Scored a 73-75 4wd suspension for free

[ronh72c10]

Today I dropped by a friends place because she's cleaning out all of the junkers her father brought home. To make a short story shorter, her father gave me the complete drivetrain from a 73-75 Blazer or Jimmy which included front, rear axles, leaf springs, mounts and shackles, driveshafts and an automatic transmission coupled to a working transfer case. (I'm going to pick it up next weekend)

I'm hoping to mount the drivetrain into the donor frame for my 2WD 72 c10, but figure that before I even try I'll get some opinions on what will be involved and what more I will need.

I'm guessing I'll need a new transmission crossmember, what else?

Thanks,

Ron

[Aug 5:post edited to make the subject a little clearer]

[chevy_fatman]

4WD components on a 2WD frame? mmhh? I believe that the frames are different and you may have to get a 4WD frame to fit all the components on it.

[ronh72c10]

Bugger! I hope it's not that difficult, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

[jcueckert13]

good luck i belive that there is a difference in frames but the difference id worry about is the years i have swaped a 4x4 axle in a 2x4 frame and the as long as you have the steering components for the 4x4 and you get the allignment right it should work

[Hooter]

dont you also need the front crossmember?

[ronh72c10]

I've got the complete front steering except I don't have the steering box and front crossmember. I'm going to guess I need to replace the front crossmember for clearance reasons and either raise the cab or modify the floor of the cab to clear the transfer case.

[k5w402]

I converted my c20 to K30. The 2 wheel drive front suspension and motor mounts will need to be removed. With the engine and trany out, they can be unbolted from the frame be removed in one piece. You will need motor mounts, front springs and hangers from a pre 72 4x4 frame. In the rear I had a welder relocate the spring pads on the axle to match the stock spring width. He also moved one of the shock mounts. The t-case crossmember I used was from the donor truck. The drive shafts will to be altered, in my case longer in the front shorter in the rear. My truck is for sale
on this site, here's a link to pictures.http://community.webshots.com/album/82836031LibtFs

[ronh72c10]

Sounds interesting, do you mind posting a few pictures, I couldn't get the link to webshots to work.

Did you use the front suspension crossmember from the donor also?

[ronh72c10]

I got the webshots link to work from work, how much of a lift did you put under your k30?

[k5w402]

The springs are 4" Rough country. The front springs came with three leafs each, I removed 1 per side to make it ride softer. I added a 3" block to the rear to level the truck. I may change to a 4" block to make it a little butt up. To use the front sway bar from the donor truck (highly recomended for any 67 to 72) I bolted on 5"x7" pieces of steel to the intersection of the front crossmember and the frame. I'll take some pictures of frame and post them later. Another thing you should consider is gear ratio to tire size. Your 1/2 ton axles may have 3.08 gears, if so this would limit your tire size to around 31". I'm running 4.10 gears with 33" tires and feel it's perfect for what I do, camping and towing toys in the hills.

[k5w402]

I've added more pictures to K30 webshots, front end and flex.

[bouncytruck]

My understanding is that the 73+ frames were a little wider. You may have to move the spring perches in a little bit.

[ronh72c10]

Interesting pictures, especially the flex in the frame. I've got my donor frame completely stripped and mounted on a home-made rotisserie, I noticed if I quickly rotate the frame from one end I can see significant flex in the other end before it catches up with the end I'm rotating.

I dropped by a guy's place today, he had what appeared to be a 68 C10, turns out it was a 72 with a different front clip. Anyways he was going to do the same thing, put a 4wd frame under the 2wd body. He had the complete 4wd frame (from a 68) sitting around, the good thing about that was I got a good look at how the front suspension attaches to the frame. The frame did look different where the rear of the front leaf spring attaches. His frame was smooth there, with a single hole for the bolt, where mine has quite a few holes there, which aren't flush they're raised and textured, for lack of a better word.

One interesting thing, he said that the transmission crossmembers are the same for either the 4wd or 2wd. Is this correct? I find it a little hard to believe since I expected that there would be a mount for the transfer case.

Ron

[k5w402]

With my 72, I left the rear spring hangers in the stock location and relocated the spring perch on the axle housing to match. My crossmember from the c20 was different than the k30. On the K30 there is an adapter between the the trans and t-case, and that's what connects to the crossmember. 67 to 72 Chevys are famous for their frame flex, it really helps in off road conditions. Just make sure your bed doesn't hit the cab. In the pictures I posted, mine is almost touching.

[ronh72c10]

Picked up the 4wd components today, got a 3spd auto coupled to a fulltime 4wd transfer case, with crossmember.

[ronh72c10]

Rear axle with all of the brackets. (axle has a homemade 2 " lift)

[ronh72c10]

Front axle has all of the brackets, shackles and mounts.

[ronh72c10]

Mounts for back of front axle. I didn't get the front suspension crossmember, drive shafts, and the front axle is missing the calipers and brackets and also the U-Joints to drive the front spindles.

[cnshoot]

here is a good place close to me to get parts like a aftermarket crossmember i hope that they can help you . http://mo-offroad.com/

[cnshoot]

im in st.louis and may be getting a 78 chevy blazer the only thing i want off of it is the plow i have been bugging the guy but can't get a hold of him and my friend is making a trip up by you and i will be going to michigan here soon my self

[ronh72c10]

One more thing, I measured the distance from the inside of the spring brackets on both axles, the front looks really close, although I'll have to modify the frame to mount the shackle mount for the back of the front spring. The distance at the front mounts of the rear axle looks pretty close, a little wider, the mounts at the back are at least a few inches narrower than the frame. Perhaps the spring my have slightly twisted to give me a little room, I'll have to try mounting before making a firm decision on whether or not it will work.

[ronh72c10]

I'm interested in the front crossmember, I'd like to get one from a 72 , but i already know I'll be doing some adapting, so adapting the crossmember shouldn't be to much more work.

Whereabouts is friend going to around here?

Ron

[cnshoot]

he lives here now but lived there some place around you and he has to pic some things up from storage

[k5w402]

Ron,
That transfer case looks like a np 203 full time case. If it has not been converted to part time already, now would be a good time to swap it for a np205. I've got 1, but it's in Cal. Also have you checked the gear ratio of those axles? An easy way to check is turn both drums at the same speed, count the number of turns of the drums compared to the # of turns of the yoke.

[ronh72c10]

It most definately is a full time case, there just isn't enough levers. :-) I'm not worried about it being a fulltime case, at least not right now, I think I'll use it as is.

I checked the rear axle and it is a 3.08, the front axle is missing the U-joints at the spindles so I can't really check it, but I think that since it's a fulltime 4wd drivetrain it's a pretty good guess that it is also a 3.08, assuming that the gears are still in the pumpkin. I noticed today that some of the bolts for the front diff cover are missing, so there may be more missing from the front axle.

Ron