"Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion

[N2TRUX]

My Saturday session of grinding led to a Sunday morning trip to the E/R. Even though I had eye and ear protection on, I ended him with metal particles embedded in my eye.

After a trip to the optomolgist this morning I'm back in business. Debris removed and I'm back in the shop.

[N2TRUX]

After a thorough scuff down with 80 grit, I was ready to add some primer. I hit it with a few coats of high build and let it cure.

[N2TRUX]

I pulled the wheel to measure the brake shoe size. These later Suburban axles come with the larger 2 3/4" HD brakes. I plan to change the wheel cylinders and route new brake lines. The shoes appear to be new, so I'll surface the drums and call it done for now.

[N2TRUX]

While running errands I went by the local drivetrain shop to pick up new U joints. The P/O had a new rear shaft built when the wheel base was cut down. Rather than modify a new driveshaft I chose to replace the U joint with a conversion joint. The combo piece will allow me to mate the pair with ease.

[mongocanfly]

I feel your pain...I once had a metal splinter embedded in my eye..they had to ground it out...definitely not fun...

[nlped]

I got the joy of a piece of metal in the eye once...It was NOT fun!!! Mine stayed in long enough that it rusted and I had to go to the eye foundation to have it DRILLED out!!!!

On another note.... I sold my '77 C10 about an hour ago so I could start the search for a 3/4 2wd Crewcab to start my own CCSB! I can only hope I find one in relatively good a shape as yours.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

I feel your pain...I once had a metal splinter embedded in my eye..they had to ground it out...definitely not fun...

Originally Posted by nlped

I got the joy of a piece of metal in the eye once...It was NOT fun!!! Mine stayed in long enough that it rusted and I had to go to the eye foundation to have it DRILLED out....

The Doc was able to scrape one out but the other had to be drilled. As painful as it sounds, it was a relief to get them out of my eye

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by nlped

....
On another note.... I sold my '77 C10 about an hour ago so I could start the search for a 3/4 2wd Crewcab to start my own CCSB! I can only hope I find one in relatively good a shape as yours.

I wish you well. There are some good ones out there, but not easy to find. I was blessed that this was priced right and had solid bones.

[N2TRUX]

I joined team Magnaflow for this build. They say the sound quality is unsurpassed so I decided to give it a try.

If Chip Foose endorses them I can't go wrong, can I?

[aggie91]

We used Magnaflow on Sunburn and White Trash. We really liked the sound. 2.5" duals with an x-pipe...

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by aggie91

We used Magnaflow on Sunburn and White Trash. We really liked the sound. 2.5" duals with an x-pipe...

Thanks for sharing Karl. I have heard good things about them so I decided to try them.

[N2TRUX]

I got a text from Aaron Boese at Homegrown Hotrods yesterday. He received the order from Tamco Paint last week. In preparation he had stripped all of the aftermarket paint from the bed. He layed down a couple of heavy coats
Urethane 2k high build primer. It was cold and he didnt reduce heavily so it has some texture, but it flows fantastic.

Let the blocking begin

[N2TRUX]

Last night, I spent some time with the rear axle. I noticed the backing plate on one of the drums looked a bit dirtier than the other. I pulled the drum and didnt see any signs of leaking seals. I decided to install new wheel cylinders while I had it apart as cheap insurance.

I dont do drum rebuilds that often, and now I recall why. Even though I took several pics and had the opposing side to compare to, I still had a fit trying to recall where all the springs go. It took a while, but I managed to get one side finished and the drum cleaned and painted.

[N2TRUX]

Tonight went much faster than last. I had a better feel for what needed to be removed to access the wheel cylinder. I cleaned everything up and bolted the new cylinder in place.

[N2TRUX]

With the new wheel cylinders in place I could start work on the brake lines. The old fittings were stripped and the lines weren't very pretty.
I modified the bracket to move the distribution block back from its original position.

By moving the junction point I could route the lines much cleaner and make room for the axle straps. By bending the lines with enough space to clear the straps the chance of damage while strapped to the trailer is eliminated.

Once I get the other side built I will fine tune the shape. This was close enough to call it done for the night.

[rustytruck50]

Looking great Ken!!! Glad to see the eye problems are behind you...scary stuff. Drum brakes are not my favorite either....you haven't had a real enjoyable time until you redo the Huck brakes on a full floater rear axle...

[N2TRUX]

I need another stalk of brake line, and I'm still missing a brake drum. Consequently I wasnt able to finish the rear axle up.

Instead I decided to work on the back half of the frame. I had temporarily mounted the rear hangers using existing holes. The C10 hangers are different than the C20 so I needed to mark and drill the remaining holes.

With that accomplished I removed the rear hanger and dressed the edges of the frame with a flapper disc. A good once over with Scotch Brite followed by a wipe down with break cleaner and it was ready for a coat of satin black.

[N2TRUX]

The shop that shortened the frame did an excellent job of cutting and welding it back together. For some reason the left the rear most cross brace off. I plan to locate a replacement. Until then I'm using the spare tire bracket to keep things square.

[moregrip]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

I joined team Magnaflow for this build. They say the sound quality is unsurpassed so I decided to give it a try.

If Chip Foose endorses them I can't go wrong, can I?

Magnaflow is an excellent company, you can't go wrong with their product IMO, construction is top notch. As the discussion of drone was brought up, overall system design will play the larger roll; I would plan for allowing a revision or two in the build if the first attempt doesn't meet your tone, drone, loudness requirements. Although sometimes you can get it "just right" on the first attempt too! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by moregrip

Magnaflow is an excellent company, you can't go wrong with their product......Although sometimes you can get it "just right" on the first attempt too! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

It seems I'm destined to design the system twice no matter what I do. The current exhaust is cobbled together after the short bed conversion was done. At some point I plan to run headers, but I'm going to need a functioning system before that happens.

[N2TRUX]

I made a trip to Homegrown Hotrods today. Aaron had blocked the Tamco 2k primer once, and laid down a second coat. He topped that with a guide coat in preparation for the next round of sanding.

[N2TRUX]

They spent some time inside the bed as well. The floor was relatively smooth with the exceptions of a few minor dings. It wont take much effort to have a showroom quality bed floor.

[N2TRUX]

Saturday evening after my road trip, I worked on the axle again. I got the last section of brake line formed and test fit.
I scuffed everything down and sanded the areas that got damaged while fitting the lines. One last coat of filler primer and it's as good as its going to be.

[N2TRUX]

Sunday Chris had plumbing issues to deal with so I worked on wrapping up the 10 bolt project. I scuffed the primer on last time and laid on the satin black. I considered several different contrasting colors to give it some definition. In the end, I went with my favorite cast iron color.
Yes, again.

[Palf70Step]

Looks good Ken!