67 C20 Update

[ed2552]

I've been away for a while. We got our 67 C20 in late-April, and so far it's been a PITA, lol. I gave it a tune-up, new plugs and wires, and an oil change with a new Valve Cover gasket, and decided to drive it to school one day, and wouldn't you know it, it died on the side of the road. I had to call and get a ride into town, and have AAA tow it home. Turns out the battery cables were corroded and the cap and rotor were shot. Replaced the battery cables with new units, new cap and rotor, and swapped in the battery from the K10 (which is just sitting, and will be for sale soon ) and it fired right up. Now the oil pressure light is coming on when it gets hot, and it has an intermittent front-end shake at 55-60. I'm running parts store brand 10w-40 oil and a Wix 51060(?) filter. I think the rings and bearings are on their last legs.

So, I'm at a turning point. The next step is to figure out where we want to go with the truck. I'm definitely putting in all new bushings, ball joints, bearings, etc, as well as 2-4 drop springs. I don't know what I want to do with the engine, though. I would love to do a 6.0L and 4L80E swap, and I can find an engine and transmission for about $2k, but I'm not sure about the wiring, etc as far as price. Can anyone tell me what they've used, and what it cost? The other option is to re-build the 327 in our 65 grain truck (not the one in my sig, this one is rotted out) and swap that in with a new clutch with the stock 4-speed tranny.

What do you guys think??

[mclairmo]

Are you sure the rings and bearings are toast? Look for metal particles in the oil, indicating bearing wear. Do a compression and leak down test first. Maybe it just needs a new oil pump? Not hard to change and you can then switch to a new one piece rubber pan seal. Seems like when the oil gets hot, and loses viscosity, the pump is not able to maintain sufficient pressure. Try thicker Castrol 20W50 oil and a new filter. Also, try spraying WD40 in the cylinders through the spark plug holes to loosen those rings up and then change the oil. Sometimes the rings get stuck and wont expand as they are supposed to. Try some BG44K or similar product in the gas tank to remove any carbon on the valves. I've been able to resurrect old engines before using these methods.

[ed2552]

I just switched from 10w-30 to 10w-40. I will do a compression test, i have the tester. I think my dad and I have decided it's getting a new engine, but we don't know what we want quite yet. I also ran a full can of seafoam in the gas tank.

[ed2552]

Also, what's the best place to get new urethane bushings, new ball joints, and anything else? I believe I looked at GMC Paul's a few months ago, but I'm not for sure anymore.

[ed2552]

Bump. There are way too many people on this forum, this is on page 5 already......

[vectorit]

Personally I'd keep the engine and trans the same year as your rig, since the late model engine and trans you want to upgrade to is pretty extensive and expensive.

Get that 327 and build it, that way things like brackets and wiring will not be such an issue.

Wiring:
Give these guys a call and get what your rig needs.
http://www.wiringharness.com/

Oil is the life blood of your mill, so don't cheap out on it.

Bushings can be had from many of the vendors, or you can hit up Energy suspension.

http://www.energysuspensionparts.com...F4+ton%29+1967

Ignition: Get a HEI set up, since they take less maintenance than the breaker point models. (Be sure to tell M&H about this, so they can sell you the correct harness).

Transmission:
Get a better 4 speed truck trans from a salvage yard, since the old ones as good as they are they are getting harder to find parts for. Plus finding trans guys that care to work on em are getting harder to find. (At least for me).

Everything else - Get catalogs from all the vendors on here, and anywhere else. From there it's just money...

Just my .02

Good luck!

[ed2552]

Thanks for the help. I think this transmission just needs fresh fluid and some new seals. There is a shop around here that did work on our 65 C60 and did a good job, if we need anything we'll either take it to them, or the shop I work at, or do it ourselves.