67 C10 lwb to K10 swb conversion project

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Looks like you have made some serious progress on someones hack job..

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by FRENCHBLUE72

Looks like you have made some serious progress on someones hack job..

It has been one battle after another on this thing with all the "work" that has been done over the years to this truck and the donors I had for it.

It is making progress and will be a whole truck again soon so I can get it back on the road where it belongs.

My wife thinks I am nuts for even wanting to try to rebuild this thing so I have to prove her right by finishing this project and making it look good too.

[madmopar]

Any updates??

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by madmopar

Any updates??

Not yet. Summer trips and limited time due to my work load have left me with very little time and even less money to work on the truck.

I'm hoping to get some time in on it this weekend.

I'm considering cannibalizing another project to get an engine into this thing a little sooner. My Malibu is completely torn down for paint & body work and interior replacement so its drivetrain is just begging to go into the 67 truck.

My wife wants me to turn the Malibu into a daily driver so the injected motor and an OD trans would be more appropriate for it so I will probably do it.

I don't know if I will put the 4L60E I already have into the 67 truck or pick up a 700R4 to go in the truck instead so I can make it computer free.

[madmopar]

i'm against computers in old stuff... but thats just me... I like the idea (reliability, effeciency, etc.) of it... but you pay extra for it up front and then when it starts having little problems and you spend 3 grand (or more) chasin' sensors and reprogramming computers, it doesn't make much sense... You could have a well built and very reliable old 350 for that kinda money... I'd put the sbc in there with a th350 and np205 and get on down the road...

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by madmopar

i'm against computers in old stuff... but thats just me... I like the idea (reliability, effeciency, etc.) of it... but you pay extra for it up front and then when it starts having little problems and you spend 3 grand (or more) chasin' sensors and reprogramming computers, it doesn't make much sense... You could have a well built and very reliable old 350 for that kinda money... I'd put the sbc in there with a th350 and np205 and get on down the road...

I have the NP208 already but don't have a 4x4 trans other than the 4L60E on hand. A T-350 would work well for this truck too and may be easier to find. We will see what I can come up with.

I may just drop in a 2-wd T-350 for now to get it on the road until I can track down the trans I need to make it a 4x4. I have several 2-wd T-350's I could use temporarily.

[68 TT]

Got a little time to work on the truck today.

Decided to stick with the original plan and keep the roller cam EFI motor for this project. Momentary lapse of focus but I am back on track again.

Pulled the 4L60E & NP208 out of storage and stabbed them into the 67. Used the unfinished roller cam EFI motor to hold them up for now. I should have the funds to build the engine at the end of next month so with a little luck it can get assembled & put back into the 67 before the snow fly's here.

Had to drill new trans crossmember mount holes in the frame as the 74 K10 frame was never designed for the trans & TC I have in there but everything clears the low hump trans tunnel in the 67 cab. Don't know if the shifter for the NP208 will fit and clear yet though so I might end up having to graft in one of the high hump tunnels I have anyway.

[68 TT]

While trying to figure out how to get the VSS function I need for the EFI retrofit while using the cable speedo NP208 transfer case I toyed with building my own gauge housing to hold some square body gauges and optical VSS speedometer but while at the wrecking yard today I came across something that will be much easier to make work. An early third gen Camaro gauge cluster that has the cable driven optical VSS speedometer just like the early TBI square body uses.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...74#post4198374

I am going to fabricate a new gauge face panel out of some type of polycarbonate or another machinable plastic to mount the cluster to and replace the stock 67 gauge & dash panel assembly with it.

It fits pretty well in the stock 67 gauge cluster opening and won't require any cutting of the dash and will mount easily to a flat dash panel using four stock Camaro cluster mount points. I will finish it to match the stock truck gauge face panel so it looks like it belongs when I am done. I will be able to eliminate the choke cable hole and the now on the column wiper control hole from the cluster bezel too while I am at it.

115 mph speedo, 80 psi oil pressure gauge and 7000 rpm tach with 6000 rpm redline. It came out of a 6-cyl 89 Camaro. I have several good V-8 tach control boards so I can easily swap out the electronics to make it work with my 350 and all the gauges will match still.

Once I get it all put into AutoCAD I will mess around with the configuration and see if there is room for additional gauges below the Camaro cluster. I would love to have my wide band oxygen sensor, oil temp, trans temp & vacuum gauges in there too if possible.

[nickp51chevy]

Looks like it's gonna be a fun build.

[jbclassix]

subscribed

[68 TT]

Got the rear driveshaft put in but the front driveshaft that came out of the transfer case donor is too short by about an inch. Apparently the Dana 44 is shallower than a 10-bolt front diff by a bit or the 4L60E is longer than the 700R4 that was in the transfer case donor. I will have to find a longer front driveshaft to make this work. It could be the old grease is hardened in the driveshaft and not letting me extend it the extra inch I need. I will pull it apart and clean it out & re-grease the thing to make sure.

I could always shift the drive train forward an inch. The rear driveshaft was a little tighter than I wanted with only 3/4" movement so this might be the route I go here just so I don't have to shorten the rear driveshaft and find another front driveshaft or lengthen the one I have. The rear yoke is extra long so it has plenty of capability to give up another inch with no issues.

Got a good look at the trans tunnel clearance in the daytime. Plenty of room for the NP208 shifter linkage below the floor on the low hump tunnel. I just have to do a little measuring to locate it properly so the handle is in the right spot to match up with the indicator and the trim plate sits on the tunnel right. Looks like I won't have to fit a high hump tunnel to the truck after all. I can even use the piece I cut out for the NP208 shifter to fix the hole a PO cut in the tunnel for a floor shifter.

[68 TT]

I just thought about another reason the front driveshaft may not reach. The front spring pack on this thing is five leafs and the other set I have from the K5 is only 2 or 3. Somebody may have had a plow on the front of the 74 K10 donor truck I got the frame from or it may have had a lift kit.

It sits pretty high and may not come down much with the rest of the front end on the truck. Not much weight left to add up there, maybe 300 pounds at most. Doubt it will come down four or five inches with that. I may need to put the smaller springs on the front to level things out.

I just went out and took a look at the front driveshaft angle. It is pretty severe compared to my K20. I didn't notice it from under the truck but when looking from the side it is pretty obvious.

The K20 front springs are curved upward in the middle too vs. the 67 with the downward curve in the middle so it sits substantially higher in the front than it should. Looks like I will be swapping out the front springs for the smaller stack to get it to sit right.

[madmopar]

Glad to see you're getting some work done... Too bad you're ruuning into so much trouble... I spent the weekend grinding and drilling out rivits... not fun... but its progress... Good luck... cool cluster idea too...

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by madmopar

Glad to see you're getting some work done... Too bad you're ruuning into so much trouble... I spent the weekend grinding and drilling out rivits... not fun... but its progress... Good luck... cool cluster idea too...

I expected a whole lot more hurdles than I have come across so far so I feel fortunate to have it as far as it is now.

[68 TT]

I decided to test fit the square body K5 and K10 4x4 high hump tunnels to the floor of the 67 cab even though the trans & transfer case clear the low hump floor just so I could get the NP208 shifter mechanism to fit and work properly. The curved tunnel of the 67 cab floor just doesn't lend itself to mounting a square flat flange to it at all.

The K5 removable section is a little longer than the K10 part but the forward section is identical in shape and bolt pattern so parts & pieces of both can interchange somewhat fabrication wise.

The K5 part sits up on the seat hump in the back so it does not sit flat on the floor for positioning but the K10 part does. The bolt flange sits right on the flat area of the 67 cab floor.

There is a small gap at the front between the top lip and the first flat area mount bolt that will need to be filled with material from the donor tunnel and the back end will need to make a transition to the 67 cab floor but overall it fits a lot better than I expected.

I will probably use the K5 tunnel pieces and modify them to fit as the floor in the K5 is more flat and will be easier to blend into the 67 cab floor at the back plus the mounting hole & flange for the NP208 are already in the K5 tunnel so that will save me some more time there too.

Ran out of time yesterday so I didn't get to pulling the seat out and taking more pics. In the pic the K5 tunnel kept sliding back so it will push the shifter forward about an inch maybe more once it is in the right place. Access to the top bolts will ultimately determine the forward location so I may have to mod the shifter linkage rod a little to make it reach. We will see how it lays out relative to a stock square body. I have two of the shifters so I can nearly double the linkage rod length pretty easily if needed. I will probably have to move the shifter mount location forward a couple inches so it will get into 4 low without hitting the seat. I need to get the seat secured in place first and see how far forward it will slide to know where to move the shifter for sure.

Depending on the weather and the family I may get a little work done today, probably not going to be much.

[68 TT]

Snuck in a few minutes to work on the 67. Got the 74 K10 removable tunnel fit up and bolted in place.

Fits pretty good. It will need a small filler piece at the front corner and the back will need a 5" long filler to transition to the seat hump brace.

[68 TT]

I was finally able to order the rest of the engine parts I needed to assemble the roller cam TBI 350 for the truck. Got them in this week.

Now all I have to do is find the time to get it cleaned up and assembled.

[67cheby]

what is that high hump out of.. mine goes back down to the floor in the back

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by 67cheby

what is that high hump out of.. mine goes back down to the floor in the back

It is out of the 74 K10 donor truck I got the chassis out of.

I've got to do so much welding to the floor to repair the rust that a little more to make the square body tunnel fit is no big deal.

It doesn't hurt that I already have this one and would have to buy the correct 67-72 part and since my budget on this project is next to nothing every little bit helps.

[68 TT]

I finally got the free time to swap out the front springs. It ended up dropping the front end 3-1/2". 3" from the lift springs and the other 1/2" from the lighter spring rate of the stock springs.

Now it is only 1" higher in the front than the back.

Front driveshaft fits like it should now and the angle is much less severe so all is well up front. Just need to find a set of the correct width straps for the front U-joint.

[pickup67man]

I thought trucks from eastern Washington were rust free.

Its amazing how different the frames are but the suspension is similar.

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by pickup67man

I thought trucks from eastern Washington were rust free.

If it was actually from here it would be more rust free than it is. I found part of the build sheet under the seat. It was sold out of a dealership on the west side. Who knows how long it lived over there before it migrated to Spokane.

I'm seriously considering one of the complete floor pan assemblies instead of piecing together all the patch panels I will need. Only about $200 difference in cost and it will probably go in far faster. Still keeping my eye out for a better cab to start with as another option.

[m6z]

nice progress.

[ericjon262]

maybe I missed something, but would it have been more work to convert the '67 frame to 4x4 than to put the body on the later frame like you did?

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by ericjon262

maybe I missed something, but would it have been more work to convert the '67 frame to 4x4 than to put the body on the later frame like you did?

If you have ever seen how many rivets they put the suspension parts on with you would go the same direction I did.

The front spring hangers are unique to 67-72 frames so they are not easy to come by either. There are aftermarket conversion parts but I don't have the money in my budget to buy them.

I picked up two complete square body 4x4 chassis for only $300. I then sold off parts from them for more than I paid for them and still had a complete 4x4 chassis when I was done. The square body chassis was free to me so why not give it a try.

Didn't take much time or effort. Worst part is building new body mount brackets and getting everything true and level.