Author Topic: My '77 K-30/V3500 Monster Truck Build  (Read 253079 times)

Offline Engineer

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Re: My '77 K-30 Monster Truck Build
« Reply #330 on: September 11, 2016, 08:50:54 PM »
Well it's not mine, but it is a square body, and it is a monster truck.

At :38........ 8)

https://youtu.be/bLtZ3xvj6fI


At :28 there is a different square with a horribly bad cracked dash pad, and black painted mirrors...... :o
2002 Chevy 2500HD 4x4 8.1/ZF6sp RC/LB
2001 Chevy 2500HD 4x4 6.0/4L85E EC/SB
1997 Chevy Blazer 4x4
1994 Chevy K-2500 4x4 C6P 5.7/4L80E
1979 Chevy K-30 4x4 4sp 4.10
1977 Chevy K-30 4x4 4sp 4.10 454

Dad of an Eagle Scout, and a Life Scout

Offline LTZ C20

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Re: My '77 K-30 Monster Truck Build
« Reply #331 on: September 11, 2016, 08:57:06 PM »
LOL
LTZ Cheyenne C20

Offline zieg85

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Re: My '77 K-30 Monster Truck Build
« Reply #332 on: September 11, 2016, 09:32:00 PM »
I was fortunate to see the awesome build in person.  Such attention to detail.  WOW!  I got the $.25 tour, unbelievable to say the least.  Next time I am down there you bet we'll meet up again
Carl 
1985 C20 Scottsdale 7.4L 4 speed 3.21
1986 C10 under construction
https://www.facebook.com/groups/248658382003506/

Offline Engineer

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Re: My '77 K-30 Monster Truck Build
« Reply #333 on: September 13, 2016, 08:25:31 PM »
Zieg

Come on down. I started painting my bed. I could use some help sanding it all down. ;)
2002 Chevy 2500HD 4x4 8.1/ZF6sp RC/LB
2001 Chevy 2500HD 4x4 6.0/4L85E EC/SB
1997 Chevy Blazer 4x4
1994 Chevy K-2500 4x4 C6P 5.7/4L80E
1979 Chevy K-30 4x4 4sp 4.10
1977 Chevy K-30 4x4 4sp 4.10 454

Dad of an Eagle Scout, and a Life Scout

Offline zieg85

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Re: My '77 K-30 Monster Truck Build
« Reply #334 on: September 13, 2016, 09:19:02 PM »
Zieg

Come on down. I started painting my bed. I could use some help sanding it all down. ;)

Not sure when so you may have it done before I get there...
Carl 
1985 C20 Scottsdale 7.4L 4 speed 3.21
1986 C10 under construction
https://www.facebook.com/groups/248658382003506/

Offline Engineer

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Re: My '77 K-30 Monster Truck Build
« Reply #335 on: January 12, 2017, 07:27:00 PM »




« Last Edit: January 16, 2017, 08:48:37 PM by Engineer »
2002 Chevy 2500HD 4x4 8.1/ZF6sp RC/LB
2001 Chevy 2500HD 4x4 6.0/4L85E EC/SB
1997 Chevy Blazer 4x4
1994 Chevy K-2500 4x4 C6P 5.7/4L80E
1979 Chevy K-30 4x4 4sp 4.10
1977 Chevy K-30 4x4 4sp 4.10 454

Dad of an Eagle Scout, and a Life Scout

Offline bd

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Re: My '77 K-30 Monster Truck Build
« Reply #336 on: January 12, 2017, 07:51:53 PM »
What's it like looking down on 18 wheelers?   :D




Looks like you'll need to take your hat off before you drive it out.... 




         ...maybe notch the door and header for the cab lights...? 




...If you wrapped the drums in hard rubber, you could probably tow the garage around the lot, slab and all - top speed of about 1 MPH.   :o




Actually, it looks might fine!!!   8)
Rich
It's difficult to know just how much you don't know until you know it.
In other words... if people learn by making mistakes, by now I should know just about everything!!!
87 R10 Silverado Fleetside 355 MPFI 700R4 3.42 Locker (aka Rusty, aka Mater)

Offline Engineer

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Re: My '77 K-30 Monster Truck Build
« Reply #337 on: January 12, 2017, 08:37:15 PM »
Oh, man. Its been a while. Sheesh. I have done a lot but between our aging dinosaur computer, and google's never ending crusade to make my life miserable, I haven't been able to post.

I think I have the latest google matrix figured out. We'll see. It operates with slightly less confusion than an infinity of mirrors.

Some time, a long time ago, now, I painted my bed. Like back over the summer, or some such.

upside down firstest:





Clean:





Black paint:



Purty, purty.


Off with the old GI armor:



The test primer came off, too.



This body line was rolled. But with the help of my oldest son I was able to get it back to what GM intended:



More dents, and paint stripping:





After much sweating, we put on the signature epoxy primer, and then the 2K urethane high build:



Even more purdy, purdy:



HA HA! How about that body line now?  8)





And then the basecoat/clearcoat:





Remember that rolled body line? Take a look at me now:



Let's get 'er on there boyz!



Close up view of the clutch linkage after it was finished:



A close up of the firewall detail. The engine coil, coolant recovery tank, and the home made manifold that all of the gear boxes vent to:





Finished the steering. Used stainless steel braided high pressure line, and routed it to minimise potential damage:





This is the cooler lines from the steering valve. I used the old engine oil cooler as the power steering's fluid cooler:





Power steering pump:



A close up view of the porting work done to aid fluid flow into the pump:



I bought a steering reservoir tank off of an FLD120 Freighliner. I modified the bracket to use it on my radiator support:







This is the return line from the oil cooler.



And this big ol' beast is the -16 feed line for the pump:



Reservoir painted and -16 fitting installed:



Standard "can-o-ham" tank with -16 fitting to be welded:



This picture shows my pump's back plate. It is the one on the left. My Saginaw pump uses .800" vanes versus the standard .600" vanes that 99% of all GM Saginaw pumps use.



Rebuilt, resealed, and back together with the pulley installed:



Reservoir parts prior to finishing:



And this view shows the pump, and reservoir after mounting, with the -16 feed line, and the -06 pressure line in place: (the alternator was just a mock-up piece)



I bought an ACDelco remanufactured alternator off of eBay for cheap. It was made to fit an '89 S-10 with the 2.5L engine. I didn't care. It was a 100amp model, and that was all I was concerned with. I simply changed out my front housing for the incorrect one. (the correct one is on the right)



Voila:



Right where she belongs:





These are the bed mounts. More on those later. These will be part of the hinged framework that will allow the bed to tilt:



And finally, the roll bar after the paint was stripped, and the kicker bars were modified:



2002 Chevy 2500HD 4x4 8.1/ZF6sp RC/LB
2001 Chevy 2500HD 4x4 6.0/4L85E EC/SB
1997 Chevy Blazer 4x4
1994 Chevy K-2500 4x4 C6P 5.7/4L80E
1979 Chevy K-30 4x4 4sp 4.10
1977 Chevy K-30 4x4 4sp 4.10 454

Dad of an Eagle Scout, and a Life Scout

Offline Engineer

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Re: My '77 K-30 Monster Truck Build
« Reply #338 on: January 12, 2017, 08:43:50 PM »
What's it like looking down on 18 wheelers?   :D




Looks like you'll need to take your hat off before you drive it out.... 




         ...maybe notch the door and header for the cab lights...? 




...If you wrapped the drums in hard rubber, you could probably tow the garage around the lot, slab and all - top speed of about 1 MPH.   :o




Actually, it looks might fine!!!   8)

 ;D Hehe, the 18 wheelers will look up to me.

And yes, we are going to have some issues to address about the door before it leaves the shop for the first time.  :o

And those rusty things are the military wheels with the rim flange cut off, not the brake drums. I have, however, considered wrapping them with rubber belting that I keep around. Going to need transporter tires for sure.



I go tomorrow, weather permitting, to a local fab shop that is cutting out my wheel centers. I plan to build 2 piece wheels so as to make mounting the tires easier.
2002 Chevy 2500HD 4x4 8.1/ZF6sp RC/LB
2001 Chevy 2500HD 4x4 6.0/4L85E EC/SB
1997 Chevy Blazer 4x4
1994 Chevy K-2500 4x4 C6P 5.7/4L80E
1979 Chevy K-30 4x4 4sp 4.10
1977 Chevy K-30 4x4 4sp 4.10 454

Dad of an Eagle Scout, and a Life Scout

Offline LTZ C20

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Re: My '77 K-30 Monster Truck Build
« Reply #339 on: January 12, 2017, 09:14:21 PM »
Excellent product as usual.
LTZ Cheyenne C20

Offline Engineer

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Re: My '77 K-30/V3500 Monster Truck Build
« Reply #340 on: January 16, 2017, 08:36:53 PM »
This picture is my wheel centers. I will post pics later as I progress with this part but for now I can atleast explain what I am doing.



There are 8 of these plates. Two for each wheel. They are 3/8" thick. The Xs are marked centers for holes. I'll drill the 10 in the inner circle to 13/16" for the lug studs. The outer ring of 30 will be for 1/2" bolts to bolt the two wheel halves together.

Many monsters today use two piece wheels much like the old Honda 185s and 110 three wheelers did prior to 1983. That is how I plan to do mine.

This is a 3D cut away line drawing of what I will be after:



Using components from the old agriculture spreader wheels I'll be able to make two separate halves with the proper back spacing I need to mount my tires properly on my truck. By making the two piece wheels I'll be able to seal inbetween the two halves easier than the ag wheels design of using a rubber o-ring that always seem to leak. The ag wheels are 25"x36". Mine will be 25"x 32" which is what all of the monsters are running these days. The narrower wheel, for me at least, should help my steering geometry by reducing the tire's scrub radius.

Also, I thought I would throw this into the thread.

Racing monsters have a couple of square body trucks now. If I understand my source correctly, the black truck made its debut this weekend in Southaven, MS.

The "Storm Damage" truck is just a better photo of the above mentioned truck from a prior post.

And the "Titan" truck , while not a 73~87 is a GM that our truck evolved from.








Hmmmm..............

I can't help but wonder why I haven't seen any '77 Ford builds like mine, and why when vintage monsters are built on a tube chassis they are always GM square bodies. I know of a few more steel bodied GM squares in the build, or rebuild process.

I know there are plenty of late model Ford Super Duty builds, but I can remember back in the day how crazy the Ford camp was for their 80~86 trucks and the '79s had a cult like following. Now? Not so much?
2002 Chevy 2500HD 4x4 8.1/ZF6sp RC/LB
2001 Chevy 2500HD 4x4 6.0/4L85E EC/SB
1997 Chevy Blazer 4x4
1994 Chevy K-2500 4x4 C6P 5.7/4L80E
1979 Chevy K-30 4x4 4sp 4.10
1977 Chevy K-30 4x4 4sp 4.10 454

Dad of an Eagle Scout, and a Life Scout

Offline fitz

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Re: My '77 K-30/V3500 Monster Truck Build
« Reply #341 on: January 16, 2017, 09:13:45 PM »
I always enjoy checking out the updates on your project.

Offline Engineer

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Re: My '77 K-30/V3500 Monster Truck Build
« Reply #342 on: February 18, 2017, 07:24:17 PM »
Well, I have been working real hard lately on building my wheels. Quite the big and labor intensive endeavor. Not to worry though. The reason for the requsite man hours is to be sure all is right and flaw-free. Remember that I am using a stick welder and that requires extra care and caution to prevent warping the work. And, since these things have to hold air, quality welds are a must.

Once I get all of atleast one of the wheels finished I'll post a step x step of the build.



Until then, enjoy a couple pictures of the latest square bodied, tube frame, racing monster.





2002 Chevy 2500HD 4x4 8.1/ZF6sp RC/LB
2001 Chevy 2500HD 4x4 6.0/4L85E EC/SB
1997 Chevy Blazer 4x4
1994 Chevy K-2500 4x4 C6P 5.7/4L80E
1979 Chevy K-30 4x4 4sp 4.10
1977 Chevy K-30 4x4 4sp 4.10 454

Dad of an Eagle Scout, and a Life Scout

Offline Captkaos

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Re: My '77 K-30/V3500 Monster Truck Build
« Reply #343 on: February 20, 2017, 09:28:06 PM »
I love seeing updates to this!

Offline Engineer

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Re: My '77 K-30/V3500 Monster Truck Build
« Reply #344 on: March 22, 2017, 05:40:36 PM »
Wow 100,000+ views!

That should earn me some kind of award......hehe.

I have a lot done just been WAY too busy to post pictures. If I get this other truck project that took precedence done by the end of the weekend I'll update this thread with a few pics. Stay tuned.
2002 Chevy 2500HD 4x4 8.1/ZF6sp RC/LB
2001 Chevy 2500HD 4x4 6.0/4L85E EC/SB
1997 Chevy Blazer 4x4
1994 Chevy K-2500 4x4 C6P 5.7/4L80E
1979 Chevy K-30 4x4 4sp 4.10
1977 Chevy K-30 4x4 4sp 4.10 454

Dad of an Eagle Scout, and a Life Scout