1971 K10 Stepside - Getting a Roller Roadworthy

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by '68OrangeSunshine

Quick reply! I was about to edit, since I backtracked and pulled up the SPID. Whie the OEM color was Olive, the SPID looks commercial, as Gov't trucks had a government property placque rivited inside the Glove Box and often no SPID.
And the Air Force never ''borrows'' trucks from the Army.
[Only the Marine Corps has a 'tradition' of assimilating vehicles from other branches -- usually when they ain't looking.]

Interesting stuff. I've seen a few retired military 67-72 trucks for sale on eBay. Mime is definitely commercial.

[pjmoreland]

I disassembled the front hubs today with the intention of replacing the bearings and seals. Unfortunately, one of the hubs needs to be replaced because at some point a bearing spun in it and wore a groove. I have a lead on a replacement.

I did go ahead with installation of the axle shafts, spindles and dust shields. I also installed new axle vent hoses and vent caps. Filled the differentials with fluid. Also worked on a large crease in the passenger side front fender and adjusted the hood so that it latches now.

[pjmoreland]

Here's the hub that got damaged by a spun bearing.

[pjmoreland]

More photos

[CUSTOM/10]

Hey Patrick, there are 2 different style hubs & spindles . Large bearing and small bearing. I believe yours look to be small bearing. You can use either but they have to be used as pairs, ( spindle & hub ) both large or both small. The outer bearings are the same, the inner bearing ( the one you spun ) is the difference. So keep that in mind when your sourcing parts.
If you run into trouble l have some small bearing hubs & spindles.
Gary

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by CUSTOM/10

Hey Patrick, there are 2 different style hubs & spindles . Large bearing and small bearing. I believe yours look to be small bearing. You can use either but they have to be used as pairs, ( spindle & hub ) both large or both small. The outer bearings are the same, the inner bearing ( the one you spun ) is the difference. So keep that in mind when your sourcing parts.
If you run into trouble l have some small bearing hubs & spindles.
Gary

Thank you for the heads up!

[pjmoreland]

The spindle measures 1.779" at the inner bearing location.

The inner bearing O.D. is 3.063".

[1970cstblazer]

Here is info right from the parts book:

Note: 1971 & 1972 would be the same as 1973-77 1st design.

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by 1970cstblazer

Here is info right from the parts book:

Note: 1971 & 1972 would be the same as 1973-77 1st design.

Thank you. So a 2" spindle diameter would indicate 2nd design

[CUSTOM/10]

Go by the measurements, you never know what may have been swapped in there by a previous owner. I have also seen left over prior year parts use on the next year.

[CUSTOM/10]

1970cstblazer is correct on the bearing years, it was the axle shaft size that changed in 72.

[pjmoreland]

Did some rust repair on the passenger side inner fender. The driver side inner fender had been mutilated to make room for the misaligned steering column because of the body lift, so I bought a replacement for that side. I chopped a piece off of the mutilated one and welded it into the passenger side. It isn't pretty, but it is functional, and it will be hidden behind the battery.

[1970cstblazer]

Nice save!

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by 1970cstblazer

Nice save!

Thank you. One odd thing is that the three screw holes on the front lip of the inner fender are not evenly spaced, so I will have to redrill the center hole.

[pjmoreland]

I got up at 4am this morning and spent a total of about six hours driving today, so I felt like just sitting around when I got home. I wanted to get at least some time in on the truck though, so I wire wheeled the inner fender and painted it. I sprayed the bottom of it with rubberized undercoating.

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by pjmoreland

I got up at 4am this morning and spent a total of about six hours driving today, so I felt like just sitting around when I got home. I wanted to get at least some time in on the truck though, so I wire wheeled the inner fender and painted it. I sprayed the bottom of it with rubberized undercoating.

Should last a long time and resist sulphuric acid corrosion.

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by '68OrangeSunshine

Should last a long time and resist sulphuric acid corrosion.

I hope so.

[pjmoreland]

I measured the thickness of my rotors. One measures 1.250 and the other measures 1.230. Seems odd that they are that much different. Anyway, the minimum is 1.215, and new they were 1.285, so one is down to 50% and the other is at 21%. I'm just going to replace both of the rotors. I pressed out the studs and freed my one good hub from the rotor. I should be getting the replacement hub for the other side early next week.

[1970cstblazer]

When I replaced the rotors on my 1970, I was able to source the 12 studs on Ebay. I did not want to use the currently available Dorman pieces.

Raysbestos 5020b, GM 3995841, Wagner BD60908

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by 1970cstblazer

When I replaced the rotors on my 1970, I was able to source the 12 studs on Ebay. I did not want to use the currently available Dorman pieces.

Raysbestos 5020b, GM 3995841, Wagner BD60908

Thank you for the part numbers. I ordered 12 of the Wagner units off eBay. The studs I removed are all slightly tweaked from being pressed out, so they definitely need to be replaced.

[pjmoreland]

It has been raining nonstop for the last few days, so I put up a pop-up tent so I can use the grinder and wire wheel.

The tray on the battery support had been replaced with a non-stock unit at some point, and it was rusted out, so I replaced it with a NOS tray.

I had some two-part epoxy paint left over from making another batch of dummy filler necks, so I painted the battery support along with a few other parts.

[pjmoreland]

A few more photos

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by pjmoreland

A few more photos

Looks like you spotwelded it. On my '71 GMC Jimmy, I used a battery tray from a different vehicle ['80s Buick - maybe?]. A buddy welded the GM truck side supports also. The battery hold down uses two long J-hooks like earlier model trucks. A system I think is superior for active 4X4 rigs. [Not pavement princesses.]

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by '68OrangeSunshine

Looks like you spotwelded it. On my '71 GMC Jimmy, I used a battery tray from a different vehicle ['80s Buick - maybe?]. A buddy welded the GM truck side supports also. The battery hold down uses two long J-hooks like earlier model trucks. A system I think is superior for active 4X4 rigs. [Not pavement princesses.]

Well hopefully it holds up because I intend to do some mild rock crawling with this truck.

[pjmoreland]

Reconditioned the tail light housings today. Both mounting studs were broken on one of them. So I replaced them with screws and jam nuts. Put some RTV under the nuts to hopefully keep water out. There was a random wire spliced into the black wire on both sides, so I removed them and repaired the wires.

The replacement driver side inner fender I got didn't have the square nut for securing the parking brake cable so I transferred it over from the original inner fender.

I started cleaning up the driver side inner fender with a wire wheel, but it started raining again, so I still need to do the underside.