1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

I bought this truck back in 2007 for $750, Its a 71 2wd truck with coil springs on all corners and Im PROUD to say that its a long bed.I have taken it from this, to that, Lowered to stock to lowered, 20' Irocs to 15' black steelies, th-350 to 700r4 to Super T10 and back to 700r4 and I keep finding new directions to go with it. Well I finally decided that I want it to be a HEAVY Half ton 4x4. I want a 4 inch lift with 35's 8 lug dana 44 front and a 14 bolt in the rear. I want 4.10 gears for towing and climbing trails.

It currently has a vortec 383 that I built with about 1500 miles on it. I built a 700r4 for it about 3 years back, So my powertrain is pretty solid right now. I have been collecting parts for about a month now and I am about ready to start tearing apart the truck. I found a rolling 1971 4x4 frame on craigslist 2 weeks ago. It is the perfect start for my project because I can weld but I am no frame fabricator. I didnt want to have to deal with all the fun of converting a frame with coils on all 4 corners to leaf springs, so I took the easy route. Pics will follow soon. please subscribe and encourage me to work on this as much as possible. I need motivation. lol

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Aww man. Can you see how excited my girlfriend is about getting up at 6am and towing a flatbed 200 miles round trip. "We drove all this way... FOR THIS!!??!!?" Priceless.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

I would skip the dana 44 for a dana 60.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

My 2011 canyon 4x4 with the trailer my buddy let me use

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Dana 60's are soooo expensive! And impossible to find in my area. I have 2 front dana 44's so I figure I could bring an extra set of axle shafts if I break anything. I just wanna have a little off road fun. I don't plan on going any bigger than 35's and I'm gonna keep the front diff open for now. I don't wanna rock crawl or anything. Just dirt trails and maybe a little mud. But no swimming. Haha

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

But I know a dana 60 would be the best choice. I only found one at the wrecking yard and it was super rusty halfway sunk in mud, dually setup and the man wanted $750 for it. I think a 44 will be good for now. It'll get me rolling.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

More recent pic

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

The truck has a solid build 700r4 that was from a 89 suburban 4x4 and I converted it to a 2wd trans during the rebuild, it has the beast sun shell, corvette servo and a shift kit. Luckily I kept the output shaft, the 208 transfer case and front driveshaft. So I have a good start on the parts for the conversion. I am curious about the 208 case on the stock 205 crossmember.. Will it fit? Do I need the tall mount adapter ? I know the np205 is a much better case but I don't have one and I know it is difficult mounting up to a 700r4. I can always upgrade later on. But for now I'd like to make what I have work.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

My engine. Vortec 383. Eagle crank and rods, speed pro dish pistons. Edelbrock performer rpm 400 smallblock cam. Vortec heads were new from summit, I machined for screw in studs, roller rockers, air gap intake and a Holley 670 street avenger with a street scoop with functioning butterflies.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

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Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Got some 33 inch BFG on 8 lug 16.5 rims. All 4 for$100 about 1/4 tread left. Great as rollers for the project. I installed 8 lug hubs from
A 10 bolt I found at the junk yard. Everything bolted right up. :chevy:

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Subscribed.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Some guys have used a dodge dana 60 from the 93 and older trucks.All you need is this http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/Dod...apBushings.htm and rest should be easy.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Thanks for the info. It's good to know that the option is there, it's just so much $ to spend. I'd rather put that $ other places for the time being.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Yeah its good to have other options,Really only thing you should add is a steering box brace and its 130 bucks from offroad design.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

That Dana 44 will be fine if you don't go nuts....especially since it will be open.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Yea the dana 44 is gonna stay until I break it. Here's a pic of the 4 inch lift on the front.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

why dont you leave the 700R as it is and run a divorced NP205?

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Thats an idea... But then I would have to make a crossmember for it and deal with the super long linkage to put a stick in the cab. I dont think i want to go that route.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

They do make cable shifters and you could even twin stick a divorced case also.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Today I decided that I'm gonna go with a steering angle correction arm from ORD. This makes the drag link more level and at less of an angle with a 4" lift. Should help prevent bump steer. I'm gonna go with this for now and maybe someday later on a can convert to crossover steering.

http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/steeringcorrection.htm

I have read that taking the stock steering arm off the knuckle is almost impossible. And I would have to agree. However I used my portable band saw and pie cut sections I used LOTS of penetrating oil and then used a chisel and big hammer to rotate the cone washers enough times to keep slicing chunks out of them. I did happen to cut into 2 of the studs. But I double nutted the studs and backed them out with an impact gun.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

you should beable to make the 208 fit with the 205 crossmember, but you have to have the older style 208 mount and adapter. You will probably have to modify the floor to fit the 208. I had to do the same thing with my 241. As far as strength I think it's plenty strong, my friend has a mud truck with a Big block pumping out 600 plus horsepower and it hasn't had and issue. The Low range in the 208 is so much nicer than the 205

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Today I moved the Dana 44 outside and cleaned it. I used degreaser in a spray bottle, a big screwdriver, and a wire brush. I Pressure washed it after i scrubbed everything loose. It came out pretty good. I plan on changing all the seals and painting it soon. at least now I can touch it without instantly getting my hands filthy.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Looks good, im in middle of doin the exact same thing right now.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

I picked up a front sway bar of a later model 3/4 ton truck. I also picked up a 700r4 4x4 output shaft and a tall adapter for a 700r4 to a NP208. The 208 I have sat outside for a while and got some dirt inside the case. So I plan on doing a full rebuild..

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Sway bar

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

So after about 20 seconds of sandblasting the frame I realized that my air compressor was not up to the task... So I picked up this bad boy. Now I will need to run some wiring to hook it up to 230v I should be back to sandblasting by this weekend. My neighbors are going to HATE me. But..... I dont care. It's all In the name of truck restoration. They can deal with it.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

So today I decided to take the knuckles off the dana 44 so that I can change ball joints and clean everything up for painting.. One knuckle came off in about 5 minutes with a pickle fork.. The other took me almost 2 hours. I beat on that thing like a million times and it wouldn't come loose. I finally got out my little propane torch I use to start the BBQ. And after about 2 minutes of heating. The lower ball joint came out on the first good whack. I'm buying all MOOG parts. I never want to do that again. I have broken loose many stubborn ball joints in the past, but nothing compares to this one I did today...

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

It looks like Santa came early this year... 4" all spring lift with shocks.. Yes! My girlfriend is awesome!!

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Nice project, and great work. It looks like you've got a good stash of parts now too. On the 208, the 600hp deal may work with baby tires..... I had a 84 K20 with a 650hp 388 stroker, TH350 with NP208 and 4.11 gears with 38's. I blew the NP208 up the second play time out. I purchased another and wasted it in no time too. Went back to the old trusty 205 and then broke the semi float 14b. :lol: All I'm saying is if you don't get too animal with that 208, it should be ok. Good luck :)

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Im gonna be running 35x12.5 BFGs I have some 36' Super swampers that were given to me for free and those might be put on every once in a while when I really feel like having fun, But im not even close to the 600hp range. I would say my 383 is maybe putting out about 400 hp. maybe a little more in the torque department. Its pretty mild for a 383. Im hoping the 208 will hold up. If not I will replace it. The one I have now only cost me $50 on craigslist.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Well today I pressed the ball joints out of the knuckles and I took the carrier out of the dana 44. That badboy was in there good. I know there is preload on the carrier bearings. But I had to use my engine crane to get the damn thing out. I checked backlash before I removed it and everything looked great. I used chains and 3" u bolts for clamping the steering stabilizer to an axle housing. They fit perfect and pulled evenly on both sides of the carrier. I fed a pry bar into the axle housing and pounded out the axle shaft seals. Now I just need to clean and re assemble with all new seals.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

I got my raised steering arm and stud kit. This arm corrects the angle of the drag link. And helps to prevent problems associated with lifting a truck, like death wobble. This is made by rough country and was about $60

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Nice work, and nice parts. What's the toy in the upper left in the last pic?

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Looking good! Subscribed!

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

haha Thats my colt "MODEL OF 1911 US ARMY" I was showing a buddy. It was made in 1918. I picked it up a few months back. It has "UNITED STATES PROPERTY" stamped on it. I still haven't shot it yet. Its a classic piece but it has been well used. definitely not a show piece but I think its pretty awesome.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Thats a 60 gal? Let me know how it works for you with the sand blaster, Thanks!

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

It works great! I couldn't imagine getting anything larger than a 60 gallon for home use. I have a glass bead cabinet for small stuff and a 40lb pressurized tank blaster that I use for the big parts. The compressor turns on pretty often but it definitely keeps up with the pressure demands. I thought I could live with a 30 gallon compressor, but sandblasting takes a ton of air. with the 30 gallon I could blast for about 20 seconds and then the pressure would drop so low the sand would be dropping straight down out of the nozzle.

I paid about $500 for this from home depot and so far its working out good for me. I believe that it is made in the same Chinese factory as the craftsman ones.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

I thought it was an older 1911. Very nice! I love old guns, well all of them! :lol:

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

This weekend I found a little time to make some progress on my axle. I got my glass bead blasting cabinet cleaned up and put a bigger air dryer on the compressor and then I blasted and painted both steering knuckles. I used VHT Epoxy paint. My ball joints came in the mail and I also picked up the special spanner socket required for setting the correct preload on the upper ball joint. I'm sure that after this build I will never need that socket again. lol