Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

My Saturday session of grinding led to a Sunday morning trip to the E/R. Even though I had eye and ear protection on, I ended him with metal particles embedded in my eye.

After a trip to the optomolgist this morning I'm back in business. Debris removed and I'm back in the shop.

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

After a thorough scuff down with 80 grit, I was ready to add some primer. I hit it with a few coats of high build and let it cure.

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

I pulled the wheel to measure the brake shoe size. These later Suburban axles come with the larger 2 3/4" HD brakes. I plan to change the wheel cylinders and route new brake lines. The shoes appear to be new, so I'll surface the drums and call it done for now.

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

While running errands I went by the local drivetrain shop to pick up new U joints. The P/O had a new rear shaft built when the wheel base was cut down. Rather than modify a new driveshaft I chose to replace the U joint with a conversion joint. The combo piece will allow me to mate the pair with ease.

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

I feel your pain...I once had a metal splinter embedded in my eye..they had to ground it out...definitely not fun...

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

I got the joy of a piece of metal in the eye once...It was NOT fun!!! Mine stayed in long enough that it rusted and I had to go to the eye foundation to have it DRILLED out!!!!

On another note.... I sold my '77 C10 about an hour ago so I could start the search for a 3/4 2wd Crewcab to start my own CCSB! I can only hope I find one in relatively good a shape as yours.

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

The Doc was able to scrape one out but the other had to be drilled. As painful as it sounds, it was a relief to get them out of my eye

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

I wish you well. There are some good ones out there, but not easy to find. I was blessed that this was priced right and had solid bones.

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

I joined team Magnaflow for this build. They say the sound quality is unsurpassed so I decided to give it a try.

If Chip Foose endorses them I can't go wrong, can I?

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

We used Magnaflow on Sunburn and White Trash. We really liked the sound. 2.5" duals with an x-pipe...

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

Thanks for sharing Karl. I have heard good things about them so I decided to try them.

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

I got a text from Aaron Boese at Homegrown Hotrods yesterday. He received the order from Tamco Paint last week. In preparation he had stripped all of the aftermarket paint from the bed. He layed down a couple of heavy coats
Urethane 2k high build primer. It was cold and he didnt reduce heavily so it has some texture, but it flows fantastic.

Let the blocking begin :metal:

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

Last night, I spent some time with the rear axle. I noticed the backing plate on one of the drums looked a bit dirtier than the other. I pulled the drum and didnt see any signs of leaking seals. I decided to install new wheel cylinders while I had it apart as cheap insurance.

I dont do drum rebuilds that often, and now I recall why. Even though I took several pics and had the opposing side to compare to, I still had a fit trying to recall where all the springs go. It took a while, but I managed to get one side finished and the drum cleaned and painted.

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

Tonight went much faster than last. I had a better feel for what needed to be removed to access the wheel cylinder. I cleaned everything up and bolted the new cylinder in place.

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

With the new wheel cylinders in place I could start work on the brake lines. The old fittings were stripped and the lines weren't very pretty.
I modified the bracket to move the distribution block back from its original position.

By moving the junction point I could route the lines much cleaner and make room for the axle straps. By bending the lines with enough space to clear the straps the chance of damage while strapped to the trailer is eliminated.

Once I get the other side built I will fine tune the shape. This was close enough to call it done for the night.

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

Looking great Ken!!! Glad to see the eye problems are behind you...scary stuff. Drum brakes are not my favorite either....you haven't had a real enjoyable time until you redo the Huck brakes on a full floater rear axle...:dohh::josh: :banghead:

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

I need another stalk of brake line, and I'm still missing a brake drum. Consequently I wasnt able to finish the rear axle up.

Instead I decided to work on the back half of the frame. I had temporarily mounted the rear hangers using existing holes. The C10 hangers are different than the C20 so I needed to mark and drill the remaining holes.

With that accomplished I removed the rear hanger and dressed the edges of the frame with a flapper disc. A good once over with Scotch Brite followed by a wipe down with break cleaner and it was ready for a coat of satin black.

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

The shop that shortened the frame did an excellent job of cutting and welding it back together. For some reason the left the rear most cross brace off. I plan to locate a replacement. Until then I'm using the spare tire bracket to keep things square.

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

Magnaflow is an excellent company, you can't go wrong with their product IMO, construction is top notch. As the discussion of drone was brought up, overall system design will play the larger roll; I would plan for allowing a revision or two in the build if the first attempt doesn't meet your tone, drone, loudness requirements. Although sometimes you can get it "just right" on the first attempt too! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

It seems I'm destined to design the system twice no matter what I do. The current exhaust is cobbled together after the short bed conversion was done. At some point I plan to run headers, but I'm going to need a functioning system before that happens.

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

I made a trip to Homegrown Hotrods today. Aaron had blocked the Tamco 2k primer once, and laid down a second coat. He topped that with a guide coat in preparation for the next round of sanding.

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

They spent some time inside the bed as well. The floor was relatively smooth with the exceptions of a few minor dings. It wont take much effort to have a showroom quality bed floor.

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

Saturday evening after my road trip, I worked on the axle again. I got the last section of brake line formed and test fit.
I scuffed everything down and sanded the areas that got damaged while fitting the lines. One last coat of filler primer and it's as good as its going to be.

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

Sunday Chris had plumbing issues to deal with so I worked on wrapping up the 10 bolt project. I scuffed the primer on last time and laid on the satin black. I considered several different contrasting colors to give it some definition. In the end, I went with my favorite cast iron color.
Yes, again.

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

Looks good Ken!

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

I think you'll like the magnaflows...that's what I had intended for my c30 LS swap truck..
Side story
.I had heard magnaflows on another LS truck and loved the sound....so i bought a set off ebay..couldn't understand the huge price differences...but I bought the cheaper ones...when I unboxed em i noticed something didnt look right...there was no MF stamped on the them...I went back and looked at the listing and then realized they said magflow....not magnaflow....I went ahead and used them anyway and they sound great...liked them so much I bought another set for my current build...but they changed their name to maxflow now...

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

Looks like a winner, Ken!!!
Merry Christmas!

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

Thank you sir.

I finally got a gasket for the differential cover last night. Ironically they aren't a common gasket to keep in stock any more. I installed the gasket to the cover and let it cure. I cleaned the edges this morning and touched up the paint.

I used the stock bolts for now. I plan to add stainless button heads to add some color. I'm ready to get this under the truck.

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

I have had a couple of sets of the Borla XL and liked them. I had planned to use them again but the Magnaflow came available so I decided to try them out.

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

Thanks. Happy New year to you

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

For some reason whoever did the SWB conversion didnt reinstall the rear frame brace. I made a trip by my buddy Donny shop today. Hes one of my local friends that's a squarebody hoarder. Fortunately he doesn't keep everything he finds and I picked up the rear brace that I needed.

Tonight I mocked it up and drilled all the holes necessary to mount it. Tomorrow I'll tear it back down and strip it clean. Once it's been primed and painted I'll drop it back in place and square the rear of the frame.

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

Great vision and nice work buddy.

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

Tonight I worked on the crossmember again. I pulled it out and hammered the ends flat to ensure maximum contact with the frame once bolted in. I dressed all of the edges with a flapper disc then sanded it down to raw metal.

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

After a thorough cleaning with brake cleaner I shot a couple of coats of primer on it. Once that cured, I scuffed the primer and laid on several coats of satin black.

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

Between coats of paint on the crossmember I worked on adding some finishing touches to the axle. The black factory bolts looked too bland. I went with my trademark upgrade and used stainless button heads and washers. I like the night of pop they polished fasteners add.

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

Very nice detail. Excellent work on the diff too. Looks great!

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

Thanks. I still have to tweak the brake lines. I'll fine tune them once the axle is under the truck.

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

I had to service an account this morning. When I got back home I installed the frame brace.

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

Looking good!:metal:

Re: "Crewcab Jake" the 84 to 74 conversion
 

I spent the day getting the axle hung. Everything went as expected. although it was a bit precarious trying to hang it alone.

Once everything was aligned I tightened the U bolts down. From there I rerouted the brake hardline to meet the axle soft line.