New to this forum

[1774btcrew]

I am new to this forum. I stumbled upon it by accident. I was trying to research what my mint 1973 GMC tailgate was worth and ended up here. I own a 1977 GMC crew cab. It has been converted to a shortbed and all half ton suspension. It has a 4 cylinder Cummins diesel and a 4L80e transmission with a Compushift controler. It is a work in progress but is coming along well and I am sure there will be a lot of helpful information on this board. Here are a couple pictures

[1774btcrew]

Here is an engine shot. Most of the wiring is cleaned up now and I am in the process of getting some stainless intercooler tubes done. Hopefully by the end of summer the truck will be painted. It now has a gas door bed as I really wanted locking caps and there just wasn't any clean looking ones for the original bed. I also have power doors and new factory GM fenders for it. It will keep all of the railroad trim and have a basic oldschool look. I am keeping the slots as these were on my dad's 72 shortbed when I was growing up so they have sentimental value and they fit the look I was going for.

[pokethesmot]

nice and welcome to the forum

[JohnC]

Welcome to the board, and you have a nice project there. They have just added a crew-cabs pic area towards the top of the 73-91 forum. Lots of nice crews in there. What all have you done to the truck? Some info is always great, and pics are even better!!!!! Also what are your future plans for the truck?

[1774btcrew]

The truck is coming along, I have converted it to factory bucket seats and console, switched the gear ratio from 4.11 to 3.73s, I also shaved the tailgate handle and am using a Jimmy trim plate since it doesn't have the cutout for the handle. I have modified the factory cluster with Autometer Electric Speedometer and Tach as well. Like I said it is a work in progress but when it is done it will be really nice.

[Captkaos]

Nice Project!

[Cherub]

Man a crew cab short bed would be a fun project.

[1774btcrew]

Having a crewcab shortbed is real nice. I actually have a regular cab 85 shortbed but with 2 kids it just wasn't practical. The crewcab as a longbed was also a nightmare to park here in Phoenix so the shortbed was the practical choice. I was really surprised how easy it was to shorten. It is within 1/16" difference in length from side to side. My dad helped me build it and it is the second shortbed crewcab we have done. The first was a 87 4x4. It also has the 4bt Cummins conversion. This was the best mod for my truck. I went from 9mpg in town with the 454 to 17 with the diesel. It has plenty of power and is crazy reliable! There just really isn't anything to go wrong with them. With proper maintainence they will run for 300,000 + miles with no major repairs. It still does a decent brakestand with the diesel!

[lolife99]

Welcome to the board! Cool Project. I'm subscribing to this thread.

[tvblazer78]

First Welcome come to the site! And what a cool truck.. Keep us post man..

[OJOE]

welcome from montgomery al. nice project.

[JohnC]

Originally Posted by Cherub

Man a crew cab short bed would be a fun project.

I feel the same way!!

[dieseldr4]

cool truck man, good to see a different take on the 1/2 ton shorty crewcab.. looking real good and the cummins is an awesome choice!!

[Driveway Dreams]

Originally Posted by 1774btcrew

...It still does a decent brakestand with the diesel!

My favorite part of this picture is that there is 3 black marks. 2 from the tires and one on the right from the exhaust. That is awesome! And I noticed that even though you said you are in AZ, I see a CO plate?

[dieseldr4]

Originally Posted by Driveway Dreams

My favorite part of this picture is that there is 3 black marks. 2 from the tires and one on the right from the exhaust. That is awesome!

no kidding! tha is awesome! thanks for pointing that out!! ha ha!!

[smashingchuck]

Neat.

[1774btcrew]

Thanks for the props guys! I really LOVE my truck. I had it pictured in my head exactly how it would be built 2 years before I even found the right crew cab. You are right on the money that one is the exhaust. The Cummins is an excellent engine and definately different. It actually looks right at home in the engine compartment. It does have CO plates even though I live in AZ. My parents live there and Phoenix makes it very hard to register a repowered vehicle. It wouldn't be an issue probably if GM had Diesel powered trucks as early as 1977. Just easier to have it registered there right now. This forum has really made me want to get motivated and get something done on this truck!

[burger]

Sorry to dig up a month old thread, but I've got some questions about your truck. Nice build, btw. I really dig the 4BT and the crew cab shortbed conversion. I even like the slot mags!

I've been researching the 4BT conversion. A lot of owners on the 4btswaps.com message board are claiming upper twenties to lower thirties for mileage. This is with larger trucks like F250's. What do you think is causing your mileage to be lower? Is it all in town driving? They suggest 1600 RPM at 75 MPH as a target for gearing. Do you know what you're taching at that speed? I notice you have 3.73's and small-ish tires which could be affecting your RPM's.

What did you have to do to fab up motor mounts? What other fab work was involved in the conversion?

What was involved with swapping in the 1/2-ton front suspension? Was it simply a matter of unbolting the crossmember assembly from the donor truck and rolling it under? What's the 3/4 ton suspension like?


Sorry for the barrage of questions!
Ed

[1774btcrew]

Most of the half ton suspension was really basic to do. I did just roll the whole front suspension under it. It actually was probably the easiest part of the conversion. The rear was pretty easy too with the exception of moving the spring hangers and the shocks weren't in quite the right place. As far as mileage goes I believe I am having a problem with the torque converter. I plan on replacing it as soon as I get some time. The motor mounts I actually used were already bolted to the motor(the step van was a Ford) I cut teardrop holes in the chevy mounts the hook the frame and crossmember. It worked pretty slick. I lowered the motor down and just tightened it up. If I were to do this again I would buy the $1200 2 piece billet GM adapter they sell on Ebay as opposed to the GM adapters that are normally on the motors. It is a lot cleaner set up + less parts and your motor and tranny sit up right. I have my transmission at 7 degrees and the motor is straight. Please let me know if you have any other questions. The hardest part was setting up the TPS switch since there really isn't a good place on a diesel motor to install it. I tried it 3 different ways over a year and a halfs time before I used some Mercedes ball and socket diesel linkage which did the trick.
Regards,
Jeff

[Walts_restoration]

Makes me happy, you have the correct 77 yellow trim on her even!






Good looking truck, my next vehicle will either be a crew cab longbed or shortbed, how easy is it to drive around in a parking lot? land yacht or what?

[1774btcrew]

It isn't that bad driving it around a parking lot not much longer than a Suburban. It still can be a bear to parks sometimes though!

[burger]

The rear was pretty easy too with the exception of moving the spring hangers and the shocks weren't in quite the right place.

Did you start with a 3/4 ton or 1 ton?

The motor mounts I actually used were already bolted to the motor(the step van was a Ford) I cut teardrop holes in the chevy mounts the hook the frame and crossmember. It worked pretty slick. I lowered the motor down and just tightened it up. If I were to do this again I would buy the $1200 2 piece billet GM adapter they sell on Ebay as opposed to the GM adapters that are normally on the motors. It is a lot cleaner set up + less parts and your motor and tranny sit up right. I have my transmission at 7 degrees and the motor is straight

Pictures please! Is there anything other than the 7° angle that you don't like about the stock 4BT adapter? $1200 is a lot to cough up! What do you mean by "cleaner"?


Thanks!
Ed

[1774btcrew]

I started with a half ton. Here is a picture of how I had to modify the crossmember

[60ratrod]

my question is how'd you get the crewcab to be a short box?? been wondering about that cause i'd like to do a swb crew my self one day. i had a buddy that took his short stepside dodge and turned it into a longbed stepside and ended up cutting his frame and transplanted the bed part of the frame from the donor to get the new bed to fit. just curious.

[1774btcrew]

I shortened my frame by measuring, then remeasuring, then measuring again. I cut it with a sawzall and it came out within a 16th of an inch difference from side to side. I then welded the actual frame back together then fishplated it on the inside(diamond shaped gusset) for strength. Let me know it you have any other questions. It really isn't too bad to do if you have a lot of patience and can weld.