Ultimate work truck/ 70 K10 diesel

[woodwright]

Well, against my better judgement, I think i'm gonna start another build thread. I've been collecting pieces for a while now, and am starting to make some progress. Here is what I started with.

It is a70 K10 with a 350 and a 4 speed. I bought it from the original owner, with 130,000 miles on it. I got it running, and drove it around for a year, mostly just to the dump and around town. My plans are to build a daily driver/work truck that is reliable, and gets descent mileage. Well, thats where it started.

My specific plans are:
Mechanical diesel
5 speed
3.73 gear 1/2T running gear with disk brakes
crossover steering
52" spring swap in the front
63" springs in the rear
33 or 35" mud terrains depending on how much of a lift I end up with
Eventually when I paint it, its got to look good dirty
Rhinoline the cab floor and firewall

Parts I've collected:
3 parts trucks
a complete 92 1 ton with a good running 6.5T
NV3500 2wd 5 speed
dodge divorced 205
later model 3.73 open knuckle dana 44 with new balljoints and brakes
12 bolt posi 3.73 rear
52" leaf springs
New energy suspension body mounts and leaf spring bushings

Most of this stuff i've gotten really cheap, or I've traded something for it.

[woodwright]

I have to back track some to get up to date,and I am bad about remembering to take pictures, but I'm trying. The first thing I did was pull the nose off and see if the 6.2/6.5 will just drop in. I pulled the motor mounts off my 350, and bolted them on to a spare 6.2 block I had. It dropped in no problem, except it sat back too far, and the heads would have hit.


At this point I pulled the cab off so I could get the 4 speed and 205 out easier. I moved the engine crossmember 2" forward, and replaced my 4wd tranny crossmember with a 2wd auto crossmember. I bolted my 5 speed to my complete 6.2, and set it in the frame to see how it fit. The oilpan wouldn't let the motor slide forward the last half inch, so I modified it a little.



I mounted everything back in, and mounted my transfer case, which I'll have to get pics of. I had to clearence the tranny crossmember some for the front driveline, which coincidently will be the same length as the rear.

[woodwright]

I started really looking this frame over, and found that it is badly bent and damaged, and there is that god aweful bumper welded to the front. The PO took 4" C-channel, slid it inside the frame rail and globbed on these great big nasty welds. I decided to find another frame. K10 frames are is short supply around here, or they've been beaten like a red headed step child. I found a mostly complete c10 with a good frame, a salvageable bed, good doors, and drug it home as my third parts truck. I pulled off the diff cover for giggles, and found a 3.73 12 bolt posi I pulled this truck apart, and have the frame on blocks. That's more or less where I'm at. Last night I set my 6.2 and 5 speed back in it, and set the cab on it to check clearances. I can just get my fingers around the back of the heads, so I think I'm good. I'm gonna throw the radiator support on there in the morning and I'll get a few more pictures.

[propanemudtruck]

very cool build! looking forward to seeing the progress

[Chevymaniac]

This will be one helluva a truck when you are done, i can't wait to see the finished results. Just to clear things up, are you going to be running a 6.2L or the 6.5L and is it turboed.

Keeps the pics coming.

[woodwright]

I'm gonna runa 6.5T, but its still in the 92 1 ton. For mock up I've got a 6.2. Its identical except for the turbo. I've got a few more pictures to post later tonight
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[woodwright]

Last night I set the motor and tranny in place, and set the cab on to check clearances.




For giggles i threw my seat in to check the shifter location. I'm gonna build a more retro looking shifter handle, the plastic doesn't look right.


Now I get to tear it all back apart. Next I think I'm gonna start building the front suspension. I need the shackle mounts for the rear of the front springs. I'm reluctant to tear into my K10. As it sits I can still move it around. Oh well. Its gotta be done sometime.

[skoffice]

Looks like a good start! You have made some good decisions by dumping the whacked up frame and that bumper My buddy has a 6.2 in his K10 with a 4 speed and he gets 21 mpg! So needless to say I hope you can expect the same results. I don't know much about the swap but I'll tell you what he told me. He said if you can get a harness off of one that came in a box van, basically a chassis van, it will make things a ton easier. I guess the way they did those harnesses it's all self contained to the engine. Like I said I don't know much about the swap but I hope that kinda helps! I'll be watching your 52" conversion too!

[woodwright]

the 6.2's and the 6.5's till 94 had mechanical injector pumps like the 12 valve cummins. Besides your usual temp and oil sensors, and starter, they just half a 12volt circuit for the glowplugs, and one wire for the fuel shutoff in the lift pump. cant get get much simpler.

[skoffice]

See that's kinda what I was thinking, but I wasn't sure haha. I'm familiar with the cummins but never have messed with the 6.2/6.5. If I hadn't just built a 383 though, I'd consider the swap for all that mileage!

[woodwright]

Got a little progress done today. I pulled the cab back off, and the motor and tranny. I lifted the bare frame up onto a steel table I built out of old scrap steel so it would be easier to work on.

I went to work on getting the old leafspring bushings out. I got these 52's off of the rear of a late 70's 1/2T suburban. I found a pretty fast way to remove the old bushings. First, I cut the center sleeve down the middle length wise with my torch. This of course gets the rubber center flaming up really good I let it burn for a minute, and then the center sleeve will pretty much fall out. Pop the rubber out with a screwdriver, and all you're left with is the outer sleeve. Then I took my portaband, and cut the sleeve thru the split in the leaf spring.

A sawzall or hacksaw would probably work too. You don't want to cut the whole length, or it will pinch your blade since it's under tension. You can cut it the rest of the way with a screwdriver, and then pry the sleeve into itself.


It will pretty much fall out after that. The whole thing takes less than 5 minutes per bushing.

The last thing i did was make my front leafspring mounts.

I found some scrap 3.5" square tube with 1/4 wall that worked perfect.

[madmopar]

Awesome build!

[woodwright]

Got a little bit done tonight. I got one side front spring mount mostly done. I need to finish some welds and smooth a few edges, and build the other side.

[propanemudtruck]

I'd say that MIGHT be strong enough! Very good fab work!

[woodwright]

Got my shackle hanger brackets done and got some 3/8" x 2" steel for my shackles. My computer is fruiting out so I'm having a hard time posting pictures. I'll get them up in the next day or 2.
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[woodwright]

first a little frame reconstruction.




my shackle mounts








I've still got to put some more bolts in the bottoms. As soon as i get all the brackets and crossmembers in, I'm gonna flip the frame and put all the bottom bolts in. I'm gonna use a different set of springs so next I need to replace the bushings and make my shackles. It's too cold to paint anything, so I'm gonna have to disassemble everything later.

[woodwright]

Got some 3/8"x 2" flat bar for the shackles.




I wanted to see how much the springs would sag one I put some weight on it. I set it down on the front axle, which was on jackstands, and took some measurements.

Before

After

[woodwright]

The front sagged about 2 inches, so now I know where to set my rear springs. One of the best products I've came across, Is a paint stripper disk from Norton.

They're good for stripping paint and bondo, and work great for cleaning, and taking off scale. With my parts I'm fabbing, usually I shape with a 40 grit flap disk, and then go over it with one of these blue pads. After that they're pretty much ready for paint. A word of caution though, If you grab an edge too hard it can rip chunks out. And I've got a variable speed grinder, and I'm not sure if a standard grinder spins faster. They say they're rated to 11,000rpm.

[woodwright]

I went to the wrecking yard the other day to pull a set of 63" rear springs. Long story short, I ended up with a nice set of 54"s off of the rear of a 2wd 88-98 chev truck. Any reason not to use these? I set one of them on the floor and stood on it and it settled about 2 inches(250lbs). They look brand new, and I think they fit better than the 63's would. But I've also got a set of 3/4T 63's. I think they've had a hard life. So unless someone recomends otherwise, i think I'm gonna use the 54"s.
I picked up a new toy yesterday. Only $50




I'm out of town for a few days, but when I get back I'm gonna start on the rear spring mounts

[woodwright]

I've been trying to find information on Rhinolining the cab. Specifically, How it works for sound deadening. The only trucks I've found where they have done this are Jeeps and blazers, Where they don't really care about the noise, They just want easy to clean. The local guy here sprays Ultimate Lining, so I called their tech line and asked them what they thought. They said that the different brands of liner are different, obviously, some being harder and more brittle. With the Ultimate, I guess it stays more pliable and rubbery,so It should work great. The tech guy recommended doing both sides of the firewall and the underside of the hood. It should cost about $300.

[plummen]

Originally Posted by woodwright

I've been trying to find information on Rhinolining the cab. Specifically, How it works for sound deadening. The only trucks I've found where they have done this are Jeeps and blazers, Where they don't really care about the noise, They just want easy to clean. The local guy here sprays Ultimate Lining, so I called their tech line and asked them what they thought. They said that the different brands of liner are different, obviously, some being harder and more brittle. With the Ultimate, I guess it stays more pliable and rubbery,so It should work great. The tech guy recommended doing both sides of the firewall and the underside of the hood. It should cost about $300.

Ive been seriously thinking about using that stuff under the cab and inside on the floors/kick panels and the firewall and bottem side of my front wheel wells on my 69 project since it will probably spend its share of time running around in the snow,i hope my project turns out half as nice as yours has so far!

[plummen]

Youve got my undivided attention here!
How do those older chevy diesels hold up compared to a small block chevy?Ive driven a few 550 super dutys with breathed on power strokes over the years that flat out hauled ass loaded or unloaded didnt seem to matter,the cummins diesels still scare me with the horror storys about the death pin.that combined with the fact ive never had any luck combining the words chrysler/durability/affordability in a complete sentence!
Ive been flip flopping back/forth between a realy stout 427 chevy ive got sitting in the barn just because these trucks look so cool with a rat motor under the hood or building another 415" small block chevy ,if I could build a reliable diesel motor i could take on long trips without worrying about finding parts along the way I might consider that also though

[superduty_59]

Originally Posted by plummen

the cummins diesels still scare me with the horror storys about the death pin.that combined with the fact ive never had any luck combining the words chrysler/durability/affordability in a complete sentence! :lol

The Cummins is probably the best most reliable engine out there! The dowel pin is an extremely easy fix with the engine out anyways. Chrysler made a great decision to put this engine in their trucks. I think the rest of the truck is junk otherwise. Just remember Cummins is not Chrysler.

[woodwright]

Originally Posted by superduty_59

The Cummins is probably the best most reliable engine out there! The dowel pin is an extremely easy fix with the engine out anyways. Chrysler made a great decision to put this engine in their trucks. I think the rest of the truck is junk otherwise. Just remember Cummins is not Chrysler.

That comment was 2 1/2 years ago bro.

[woodwright]

Plummen,

Truth be told, all I know about the 6.2/6.5's is what I've read on the diesel boards. I drove my donor truck about 10 miles, but the tranny was toast. I got a couple of 6.2's early on that were trashed and tore them down. They're about as basic as you get, and since everybody trash talks them so bad, you can pick them up for cheap. As long as you understand that they were built for economy and reliability, and will never make the same power as the Dura-Cumm-Strokes, half a million miles is doable if you take care of it. My 6.5TD is factory rated at 200 hp/400tq or there abouts. I'm opening up the exhaust and the intake, and turning up the pump a fuzz so it should be a bit higher. I think the best part about them is there is no vacuum to deal with. It seems like every small block I ever had, there was a leak somewhere, or the timing didn't advance right, or the carburetors were erratic.

As far as putting one in an older truck, They'll fit anywhere a big block will. The hardest part is cramming as big of a radiator in as you can. However, If money was no object, and I wanted a diesel tire fryer, that I could beat the piss out of, I would probably go with a Cummins or a powerstroke and a six speed. I personally don't like the Duramax's

My goal with this truck has always been to build a reliable daily driver that gets better than 11mpg, on a nonexistant budget. Where we live, 4wd is a must, and when you throw on bigger tires and a lift kit, your mileage goes to crap. Diesels just aren't as bad. I had an 05 Tundra a few years back that the PO had lifted 2" and put on 33"'s. It was an awesome looking truck, and did great in the snow, but I got 13 on the freeway, and maybe 10 pulling my 2000# trailer. And the power wasn't very impressive. I'm thinking I can beat that and have a cooler truck for less than a years worth of truck payments.