71 K20 Idaho Edition

[landarts]

Originally Posted by jimbosprint

Looks like you might need the same modified handles as mine. It's a little difficult to tell from the photos, but it seems like the connection to the transfer case is at the rear of the opening in the floor, not in the middle. I think his regular handles are for 1973 and up trucks.

Yes you are correct. I reached out to Jon and he requested the photos of the location of shifter boss in relation to the opening in the trans tunnel. He is going to go with making modified ones and I will cross my fingers they work out. If they do not I will just modify them myself I have ability and the tools if needed. Again thanks for the inspiration and always find myself going back to your build thread to review and enjoy the work you have done.

[Dieselwrencher]

Very nice work as always! That K10 looks like a very nice truck as well!

That Napa TEC paint, how well does it hold up?

[landarts]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Very nice work as always! That K10 looks like a very nice truck as well!

That Napa TEC paint, how well does it hold up?

I have used it before a few years back on my 2WD Cheyenne. It still looks good but has not had much abuse either. Hard to tell at this point how good it will look 10 years down the road.

[landarts]

Worked on getting the last few pieces to the cross member, mounts, and motor items primed and painted. I used the NAPA TEC satin for the cross member, mounts and bracket for the Brake booster and steering bracket, and the Duplicolor ceramic gloss black for the engine items. hoping that letting everything cure u[ for at least another 24 hours then I can begin to start putting the cross member back in then onto the motor install. The goal is to drive it out of the garage this weekend.

I also purchased a new tool that is a hydraulic crimper to do 2 gauge wire and other sizes. I am building my own battery cables and heavy-duty cables for the winch and jumper accessories with quick disconnects and a 3/8 terminal block.

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice work. I might give that napa paint a try.

[landarts]

Was able to get the cross member and motor mounts in place for the motor install for this weekend. Also finished remounting the brake booster and brackets to the firewall, then installed the new flywheel and clutch. Got underneath the beast and removed the exhaust to see if it is possible to get a new one made at the shop by using the old one as a template.

Another side note I used a product called Calyx on my new ram horn exhaust manifolds and really like the look of it. I did a test section on one of the old cracked ones and it really dressed it up nicely. Thought before it is all said and done I would try using it on the master brake reservoir since it is cast iron.

Today I will look at possibly installing the new front lift kit springs while the motor is out to make things simple to get at. If I have a struggle with getting the old U-bolts off then I might skip to another weekend on that and just drop in the motor. Whatever gets done will still move the ball forward, little by little.

[landarts]

got the truck off of the skates and pushed out into the driveway so I could take an hour and clean up the garage and mop the floor with some soap and hot water. Got picked up a bit and the floor swabbed down. After getting the truck back in the garage decided to get the front springs removed and set up for installation of the new springs.

Last night before I went in for the night I was able to crack the nuts loose a little bit and soak everything down with a little Kroll oil. Today I only had one or two that were still a little tight so I just worked them back and forth with the breaker bar then removed them with the battery-operated torque drill. It went really smoothly and was a little surprised. After getting the front springs off I tried to clean up the area around the spring u-bolt areas with the air needler and sprayed it down with some brake cleaner. Hope to get some paint on that area after a little more cleaning so I do not have to take it apart again to paint the axle.

Once the leaf springs were out I noticed the plastic material that goes between the leaf and axle was in bad shape so I will head over to the local 4x4 shop and grab some before I install Monday afternoon. Next will be to install the rear lift kit blocks and shocks, then drop the motor back in.

You will notice in picture three there are two sets of shock boots. When I ordered the kit I picked black shock boots and they sent gray so I called customer service and they said they substituted gray for black since they did not have any in stock. I told them I preferred the black so they sent out another set and told me to keep the gray also.

Pict 1,2 after the springs were removed
Pict 3 new and old springs, shocks, and shock boots
Pict 4 old an new hardware

[jimbosprint]

Nice progress!

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by jimbosprint

Nice progress!

X2, looking good.

[Rickysnickers]

I know where to go when or if I need some battery cables!! Looks great

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice work! I've torn apart several of these trucks and never found the plastic in between the axle and the leaf spring. I have some front springs to remove in the next couple of weeks. I'm hoping those bolts come out and don't need to be cut out.

[landarts]

Originally Posted by jimbosprint

Nice progress!

Thanks Jim, I have been following along with your progress as well.

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

X2, looking good.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Rickysnickers

I know where to go when or if I need some battery cables!! Looks great

Any time just reach out.

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Nice work! I've torn apart several of these trucks and never found the plastic in between the axle and the leaf spring. I have some front springs to remove in the next couple of weeks. I'm hoping those bolts come out and don't need to be cut out.

These were really easy and I guess it was the luck of the draw or the Kroil Oil really did the job. I have had some that had to be broken or cut off and that is not any fun. I plan to save everything so if the next guy ever wanted to put back the stock stuff he can.

Here is a picture of the Kroil Oil if anyone is interested

[57taskforce]

Kroil is good stuff, I prefer it over PB. There’s another good one I like called Kimball Midwest.
I use both of them daily at work. Pb works good to obviously and I do use it often as well.

Truck is looking great by the way!

Ryan, where’s the fun in it all coming apart easily? all of my u bolts came apart with out penetrating oil believe it or not. Surprised the hell out of me, I’ve never had any other truck where I didn’t have to cut at least one of them off.

[landarts]

Quick update with getting the prep done on front axle for some paint. Went over the axle with a needle scaler in a few hidden areas that hold dirt and grease, scuffed the axle with 120 grit paper and then finally with a wire brush on a drill. Wiped it down with wax and grease remover and shot two coats of rusty metal primer. Will let that simmer until after lunch and lay down a couple of coats of Tec chassis black.

Just trying to get paint in the areas where the leaf springs go for now, otherwise it would be a couple more days of cleaning and scrubbing. Plan is to get he truck running and driving again first, then come back around and finish painting other parts of axle and steering. Shooting for this evening to get the leaf springs installed so I can drop the motor into the cross member.

[landarts]

Here is the axle after two coats of Napa TEC chassis black on the portion of the axle so I can get the leaf springs and shocks installed. When I do the maintenance on the axle and the outer spindles I will finish the cleanup there and spray.

Got the new wiring harness for the engine compartment area and gaskets and sealer for the heater box. Also received confirmation on the twin-stick setup from JB Custom Fabrication, he was able to modify the shift levers so they would fit properly. Also ordered a few toggle switches for the spotlights, USB ports, and other items for the under dash console I have planned.

[Ol Blue K20]

Looks nice, I need to try that paint.

[landarts]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Looks nice, I need to try that paint.

Thanks, here is a link to the product from Napa Auto.

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/MS_7243

[landarts]

Took my lunch break today in the garage bolting in the two leaf springs and getting it back to a roller. Have a few more items to clean up and paint next go around.
Had to do a little creative adjustment to U-Bolts to get them into the U-Joint cradles. Put them in the radiator support hole and stuck a long 3/4 pipe on one end and
adjusted the spread so it would go in nicely. Then used the dead blow to get them lined up in the spring perches.

[jimbosprint]

I need to use "creative adjustment" from time to time on my projects too

[Dieselwrencher]

It's looking really nice. I feel ya on the u bolt massaging. Been there a few times as well.

[landarts]

Battle with the rear u-bolts a bit, then decided to not let them win the fight so I took the angle grinder and cut them off. Installed the new 2.5 inch blocks and U-bolts without any custom adjustments to the u-bolts. Need to figure out how to adjust the emergency brake cable or get extensions on the end that hooks into the back of the drum plate.

After another cleanup session of the garage floor this morning I will move forward with getting the motor installed back into the truck. This should go smooth since all of the sheet metal is off the front of the truck. The first item that will get attention after installation is the radiator support, it has been prepped for paint so a few minutes of wiping down and a couple of coats of paint should be good to go.

[landarts]

Got the cleanup done and finally was able to get the motor installed back into the "power barn" as Derek from Vice grip garage would say. It went pretty smooth for a one-man installation. But by the end of the day, I was spent from installing a lift kit and the motor. Only had one hiccup that I will need to remedy for the wire loom on the driver's side pinched the wires into the firewall and clutch rod. Looks like I will need to shave off the existing tabs and make my own mount so it can come forward about an inch or so. All in all, it was a great weekend getting things done on build and moving the ball forward so it can be a driver again in the next couple of days.

Last picture shows the distributor location with the small cap HEI Flamthrower distributor I bought from Pertronix. Has the external 45K coil right next to it to power everything up. Just about two full fingers between the cap and firewall.

[fakerwade]

Very nice!!

[jimbosprint]

It's really coming together now

[Ol Blue K20]

Keep up the pace, you'll be driving it in no time.