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73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Members Rides => Topic started by: OilBurner on December 09, 2020, 08:21:50 PM
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so i picked up my crew cab a couple years ago as a 6.2 auto truck converted to a worn out 454, standard fleetside bed, no frills and a blank canvas. i wanted to do a diesel swap when i bought the truck, i was really wanting a detroit 4-53t, but thanks to the epa they arnt exactly plentiful anymore. i bought a bus to take the 12 valve cummins out of, bought an eaton fuller rtx14710c 10 speed, a 4wd front axle out of a superduty ford, and started the project.
i had removed the fleetside bed and the driveline, i had a steel flatbed i wanted to swap over so i can use it for a welding truck. took the cab off and started with a bare frame. i started with my custom 3 link suspension, and once that was done the motor swap came next. dropped in a freshly gone through 12 valve, used the industrial mounts, and made a crossmember for the trans. the eaton bolted to the cummins using a sae 2 flywheel housing, 17 inch flywheel and 14 inch pull clutch. the engine had an on board air compressor as well.
power steering was done by using a homemade adapter to run the stock gm power steering pump mounted behind the engine driven air compressor.
as for transfer case i was going to use a dana 24 divorced case but wound up using a married np241c, i had a custom adapter made to marry the case.
exhaust was handled by a 3 inch down pipe, 4 inch main pipe to dual 5 inch stacks.
im in the process of wiring the chassis and cab up currently, after the wiring is done i will be moving to the interior.
i want to update the interior to a nice set of modern seats, preferably heated and cooled leather just because i like the durability and the look.
i want to try to run 37 inch tires but i dont know if they will exactly clear my front fenders or not. defiantly going to run 35 inch tires but ill try 37s. i still have a laundry list of things to do to the truck yet, ill have some pictures tomorrow hopefully if i get some time at work,
this truck is prolly my favorite project ive undertaken yet, and i grin like a kid in a candy store every time i get behind the wheel of this beast.
once im on the road officially i am planning on doing some minor motor work, just 18* of timing, compound twins, bigger delivery valves, afc live, 75 horse injectors, and a few small goodies. theres a guy on the cummins forum who did a 13 speed conversion running the same engine setup im looking at, and he is producing 450 hp and just over 1000 lb feet.
now that im on winter break from college ive got my evenings and weekends back so im hoping to start making some serious progress within the next few weeks.
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Where is the pics?
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theyre comming got to log on on my phone. long as it isnt too busy at work ill get some uploaded there. they have better internet anyway
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Ok, so it looks like my phone pictures are 1 MB and max allowed attachment size is half that. Whats tge best way for me to get pics on here from y'alls experience.
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So here we go,
the day i broght her home,
Then with the new mirrors and the flatbed
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Then here comes the beloved 12 valve cummins
Some early stages of the suspension, as well as finishes suspension, and holy crap thats a transmission
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This is how she is sitting now. I havent gotten any more pictures of the progress lately. Mostly because on the outside it doesn't look like ive made much. The problem is I'm,in the wiring stage. I'm designing my own harnesses and all, ive got most of them installed just finishing up the cab wiring and headliner. I'm pretty good at wiring I'm just piticiluar. It took me 4 hours to build the chassis harness, 7 hours to install, and another 5 in the cab so far. But everything is wired up using the factory color coded wires, soldered connections, heat shrinked and taped, then wire loomed. But oh boy does it look pretty.
Then theres my fuller adapter to np241c its a custom milled steel plate, the 4x4 adapter off a 4l80e, the stock fuller yoke turned down, and a 32 spline output shaft welded to a custom adapter. If anyones interested in knowing more let me know.
And then my shelf, the truck came with one of those shelf it things installed, I decided to leave it and mount my cb, as well as weld a stainless plate to it to mount my boost gauge, perimeter, and air pressure gauge for the on board ait system. Interior is goimg black so i re covered the shelf, and I'm working on the headliner.
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Your description answered my question about the front coil springs. Curious why you went that route instead of leaf?
Look great by the way!!!!
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I run the coil springs simply because they ride better in my opinion. That and to be different. Im not fond of putting ford parts on a chevrolet, but the superduty coil springs ride 10 times better then the leafs. I started from scratch so it was just as easy.
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Fascinating Captain! I have a '78 K10 that rides like a...truck. Would love to remove a leaf from the back and see what I could do for the front.
The pics don't reveal the other components needed, like control arms etc. Would love to see how you tied it all together.
I too picked up a 89 C30 crew cab, 454, with camper, wish it was a K.
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I just made a 3 link setup. Ive got pictures of the links, ill see what I can find picture wise of the setup. Its nothing too complex, I welded some 3/8 plate down the side of my frame to mount my lower links to the truck, and have a section of c channel right before the frame swoops up to go to the k member. All the crewmembers were made from 3 inch c channel, and brackets were made from 3/8 plate.if you look closely at the bottom edge of the trans pic you can see the plate. The steering was a custom draglink made from threaded rod ends and .25 wall tubing, drag link was the ford part cut down.
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Thanks, would love to see them!
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As for it being a c, anythings possible with some time, skill and patience. Nine started life as a c.
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As requested, some front end pics. The ride is a little squishy for me, but my engine and trans weigh 2000 pounds alone. Im going to see what the 37s look like and if its close ill order some 1.5 inch leveling springs which will be 7500 pound instead of the 5600 pound springs there now
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Very clever and imaginative! Love how you got the sway bar and double dampers! Nice work!
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Thanks my friend. This thing started out as an idea and a blank canvas
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Impressive!
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Thanks. I shoukd have called this truck s**** and giggles, that why I startex this project anyway 😂😂😂😂
Most of the stuff like the 8 inch lift and the hopes of 37s, and the dual steering dampener is just the little kind in me that always wanted a monster truck. Well that and my buddy talking in my ear. Hes got his 95 f350 single rear wheel 12 valve swap, 12 inches of lift and 44s. So I get a lot of ideas from him 😂😂😂
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So I found my schedule changed, so out to the shop i go i guess. Spent most of the day finishing up wiring, still have a few things to tie up but mostly done. My tach is calibrated and set, I got a lot of trim painted, I did pony up and buy new plastics for the front and rear pillars, didnt feel like screwing with mine. Dash pad is also back in.
So first a question, anyone ever look to buy those plastic oval inserts the screws thread into? Like the ones behind the row of screws in the lower portion of the dash pad.
And now another little thing, I bought the intelletronix digital gauge cluster for our trucks, it was a cheaper path, I eventually want a diesel version of the dakota digital analog looking gauges. But on the unit I have the turn signals moved from the arrows in the bezel to an indicator on the cluster, one in the tach one in the Speedo. I took the old thread in bulbs and moved them back into the original location by soldering wires on the contacts that used to touch the printed circuit board.
Also I repainted the above grill section under the hood. Not much else. Like I said I'm very meticulous when it comes to wiring. It has to be perfect otherwise im not happy 😆
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Good deal of welding and. Fabrication today, going to work on the big hole in the floor nexr as well as some cancer on the passenger side kick pannel, but i did get a bumper installed and more trim painted.
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Good progress!
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This has been a long time comming. When I pulled the 454 out it was june of 18 i belive. So its been a good long project. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel
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The fact that you have had it on the road is noteworthy... I started on a '80 C10 in September of '18.
If you search for "that 1980 C10 I keep talking about" you'll see some progress pics.
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Yours and I forget who but tge project onion rings are 2 that i keep tabs on just because theyre at the top or near top when i post replys on mine. I'll have some floor pics tonight. Been building a dog house and fixing cancer, and fixing the cancer treatment already done
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Alright, so hours and hours of cutting, swearing, cutting again, getting poked, welding, getting burned, and aligning with a hamer, most of the floor is done, the doghouse is done, and all i have left is the cancer on the passenger kick pannel, and the drivers floor. I'll say this, getting the holes transfered to the top panel of the tunnel took forever. Almost 2 hours. Took a bolt and ground a point on the end, threaded it up through the bottom, line up the top panel, hit the section above the new hole with a rubber mallet, this effectively acts as a center punch. Remove the panel, and drill the hole, repeat...... 28 times, off and on, back off, drill, on, hit, off,........... But it looks good and will keep the air and noise out. Once the cancer is gone, its paint, sound deaden, and carpet. List gets shorter and shorter. I like it
Also the brace thats in the second picture goes from the back of my trans to the front of my transfer case. I had to remove some webbing on the inside of the aluminium adapter housing to get my shaft to fit, so im going to brace the top like i did and do something similar on the bottom.
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What are you going to haul with that truck??? That Eaton Fuller RTX14710c 10-spd transmission has some pretty low gears for a passenger truck! Low range on the splitter is 12.8:1/9.25:1/6.76:1/4.9:1/3.58:1. Your High Range is 2.61:1/1.89:1/1.38:1/1.00:1/0.73:1.
With 37" tires and a 2,700 RPM governed speed on your 12-valve, if you had 3.73 rear gears you'd have a top speed in excess of 150 MPH. Your low-range even without the low range of the transfer case taken into account would have a top speed of barely over 22 MPH in 5th! 1st gear would be about 6 MPH! 65 MPH in 5th gear High Range would be 1,000 RPM, barely off the 750 RPM idle.
Some other information about that trans is that is max input torque of 1,450 Lb·Ft and weighs 624 Lbs. An NV4500 has a max input torque of 460 Lb·Ft and weighs 195 Lbs.
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Honestly, the towing ill do is a hay wagon, 22 foot car trailer, or 30 foot gooseneck occasionally. I was starting from scratch with the driveline anyway, and in order to mate any transmission a bell swap was in order anyway, getting ahold of the dodge stuff requires a ton of money. I wnted a manual, would have gone 6 speed, but the g56 and nv5600 was about 3500 bucks, then needed a clutch, another 550, the bell plate for the block, and the cheapest I could find it was 450 if i pull it.so 4500 to 5 grand in a trans and clutch, and then a transfer case. The 10 speed i paid 1800 bucks. That was trans, bell, flywheel housing, flywheel, clutch, trans oil and new front and rear bearings installed.
Aside from money, the 10 speed is more fun lol. I havent got my Speedo set up yet, but yea, I take off in 4th currently, but 10th is a .73 overdrive so top end is just like having a nv4500. Due to the tow package, and the 454 auto crap its 4.10 rear gear. Im swapping to 3.73 in the spring when i get my locker and whatnot. Its too cold to go junkyarding right now.
Oh, another reason to go with an sae bell housing pattern, the 17 inch flywheel means a 14 inch clutch not 11.5 I belive is factory dodge. The single disk in my truck is rated at 650 horse, and thats 25,000 pound truck 650 horse, so basic math, 650 horse at 25000 pounds, means 1300 horse at 12,500 pounds right?
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So today i was able to finish up the cancer and tunnel, got the floor all done and painted. I just painted it with spray on bedliner, then after it dries I'll put down my stick on rubber squares, then the carpet to follow. Finally done with sheet metal welding thank the good Lord. Now I remember why i left the toolbox plant.
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Freakin awesome... when I saw that 10 speed all i could think was...oh yes! Good thing is when it comes to hauling all you got holding you back will be traction. Not that it will be an issue as long as gravity is still in effect. Low range 12.6:1....time to CRAWL!
Your math on HP vs Weight sounds spot on to me! like a FF 14-bolt and D60 in a samurai, you can beat them axles with what ever you want, where ever you want and as long as you want. Enjoy banging those gears!
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Im hoping to get some seat time here next few days. The list is shrinking quickly, tonight i got the fuel tank strapped up, cruise control module mounted, and my relay block mounted as well. I got most of the cruise wired up, i just need to wire it up inside the cab. But ive been doing some research and it looks like i need the 84-87 stalk which is the 4 wire versus my 3 wire stalk.
Is someone familair with the cruise wiring on these trucks? Im running the cuise module from the 90s trucks and suvs, ive done some research but still need to do more.
Also it is worth noting I'm running the fuel tank from the 90s truck as well, the 35 gallon tank that sits inside the frame rails. Ita tight but it fits.
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One good thing about the front axle I used is its the 4wd front axle from the 99-04 superduty trucks, which means the meaty front rotors on those trucks and the huge twin piston calipers. Needless to say, between the huge brakes and the hydroboost, first time i hit the brakes I about ate the steering wheel and hit the windshield 😅😅😅😅
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Figured the transmission thing was something you already had that was less money invested.
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Nope. I actually went out of my way to buy it lol. I had seen a few videos on youtube of these trucks with cummins swaps and 10 speeds. I just wanted to be different lol
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Well today was my last day off until shutdown next week, so I got to hustling to get this thing out of the shop. Today I finished up the wiring on my shelf, little odds and ends, just to get it roadworthy again. Ive got a list of stuff yet, like calibrate the Speedo, get insulation and carpet for the hump, get my Headliner redone, install my interior trim, I need a solenoid for the grid heater, other little stuff like that. But its on the road again thats the big win. Today was the first day she left my street in over 14 months.
Heres my gauges, it like driving a spaceship, and I had to stop off at the covered bridge for a sunset photo of the old girl.
No real issues other than some minor bumpsteer right at the moment, the first run I hammered on it to build boost and at about 28lbs it blew a boot off, i added 2 more hose clamps and she's fine now 😅😅😅
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Congrats man, well done! Looks like she needs a good bath though..
Is that your wiring harness going left of your windshield?
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Yea a bath is in order, hasnt had one in over 18 months.
Yea thats my harness, I'll keep it out of the way behind the pillar trim which is held up in the mail, apparently the great corona has the mail delayed. That harness may need lengthened a little bit not sure yet, we will see when the trim comes in
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So I guess I'll do a quick update, didnt have any more progress this past couple week's, works crazy, im still waiting on my trim from brothers truck, I tried to calibrate my Speedo last weekend, wound up snapping off my high steer arm turning the truck around a mile away, so had to rig up some real sketchy steerimg to get home, only a mile down a back road. So thats pretty much where she has sat. I did order a new pitman arm and am waiting on it. Wont be able to do much until i get it.
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Well, I went ahead and did some steering work, moved my draglink, the current pitman arm works but doesnt give me full steering lock, I'm still waiting on my new one but its driveable again. I pulled the radiator tonight to try to fix a leak on the drivers side tank, I'm not exactly in a hurry to get rid of my heavy duty 4 core brass radiator but if it doesnt hold i guess ive got no other choice. I also made my own homemade version of afc live for the p pump 12 valve by using an air regulator and a needle valve. I'll grab pics of that in the daylight here some time.
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Scary stuff snapping a pitman arm........Glad you weren't going 60 mph.
So, you have mentioned from the start about a 12 valve 6 cylinder diesel. I'm admittedly ignorant of the design, but don't all 6 cylinders have 12 valves? Please school me as to why/how this is special/desirable.
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Scary stuff snapping a pitman arm........Glad you weren't going 60 mph.
So, you have mentioned from the start about a 12 valve 6 cylinder diesel. I'm admittedly ignorant of the design, but don't all 6 cylinders have 12 valves? Please school me as to why/how this is special/desirable.
Oh Johnny, my opinion of you hasn't lowered due to this lack of knowledge but I'm sure you will appreciate a fully mechanical diesel engine with one important electrical connection that shuts off fuel. I don't want to step on any toes and take any of Oilburner's response so I'll stop here with the description.
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In a way yes, all 6 cylinder engines have at least 12 valves. As for the cummins, there is 2 types of the b series cummins that people swap into other trucks on the regular, the 12 valve, which is all mechanical injection with a solenoid to shut off fuel, and the 24 valve which has 4 valves per cylinder instead if 2, but it is more electronically controlled. The 12 valve is easier to make cheap power and has less wiring headaches when swapping one into a truck.
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"I see said the blind man" Thx for the info!
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Any time there bud
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I know its been a minute, a long one at that. Ive been driving this thing here on the weekends, iv developed a vibration, either a driveshaft or flat spots in the tires, havent figured out yet. Havent really looked either. I needed new tires to go with the lift, so I ordered a set of 285/65r20 mud tires toady, got the wheels on order hopefully another week or so for those to come in. Ive got a new aluminium radiator, a new pitman arm (longer one to hopefully get full use of the axles turning angle, in hopes of turning this thing around inside a 10 acre field), my interior trim finally showed up, and i picked up my headliner Monday. College is still in full swing as well as work is in high gear so this thing just sits a lot. When i get time I'll work on her here or there, hoping I'll get a little more motivated when the wheels come in.
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Alrighty, schools got a week left, I ordered my wheels and tires, ($3500 hurt a little) but they look sweet. I goofed and assumed my wheel studs were m14x1.5 in the rear, nope theyre 9/16 so i gotta figure that out, if anyone has a part number for m14x1.5 lug studs that fit a dana 70hd I wouod be greatful, if not ill pull it apart at some point and find something. Anyway, here is the truck with the new wheels and tires, as well as a comparison. The wheels are xd series by kmc, the are the machete or xd130. Running 20x9, wrapped them in a cheap evay ture with good reviews, 285/65r20, they measure in right at 35" x 11.5"
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I know this whole thread has been full of spelling errors, but I rely to much on autocorrect, and it's so bad on my phone from misspelling stuff wrong so much i have seen it autocorrect something i spelled correctly into the normal way i spell it wrong 😂😂😂 anyway, here is pics of the wheels.
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Ouch.. but looks very sharp!!! 8)
BTW is that a typo on the tire? LEAO? ;D
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Nope, they are Leo lion mt. Theyre pretty aggressive, load range e. I was sceptical of ordering them but every review I read was positive. I figured for as little as I actually drive the truck id give em a go. They wound uo being 190 a tire. Verses bfg at 260 and the nittos at 310 a tire. I guess they are imported into Florida and sold online. There is also a tire called kanati, they have both a at and a mt, the at looks like the goodyear wrangler dura-trac and cant remember what the mt was. I talked to some tire guys and they are basically re branded goodyears sold only online. If you have a way to mount them its a lot cheaper.
Thanks I love the way the look on there
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So thus week i have gotten all my interior trim installed, the headliner installed, and new pitman arm. I also swapped my shift tower over to a short tower for easier shifting
As far as the wheels and tires go, these things are kinda disapointing in the feedback department. They are way too quiet for my liking. The wrangler duratracs on my serria are louder. But they do handle and ride real good
Next week im wanting to get the new gauges in
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Needed a picture of the ole girl
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Looking good!
I can't believe those tires are 'quiet' !!! :o
So do you like road noise? I guess some do.
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Those wheels and tires definitely give the truck a more aggressive look.
I like to hear my tires a bit as well. My limits are tsl boggers.. listening to those at interstate speeds to get to the next puddle changes a man...
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Guess I'm the opposite, at an older age, I like quiet...The Truck is noisy enough without adding road noise... 8)
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I do like some noise, I found out if you leave the backwoods tar and chip roads and find some nice city blacktop the hum a little. They are a little louder than bfg am terrains. Kinda. Disappointing honestly.
Im going to buy a dash pad this week for her, what brand and where do y'all recomend. I want something that fits good and looks good. And i want it to be built like the factory one so i buy one and im done
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1981-91 CHEVY / GMC OE STYLE VINYL DASH PAD (http://store.73-87chevytrucks.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=7&Product_Code=D100181&Category_Code=DC)
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Looks great!
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Just ordered the dash pad. I didnt realise there were so many products on this site for these trucks. I even see they have thw rear door panels which are extreamly hars to find. Anyone have any expirence with these over the stockers?
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So, the email just came through, and it said that the order would take 25 business days to be processed, is that really how long it takes or is that just a bloated timeline due to covid? Anyway, it's ordered at least 😂😂😂
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Especially right now, shipping is taking forever! I just got all the patch panels for my son's build from Chris ( this site) and the quality is awesome. Definitely not cheap thin imported metal stampings.
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I didnt look all that hard, but im guessing that you can buy headliners for the crew cabs as well. Mine was salvageable and the local upholstry shop only wanted 200 bucks to re do mine and reinforce it. I looked high and low for those things though.
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Well, I took the ole girl out for a parts run today, dialed in the pump in a little bit. Got her running real good. I'm not gonna get a whole lot done on this thing for a while honestly. I'll prolly wait till the dash pad comes in. I've got gauges to install, and I got the carpet to cover my trans tunnel. But this week is gonna be swamped with work and final wedding planning, and next week the truck won't even be thought of. But anyway here's a pic I snapped of her at the bridge on the fine day we had today.
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Well it has officially been a long time, but I've been lurking around here in the background still. It's been a long time since I've done any real updates to the truck but I finally got some notable updates done. The two big ones are the dash and gauge cluster. I swapped my digital ones for a set of Dakota digital sindicate sieres, which can I just say WOW. these things are nice if your looking for a good diesel set of digital gauges for a square body these are the ones 10/10. So got those installed along with the new dash pad.
Other than those upgrades the only work I've done is maintenance. I had to rebuild the track bar bushings, they needed it when I put it together but I let it go, I had the minimum pressure valve come out of the injection pump so I fixed that, installed a new predator lift pump from power driven diesel, mine took a crap, some pump tuning, filters little stuff like that. I mostly have been working on moving into a house for the past 6 months, to long to move but another story, and then my college and work. In the time of moving stuff I've been using this thing as a mule and it is awesome. Pulls so much better then I'd ever imagine it. I've hauled 2000 pounds of scrap off with it and didn't even know it was on the bed. But here come some more pictures of what's happened to her.
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So here goes, a load of scrap, then the before and after of the dash bezel, I used stuff called spaz stix chrome paint, it's a 3 part deal at about 12 bucks a can but it looks great. Highly recommend. I took off the silver trim on the bezel and the dash pad, I kinda like the offset of the little chrome like logos and screws, and the crinkle kinda sets it off. The sindicate sieres lit up at night, I don't have pictures of them in daylight since it's dark by 530 right now and I forget in the daylight hours.
Let me go off on a sidebar here, these gauges are well worth the $800 I paid for them. I was a little mad at the price at first but let me tell ya, they are amazing. All sending units come with it, they have shielded cables for each sensor, and it's all plug and play. I can't say it enough these things are awesome. They even use the stock turn signal indicators which I love.