1972 C10 to K10 stepside transformation
 

New to posting to the forum, so hopefully I am doing it right. Just thought I'd share some of the pictures of my 1972 C10 to K10 transformation. Lots more work than I thought, but turned out ok so far. Can't thank the other members enough for all the help in doing the work....

Before picture below:

Re: 1972 C10 to K10 stepside transformation
 

Well, i finally figured out how to post right side up pictures, so here are the after pics.

Re: 1972 C10 to K10 stepside transformation
 

I figured that it was goong to be too hard to make the stock 2wd frame work, so I found a donor LWB 4x4 frame in a field in the Central Valley and cut it down. Should have taken more photos of the process, but....

Re: 1972 C10 to K10 stepside transformation
 

That looks like a different truck now !!! Love the SWB 4x4's ! My 1st one was a 72 swb step side 4x4.

Nice Job !

Gary

Re: 1972 C10 to K10 stepside transformation
 

Thanks Gary. I'm a fan of the SWB trucks as well.... The truck was my grandmas, so I had to keep it, I just like the looks of the 4WD trucks a bit more...
I'll post some more pictures of the build in the next few days.

Jay

Re: 1972 C10 to K10 stepside transformation
 

Found a donor 72 SWB for 300 bucks. Frame was pretty much shot, but got the 12 bolt and D44 axles out of it. Was able to sell the 205 TC and cab and made back the 300....

It had Rancho
4" springs up front, and I was able to use those as well...

Re: 1972 C10 to K10 stepside transformation
 

Couple more pics of the frame. After cutting out the center section and fish plating the insides, sent it to the powder coater. Easier than painting and looks better, I think....

Re: 1972 C10 to K10 stepside transformation
 

Got the axles all done and installed, so it was time to start swapping drivetrain and sheet metal. Buddy convinced me to go with crossover steering, so we had to do a bit of machining and modifying. Glad we did it, though

Re: 1972 C10 to K10 stepside transformation
 

Since we were doing all this work, figured we'd update the drivetrain a bit as well. Added HEI(a bit close to the firewall I found out later). A set of Doug's Tri-Y headers, Perormer intake, mandrel bent exhaust, and a 241 transfer case. Found the TC on Craigslist- came out of an 89 K5 so it had the passenger side drop. Previous owner had an adapter kit that fit it up to the TH350. Crossmember from the 89 worked as well.

Re: 1972 C10 to K10 stepside transformation
 

Hey Jay !

I've done a few of these swb 4x4's, and yes with an HEI you may have an issue with the firewall. If you flex the frame too much it will hit and may even nock the cap out of place. I've had that happen several times. With the build I'm doing now I put in a 700r4 ( 2" longer than a th350 ) so I moved the engine forward 2" giving me plenty of clearance for the HEI.

Looks like the donor swb frame was bent up, too bad it wasn't good to use.

Gary

Re: 1972 C10 to K10 stepside transformation
 

Hey Gary,

I was thinking of moving the motor/trans. forward a bit, especially since I had to buy a custom CV driveshaft any way, but was hoping for the best... It's snug, and I won't be flexing it much, since I made my grandma a promise that I wouldn't bash it up... If (When) I do another resto, I'll plan on moving that one forward.

It was a drag to not be able to use the SWB donor frame, but at least I got the axles out of it.

By the way, I clicked on your build, frame looks great. Any updates on that one?

Thanks Gary,

Jay

Re: 1972 C10 to K10 stepside transformation
 

I really like the transformation from 2x2 to 4x4 I like the 4x4's...super nice lookin truck you have there...

Re: 1972 C10 to K10 stepside transformation
 

Thanks Randy. I'm kinda partial to the 4X4's as well...

I'll throw a few more pictures up when I get a minute...

Re: 1972 C10 to K10 stepside transformation
 

I just cleaned up my garage and pulled the truck out the other day. I pick-up where I left off and completed wiring the electric fan controller, so not much to up-date yet. I also made up a "Truck To Do List" and posted it up in the garage to keep me going on it, and not standing there looking at wondering what to do next !!! "LOL"

Gary

Re: 1972 C10 to K10 stepside transformation
 

Yep.... I had the giant white board of tasks up in the shop as well.

Love to see more pics of your progress when you can.


Jay