Project 1966 K20 adventure rig

[72cs20]

Almost ready. I need to finish up some welding on the inside of the main rails and then this bed can be painted.

I finished up the frame to bed connections using 1/4 inch plate. Also made connectors between the two horizontal sections of the rear step. With these things done, I pulled the whole thing of the truck and set it on stands. I hope to have it primed and painted this weekend.

[72cs20]

Bed is cleaned, primed and painted semi-gloss black and ready to go back on the truck!

[cwcarpenter98]

Looks great

[72cs20]

Thanks cw!

The bed is coming along nicely. Ready to shop for boards. I am going to do a front panel/headache rack, but I'm waiting for steel prices to come down. My steel supplier says prices are expected to drop after April 1st. We'll see.

I manhandled the bed back onto the truck and got it bolted down. Finished up the rear lighting junction box. Got the rear panel painted up and lights installed.

I was just going to wire up the rear lights when I noticed a coolant leak up front. I was hoping for just a loose hose connection, but nope, the brand new radiator has a leak somewhere above the drain petcock. This radiator has maybe 90 minutes engine run time. Annoying.

[350TacoZilla]

Bed looks good on there and definitely built heavy lol.

[72cs20]

Originally Posted by 350TacoZilla

Bed looks good on there and definitely built heavy lol.

Thanks. I'm betting it's probably 500 lbs. give or take. It didn't compress the rear springs much at all.

[russellmarling]

We put a Cold-Case radiator in a Jeep at our shop at customer request. The first one leaked immediately, they sent us another one and it lasted a few weeks. Never again. Needless to say, the Jeep now has a regular old NAPA replacement radiator in it and it hasn't had a problem since.

[72cs20]

Originally Posted by russellmarling

We put a Cold-Case radiator in a Jeep at our shop at customer request. The first one leaked immediately, they sent us another one and it lasted a few weeks. Never again. Needless to say, the Jeep now has a regular old NAPA replacement radiator in it and it hasn't had a problem since.

Thanks for the input.

That is unfortunate. At least this one is being warrantied so they'll get one more chance.

[72cs20]

New radiator is enroute. So in the meantime I figured this is a good time to fit up the Doug Fir I picked up for the bed floor. The boards are a little tall and will need to go through a planer to knock off about an 1/8th of an inch. Then brush on the sealer.

[straight6chevyguy]

Looking good!

[aotte1]

Just read the whole thread, great work. Really appreciate your detail discussion on your work, along with photographic documentation. Super big help, great ideas.

Les

[72cs20]

Thanks straight6 and aotte1! I appreciate the comments.

For the first time in about 2 1/2 years I actually got the truck out for a little spin around the neighborhood. Ran it through the gears and the overdrive. The drive train seems to be working fine. But I think there is still little air in the clutch hydraulic line.

I also got the rear brakes adjusted and dialed in. The parking brake is also excellent now. But I'm still not completely happy with front brakes. They don't seem to be picking up their share of the load. Add it to the list.

Put the hood back on finally. Good time to change out the front parking lights and wiring harness. Out with the old and in with the new. Also got all the rear lights working including those big reverse flood lights. Should be no problem backing up in the dark now!

This week should also see the ac system charged up, front wheel alignment and vehicle title and registration.

[88Stanger]

looks great, good progress, bed is awesome

[72cs20]

Thank you Stanger!

Quick update. Got the bed boards shaved down for a good flush fit. The little planer I bought worked great.

Also test fit some mud flaps I cobbled together.

[72cs20]

Got the new pedal pads and gas pedal installed. The new pads seem to be a lot easier to install on the pedals and they stay put. The rubber is not as hard as the ones I've bought in the past.

Got the passenger seat in and started fitting up the seat belts.

[88Stanger]

looking good sir!

[aotte1]

Continuing to watch, thanks for sharing your build, with really nice ideas.
Like the shoulder belts. Fremont built truck, with shoulder belt nuts factory installed? Have Fremont built C20 Custom Camper with shoulder belt nuts installed too.
If you have driven, how does it drive with new steering gear box and location. Any bump steer?

Les

[72cs20]

Thanks fellas.

This truck had factory lap belts and came with only the holes for the shoulder restraints. The holes had plugs in them. The shoulder restraint in the pic is just hanging by the bolt. The backing plate with nut should be arrive soon and then I can finish the seat belt install. There is also a nice center storage console going in too.

I've only driven around my little neighborhood for testing purposes and have not had it out on the road yet. The steering draglink angle is very close to flat and everything is new and tight. I expect it will handle well.

[72cs20]

I ran into some confusion when I decided to replace the old gas pedal. The parts houses I checked listed two different pedals. One for 60-63 and one for 64-66. So I ordered the 64-66 type.

It came and I quickly discovered it was not the right one for my truck. My truck has what is listed as the 60-63 type. Why is this? Once again this site provides the answer with use of the search function.

Apparently the earlier gas pedal was used in the later years if the truck was equipped with four wheel drive and the floor shift transmission.

The photos show the 64-66 pedal on the right, the old original on left and the new replacement in the middle. I did need to take the plastic wear pad out of the old original and then glue to the replacement. Both of the new pedals seem well made.

I guess my only complaint would be that the parts houses don't list and/or don't know these little gray areas. I think they should. It is their business after all.

[roll_the_dice]

I haven't checked in lately. The bed and truck look great!

[layinrocker65]

Keep up the good work. Love this build

[72cs20]

Thank you gents. Still waiting on some parts to show up. Hopefully more progress this week.

[350TacoZilla]

Going to sound like an echo in here but the truck is looking great man! Good to see it coming together for you.

[72cs20]

Thanks much Taco.

While waiting for things to come in I've been playing around with a few things. I set the center console in between the seat to see how it fits. It looks good and fits well.

I also splurged on a new steering wheel. It's a 69-72 15 inch version and frees up a bit of space around the drivers seat area.

I halted finishing the flatbed because of the cost of steel as of late. It has gotten ridicules. But one of my good friends donated an old lumber rack to the cause. This is big!

[Racer2172]

Nice work and really nice ol 4x4.