My 78 k10 4x4 build thread -454 install / build -1 ton axles- frame restoration

[bake74]

     So I am confused about something.  The original craigslist ad said "76" and your signature says "78", was the previous owner mistaken ?

[FearNoMan78k10]

Indeed he was mistaken ,,, now the title says 1978 chevy model 150 body is PK .....  vin is CKL148F316500....... He stated it was a 76 until it was time to pay then he said it was a 78' after looking at the title ... I absolutely love this truck , would be nice if it was a 76 though .. But it being a 78 model truck I'm totally cool with , love the 50's 60's and 70's models and even a few of the 80's models trucks... Ill take a pic of the title just for good purpose....

[FearNoMan78k10]

Well last night I sold the old intake , camshaft , push rods and lifters, harmonic balancer and timing gear and chain to these two old school guys and they are wanting the carb and my old 454 oval port heads as well... So we will see!  Sold all of the above with a flex plate for 140 dollars.. I don't like to nickel and dime people, especially on used parts...... Well guys hopefully the carb and the axles sell soon as well as the heads.! Pray for me if you love Jesus that these extra parts would sell and praise God I sold a few things last ! Parts money for the project ! Whoo hoo! We are working on creating the last parts list which is a massive total. And bringing some of the leftover charges to a total, I got the short end of the stick buying this motor, but through God's help and family and selling things the truck should be finished in its entirety by the end of May !

[minus1]

by the end of May? Geez, yours will be done before mine and I'm not even doing half of what you are...lol

[FearNoMan78k10]

Lol yeah by the end of May I'm hoping, parts arrival is a time factor, engine prep work and reassembly takes time, 1- ton axle swap will take a bit to do. Replacing the body bushings and bushings throughout , it's only going to be able to get done that quick because there is two mechanics working on it in their spare time, and God is just allowing things to sell now again so I'm having to raise bits here and there and if it wasn't for God allowing my trailer and other plethora of stuff to sell there's no way I'd even be half way as far along as I am. So God is helping out big time in all of this. And because there is so much damage to the engine and parts new mixed with old , and my dad's friend taking me to the cleaners on the motor. They are agreeing to help me finish the truck. Old parts will be sold off like the axles, heads, carb , and anything else that I can to help with this. I have been financially broken on this project because of a huge scam and lie from the guy I bought the motor from. And it's costed me more than money, selling off things I've purchased and wanted to really hang onto, and sacrifices... It's now become a serious investment to get things right on this engine, and my folks have talked and agreed to back me 100 percent and help turn around the wrong doing into a right and get this truck rebuilt the right way. I would of been done already if the engine was everything the guy said it was. Axles brakes steering suspension body etc would of been done if the engine hadn't of been maliciously jacked up inside. Well minus please do keep in mind I sold off several thousand dollars worth of things to get where I'm at right now after buying the motor... Soooo glad that I didn't have the guys friend put the engine in,,,, jeez that would of been instant disaster on startup,,,,, we are pushing hard for end of May ,,,, if I could work with them while they do the engine and suspension brakes etc it would go a little bit faster but not too much , these guys are like my dad's age, I'm 26 nearly and haven't messed with too many big blocks or Chevys but from more experienced with diesels,, so it's a big learning curve for me, after the accident I lost more than just my edge in life lol, but I'm getting my feet wet again in this stuff, just because I'm disabled doesn't mean this is a build this for me truck you know? I've put a lot of time into the truck myself and my wife helped me on the frame big time after she started liking ( love at first site for her ) my truck she wanted to help and has had fun but she works quite a lot and just doesn't have the time so between he mechanics and myself it's a group effort to get things done and it takes a stinkin DEEP wallet ( in my mind ) to get this truck done, my folks helped out 40 percent on buying the engine, and myself the rest. The truck I bought , but not just I got screwged but my folks as well so they are also beside themselves and want to see it made right by fixing or replacing what's needs to be,,,, because this is going to be the last truck I build like this,,,, I'll take my days if I have them in the future by building a mud truck , 4 wheeling high horsepower tow behind this truck kind of truck,,, but this is also my only driver, and I'm the man of this family and I can't have my truck down for a year or two while I try to fix it, I have got to have a good solid reliable know how to fix it when it breaks truck,,  It's taken already almost 2 months,,, my diesel truck build took me like 6 months or 7 .... That was a long build and a ton of work , I wish I hadn't of sold that truck,but this truck I'm keeping,,,, and with how much I've had to sell and sacrifice , it's only right that it's made right and built to the hilts to last,  it's going to cost several thousand more before it's done , and my folks are going to assist me finishing the truck in its entirety, but I will owe them every last dime and dollar that's put into the truck, that's just FINE with me,  that's thee key factor in getting the truck done is the 3k additional parts list and paying for labor still..... This is a blood sweat and tears build lol seriously,,,,, anywho I think I went off topic just a bit lol

[FearNoMan78k10]

When is yours going to be finished minus ?

[minus1]

I'm not really sure? like I said just waiting on the weather is the big part. Right now it looks like next weekend is going to be nice enough to do the frame. Then again this is Northern Indiana and the weather changes every minute is seems like. I would think things would move along nicely after the frame is ready? I would guess that the wiring and final tweaks will take some time? I have no idea really as this is my first time doing anything like this.  This will be stage one of the build and with any luck next spring I can start stage two....As long as the soon to be wife says it's ok...LOL

[FearNoMan78k10]

Hmmm alright,,, yeah weather is a pure pain in the butt sometimes getting work around it,,, well if the weather warms up you should be out there first thing in the morning and coat everything and hopefully it will dry... I would go out there as soon as I could when the weather is nice,,,, well you've gotten a really good start so far and are coming along that's for sure,,,, after your frame is painted the wiring really won't take too long,,,,,, this ought to blow by for you once the frame is coated ,,,,, install motor , reroute the wires, make sure they won't get pinched or crushed once the dog house , cab and bed is put back on , since it's a firewood hauling truck are yo going to install small bright lights on the rear? And for having no idea you say what your doing I think you sure are doing a great job man

[FearNoMan78k10]

I never saw the rotating assembly and underneath of the motor, it's a 2 bolt main,,,, not a 4 bolt like he told me, the guy who sold me the engine, I seriously feel ill right now,,,,,,,,,,, I feel like I'm gona puke

[FearNoMan78k10]

Guys you know where I can get some good rectangle port heads without breaking the bank?

[Captkaos]

New, define breaking the bank.  BBC stuff isn't cheap, and rectangle ports are overkill for anything short of all out drag motor.

[cvbear]

that is looking great!  You have put a lot of work in on that frame.

[Sprinkler-Man]

do you have the paint code sticker for your truck?  Mine is the same burnt orange color and i want to repaint it but am missing the sticker.

[FearNoMan78k10]

Looool ,,,, no doubt ,,, new heads will break the bank,,,, ie under 2 grand,,, I may end up getting the iron rectangle port heads, my heads will need a GRAND worth of parts and labor to get these old irons to par with what we are doing, and it to my opinion will be worth the money getting new iron rectangle ports over the oval ports and really open this 454 up ,,,,,,,while we do the old saying out with old and broken and in with the new fixes the cracks and leaks ,,,,, my valuables have been sold off to keep this project going, I got so screwed over from the guy I bought it from it's not even funny, it's not even a 4 bolt main it's a two bolt main, for everyone who doesn't know what  that truly means, it means 4 bolts as opposed to 2 on the main caps that hold the crankshaft in place while those huge pistons are going up and down with all that heavy metal to go with,,, so my 2 bolt main engine won't hold like a 4 bolt will unless I give it ALOT of love, even then it won't hold up to a fully built 4 bolt, it's a built 2 bolt now so it should hold 900hp at the crank.... We know we will make 600 to the wheels but are pushing for high 600's , bottom 700's. And she won't hold this without some love and attention from ARP fasteners and studs. So this engine is getting a redo on it's holding strength and anything that has importance to it is getting ARP studs and bolts top to bottom to make up for the loss of strength, plus the old engine bolts top to bottom truly needed to be replaced. They are old and some stretched. So every nut and bolt except WILL be stronger and torqued to specifications for the load each and every bolt and stud will require. So we are blue printing the entire engine. The bottom rotating assemble has been fully balanced to minimize the unevenness and extra vibrations for a smooth rock solid pulling running beast of an engine that will roast 44's on pavement all day long without breaking a sweat. That's the engine we are building here guys, I got taken to the cleaners on this motor in its entirety , 4700 dollars for a big royal shaft where the sun just doesn't shine. So that being said. There was so much work to do and investments definitely pay off but they do not last forever,,, that also being said I have put more into this truck from the beggining than I ever imagined, SOOO .... This engine needed and needs a lot of love and attention and I'm giving 110 percent to build it to the T and and rebuild every last stinking piece on this truck until I'm satisfied I got taken to the cleaners and drowned in a river with this motor and I have turning it into a working breathing powerhouse of an engine. And I can't live with how bad he screwed me on this engine without going through it tossing the broken and not usable or barely useable and cleaning house on this engine and going through it fine tooth and comb on the truck. That's the only way I will be able to have fun with this truck  and feel good about giving a total friend who is a  scam artist 4700 for what I should of only paid 1100........ I feel sick to my stomach on this truck sometimes when I think about the dollar signs.... But when it's done it WILL clip almost 700hp at the wheels and will be fully built to the hilt bumper to bumper and all the broken and blown this and that will be replaced, and my heads need a grand of work done to them to get them new and rebuilt , port matched, honed out, polished , cleaned, hot tanked, replace valves and springs , roller rocker arms, better for me to just spend the 1800 on new heads and be done with it and have some High performance iron rectangle port fire breathing heads,,,, the whole engine was a nightmare , and I'm turning it into a solid engine that's been built,,,,, to hold power ,,,,,make power,,, and be reliable as humanly possible with the makeover on this lie of a motor that started... I've looked into heads they are 1500 to 2 grand for performance heads.... 1500 and under it's not worth the money they don't have the performance gain and upgrades we are looking for, 1500 to 2000 is right where the performance only headers are priced at, and I'm not spending a grand to fix my old worn out heads when I could have high performance new iron rectangle port heads for 800 more,,, if I sell my old heads say 500 bucks including the springs and valves.... It will be 1300 for the new heads, so not a huge set back as opposed to 1800,,,,, plus I'm selling the 10 and 12 bolt axles still. It will be a true 1 ton axle and suspension setup backed by a high horsepower big block 454 when it's done ,,, so much work is going into this.... Lonnnnnng story short,,, I just can't live with "smoke and mirrors " inside the engine ,,,,,, everything is getting overhauled or replaced because of all the damage it just wasn't worth our time and money to fix some things it was better just to buy new parts,,,,performance  rectangle port heads up here in colorado at elevation ought be breathing well compared to what the stock oval port heads would ever do here at 8,000 feet at the house... I want to take it down to sea level a year or two after it's built and throw 800 plus on the dyno and go home lol.... I built my 98.5 cummins 24 valve , 576 rwhp , 1158 tq,,,,, 58 pounds of boost at sea level in overdrive .. 47 pounds of boost in every gear except overdrive.... The dyno could only load the engine to 42 pounds of boost,,, made 440 rwhp and 816 torque , we did the math on the 58 pounds of boost in overdrive when it cruised the highways,,,, 25 hp shy of 600 at the wheels, she would throw sideways at 40mph on 115 degree concrete in Phoenix Arizona ,,,,, with 35's....... I have 33's on this truck,,, and will make more hp than the diesel and will make about the same torque because of the manual transmission. This truck will not be some trailer queen or a drag built truck, it's being built as a daily driver 1 ton old school big block classic truck, not the truck that's built garaged and driven twice a year... This is my daily driver and what better way to enjoy what started as a nightmare and all kinds of lies,,,,,,,,,, by rebuilding from the ground up. And start fresh ? Could you imagine your dad's friend taking you for 5000 dollars on a lie of an engine ? You would do two things ,,,,, one I won't mention, and the other option you have is you would rebuild it bigger badder and stronger than it ever was. ,,,,, right I don't know who would just button it back together and feel good about it, someone who doesn't care or know engines .... I'm no expert but I'm not green behind the ears either ,,,, this engine is getting a make over.... This old hot rod truck is getting rebuilt and restored, not to original factory condition but to a condition where I can take it to classic truck shows and have fun with it and feel good that what once started as worst nightmare ever for anything I've bought and turned out into a beautiful daily driving big block truck that not only has the engine redone but everything that goes with the truck as well..... Trust me I wanted to trash one of his hot rods he has for screwing me over on the motor,,,, but good ole judge Judy would have a fit if I did that , so instead I pray God judges him and one of his super expensive motors blow up on him :-) that's fair to me, an eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth,,,,,,,,,,, a engine for an engine :-) loool

[FearNoMan78k10]

Here are some heads I'm looking at deciding between with their specifications ,,,,,


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