Help Me Figure Out The Motor Mounts / Front End on this K20 PICS

[fishmunger]

Hey guys,

So I've been hunting up a K20 to buy for some time...I've looked at one recently I really like, the body is pretty straight, and has a nice patina to it. It runs real good and drives down the road nice and straight...of course it has some hidden issues too. I'm not buying this truck to restore. I just want an old work truck to use. The plan would be to just use it and fix it as things break and keep it on the road. That being said. Here's whats going on.

It has what I believe is a 292 in it, that the PO (deceased) installed with a homemade motor mount. It appears a bit crude (literally rough around the edges), but solid. Unfortunately, on the passenger side, he left almost no clearance, and it has worn a pinhole through the oil pan, and it now has a size-able oil leak. I'm trying to figure out if I can fix this without pulling the motor. Perhaps get in there with a small grinder and clearance the mount a bit, and find someone to spot weld the pan? There's evidence of JB weld on it, so I know a repair has been attempted before. Basically I'm trying to determine if this is a deal breaker or not.

[fishmunger]

More pics...

[fishmunger]

And lastly,

On the passenger side, it has some frame damage. It looks as if at one point the shock mount had broke off and taken some frame with it. It looks like it was repaired pretty well to me, although somewhat ugly. Everything appears to be straight forward and back of it, and no signs of cracking. I'm not a welder though and am not sure if this was the proper way to repair the damage.

Like I said, it drives nice. The powersteering works well and the truck doesn't pull or veer. From my research on this forum, it looks like the conversion was done correctly with perhaps one of those plates made by captainfab?

Any help or conjecture is greatly appreciated!

[61K10]

WOW what a mess! What is the price?

[fishmunger]

hahaha. well it was 5K, but with what I've found, I'm sure its much less now...but even at half that price I wonder if it's even worth the hassle?

Sucks, because I've been looking for a long time. And the body is actually pretty good on this one. Usually it seems like the body's are always hammered on these K trucks. But in this case its the opposite.

Its a real hack job ain't it?

[The Rocknrod]

If it were in China they'd name it Hole-E-Chit. Not un-repairable however.

[Brad54]

Okay, first things first: That round tube cross member with the flat plate on it, is the original front motor mount. You need a "horseshoe saddle" for it, that bolts to the front of the engine and the bottom of the horse shoe rests on that mount with a rubber block between them... I don't know what years they ran those, but I know they were on '60-62 for sure.
It looks like the engine now has side mounts on it, that are attached to that horrible box tube "cross member" thing.
Someone on here will have the proper horseshoe saddle, so you can go back to the way it should have been.
It also has a PTO winch? That's what that thin driveshaft and pillow block bearing is, coming off the transfer case. That's $$ right there!

Get the correct front engine mount, take some pics of the pillow block PTO driveshaft mount, then take a grinder and get rid of that whole mess, then have a fab shop make you a nice mount for that PTO shaft's bearing and roll on!

You've got a kick-ass price negotiating tool there...
-Brad
(oh, oil pan should be dropped and welded, or just replaced. Order a new one, and swap it out yourself. Shouldn't be hard)

[fishmunger]

Yeah its got a PTO.

I'm assuming that to get the old engine mounts out and replace the pan the motor will have to come out?

Can anyone tell what engine was likely in it originally based off that tube mount?

What do you guys think about the repair of that shock mount?

Also, when tested, the original rockwell t221 transfer case pops out of 4 HI into neutral under a load. 4 LO seems to work fine. I've read that parts, other than bearings and seals, are hard to come by for those. If its popping out of gear, what are the chances something major is wrong with it?

[Brad54]

I looked at a '64 K10--old DNR truck, also with a PTO winch.
I noticed that it had a home-made clamp on the transfer case shifter, running from the floor up over the shifter, to keep it locked in gear! Seemed to do the job! HA!

I don't know anything about the Rockwells, but I've heard a lot of guys like them.
(I've got a '62 K10, and am replacing the rockwell with an NP205).

Someone will chime in with parts availability.

I thought the repaired area on the frame looked reasonable.

-Brad

[j.kirn]

Originally Posted by Brad54

Okay, first things first: That round tube cross member with the flat plate on it, is the original front motor mount. You need a "horseshoe saddle" for it, that bolts to the front of the engine and the bottom of the horse shoe rests on that mount with a rubber block between them... I don't know what years they ran those, but I know they were on '60-62 for sure.
It looks like the engine now has side mounts on it, that are attached to that horrible box tube "cross member" thing.
Someone on here will have the proper horseshoe saddle, so you can go back to the way it should have been.
It also has a PTO winch? That's what that thin driveshaft and pillow block bearing is, coming off the transfer case. That's $$ right there!

Get the correct front engine mount, take some pics of the pillow block PTO driveshaft mount, then take a grinder and get rid of that whole mess, then have a fab shop make you a nice mount for that PTO shaft's bearing and roll on!

You've got a kick-ass price negotiating tool there...
-Brad
(oh, oil pan should be dropped and welded, or just replaced. Order a new one, and swap it out yourself. Shouldn't be hard)

The mount he has on there now was for a 235, so he does not need a horse shoe mount which was for a 283 that would have the flat plate to the rear of round engine mount

[j.kirn]

Your frame is a 1960-62 or early 63

[Captainfab]

Based on that round tube front engine mount, that frame is a '60-'63 K series frame. The same front mount was used for the 235, or 283 engines. I would agree with pulling the engine and correcting that mess. A later model engine crossmember would work the best. The passenger side frame repair looks a bit sketchy to me. But of course that is because that is not how I would have repaired it and I would have to redo it if it were mine. It may be fine. I have seen worse repairs hold up.

[fishmunger]

Thanks for the replies!

Makes sense. The seller says its a 61 frame. It has a 65 cab on it though. I prefer the 4-5-6 cabs though so that was a plus for me.

This sounds like more of a project I can handle, unfortunately. I'm having a hard time convincing myself of that though. I need one of you to tell me to run away! haha

[Vincenthdfan]

You can kind of make out the original Horse Shoe front mount on my 62 from a few weeks ago when I was installing my new crate motor.

This truck originally had a 283 in it with this mount, which transferred directly over to the 350 crate motor just fine.

[61K10]

It sounds like maybe too big a job for you? Do you have a place to pull the eng and work on it? The hack job can all be fixed. Many different ways to do it with more $$$ of course. different cab on different frame? Whats on the title? vin on the cab match the title?

where in ca are you? any pics of the rest of the tk--cab--bed--inside?

[fishmunger]

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...oe+motor+mount

About 6 posts down in the above thread...made me curious, I am wondering if the guy had to go with the custom motor mounts because the 'horseshoe' mount was interfering with the power steering pump?

[Captainfab]

The front horseshoe mounts makes mounting a PS pump more difficult. Not impossible just more difficult. I would just convert to either the '67-'72 or '73-'87 K series engine mount crossmember.

[fishmunger]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

The front horseshoe mounts makes mounting a PS pump more difficult. Not impossible just more difficult. I would just convert to either the '67-'72 or '73-'87 K series engine mount crossmember.

Are these newer style cross members available new? Or do you have to scratch one up used somewhere?

[chevy_mike]

Man, I have bought some vehicles with some "questionable" work but looking at those pics, I don't feel nearly as bad. Personally I would run away from that. You will be fighting POS (Previous Owner Syndrome) forever. Wish you luck if you do buy it....

[61K10]

the front horseshoe mount for a 6 is different than a V8 one. As capt said 235 had one. 194-292 never used that style of mount. Maybe in bigger series?

[Captainfab]

You'll have to find a used one unless you want to spend $$$$ for an aftermarket engine mount crossmember.

Originally Posted by fishmunger

Are these newer style cross members available new? Or do you have to scratch one up used somewhere?

[Brad54]

Originally Posted by fishmunger

Are these newer style cross members available new? Or do you have to scratch one up used somewhere?

There's a '67-'72 style 4x4 cross member for sale on the '67-72 parts board.
A guy is parting out a '71 4x4 and has it listed

-Brad

[fishmunger]

Thanks for the tip. I took a look at that crossmember. Being not that experienced in this, I can't envision how it would bolt up to the 292 tho? Seems like I would still be missing something. Am I wrong?

[Captainfab]

If you have a 292, you will have to get one that is made specifically for a 292. It is a bit of an oddball. There is one engine mount crossmember that fits all small blocks as well as the 230 & 250 I6. Then there is one for the 292 only.

[fishmunger]

thanks captain. sounds like a classic unicorn situation. at least partially explains why it is the way it is.