73-87chevytrucks.com
73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Members Rides => Topic started by: sonicbluezx3 on August 16, 2011, 12:41:24 pm
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I bought a 1986 K10 from my buddy back in 2009 for $700.00 with the intention of using it to pull my jet ski to and from the lake..... little did I know I would be selling the jet ski and keeping the truck as my toy. It originally had a 4.3 liter 6 cyl. engine and is an Illinois truck so you can imagine the rust. My buddy replaced the 6 cyl with the 6.2L diesel and a 700R4 trans when the original engine blew. He thought the diesel would have more power.... boy was he wrong. Haha.
Pic of the truck when I brought it home:
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/May192009013.jpg)
I drove it this way until early summer of 2010 when it stalled on me on the way home from work one day. Turned out the injection pump had to be replaced. This is most likely due to running jet fuel through it (got it free from where I worked...sump fuel. My buddy had been using it before I bought it straight with no additives which is most likely the cause. I add oil and the diesel cetane boost since jet fuel has no lubricants). So off to LKQ we went to find a replacement... it did end up fixing the problem, so I drove it some more and then decided to replace a few parts on it like the hood and the fenders:
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/IMG_3587.jpg)
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/IMG_3586.jpg)
I ended up driving it one more day out of the year and decided I was going to do a rebuild on it when I found this:
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/IMG_3588.jpg)
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/IMG_3590.jpg)
I realize now that I could have just gotten patch panels welded in and it would be done.... but now that I have the bed off I'm glad I didn't since that was rusted really bad and so is the frame.
I went out and bought a cab for it for 200 bucks, a fuel tank and sending unit, brackets, a bed for 400, and a bunch of other miscellaneous parts. I used the original radiator core support (I sandblasted it and painted/bedlined it), the original front bumper (new brackets and bolts, just polished it up and it looks new), headlights, passenger fender. I replaced both inner fenders and the driver side fender since it was dented real bad from a blowout.
Front end done:
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/newfrontend.jpg)
Donor truck for the cab:
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/cab.jpg)
I didn't know this at the time, but it's a 2wd with a/c.... my truck is 4wd w/o a/c. So it's a little complicated but I'm making it work. I don't want A/C (costs too much, I never use it on my daily driver which is a new Ford Focus anyway). I'm making a bracket today.
"New" bed before:
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/bed.jpg)
Bed as it sits now:
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/insideofnewbed.jpg)
Cab after sandblasting and priming the floorpans:
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/IMG_3591.jpg)
Cab as it sits now:
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/rearwindowgone.jpg)
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/dashofnewcab.jpg)
Painted firewall:
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/firewallofnewcab.jpg)
So I have a lot more work to do.... I am going to be sandblasting the frame once I get the old cab off.... going to coat it with something similar to POR 15.
I will post updates as I get em! Let me know what you think.
Also... if anyone knows of a place I can buy the center hump cover for the 4wd let me know.... otherwise I'm going to have to cut 2 holes and re use the hump from my old cab.
Thanks for looking!
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You have done some great work and have a lot more to do, keep up the good work.
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I realize now that I could have just gotten patch panels welded in and it would be done.... but now that I have the bed off I'm glad I didn't since that was rusted really bad and so is the frame.
You could have fixed that cab but it looks like you would have spent close to what you paid for your new cab in patch panels by the time you were done.
I went out and bought a cab for it for 200 bucks, a fuel tank and sending unit, brackets, a bed for 400, and a bunch of other miscellaneous parts.
I don't know where you are located but that would be a great deal in NH for those parts in that condition.
Nice score.
Also... if anyone knows of a place I can buy the center hump cover for the 4wd let me know.... otherwise I'm going to have to cut 2 holes and re use the hump from my old cab.
I would used the hump out of your old cab. It already has the transfer case shifter in it.
Keep up the good work.
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Good progress so far! I'm lookin forward to more
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You could have fixed that cab but it looks like you would have spent close to what you paid for your new cab in patch panels by the time you were done.
True.... but I don't have a welder nor do I know how to weld.
I would used the hump out of your old cab. It already has the transfer case shifter in it.
Keep up the good work.
True but again I don't have a welder... so I would have to pay someone to come out and weld it together.
I know it's not a very popular thing, but I was told I could just get a body lift.... I'm not sure how much I would need though. I don't know much about that... but from what I've been told it will be alot easier to do that than have a welder plus it would be cheaper. Any ideas?
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I think you did the right thing by replacing the cab is what I meant. Just buying the patch panels would be about what you spent on the new cab. Rust is always deeper than it looks on the outside. Plus you saved a lot of work. $200 well spent on the cab.
On the Hump, Why can't you just bolt it in? It looks like you already have the raised section for the transfer case in the rear. Cut your old one out. Lay it on your new cab and mark it out. Make your cut smaller so that you have something to bolt/screw it too. And put some body caulk or butyl tape under it before you fasten it down. I may be wrong about this but I would look at it as an option. I'm sure somebody will chime in if I steered you in the wrong direction.
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great work and a project man. looking good
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I think you did the right thing by replacing the cab is what I meant. Just buying the patch panels would be about what you spent on the new cab. Rust is always deeper than it looks on the outside. Plus you saved a lot of work. $200 well spent on the cab.
On the Hump, Why can't you just bolt it in? It looks like you already have the raised section for the transfer case in the rear. Cut your old one out. Lay it on your new cab and mark it out. Make your cut smaller so that you have something to bolt/screw it too. And put some body caulk or butyl tape under it before you fasten it down. I may be wrong about this but I would look at it as an option. I'm sure somebody will chime in if I steered you in the wrong direction.
Gotcha... yeah I know that for sure, I have found a ton of rust that I didn't even know was there since I've been tearing things apart. All the cab bolts were seized, so I am in the process of cutting them out. 3 down, 1 more to go (saved the hardest for last...right over the gas tank! Lol)
I'm going to end up doing that with the humps... I would like to find a replacement bolt in one though so I don't have to use mine (I'm sure there's a ton of rust on the other side)... plus it would look better if I just used a new one and bolted it in. I can't find a place that sells them though... don't even know if they exist.
I'll hopefully have the cab off this weekend assuming we don't have problems from the hurricane...if I do I'll take some pics.
Thanks for the compliments!
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That is some fine looking work. You got a steal on the donor cab.
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The humps in the 4 speed trucks is a high hump and it bolts in. You could probably find one at the junk yard
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Thought I would post an update....
The cab is off and I just coated the frame this past weekend. I used KBS Coatings Rust Seal 3 Step system.
Check out the before picture (I had already used the wire wheel to get the loose rust off)
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/photo1.jpg)
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/photo2.jpg)
After I used the Aqua Kleen degreaser:
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/photo3.jpg)
After I used the Zinc Phosphate "Rust Blast" stuff (notice the cloudy looking color the metal now has):
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/photo4.jpg)
Final product! (I still have to paint on a couple more light coats, but you get the idea)
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/photo5.jpg)
After I finish the coating, I am going to work on the cab some more.... need to install the A/C system, fix a hole in the floor in the back, cut out the center hump and install the new one from my old cab, and then I will be mounting it onto the frame. My projected date to have all of this stuff done is early October. Then it's onto the final touches!
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I approve. :)
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I didn't get to work on the truck this past weekend since I had to do a lot of schoolwork, but I am planning on painting the last two coats this weekend and I am going to try to work on getting the A/C housing installed on the new cab as well.
Oh I do have one update...the sliding glass window is now installed on the new cab thanks to my buddy's help.
Funny random thing... the guy I bought my truck from is a Chevy guy and he just bought a 1985 Ford F350 with the 6.9 diesel (his is stick... I'm kinda jealous).......I'm a Ford guy and I own a Chevy truck. Lol.
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Looks great, and that's way better than any Ford out there ::)
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Haha thanks. I don't know if I agree, haven't ever owned a Ford truck. I am very happy with my Chevy though... just wish the 6.2 had more power! Lol. Way down the road I may look into swapping some sort of turbo diesel into it, but I have to finish what I've got right now lol and then focus on school for a while.
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Well it has been a long while since I posted an update. Sorry about that.
As it stands now, I have the bed and cab mounted onto the truck and everything is all put back together. The step rear bumper is mounted as well.
Basically the only thing left for me to do is put the interior back in and replace the doors.
I just bought a set of doors off of Craigslist for $150 that are in really good shape. I have the door panels off now and will be painting everything black. I am planning to have diamond plating cut out to the shape of the lower carpet panel on the doors and have that instead. Also I will be putting 6" speakers in the door and wiring up the power door locks.
Painted the frame: (Don't worry... I painted it black after this. That was the only color of the rust sealer K-mart had and it was on sale. I went back over it with black bedliner spray so it is 100% black now!)
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/Facebook/Truck%20Rehab/336797_539183647826_1559344452_o.jpg)
Got the cab on:
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/Facebook/Truck%20Reha/330997_540061498606_1171806450_o.jpg)
Friends who helped:
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/Facebook/Truck%20Rehab/341209_540081358806_1788338090_o.jpg)
I put my old doors on to keep the water out:
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/Facebook/Truck%20Rehab/307139_540580104316_2060363393_n.jpg)
Gotta love the new front "bling":
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/Facebook/Truck%20Rehab/377859_543504438926_1084584755_n.jpg)
How it sat after new years:
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/Facebook/Truck%20Rehab/401706_551286139336_347327989_n.jpg)
I then moved to Charlotte to an apartment. My truck sat in the garage for a few months while I was working and going to school and had zero time to work on the truck.
I started back working on the truck in my garage about a month ago and the next set of pictures will show the progress I have made since then.
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Okay here are some pics of what I did to fix the low hump issue:
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/Facebook/Truck%20Rehab/325635_539924368416_322526582_o.jpg)
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/Facebook/Truck%20Rehab/269307_567363490196_1513675165_n.jpg)
This was the shifter before sandblasting and painting it:
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/Facebook/Truck%20Rehab/576104_564159560896_1371962440_n.jpg)
After:
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/Facebook/Truck%20Rehab/548535_564150139776_366768708_n.jpg)
Shifter cover before painting:
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/Facebook/Truck%20Rehab/532859_564238537626_1844420974_n.jpg)
Shifter cover after:
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/Facebook/Truck%20Rehab/399027_564238622456_622591074_n.jpg)
Dynamat on the floor:
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/Facebook/Truck%20Rehab/179560_566720558636_1582590410_n.jpg)
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/Facebook/Truck%20Rehab/307000_567363540096_159566090_n.jpg)
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Had to cut a hole in the floor when I got the cab because the cab mount nut was spinning in place. I fixed the threads and replaced the mount, and covered the hole (I sprayed about a can of PB blaster in there before doing so in order to prevent rust).
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/Facebook/Truck%20Rehab/295007_567363475226_759571490_n.jpg)
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Fubared radio area:
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/Facebook/Truck%20Rehab/526222_567363589996_1357604700_n.jpg)
Fix:
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/Facebook/Truck%20Rehab/205418_567363599976_1507483085_n.jpg)
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/Facebook/Truck%20Rehab/576822_567363570036_2114674256_n.jpg)
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/Facebook/Truck%20Rehab/319863_567363659856_1280471945_n.jpg)
Rear speaker mounts (has anyone else done this??):
Before:
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/Facebook/Truck%20Rehab/535698_567423345246_689685503_n.jpg)
During:
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/Facebook/Truck%20Rehab/526697_567423400136_424998768_n.jpg)
After:
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/sonicbluezx3/Facebook/Truck%20Rehab/553586_567423574786_1393632257_n.jpg)
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I now have the doors sitting in my shop. I will be sanding/painting them and replacing all of the seals. Once i get them done I will go install them in the garage. All that I have left is to install the blazer seats, the carpet, and the remaining interior trim panels.
I will still need to set up the A/C system since it never had A/C (I decided to keep it and try to find all the pieces to add A/C to the 6.2. I have the brackets and all the venting for the interior).
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Haha thanks. I don't know if I agree, haven't ever owned a Ford truck. I am very happy with my Chevy though... just wish the 6.2 had more power! Lol. Way down the road I may look into swapping some sort of turbo diesel into it, but I have to finish what I've got right now lol and then focus on school for a while.
These 6.2's only came with 130 hp from the factory. However, there are some simple things you can do to help it out quite a lot and even gain some on fuel economy.
1. Install a "J" code intake manifold that does not have the EGR valve apparatus.
2. Open up the air cleaner / intake. You can stack 2 air cleaners on top of each other.
3. Ditch those restrictive muffler for something like this.
(http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSVlzJa6L7Dh9DLV5DdneV-UPsYT85dcPXMZIMBkFVxrWeHo5NAnNKKjq3YaA)
http://www.ryderfleetproducts.com/ryder/af/ryder/core/content/product/srm/oid/78183/erm/productDetail.do
4. Get a single 3" exhaust or dual 2-1/2" with an H pipe.
5. Exhaust headers if you can afford it
6. Turn up your injection pump.
I did all of that to my 1982 6.2L Suburban and the difference was like night and day. Power would be similar to a very healthy 350 but with much less fuel usage.
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Nice idea on the speakers. How do they sound in there?
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Haha thanks. I don't know if I agree, haven't ever owned a Ford truck. I am very happy with my Chevy though... just wish the 6.2 had more power! Lol. Way down the road I may look into swapping some sort of turbo diesel into it, but I have to finish what I've got right now lol and then focus on school for a while.
These 6.2's only came with 130 hp from the factory. However, there are some simple things you can do to help it out quite a lot and even gain some on fuel economy.
1. Install a "J" code intake manifold that does not have the EGR valve apparatus.
2. Open up the air cleaner / intake. You can stack 2 air cleaners on top of each other.
3. Ditch those restrictive muffler for something like this.
(http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSVlzJa6L7Dh9DLV5DdneV-UPsYT85dcPXMZIMBkFVxrWeHo5NAnNKKjq3YaA)
http://www.ryderfleetproducts.com/ryder/af/ryder/core/content/product/srm/oid/78183/erm/productDetail.do
4. Get a single 3" exhaust or dual 2-1/2" with an H pipe.
5. Exhaust headers if you can afford it
6. Turn up your injection pump.
I did all of that to my 1982 6.2L Suburban and the difference was like night and day. Power would be similar to a very healthy 350 but with much less fuel usage.
Yeah i have all of the books from the diesel place so i plan to do some of this. Thanks for the tips. Any idea where i can get the intake or exhaust manifolds?
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Nice idea on the speakers. How do they sound in there?
Ive only played them enough to make sure they worked. They sounded a lot better than the dash speakers did though. Im going to have to close off the spot here 6x9s go so the sound is a bit better.
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Yeah i have all of the books from the diesel place so i plan to do some of this. Thanks for the tips. Any idea where i can get the intake or exhaust manifolds?
You might be able to find the intake manifold at the junkyard. The trucks with the non EGR intake manifolds would be either 3/4 ton or 1 ton. Or you could do like me and chip out that EGR pedestal.
The only place I know that sells exhaust headers for the 6.2/6.5 is
http://www.stans-headers.com/diesel.htm
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Do you have a picture of what the egr looks like? The part in the intake i mean
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Wow $551 for headers.... do they really make that big of a difference over stock?
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Nice job on the floor hump and speakers, like the speaker idea.
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Do you have a picture of what the egr looks like? The part in the intake i mean
It looks like this.
(http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/attachments/diesel-discussion/23254d1105809421-check-out-chevette-diesel-olds-cutlass-diesel-egr.jpg)
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Wow $551 for headers.... do they really make that big of a difference over stock?
Yes, huge difference over stock. Also, still cheaper than a Banks Turbo and power is very comparable between the two. But the one big advantage of headers over a turbo is better fuel economy. I have more than paid for the price of the headers with just better fuel economy alone. GM should have installed headers on the 6.2 from the factory but I'm sure cost was the factor against it. Also, keep in mind that the military Humvees have headers installed on their 6.2's. The military would have never installed them if it didn't make a big enough difference. Too bad, these headers don't fit in our trucks otherwise that would be a way to save some bucks.
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Yea I think mine has that. So the J-code just cuts that out? Or is that just what you did? Mine isn't even connected btw... and I have a different air intake filter housing too. I would like to get the proper one and try the double filter thing.
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I doubt I will get the headers any time soon because that is a lot, but I'll keep it in mind. I would like to install an H-pipe as well so it will sound better. Would actually prefer to do a single stack on the passenger side, but I don't know how I feel about that since it isn't turbo.
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Yea I think mine has that. So the J-code just cuts that out? Or is that just what you did? Mine isn't even connected btw... and I have a different air intake filter housing too. I would like to get the proper one and try the double filter thing.
That center pedestal that the EGR valve sits on doesn't exist on the J-code intake. My Suburban has a C-code intake that I modified by cutting out that center pedestal.
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I doubt I will get the headers any time soon because that is a lot, but I'll keep it in mind. I would like to install an H-pipe as well so it will sound better. Would actually prefer to do a single stack on the passenger side, but I don't know how I feel about that since it isn't turbo.
A single stack would be terribly loud without a turbo.
The biggest reason I installed headers on my Suburban because I needed it to tow my 26 ft Airstream trailer and in stock form, it was too low on power to tow it in any reasonable fashion. I've put more than 100k miles on the Suburban since they were installed so just the increase in fuel economy has more than paid for the initial cost.
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Okay got a lot done... Interior is almost complete, just have the kick panels and glovebox to install. The doors are installed along with new window seals, locks and handles. The driver door is 99.9% complete... Just need to install the window crank. If all goes well i should be starting it up this weekend.
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Here is a pic of the door panel i did.
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Interior. And yes i have red under dash lights
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Here is a pic of the door panel i did.
Looks nice. I especially like that chain. It'll never break.