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

[FearNoMan78k10]

The radiator on the dog house as it is will be replaced with a larger made for a big block more efficient cooling radiator that has two electric fans attached to it to help keep the big chevy cool and not running hot.... Especially when I'm  going up these mountain passes and hard winding roads ....also will have a belt driven to add to the cooling capability of the truck

[minus1]

Nice work on the bed and dog house....

Looks like a beautiful place to live. Great pics!

[FearNoMan78k10]

Thanks Minus I appreciate it..... Yeah we are blessed to be living where we are living.... We are not wealthy or upper class by any means I assure you lol.... We just lucked out with this house... Definitely God given......

[FearNoMan78k10]

My wife and I and also my folks had a come to terms meeting last night... I won't discuss all that was said but... In short.... Once I pick up the motor I am on my own....  The driveshafts still need to be custom fitted to the truck.... And the exhaust welded up... Oh and fuel lines.... And a few other things.... This is the last of the Mohicans for me....truck either gets done and put together or my wife is going to be beyond upset and disappointed.... So... After the engine is paid for in its entirety at the machine shop..... ( already paid a arm and a leg and still owe ) this week it will be paid for.... I'm a disabled stay at home dad of three children... My wife is the sole bread winner and my folks helped fund this project....I sold off my brand new 2014 6x12 enclosed trailer and most of all the hunting fishing and camping gear stored inside it.... Which totaled a grotest number..... And put it directly in the truck in parts etc .... And my folks have put in quite a bit.... More.... I've put in half of what they have put in... Easy ..... This project with labor now totals .........     And I still have driveshafts.... Fuel lines.... Fuel hoses..... Gas tank to flush out as if it was biohazard ...  The exhaust to be welded up.... Several joints and bushings to replace.... Your starting to get the picture? And my wife and I don't have any extra at the end of each month if you catch my drift here.... Sooooooo...... I would really like to complete this truck SOON........  My wife is debating allowing me to sell her truck I bought for her that is in my name still... the dodge ram 1500 4x4. 5.9l v-8 that has lost more than half it power 184k miles....to help pay and finish my truck flat out in its entirety .... Very grateful and thoughtful thing for her to offer.....This thought last night was brought up because we as a family are inheriting a SUV that is 4 wheel drive, is a v-6, will get better gas mileage by far than her truck, is more reliable... Has been maintained and taking care of very well.... And will be much more reliable... Safer all around... Dependable.... Can haul our family efficiently...in snow, rain, fog etc up and down the mountain passes..... Which is a concern on where we are at vehicle wise... Now that being said.... Even though this SUV will be titled and registered in my name ,,, I am going to let my sweetheart drive it everyday as her vehicle because she honestly needs it to use everyday.... She has a 1996 Acura tl 5 cylinder 4 door with 214k miles..... We are debating selling both and using any extra money to pay ahead on bills or get things we need,,, in my mind that is guns and ammo :-) lol.... Anyways ...  This truck I have... The chevy ,.,, isn't just any truck,,,, it's a built over the top through and through beefy truck from the bottom up,,, 1 ton axles.... Dana 60, Dana 70, new suspension... Frame restoration, bed and body restored mostly in its entirety,, almost everything has been replaced,, fully built to the hilt bored out 454 that is a full roller , forged internals motor... Except for the pistons, they have forged numbers stamped into them but have casting marks.... New this new that etc etc etc... So I'd lose all kinds of money selling the truck, like thousands and thousands of dollars... A ridiculous amount of time and effort too.... And this is the last truck I will ever build, I've always wanted a hot rod truck....and a Chevrolet at that....  Well now I have it , I'm very against selling it... Why do that?  If I sell it, then it back at square one with an old truck with high mileage and no dough to do costly repairs when it breaks.... I don't know if I should sell both vehicles, her car, the dodge 4x4, and she has her SUV as to drive as our family car and I as the hubby have my man truck to drive.... Or sell just one and try to finish it... I don't know.... I would like ideas, suggestions, thoughts, opinions , to improvise on this situation and have a win win situation for both my wife and myself.... Anyone who has read this post ,,,, post your thoughts ideas and opinions up.... Please.... Just keep me coming....  I don't ask my wife for things to buy for myself, this is my baby and project and I'm right at being done nearly, aside from a bunch of parts to install and work to do.... I could be looking at 1000 dollars to complete the truck,,,, after the engine is paid for,, still.......... Anyways.... Fellas,,,, feel free to drop on some encouragement and hope,,,, I've sold off everything I had to keep this truck being built like a hoss of iron, now I'm risking a long unsure completion date, or selling it... It will take 2 months easy ,,, to finish,,, even if I worked out in everyday,,, that would leave us with one vehicle if we sold both of them.... So guys brainstorm and help me out here.... Thanks so much ,,,,, Andrew

[FearNoMan78k10]

I'm not selling this truck........ I just need ideas to finish it....

[minus1]

     Ashley and I discussed selling our 99 4runner after my truck is finished. After a few long talks we both decided to keep the "yota". The plan was for my truck is to be a 3rd vehicle anyway. To be honest the yota is paid off and after hitting a deer last winter what I could get out of it really isn't that much. Plus with her going back to school to get her RN degree I really like the idea of having a spare vehicle. If something were to happen to the yota or her car (04 escape) I could drive the truck and she would still have a way to school and work. If it were just the two of us then having a spare wouldn't be a big priority. Having a 5yr old changes that.

     I guess I'm just saying that ultimately you have to put your family first (not that you aren't). You could sale the car or truck and see how close that gets you? But for me, I couldn't go down to one vehicle. The only way I would is if I needed the money to keep a roof over our head and food on the table. I know a bit dramatic but you get my point. Maybe selling one car will do the trick? Maybe not? You may have to finish what you can and put a hold on the project until spring?

     Have a nice long chat with your wife and see what she thinks. I know together you will make the best decision possible. Anyway...I hope everything works out.


Just my 2 cents which is only worth about half of that.

Take care,
Eric

     

[FearNoMan78k10]

Minus thanks so much for the input, advice, and the 4runner story... I agree with what you said.... She agrees too that just ONE truck is NOT ENOUGH AND ISNT A GOOD IDEA EITHER... WE will keep the dodger ram 1500 4x4 and sell HER car to create enough funds to finish off my truck...I haven't asked her for a dime of hers that I can think of, during this whole build process, but if it wasn't for selling her car there is no way I could complete it,,,, unless I waited for tax return season.... So she will drive the new SUV as her main transportation. She will have her Dodge Ram 4x4 to drive when she wishes, I'll drive it every so often just here and there, to keep the rubber seals lubricated and truck "used" to being driven so it doesn't just sit and "rust" or dry rot the tires etc... That would be horrible , those tires are nice and are not cheap.... They are Goodyear wrangler mud terrain duratrac's.... The truck needs the front end rebuilt with all new bushings , tie rod ends, steering stabilizer and maybe a few other things, won't know until we actually get to working on it, but anyways, this Dodge of ours we truly need and like the truck and we are needing 300 to 500 in parts alone in it just for the front end. To fully rebuild the front end. It also needs an alignment. And my worry is wearing the tread down on the tires. Which it already has... Tires are about 80 to 85 percent of what they were... So I want to save them as much as possible....and help this truck last....

My truck will be worked on in my spare time as much as possible to finish it out by our first snowfall here in the front range Rocky mountains of Colorado... There's always something to do , replace or fix on the truck it seems like, I'm a all or nothing kind of guy when it comes to some things, especially caring for vehicles, I'm no pro at all, but I do my best with what I have to keep them running decent... My biggest concern now is the exhaust actually .... It is dual flowmaster super 10's...... Thinking about sending back and getting the super 44's..... I don't know... Just don't want to be ticking cops off. The super 10's from flowmaster is as close as someone can get to running open headers.... The test was done on a 350 small block..... And was pretty gnarly sounding... So I'm very curious and concerned about how it will be with my engine.... I am picking up the motor from the machine shop next week!  They had to order a proper dip stick for the bigger pan... There was 15 hours of work just in the cylinder heads! That is a ton. The shop owner said the last motor he built he had a TON of time into the heads , he said he had twelve hours into the heads alone in MACHINE WORK in itself! said he didn't want to do that again anytime soon because it puts his shop behind on work... He and jay his senior guy in the shop built this motor. And had 15 hours just in machine work on the heads..... Said this should of been a $4500 dollar build at their shop in work....... But they cut me a HUGE BREAK.....  definitely have been blessed by these guys.... They cut me breaks on every single labor charge........Anyways..., so the motor will be picked up next week and put in sometime by myself.... Not sure when exactly ..... Or how long it will take me... I'm a slow methodical worker....i will have the specs and data sheet when I pick the motor up... They're saying it's going to be a monster should run really well and strong....IM HOPING..............we will see....... Nervous about a few things... Like break in.... Dialing in the distributor which IM NOT FAMILIAR WITH AT ALL.........as well as dialing in the carb.... They are setting it up so it will be a drop in turn key motor, but I have all the tuning to do, I'll be flat out honest, I know cummins diesels, but not so much these old school engines, carbs, distributors, timing, etc like some here on this site do.... I will need peoples help on here for sure.... I don't want any accidental mishaps happening....at some point I want to replace all the wiring in the truck for reliability and updating it completely.... Would be nice to replace a few things in and around the transmission and t-case..... Lol I need to just get DONE with the truck as time goes by address other concerns etc..... Jeez... This is what happens when you think too much on your truck loooool..... I need this, I need that, I should replace this , I should rebuild that.... Etc etc etc.... Lol man.... I just need to get her running guys.....We will see when that happens ................As for now here is the build list at the shop.....

[FearNoMan78k10]

Sent using Tapatalk

[FearNoMan78k10]

Sent using Tapatalk

[FearNoMan78k10]

Sent using Tapatalk

[FearNoMan78k10]

The grand total is for the machine shop work which was 2000 less than it should of been..... I will add everything up as that number for the shop will probably change.... It's more like 2800.... Seriously.... $2767.00 and some change.... And counting at the shop....


Sent using Tapatalk

[FearNoMan78k10]

Forgot to mention. A magnetic drain plug was added to catch the extra debris and metal shavings I will have...


Sent using Tapatalk

[FearNoMan78k10]

They installed oil and an oil filter so I actually have an entire oil change and extra oil filter to use on the truck....


Sent using Tapatalk

[FearNoMan78k10]

Plus joe Gibbs break in fluid which I need to sell here in colorado to help out a bit....would be nice if the company would swap me out for 10w40 like I have already and then have two cases of the oil instead of break in oil and 10w40 oil.... But we will see what happens with that break in oil


Sent using Tapatalk

[FearNoMan78k10]

The dip stick acquired for the deeper truck oil pan is actually a General Motors dip stick! EXPENSIVE! Jeez.... It was almost $49.00 dollars! It was like $48.78! Just for a proper oil dip stick! I was like jeez that's steep...........


Sent using Tapatalk