Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

nice project, those knuckles are flat top so you could switch to crossover steering easier in the future...

Is the 208 a passenger side drive like the 205?

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Nice work. It's cleaning up really nice.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

I thought about the crossover steering option. But I don't plan on lifting more than 4" so there shouldn't be any need for it. I'm using the 4" raised steering arm and I think that should be the best steering correction for my application. I have 2 Dana 44s for a 71-72 both with flat tops. Might be selling the extra one soon.

Yes the 208 is from an 86 blazer with the passenger side diff. I scored it for $50 and the local pick & pull has tons of them every time I go. So I'm pretty comfortable running it. I know that if I grenade it I can get a replacement easily. I got the drive shaft also. But my Dana 44 uses a smaller u joint than the 10 bolt did.. I wonder if the pinion yokes are interchangeable between the 10 bolt and the 44... Or I might have to buy another yoke. I would prefer to use the larger u joking than to get a conversion u joint. I wonder if either method would be a stronger setup. I have no experience with conversion u joints..

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Thank you. I have been trying to get this axle done. It has been raining a lot lately so I can't take it outside and sandblast the housing. I'm almost done collecting parts. Today I'm gonna try to press the ball joints in and go pick up the wheel bearings.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

I would do the conversion before I started pulling yokes and what not... How often are you really gonna use the 4 wheels drive? If if you aren't mud bogging/pulling then it should be strong enough for that 1/2 ton axle anyways?

I've beet the snot out of some 1/2 tons and never had a problem. If you do then you know what and when to upgrade.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Yea good call. I'm gonna put a big tool box in the bed with extra axles, u joints, hubs and other stuff that I might have to fix while I'm out having fun. I plan on going off roading as much as a i can. And I want to move out of state in the next few years so I need to build my rig before we move and I have to tear apart my garage. Haha

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

I haven't been able to post any updates lately, but I have been working on the truck. I am almost done prepping the frame for paint and I have been gathering tools and studying the proper setup of differentials. When I put the Dana 44 carrier back in after changing the tube seals the gear contact pattern was way off! I decided that it's about time I learn how to set up gears. It's really not that difficult. You will need a shop press, bearing puller kit and a dial type inch pound torque wrench. The easiest way to set up shims is to buy an extra set of bearings and use a sandpaper flap wheel to "hone" out the center and open up the diameter so there the bearing slides on with no press. This way you can trial and error setup the gears and change out shims as needed without having to press the bearings on and off. The holiday was not a good time for me to get much done on the truck. But now that it has passed I am back in gear!

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Today I had a fun adventure. I got tired of wishing I could find the right 14 bolt FF on Craigslist or at pick n pull.. I have tried several yards in my area and no luck. I have a '71 and the leaf spring perch witch is 40.5 . I know that a 14 bolt from many 1 ton trucks have the 40.5 spacing. However many are dually axles or C&C axles. Well today I totally lucked out. I know of a woman that owns a couple acres of old auction land with many Chevys rucks that were abandoned there. I found A 14 bolt out of a 77 camper special 3500 SRW truck. It has the 40.5 spring width and a 4.10 ratio. Absolutely perfect for me. The only mods I plan on doing are welding the shock mounts to the front and possibly a disc brake conversion. Anyways I am really happy I got the complete rear end with wheels and tires for $100! It was a pain in the ass to pull out in a muddy field but I had a buddy help me and we made it work. Of course I can't leave anything alone and I have to make it all pretty so I have already started scraping the crap off it with a screwdriver and degreaser. I will post pics tomorrow after I pressure wash it . I plan on painting the housing. I want to run the gears as is because they look great. But there is a ton of backlash I mean like .030-.040 or more. I will check tomorrow. Oh yea.. I'm gonna put a Detroit locker in the carrier as well. I wish I could run a locker up front. But with a Dana 44, 35" tires and a 383 stroker I am afraid that I will be snapping axle shafts in the 44 with a locker. I feel confident that I won't be hurting the 14 bolt with a locker.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Keep at it! :)

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

I had a tough time getting the axle out of the junkyard, the trucks were all really tight together and we had to drag it a couple hundred feet. we ended up using a heavy equipment to remove it from the yard. haha I have been trying to clean up the 14 bolt before work. one of the hub seals went bad a long time ago, the drum was caked in sludge. The other drum had the shoes seized to it. I had a hell of a time getting the drum off. I had to cut the pins and impact that monster bolt on the top of the backing plate that is above the wheel cylinder. then a slide hammer on the studs finally got it off. after hours of scraping, scrubbing and washing, it looks pretty good. I cut off the shock mount brackets and I ordered my disc brake conversion brackets, Weld on shock tabs and U bolt reversal kit from DIY4X. :metal: this weekend I plan on moving it into the garage. I need to clean up and make some room, Moving this thing around is a chore.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

If you put a locker up front, say something like an Eaton E-locker you would not be snapping more axle shafts like you originally thought, actually by having a locker you would be distributing the load to both sides, hence less load on any one side. You would have less tenancy to be stuck causing you to have to beat on the truck to get unstuck. There is a company that make constant velocity joint axle shafts for the Dana 44 that are really strong. I bought a set but have yet to install them. They are called RCV Performance CV axles. Check them out. John

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Well last weekend I had to fix a "power steering leak" on my girlfriends toyota, which turned out to be an oil pump o-ring leak. which ended up becoming a timing belt/ tune up and all that fun crap.

However this weekend I made some serious progress on the truck! I finished removing all the bolts that remained in the frame, I cut off the bumper brackets that some Bozo decided to Booger weld onto the frame. my buddy Jimbo helped me strip all the crap off the frame with a grinder and then we sandblasted it. last night we painted the bottom of the frame and today I flipped it back over and painted the rest. its all beautiful now and I am so relieved that I am done with the bare frame portion.

This week I will start building up the suspension and hopefully finish putting the dana 44 back together. I would love to get both axles under it by this weekend!!

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Hey is that 4wd frame a 71? I have a 4wd frame that the rear spring hangers were taken off and there's some confusion if 71 had a one off rear .spring hanger.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Yes. The frame is a 71. I don't think the 71 is a one off year. 67-68 were different than 69-72. They had different springs. If your spring hangers were cut off. Look at the DIY4X.com site. Run the longer springs and have a better ride

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Awesome work by the way. Thanks for getting back with me. I would think the k/20 spring hangers are the same as the k/10 hangers. Do you mind taking a picture of the rear spring hangers? thanks

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

What are your plans for rear calipers? Will you have a parking brake?

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

the frame I bought didn't come with any parts for an E brake. I am going to get the truck running without one for now, But I plan on figuring something out later. I have a pile of front calipers to use as cores so I will most likely just run the front ones. rebuilt ones are pretty cheap.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

You could do a driveshaft (near TC) ebrake setup too...

http://www.tsmmfg.com/np205.html

http://www.fourwheeler.com/product-r...ergency-brake/

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

thats a sweet setup. I wish I could use something like that, but they dont make it for a NP208...

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Today I finished the rear hubs. I taped off the friction surface of the rotor. I'm gonna leave the tape on for a while to prevent rust

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Diy4x brackets

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

The back half is all done for now. Everything is sealed up and fresh. My truck will be OD green. So in gonna do both diff covers this way.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Subscribed:

You are doing nice work there. I have the same plan for my 72 Cheyenne which is a 1/2 ton 2wd long bed.

I may consider the 700R4 swap as well while I am doing it.

Look forward to seeing more progress on your truck.

Keep up the good work there,
Tom

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Looks like its coming along nicely. GF staring at it is priceless.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

I feel like I have been working on this dana 44 for half of my life. Well today Jimbo and I finally finished the front axle!! All bearings replaced, seals, ball joints, u joints.. And we painted everything. We assembled the hubs and got the wheels mounted. I can't wait to see it under the truck!! Good old Jimbo will provide an extra set of hands on any project in exchange for some KRACKEN RUM! Haha:metal:

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

It's looking nice!

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Today I cleaned off my work bench and took apart the 208 transfer case. It was much simpler than I thought. It took me 10 minutes to take apart. And 2 hours to scrub and degrease the entire case. If I can find some time this weekend. I'm gonna try to get it all put back together.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

looking great!

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Thanks. I take that as a huge compliment coming from you. I checked out your build page. Well all 50 of them. You have some serious skills man.

Today I put the transfer case back together. It was very simple. I am waiting on the parts house to get my big tube of anerobic sealer. I will glue the case back together tomorrow. Happy valentines day truck! Lol


P.s. That is not hot sauce. I mix ATF and STP 50/50 and use it for assembling transmissions. It works great. I just use an empty at patio bottle to dispense it. Also Petroleum jelly (Vaseline) is a great way to hold needle bearings in place during assembly. It mixes in with the oil eventually.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

this weekend I got alot done. The Transfer case is all done. and the wife went with me to the hardware store to pick up a new wire wheel and a bunch of fancy grade 8 bolts for the steering box and transfer case mounts.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

i love the detail. i was joking with my lady, that it must take a special breed of weird to get all excited by something as odd as high attention to detail on an old truck drivetrain. As i am busy painting the inside of my transmission case to look like cast iron and powder coating my aluminum to look like aluminum... haha

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Builds looking good man. Ill keep my eyes peeled for it. Feel free to check my build out. It's in the middle of a frame swap for a k20 frame. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=628346

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

I checked out your build. very nice. you do great work. I also noticed that we both are in Santa Rosa. you should come by sometime and pick through my extra parts pile. I have a bunch of extra 4x4 parts. front and rear axles, leaf springs, tires, I would love to sell it cheap or do some trading. Im right off 101 near college ave

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Heck yea. My front springs are sprung bad. I have a set but are longer. Send me a pm with ur number or somthing. Iv got some left over parts to. Lots of parts haha. But still liking the build u got goin Man

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

This weekend I have big plans.. The wife works and I made sure to get all the yard work done today... I hope to take the front end off and engine/trans pulled. We will see...

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Call me crazy. But this seems like more than a 4" lift.. Tires are 33's. I'm sure it will settle a little bit. Looks like I am for sure gonna do the 40 gallon suburban swap

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Me and my buddy Eston, and my dog the crotch sniffer. She loves Eston. Dirty girl

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

My truck has BDS 4" lidt and 33" tires in 16.5 rims, it measures about 12 1/4" at the front fender well, i didn't measure the rear but its pretty symmetrical front to back.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

Can't tell from your picture but how's it hangin'? Did you move make rear of springs compression hangers from tension. That could account for exta height.

But in the end you might like a couple extra inches.

Re: 1971 C/10 to K/20 Conversion
 

The frame is stock. I bought a 4" lift kit from rough country. Its an all leaf spring lift. no blocks. the frame is a bare roller, so I think it will settle down with some more weight.