Author Topic: My project  (Read 28215 times)

Offline Tonka

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My project
« on: December 22, 2013, 11:42:55 AM »
I had started this project in 2009. 1977 GMC step side K-15 4x4. 350 4 bolt main v-8, chain driven transfer case, 3.73 gears in 10 bolt rear ends, 5" lift, 35" Mickey Thompson Baja Claws..



 We stripped it down to a raw frame that I could literally pick up with one hand which we carried to a media blaster and had  blasted with Walnut shells down to raw metal. Frame was then coated with POR15.  All rust was wire wheeled from any used component that was re-used. Completely new brake system with braided stainless brake lines.

350 V-8 was resprayed to Chevy Hugger Orange. Vintage Edelbrock Chrome valve covers, Edelbrock performer intake manifold, Holley 600 CFM carb, gear driven timing chain, and Hooker Ceramic Coated Longtube Headers with Cherry bomb oval mufflers (not Cherry bomb glass packs though). MSD billet aluminum high power distributor, wires etc. New aluminum high flow radiator and electric cooling fan.  Column shifted automatic trans will be re-routed to a floor shifted B&M drag shifter.
New chrome pulleys, chrome 145 amp alternator, new Edelbrock water pump, new chrome fuel pump.

UPDATE: Checked casting numbers on the heads and they are 041 heads with a cast date of March 6 1970 The actual version of the heads is still a mystery for now. Nothing on the net or the gm bible about the number we pulled off the head. I will update this when/if I find out more
 

Interior-
I went through 3 donor trucks till I settled on the cab you see here. Even still the firewall was ate through with rust and of course the corners of the cab were as well. Those little triangle windows and sliding rear window glass leaked and rust ate the heck out of this cab. Every single donor cab suffered the same fate. The body shop did all this work over the course of 3 years.  The cab has a full Billet aluminum steering column we'll be installing along with kick panel 6" speakers, new vinyl flooring, fresh upholstered bench seat and vintage gauges. Steering wheel is mahogany. Rich mahogany.

Front clip:  's dual cowl induction hood with hood reinforcement kit. Also in the gargae and to be installed-billet aluminum grill,  new chrome headlight buckets, new blue l.e.d. side marker lights and  I used rear taillights that are 31 ford t-bucket coupe hotrod that are chrome dipped.

Resto mod?
It's not a numbers matching truck. Far far from it. The chassis is '77, the cab is 78, the bed is early 80's.
I could have gone tacky on a lot of things especially interior and styling stuff but wanted the truck to have a bit of nostalgic hot rod feel to it. The 31 ford taillights are L.E.D reproductions but definitely not the OEM trailer type lights it came with. The engine is a mystery. I don't know the HP or the model year of it. It is not the original. The original only made an anemic 170 horsepower (the 70's as we know were not good to V-8's). I'm guessing it is only at most 250-275 hp even with the bolt on mods I made. I will use a modern but vintage appearing stereo head unit. I retained the classic 1977 bench seat and I also retained and upgraded the wood bed.
The wood bed was a massive under taking. I used cabinet grade oak planks with no knots. I had them clear coated with 2 quarts of Lacquer clear coat sprayed on in a paint booth by the body guy and all hardware for install is polished stainless steel.


The body and paint. What you see here is black paint layed down as only maybe only a few guys in the entire country could do. All rust repairs are completely flawless and there is absolutely zero orange peel and zero runs or hair or junk anywhere on this paint. It's beautiful beyond words.  I've seen alot of show cars and I havent seen one with a cleaner paint job in any color let alone black.



PICS
in somewhat Chronological order
Retirement. The day I bought her


Frame back from media blaster, lift kit installed, rears reinstalled, new tires and rims, new fuel cell new bumper.


Engine, trans and transfer reinstalled with all upgrades and new coat of traditional Chevy hugger orange


Trans pan


Failed attempt at skipping wood bed and going with diamond plate..


Say goodbye. Bodyman Jody takes on the biggest headache of his career...


Fast forward about 3 years... And there she is.


When I say Jody Taylor is best painter on the East Coast I say this because I mean it.


Proper wood bed with 2 quarts of clear coat lacquer sprayed in a booth, all stainless hardware.


I love the rugged big shoulders of a short box stepside. Always have since I was a kid.


Get away from my truck lil guy!
« Last Edit: January 26, 2014, 09:41:24 PM by Tonka »

Offline dvdswan

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Re: My project
« Reply #1 on: December 22, 2013, 11:58:40 AM »
beautiful truck.  I hope mine will look that nice when I'm done.  thanks for sharing.

Offline Tonka

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Re: My project
« Reply #2 on: December 22, 2013, 12:06:16 PM »
Thanks Dave!! I never intended to go this far with mine. I am kind of stuck with it being too nice for my own tastes. I like em rugged. I will probably show it a couple times and then thats it. Life is too short for a trailer queen. I wanna enjoy my truck and I want to drive it.

My one piece of advice is as slow as this has been I really rushed too fast when I started. It just seemed like every single thing on the truck was messed up. I was a mechanic once and I just couldnt stand to see it with things mechanically unsound. When I first removed the drums a pile of beach sand and twigs poured with the wheel cylinders completely froze up. The rear springs were completely shot, the exhaust leaked, the windows leaked...

Offline bake74

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Re: My project
« Reply #3 on: December 22, 2013, 12:29:57 PM »
     Very nice build indeed.  I am working SLOWLY on my 74 k10 step side.  I am a little like you and want everything right, I am using my 74 as a base and a 77 as a parts truck. 
     " We stripped it down to a raw frame that I could literally pick up with one hand ".  This caught my eye, you must be a very large person, cause I had mine stripped and there was no way I could even pick it up with both hands and I am not a small guy.  So are you saying it was rusted out that bad ?
#1: The easiest and most obvious solution to any problem is 99% of the time correct.
#2: There is no such thing as impossible, it just takes longer.
  74 k10, 77k10    Tom

Offline Tonka

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Re: My project
« Reply #4 on: December 22, 2013, 12:59:04 PM »
Thanks man! Mine was just C-channel and completely stripped probably weighed around 150 lbs. Wasnt light by any stretch but was not all that substantial. My daily driver is a 97 Sahara TJ Jeep and that has a full box frame. Quite a bit sturdier by comparison.

Offline Engineer

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Re: My project
« Reply #5 on: December 22, 2013, 05:16:44 PM »
Nice. :)

Keep the pics coming.
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 Tonka

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Re: My project
« Reply #6 on: December 22, 2013, 08:08:36 PM »
Thank you sir! I see you have a 77 with a 4 speed and 454. What gearboxand transfer case are you running and how has it held up ? I would love to do the same with my stepside.

Offline Engineer

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Re: My project
« Reply #7 on: December 22, 2013, 08:26:07 PM »
SM465/NP205

This combo is almost bullet proof.
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

Online bd

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Re: My project
« Reply #8 on: December 22, 2013, 09:05:25 PM »
Very sharp!  That's some proud metal!  Exquisite workmanship!
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 Jason S

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Re: My project
« Reply #9 on: December 23, 2013, 12:33:44 AM »
Nice. :)

Keep the pics coming.

Ditto.   
1973 GMC K2500, Super Custom, Camper Special, 350, TH350, NP203, 4.10's
1974 Chevrolet K10, Custom Deluxe, 350, SM465, NP203, 3.73's

"1) Peace through strength; 2) Trust but verify; 3) Beware of evil in the modern world"

Offline deveny7

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Re: My project
« Reply #10 on: January 10, 2014, 03:10:17 PM »
Beautiful paint and bed

Offline Venton

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Re: My project
« Reply #11 on: January 10, 2014, 07:30:08 PM »
Great looking truck. I really like the details on the frame and the engine looks awesome!! Keep the pics coming.

Offline Skyshadow

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Re: My project
« Reply #12 on: January 14, 2014, 08:00:07 PM »
WHOA, that frame looks like it was built for a show car.

Offline Tonka

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Re: My project
« Reply #13 on: January 24, 2014, 03:20:10 PM »


Lokar shifter,   chrome column, wood steering wheel and a whole lot of scrapyard goodness


  100 watt kick panel speakers. Also adding in a full Kicker system with 500 watt class D mono amp, 12" sub, boxed 6x9's and Memphis wiring.


Reproduction 31 ford taillights/reverse lights installed, full wiring harness installed front to rear


Scrapyard GOLD


Can anyone tell me more about these Heads? I believe I may have just now realized this truck has the "041" heads which make this engine a whole different ball game than we thought all along. I had no idea till this morning. Pulled the valve cover and lo and behold. 041.  But the numbers also say it was built in 1974.  Who is the expert on this?



Offline Tonka

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Re: My project
« Reply #14 on: January 24, 2014, 06:50:56 PM »
Also wanted to say thank you for all the compliments you guys left. I meant to do that on y previous post but was in a bit of a rush.  My brother and I have little to no experience doing a frame off like this. We are perfectionists and we have been turning wrenches a little while but we didn't even have a shop to work in for all this work. We did this laying in his muddy yard and eventually had to put a tailgate party style tent over it to keep the weather off of it.

Work on the truck has been constant over the last 6 weeks. We are trying to wrap the project in the next 2 weeks. We are re-routing the battery to behind the seat if possible and will build a nice rack for the 500 watt amp, subwoofer and battery to reside on. The head unit will be the dual knob GMC tagged 200 Watt vintage repro. Off Road design twin stick transfer case shifter is being installed now. Full custom exhaust (done by a custom exhaust shop) and new axle seals are on the to do list. May replace that Holley with a Edelbrock.  More pics to follow. I just can't wait to hear those Hooker headers, Cherry Bombs and gear driven timing!! The anxiety is killing me.

Any word on you guys about what those heads are would be a huge help. As I can see it the numbers read 3347041 with cast date of 3-4-0 Which I believe means March 3rd 1970.

« Last Edit: January 24, 2014, 08:30:57 PM by bd »