81 Chevy K10 ShortBed

[andrewmp6]

Nice bondo i love when people do that lol.Worse one i had was a 67 mustang that had 5 coats of paint on it.When we sanded it looked like a rainbow in places.

[Matt Man]

Well, when I got the truck it was lifted too high in the back, so I lowered it down a bit. Anytime I load to bed now, the drive shaft is engaged too much in the transfer case, so I had it shortened a bit re balanced and new u joints. The u joints were shot anyways. Also while I had the drive shaft out to get shortened, I fixed the leaky tailshaft on the transfer case. No leaks so far.

Case:

Driveshaft before:
After:

I hope I have enough space, I thought there was going to be more clearance. What do you guys think?

[Matt Man]

I had a crack in my engine crossmember on the right side (typical). When I had the engine out, I had my uncle weld the top of it, not the greatest work but it has held up. I wanted to get the bottom side welded and get the steering box reinforced. So I had a local off road shop do this for me, turned out great. I also replaced the steering box while it was out, old one was leaking, and a little sloppy.
pics:




I really did not want to spend the money on this right now, but this is insurance on this area which is common to cracking especially with bigger tires. So with the bolt in brace and the weld in done, this area is plenty stout. Even the guy at the off road shop said this is bulletproof even if I had 44's on this thing.

[Dudge]

Nice looking daily!! I've got an '81 that I'm also thinking of turning into a driver after I sell my Cummins. It's hard to find a low mileage NBS Silverado in my area that isn't rusted to $hit...so a "restomod" square seems like the ticket!

[MTCK]

Nice truck and great work taking a basket case and bringing back to a good condition driver. All that little crap adds up but it's so nice when all the minor stuff, like oil pressure gauge etc work. Pumped to see you driving it. Pull the trigger on AC?

[Matt Man]

Originally Posted by MTCK

Nice truck and great work taking a basket case and bringing back to a good condition driver. All that little crap adds up but it's so nice when all the minor stuff, like oil pressure gauge etc work. Pumped to see you driving it. Pull the trigger on AC?

No I have not, I recently picked up a 2005 honda accord. I wasn't looking for a car, but it was too good of a deal to pass up. We will see how much tax money I get back, and go from there with the vintage air.

On another note, this "new" 350 has decided to start leaking oil from the front on the oil pan, and sometimes it leaks a little from what looks like the rear main seal. Not too happy about it, so I'm keeping an eye on it. Any tips?

[MTCK]

Did the crate motor come with the tin already on it? 2 piece rear main right? Seems a little early for it to start pissing already.

[Matt Man]

Originally Posted by MTCK

Did the crate motor come with the tin already on it? 2 piece rear main right? Seems a little early for it to start pissing already.

Yea I didn't remove anything from the engine except valve covers to install the intake manifold (Edelbrock performer with EGR).

[Gregski]

Thread good!
Truck Nice!

[Redneck72]

How much difference did that fatmat make on the cab noise? I am looking at using that in combination with Lizard Skin. For my 85 K10.

[Matt Man]

Originally Posted by Redneck72

How much difference did that fatmat make on the cab noise? I am looking at using that in combination with Lizard Skin. For my 85 K10.

I didn't really drive it too much before I put it in, but it made a huge difference in the way the doors close. But its pretty quiet now even doing 75 mph. That with lizard skin would be a nice addition.

[hawkeyegold]

why did it help with the way the doors close? curious cuz of course i need to slam mine shut on my 79 k10.. need to rework my interior at some point..

[Matt Man]

Originally Posted by hawkeyegold

why did it help with the way the doors close? curious cuz of course i need to slam mine shut on my 79 k10.. need to rework my interior at some point..

It's not that they are easier to close, they just close with more of a thud instead of a clunk now if that makes sense. On the issue of needing to slam the doors, look at your door striker bushings, if they are missing replace them or just use electrical tape around them. My truck has new door weatherstripping, and the doors are a bit harder to close with the windows up, but its water tight and less noisy now.

[hawkeyegold]

Ok that makes sense... thanks for the heads up.. I'll check out the striker bushings..

[Matt Man]

Well with gas prices lower and cooler weather, starting Monday I will be back at my old job. The truck will serve DD duties for a couple of months until the weather gets to hot, then I will drive my Accord. Truck will be seeing 70 miles a day, sometimes 100 miles a day will be interesting. Truck has been sitting for about 6 weeks started right up and drove her around to check things. A good wash and wax and interior cleaning this weekend so I will get some more detailed pictures.

I guess I kinda have a update, I finally replaced the rusty inner fender with a junkyard unit.

[Matt Man]

Some Pictures:


The old inner fender rust, was worse than I thought:

[MTCK]

Looks good. Any progress chasing down your oil leak?

[Matt Man]

Originally Posted by MTCK

Looks good. Any progress chasing down your oil leak?

Just keeping an eye on it for now, seems to be worse some days than others. I love your crew cab by the way!

[LT7A]

This is a cool rig. I like how you pick off one thing at a time and take care of the stuff around it that can be upgraded. Good approach!

[Matt Man]

Originally Posted by LT7A

This is a cool rig. I like how you pick off one thing at a time and take care of the stuff around it that can be upgraded. Good approach!

Thanks, I have never put this much work into a vehicle before I have had multiple people ask me if I wanted to sell it and I have my price, but it is pretty high and unrealistic. Everytime I drive her I have a huge smile on my face.

[Matt Man]

Well my truck is experiencing its first problem, I drive down the road and sometimes the right front makes a grinding sound, it only does it sometimes and if i slow down completely it goes away. I jacked up the wheel no play in the wheel bearing or balljoints and was professionally aligned to spec. Anybody have any clues to what it is?

[MTCK]

Huh there aren't that many things up front on these trucks. Assume you're in two wheel and hubs are unlocked?

[Matt Man]

Originally Posted by MTCK

Huh there aren't that many things up front on these trucks. Assume you're in two wheel and hubs are unlocked?

Yes and it has the np208.

[daddyjeep]

That is a cool wagon. Your truck looked good too. Shows are a lot of fun even if you don't have the best vehicle there.

[MTCK]

Looking good. Solid rigs all over at the show. Your truck fits right in IMO.