break in years, I think it's 93, or something like that. Check to make sure the 4wd indicator switch is the same against the Dodge suck switch. there is a visible difference in thread-to-ball length in the GM variations. you should be able to tell if it will work in the DHD just by looking at it

Good to know. they had to order the one i have from east jesus nowhere. the photo it looked OK, but ill see when Oriellys calls i guess. the one i ordered is for an 89.

[1985-GMC]

Cool deal, I'm gonna have to rebuild one pretty soon.

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by 1985-GMC

Cool deal, I'm gonna have to rebuild one pretty soon.

It'll be a cakewalk I'm sure. Doing upgrades while in there?

[rgreathouse]

Looking great! What clutch did you go with?