Project Screamer - '72 GMC K2500 + DD 4-53T

[burnitg]

Originally Posted by ryanroo

How goes the struggle? The piping continues to please the eye

Thanks for the compliment, Ryan. I haven't made much progress lately. I have been busy plowing snow (it stops being fun after plowing 2X/day for 3 days), working on my outside project (a shed to store my equipment :-)) and family trips.

I'm working on the hydro boost brake master cylinder now. The brackets supplied in the "kit" left it at a very odd angle and attaching it to the OEM brackets doesn't look good either. It will take some time to get it looking good and functioning correctly. For this spring and summer, I will be concentrating on the shed...

[chosn 1]

WOW, just came across this thread and gotta say it's like a dejavu, this is alot like the route I wanted to go! Awesome build man!

[burnitg]

I'm baaacccckkkkk! I finally finished a building to store my equipment and projects; both completed and in the works. It's not a truck; but, I am posting a photo of it anyway. It took me a year to build.



To get back into my project, I decided to get the gear shift lever right. Here it is before I started. It is straight and quite a reach from the driver's seat.



Here it is after some heat and force was applied. I welded on a bolt at the top and added the shift knob.



Rear view:



It is now ergonomically correct.

I admit to sitting in the seat and going through the gears making engine noises. I had forgotten how much fun it is for me to work on this truck.

Maybe I'll install the clutch pedal and linkage next so I can practice my double clutching...

[nsulacountry]

We thought you died!! Like people thought Detroit Drippers died!!

Moving on... Like the custom, ergonomic shifting device...

Nothing wrong (In my mind) with sitting in a no running vehicle, pretending to drive and make engine noises. Really, it's OK!

I understand the pain, built a 70x60x16 this past year. Time and money!!

Looking good. Get back on the DripTroit!!

CT

[burnitg]

Brake master cylinder mounting problem - solved.

Before I started working on my shed project, I purchased a hydroboost "kit" for the truck. The bracket that they supplied in the "kit" left me disgusted. As an engineer, I would be ashamed of the way it looked and fit. Here's a photo of it mocked in place.



Needless to say, I was looking for a better way. I found a mounting plate on this forum made by CaptainFab. In my opinion, it is the perfect solution. Here's a photo of it mocked in place.



While I was working on the master cylinder, I also worked on the clutch. I needed a switch on the clutch to disengage the Jacobs brakes and the cruise control. I made this little bracket and installed a double switch in it.



I also noticed that the hole in the clutch arm (the one at the end of the clutch pedal shaft) had been wallowed out after many thousands of strokes.



A little welding, grinding and drilling later. Here's what it looks like.



I used 70ksi rod so it should last a long time. Also, I plan to float the gears so the clutch won't get a lot of use.

[OutlawDrifter]

Glad to see you posting again. I'm in the process of putting up a new shop also, which has halted all of my automotive therapy!

[Lemield]

Beautiful work as usual! Glad to see you back!

[Dieselwrencher]

Very nice building and more great work on the truck! I can't wait until I can build a big building to fill up!

[ryanroo]

Awesome! i shift mine all the time. engine noises included. the new building is fantastic too!

[burnitg]

Inner fenders - done!

I decided to tackle the inner fenders since I need them in place to design and fabricate the battery tray and air filter brackets.

Both had to be modified since I have a 2" body lift and the turbo to intercooler and intercooler to blower piping interfered with them. I never imagined that it would take me so long to finish them.

Here's the driver's side inner fender with the new metal tacked into place. I didn't need to modify it much.



Here's the driver's sided inner fender installed.



Here's the passenger side inner fender with the new metal tacked into place, I had to custom build the lower half of this one. The turbocharger to intercooler piping interfered with it in a major way.



Here's the passenger's side welded up.



Here's the passenger's side completed.



Now I'm on to the battery tray.

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice work. Those look great!

[burnitg]

Another DIY project...

Space is getting tight under the hood of the old GMC. As always, I work down in size starting with the big things and working down to the small ones. The next two big things are the air filter and the batteries.

I decided that I would use two starting batteries. Detroit Diesels do not have any glow plugs or intake heaters and they MUST use single viscosity SAE 40 oil, so I will need some serious battery power to start on cold days. I have installed a block heater so I can get it going from home on cold days; but, that won't help if it has been sitting all day in a parking lot on a cold day.

I spent several hours on the air filter manufacturers' websites looking for an OEM filter that would meet my air flow and space needs. Everything that I found was too big in at least one dimension. So, I decided to make my own air filter housing. Because I was able to fit it in a relatively small space, I could use the stock battery tray and a stock auxiliary battery tray to mount the two batteries.

I found a rectangular K&N filter that would flow enough air and patterned the housing off of it. It is the same filter used in my '99 F-250 Powerstroke so I know it will flow enough air and I love parts interchangeability.

Here's the cardboard template for the base:



Here are the sides in steel:



Here's the top view with the filter:



Here's the auxiliary battery tray modified and installed:



I'll post more photos in the following post.

[burnitg]

Another DIY Project - Part 2

Got anger issues (I don't, I'm retired )? Here's a way to get them out - pounding the crap out of a piece of sheet metal. I decided to make the top of my air filter housing curved so I got out the hammer and sand bag and started pounding on the top. Here's what it looked like about half way through:



Here's what it looked like when I finished:



Here's the completed filter housing on the bench:



Here it is installed in the truck:



I'll install some flexible ducting between the inlet and core support so I will have a cold air intake.

[Dieselwrencher]

Kudos to you! That is a very nice looking air filter box and top! Did you use a regular type tube sand bag?

[OutlawDrifter]

Fine job sir!

[burnitg]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Kudos to you! That is a very nice looking air filter box and top! Did you use a regular type tube sand bag?

Thanks for the complement. I used a regular sandbag and teardrop hammer. You can see the bag in the lower right of the photo. I rolled the dents out with an English wheel.

Burnett

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by burnitg

Thanks for the complement. I used a regular sandbag and teardrop hammer. You can see the bag in the lower right of the photo. I rolled the dents out with an English wheel.

Burnett

Very nice! Isn't it amazing how many hours go into doing all these fabricated pieces that a lot of people will never know. I need to get some different shaped hammers and start messing up some sheet metal. An english wheel would be nice too.

[burnitg]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Very nice! Isn't it amazing how many hours go into doing all these fabricated pieces that a lot of people will never know. I need to get some different shaped hammers and start messing up some sheet metal. An english wheel would be nice too.

I agree that making parts takes a lot of time. I'm glad it's my hobby and not my job. I'd starve to death trying to make a living this way...

[Average Joe]

That air box is amazing. Quality work!!!!!!

[burnitg]

Cruise Control Servo - mounted!

Another under hood item to scratch off of the list (it's still a long list...).

When I finish this truck, I plan for it to become my cruising vehicle. CO is a big state and there are lots of things here that I haven't seen. I decided that cruise control would greatly enhance my driving experience while I am driving in the flat half of the state.

I started by installing the throttle cable & stop cable and then the business end of the cable from the cruise control servo. It is a Dakota Digital CRS-2000. Unfortunately there is no way to shorten the CC cable, so my mounting options were limited.

I made a bracket to organize the cables and welded it to the valve cover. That set the path that my CC cable would have to take. Here's a view of the cables at the governor end:



Here's a side view:



I then attached the servo to the driver's side fender well:



Now that the servo is installed, I can start looking at the coolant recovery and windshield washer reservoirs.

[burnitg]

It's enough to make a grown man cry!

I was working on mounting the electric vacuum pump today. I had picked a location very close to the driver's side hood hinge so I decided to mount the hinge to see if it would interfere. I mounted the hinge and then looked across to the passenger side and my new air filter housing - my heart sank. With the hinge down, it looked like the end of the hinge might interfere with the housing. A few minutes later, I had installed the passenger side hinge and confirmed that it does interfere. Ouch! I have often been in the "one step forward, two steps back" mode on this project but this is a new low. I have >40 hours into the air filter housing - it was done...

Here's a photo from the passenger's side:



One from the front:



One from the driver's side:



I had mocked up the hood to make sure that the filter cleared underneath; but, I did not think about the hinges. They fold down much farther to the front than I thought. Back to the drawing board...

[Dieselwrencher]

This might be an expensive solution, but are any of the billet hinges shorter? GSI I believe makes them and they can be gotten black anodized to not stand out so much if you wanted. Maybe they would fit and you can retain the nice air box?

[AnotherWs6]

This thing is awesome.

What kind of power figures does that motor put out?

[burnitg]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

This might be an expensive solution, but are any of the billet hinges shorter? GSI I believe makes them and they can be gotten black anodized to not stand out so much if you wanted. Maybe they would fit and you can retain the nice air box?

Thanks. New hinges are one of the options that I am considering. I think that I will leave it alone for a couple weeks. After some time has passed, I will be able to evaluate the options more objectively.

[burnitg]

Originally Posted by AnotherWs6

This thing is awesome.

What kind of power figures does that motor put out?

175 Hp @ 2500 RPM
420 ft-lbs @ 1800 RPM.

I'm going to keep it stock for now.