The Silver Bullet Build! 85 c10 to k10 (God willing) *pics added*

[Tonka]

Some folks say that 'sand' blasting is too harsh but IMO it's been done that way for years. If you are gonna strip that frame down, have that POR 15 ready to go immediately after you blast it. The por15 will seal it up better than new.

I also redlined the interior of my cab with roll on bed liner. I want this truck to be handed down to my son years from now.
They do not make em like they used to.

     Using sand as the blasting materials will leave divot's and a ruff area, for a frame that is OK.  For body work most use crushed walnut shells to blast with, less abrasive and leave little to no marks.

Thats what I was told also.

[Silver_Bullet85]

Well a bit of news, a buddy I work with has an 86 k10 lwb that he's willing to sell me, the body is pretty well trashed but the transmission has been rebuilt, the engine runs and the frame should be in good shape, I'll hopefully pick it up tomorrow right after work. I'll put up some pics as soon as I can.


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[Silver_Bullet85]

So it's time for an update, a few things have changed and I'm going to stick with a 2wd build for now. I ordered a 383 stroker crate engine from tristar engines the other day and so we went ahead and pulled the old 305.  Found quite a bit of carbon build up thanks mostly to what I'm guessing is some fried piston rings on the passenger side. I was impressed at how easily everything came off tho, 29 years or build-up has an odd preserving effect lol












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[Irish_Alley]

to me it looks like your egr ports were leaking cooking and the oil

[Silver_Bullet85]

Oh ok, yeah it was leaking in quite a few places and all the coolant lines were very corroded and packed with junk. Thanks for the input, this is one of those learn-as-you-go projects for me and I'm eager to learn all I can.

We got the transmission, bed, and fuel tank pulled too so I think we're at the point where we can clean and start ordering all the fun stuff and maybe start putting her back together! Can't decide if I want to redress the suspension first or do wiring and the fuel system first, any thoughts?


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[Irish_Alley]

are you redoing the suspension or you just want to freshen it up? if it was me i would worry about if the engine will stay running first (if your driving it) cause you dont want her to stall out in a intersection or at all

[FearNoMan78k10]

AWESOME PROJECT BUILD.  I will be following for sure!

[Silver_Bullet85]

Well I've got a new engine on the way for it, the old 305 is gone and a 383 is soon to go in! I'm stuck on the suspension for now, I can't decide whether to change bushings and shocks and keep everything else or throw in a four link rear and change out the front end as well, it all comes down to time and money, I'd like for a sturdy ride but it also has to handle the 450hp of the new engine. Any input would be great, I don't know a whole lot about how much a suspension upgrade will improve the ride.

Thanks fear!!!


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[bake74]

     You should love the 383, as far as suspension goes, if the price tag is worth it to you.  Depending on which way you went on the suspension, it could give you a softer ride quality and better stance, but you will need to do your homework on which type of system for sure and how much money is worth it to you.

[Silver_Bullet85]

Well here's a quick update, the engine came in the other day and she looks great!! Tristar performance really did a fantastic job on this engine and always being available to answer any questions I had. All we're waiting on now is the delivery trucks from summit and amazon for all my shiny parts to come in. I hope these pictures show up right.

 



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[Silver_Bullet85]

Update time, but first I can't begin to express how helpful this site has been in helping me get this truck back together. The technical pages have so much good info on everything! I haven't found a better information source out there than what's on this site, so thanks a lot guys!

Well we got the engine stuffed back in a week ago and had no problems whatsoever with the fitment, got a set of new motor mounts from oreillys and before you knew it she was in!

Next came adding on the accessories which went well, had to modify the spacers on the alternator bracket to get it all lined up but nothing the ole grinder couldn't handle. The tricky part was finding the right belts to connect it all together with, I swear I went through at least ten belts before  I found the right fit!

Next we hooked up the throttle linkage and started on the painless wiring harness, as intimidating as it was at the start it actually proved to be a lot easier than I thought it would be, more tedious and methodical than difficult or confusing. Me and my brother stayed up all night long making sure everything was right and tucked up nicely. Only things left to wire up are the front and rear sections that I haven't put back on yet and the power windows and locks, I accidentally cut the wires out for all of them thinking the new harness had the replacements but was wrong, just 2 of the 6(?) total were provided so I'll need to finish them out later.

That was all I could accomplish on this week I had off, in three weeks I'll have another week to spend and I'll install a layer of second skin on the interior and convert everything to black to go with the dark navy blue paint we'll be going with on the outside. I'll also have all the other little accessory pieces I need, tranny cooler, brake lines, power steering lines, radiator mounts and hoses, and hopefully have the seat reupholstered. I'm so close now I can feel it! I'm really hoping she'll be moving under her own power by the end of the month.





















Here's Hank, the brains of the project, making sure we're getting it all done...

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[bake74]

     Nice progress, tell "hank" he is performing his foreman job just as it should be.   

[Silver_Bullet85]

Thanks! Haha yeah he runs a pretty tight ship around here.


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[skinu]

nice ! if I can get the pix post thing to go ill up some of my 84 long bed my gramps bought new and was given to me on his 95 passing. haven put many diff motors in and doing all the work myself I lowered it in 96 and built a stroker also using 6 Pontiac rods. I think I too have had every nut and bolt out and have built every at least once.in 98 my son took the truck up town and was running a 496 /400 and decided to show off for his future wife and clipped a cement block by some gas pumps. since then ive had 350s 383s 408s 427s 396/402s a 2009 6.0l outta a crashed vette now am back to a 383.i built rear disks long before any after markets were out got a gear vendors od, but before all of that I would say this stay away from polyurethane bushings and change the things you normally wouldn't hiem joint ,brake hoses,body bushings ect. mine might not be to much to look at ,I like it that way with the original paint or whats left ,but many can tell you what the rear looks like, I bought ganstull a type of por in Canada years back and its been great ,I guess theydont sell it no more but do have another type ill post soon ok,going fast is easy slowing is the trick,luck to you

[FearNoMan78k10]

Silver I have checked up on your 4x4 build and I must say ...... Impressive stroker you have there, fantastic attention to detail, great progress on the truck man, and it am totally diggin your entire truck build, GREAT JOB ! And that truck is flat out sweet man , keep the updates going, and tell hank not to work too hard