Steve's tinkerings
 

Hi guys,

It's about time I started a tinkering thread. It will be a while before i can do a complete body off restore so til then i can enjoy some modest customizations and upgrades.

Last night I installed new LMC cab and core mounts. I have a few other goodies on my "to do" list for this winter as well:

Rear disk break swap
Hydro boost conversion
New clutch

I've made quite a few mods over the last couple of years which i am sorry i didn't document.

Until then here are a few glamor shots as it sits in the driveway. Thanks for looking.

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

I like the big backup lights in the rear bumper.

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

Nice bumpers, were they homemade or bought? I'm thinking of building something similar for my 68 K20

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

I'm in! love watching any 4X4 related thread.

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

I'm proud to say a buddy and i built the bumpers. They're pretty beefy. I'll get some close up shots of em soon.

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

Nice job!! What made you decide to cut the bottom of the rear part of the bed for the bumper to wrap around? Were you rubbing with those 35s on the 2" lift before cutting the body?

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

I cut the bottoms of the bed off because a drunk driver hit me. I had the truck parked in the same place as in the pic, i came home and found the truck pushed up on the lawn with a little nissan car piled up under it. That's why the tailgate is caved in and there was damage to the bottom of the bed and she tore the stock bumper off. So rather than trying to fix the truck i just took the cut off wheel to it and started designing the bumper. Infact the whole reason how i found this site years ago was due to that mishap. I went searching the internet for parts and found this site.

A deer took out the stock front bumper for me so while i had the whizzer out i cut the cups of the front fenders and started designing a front bumper as well.

Later this week i'll get some close up pics of the bumpers to show what i did.

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

That is a great looking truck Steve. I dig those bumpers!

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Subscribing to this sweet looking rig.

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

Great looking truck Steve, but I'm a little biased! Nice work on the bumpers too. So were the 35's ok with the lift you have? I like the way it looks. Got any 'side profile' shots?
Keep us updated.

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

Thats a nice selection of "modest customizations and upgrades" you have planned. Are you going to be buying a hydro boost kit or putting one together yourself? DIY4x4 has the nicest rear disc brake brackets that I have found and are at an affordable price. I was also wondering how you like the 4.10 gearing with the drive train mods you have done or do you ever wish the gearing was lower? I have a 1 ton 14 bolt in my garage that I'm prepping to put in and have been debating if I should gear it to 4.56. The truck still has the muncie tranny but I hope to be able to afford an extra fifth gear some day. Keep up the good work and post lots of photos on how the upgrades come along over the winter.

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

I was out playing today and snapped a few more pics.

Billhilly, the side shot you asked for:
Attachment 659798

I ran a 255/85 R16 before trimming the fenders so i can't say if the 35's would have rubbed or not. But now there is no problem even when turned and articulated. I have Tuff Country EZ rides front and rear so there isn't a ton of flex anyways.
Attachment 659799

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

Looks great Steve. I think 67-72’s look best in long beds for some reason.

Are those Teflon Mojave wheels? We want to see the beast under the hood too!

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

I robbed a complete hydro boost system off an '89 Suburban. Are these the brackets your talking about? :lol:

Attachment 659839

Hey Pops70,

What size tire are you planning to run? What engine do you have and have you modified it?

I've played with some different gearing and engine combos in past trucks and find 4.11's with 35's and OD is perfect with a torquey big block, but would go 4:56's with 35's if running OD and a small block. I guess it really would depend on your engine build and of course what you are doing with the truck. I like the stated combos with low end torque motors build for daily driving, low rpm cruising, and some towing.

Was out playing in the snow today.
Attachment 659840
Attachment 659841

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

Larry,

There is some over lap between the boots.
Attachment 659853

Notice the shifter sits more upright than the molding of the boot. I heated and bent the short shaft so the shifter would sit where i wanted it. When you mount this in yours the shifter will sit and look more natural in the boot unless you find you want to do the same thing.
Attachment 659854
The overlap issue will come when mounting the rings unless you have something in mind.

No wear on the handle yet.
Attachment 659855

I lied, found a scratch. Deal breaker?
Attachment 659856

What thread pitch is that shifter? Probably a good idea make sure they are the same. There are some possible differences from what i understand. 14mm course v.s. 16mm fine.
http://quad4x4.com/NV4500_Parts.html

Yeah Teffed Mojaves, 16x8. I really like em, mud sprays right off.

I'll get some engine pics tomorrow maybe. It's getting pretty cold out. Negative teens tomorrow. Don't mind me posting boring pics, i'm kinda practicing to figure out how all the options work here.

Thanks for looking guys.

-steve

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

My plans are to copy you. HaHaHaHa I want to run 35's with the least amount of lift possible. I purchased a set of 2" EZ ride front springs and have a set of 4" lift blocks for the rear that were a freebie. The rear of the truck currently sits one inch lower than the back of the truck and I have not installed my blazer tank yet which should add another 125 lbs or so when full. I am hoping the 4" blocks will level the truck. I will add a zero rate add-a-leaf to the front if it looks like I will be having clearance/height issues and possibly move the front axle forward for more clearance at the back of the fender. The front cups on the fenders are definately getting chopped.

The truck currently has a tired 454 that my dad built about 15-20 years ago with roughly 125K miles on it. I don't know much about the internals other than the mods were mild. It has an RV cam with roller rockers and I think I was told it has some upgraded heads off a corvette. He converted the clutch to hydraulic in the lat 80's. I am babying it and trying to get it to last another four years or so before engine replacement.

The truck does not see much high speed driving and will mostly be used to cruise around town. When I do change the engine out I would like to install an engine from a newer chevy, possibly a 6.0...I think. I want my cake and eat it to. I would like better fuel mileage with a nice gear setup. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

Humbly, i think the best suggestion i can give you is to start with a very clear and concise plan. Under stand what your truck needs are, budget your project money, arrange a time line, and build appropriately within these constraints. This will help keep you from getting lost through your build which leads to wasted time, effort, and a lot of money. In the end you will be happier with your rig, it will last longer, and you will have less regrets about the build direction. But ultimately have fun with it! :mm:

Welcome to the board pops70.

-steve

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

Steve,

The overlap is actually better than I expected it to be. The scratch is no biggie. Send me a PM if you want to do a swaperoo. Mine is the GM trans so it has the larger stud on the shifter tower with the 16 MM fine thread.

I love those Mojave’s!

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

Thanks Steve, looks good. I'm going to run 255/85 16 for now and see how things go.

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

Billhilly,

Not a bad route to go, I like the 255/85's. I prefer tall and narrow. My truck is just too light for the 12.50's to feel secure during winter driving. I toss about 500lbs of traction sand in the back. I really want to run a 35 10.50 R16 but I don't like what's on the market. Options open up if a guy jumps up to a 17' or 18' rim but i hate to have to pull the trigger on new rims. If a great deal came my way I would have to consider it.

Larry,

I'm pretty sure that's what mine is too but i'll make sure. If so and you like what you see then i'm up for it. What's your boot look like?

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Well, gee.....now your asking personal questions. :lol:

My 465 boot looks exactly like your tcase boot. The bad thing is the hole in the 465 shifter boot would be too big for the AA shifter. Not sure if you want the boot or not.

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

ok, i'll keep shopping.

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

Steve,

Thank you for the great words of advice and the "welcome to the board". It has been fun watching everyones builds. I am on the ten to twenty year build plan so it will be much slower for me than most other people to get the truck looking respectable. Happy Turkey Day everyone!!!!!!!

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Attachment 680795

Attachment 680796

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

Nice lever! :lol:

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:lol: It's been in the family for years.

I've been playing with a few different boot configurations and didn't find what i was looking for so I've decided to stay with the current set up. The boot and shifter i have will work when i install the twin stick so long as i adjust the rod lengths a bit. I'm wanting to go with a 40-20-40 split bench so i'll recess the jump seat a bit for clearance. It should work out.

Have you sprayed yours yet Larry?

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

That should work. If anything else, the AA shifter will make a good billyclub to keep under your seat. :lol:

Nah, not yet. Got to finish up the floor repair first. The Rhino appointment is loosely scheduled for Friday the 28th.

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

Very cool truck. Great bumpers - should keep Bambi out of the radiator.
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Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

Thanks, they do pretty good. The front push bar is actually a large L shape of 3/8" that services as the backbone for the whole bumper. I cut the tip of the frame horns off so the L brackets actually engage the frame a full 10 inches. If i hit something big enough to bend the bumper i'm going to have bigger issues somewhere else.:lol:

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

I addressed my worn out rear brakes yesterday.

Off with the old

Attachment 681672

On with the new

Attachment 681673

The conversion was fairly painless. First i pulled the drum and backing plate off. From the front of the drum i used an air hammer and drove the studs out freeing the hub. Bearings and seals looked good. The rotors used in the conversion are 1973-1987 3/4 ton fronts found on Dana 44's and Corp 10 bolts. I lined up the new rotors to the hubs and rattled the wheel studs back in replacing any that looked ruff.

Next I bolted the DIY4x caliper brackets to the backing plate brackets on the 14 bolt positioning them 45* to the rear. Then i installed the new disk/hub assembly and torqued the spindle nuts.

Calipers used are also from 73-87 3/4 ton fronts. I used non ebrake calipers which there are two to choose from. The difference is the banjo bolts used for the hoses. From what i found 73-78's use SAE banjos and 79-87's use metric. I used 7/16" SAE here. Load the pads in the caliper and bolt them on the brackets using the supplied hardware.

I had one slight hiccup in the process here. One of the DIY brackets was bent too shallow by about 1/16" which ended up being enough to not allow the caliper to clear the mounting tabs and slide over the rotor. I made sure the piston was pressed all the way into the caliper but it still wouldn't fit. So I made a quick trip to the local alignment shop for shims. A 1/16" alignment shim behind the caliper bracket bolts brought the bracket into position for the caliper to properly fit over the rotor.

Lastly I installed my brake lines, bolted in the axles, bleed the brakes, and slapped the wheels back on.

Currently i am running a 1 ton brake booster/master cylinder combo and an aftermarket proportioning valve that is designed for both disk/drum and disk/disk combos. I may have some questions about this later today as there might be proportioning bugs to work out. I'll monitor the braking action as im running errands. I'll address that as i experience it and seek advise. All around though i hope the conversion performs as well as it looks.:mm:

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

The one thing stopping me asside from having the spare cash is the proportioning valve and plumbing it. My luck it would become a headach!

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

Nice work, would you mind, how much did the swap cost total?

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

$90/rotor x 2
$45/loaded caliper x 2
$65 DIY4x brackets
$50 hoses and misc

= umm.. carry the two.... about $385. Forgot shipping on the brackets so closer to $400.

This would not have been an economical swap if but for two reasons:

1: Both the shoes and drums were completely shot and needed replacing. A quick guess on price for New Napa Premium Drums, shoes, and adjuster hardware kit would be roughly $275-300 for both sides.

2: There was no proportioning valve in the truck when i bought it years ago so i put in the disk/drum disk/disk prop valve in anticipation of replacing the rear drums with disks when they wore out.

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

Really nice job on the truck, i like how you made the truck even better than stock and yet it is still a capable dialy driver without going extreme.

Where did you mount your proportiong valve and how difficult was the mod?:gmc2:

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

Thanks for the compliments.

The proportioning block is in the stock location. It looks almost stock but it had a provision to remove a small spring loaded valve when the user wanted to switch to 4 wheel disks. Are you thinking this was an adjustable proportioning valve for adjusting bias on the rear brakes? I may still need to do that, just don't know yet. Need to drive more.

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

Are you thinking this was an adjustable proportioning valve for adjusting bias on the rear brakes? I may still need to do that, just don't know yet. Need to drive more.[/QUOTE]

Yes, i thought you had an adjustable one installed. Did you get your current one at the parts store?

Re: Steve's tinkerings
 

no i ordered away for it. It's been so long and i don't have the receipt but regardless it looks just like this critter:

http://www.classicperform.com/Store/...ods/PVKU-4.htm

IIRC there is a valve and spring under the black boot that a guy can remove or tinker with that switches this prop valve from disk/drum to disk/disk capable. But I gota do my homework yet before i go monkeying with mine since i lost that receipt and there is not a part number on mine.