Re: Henry - 1984 C10
 

Nice work. The progress looks good.

Re: Henry - 1984 C10
 

Good looking truck! Makes a very nice daily driver. I am jealous.

Re: Henry - 1984 C10
 

Looking good Sir!!

Re: Henry - 1984 C10
 

Its been a while since we did anything on the truck. Owen has been driving it and enjoying it for a good while now. Recently it started overheating and boiling out the coolant. No real signs of a leak initially. We just made sure he had extra jugs of water on hand in the bed it something happened.

We initially changed the hoses and thermostat, helped for a bit but not long after it started again...Finally he and I were out to dinner one evening when I walked by the front of his truck and heard a hissing noise when he shut it off. Popped the hood and sure enough, there is a leak about 3" down from the top of the radiator where the tubes/fins go into the tank. Bad radiator. Not bad for the OE coper/brass radiator, it looks like it had never been out of the truck in its lifetime.

Got on line and ordered a Spectra Premium CU730 radiator off of Amazon, with Prime membership, it was the cheapest price and would be delivered on Sunday, also got new rubber pads and a new cap.

Torn down the truck and swapped it out, easy job, but I knew I would have to modify the upper hold down brackets as this new radiator is thicker. Not a big deal, but its all in and no leaks.

Site won't let me upload pics, will have to do that next time...

Re: Henry - 1984 C10
 

Well since my last post on this one, the truck has been giving us problem after problem. The new water pump is now the source for he leaking coolant, the new temp sender we put in does not work or the gauge is now bad, I can't get the damn 305 to run right, one day it runs fine, the next the timing is off, the next it won't idle down after warmup, the list goes on and on...

SO, we are going to be dealing with a poor running truck for the rest of the school year and collect parts for an LS swap once school is out.

We have collected the Engine (5.3 that is in my '65 for now), the PCM, another wire harness to modify, We have traded a set of LS heads for a complete working 4l60e transmission. Next on the list is the swap mounts and a new transmission cross member and mount.

Our plan it to have all the parts (minus the modified driveshaft) BEFORE we pull the current 305/700r4 out of the truck. Since we have done this a few times, I think we can do the swap in a week including getting the driveshaft re-worked.

Re: Henry - 1984 C10
 

Interesting. Keep us posted on the progress.

Re: Henry - 1984 C10
 

That sucks, best of luck on the swap. Mike

Re: Henry - 1984 C10
 

Well we are finally seeing the light coming at us to get his swap done. The deal I had on the trans fell through, but I had a core and picked up a rebuilt unit this past Friday. We are in the final stages of getting the swap parts painted and ready to start the swap. Plan it to have his only set up out by Friday so he can spend the weekend cleaning and painting the rails, inner fenders etc. before putting in the LS.

N2TRUX turned me on to this color when he used it as an accent to the satin black on some of his builds. We decided to do the Alt/PS bracket, the TB and the Trans with it. I think it will look great. Might do the block too, but it is currently not ready to paint, so it will be a day or two before that happens.

Stay tuned, I hope to update this every other day or so until we get the swap done...

Re: Henry - 1984 C10
 

Work has continued. The engine and trans are together. I will finish up the harness tonight. Owen and Korbin are going to pull the 305/700r4 out this evening and start the cleaning/painting under the hood. I hope to get some pictures while they do that and of the engine/trans ready to go in.

Re: Henry - 1984 C10
 

What is the color and brand of paint you used on the trans

Re: Henry - 1984 C10
 

We used Dupli-Color Engine enamel with ceramic, in the Cast Coat Iron color. We can get it locally at AutoZone or O'Reilly's. You can also get it from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Dupli-Color-E...gateway&sr=8-2

Re: Henry - 1984 C10
 

Last night we got the front boot off and the engine/trans ready to come out. Working outside in the dark is not any fun when you are 51 years old...Korbin and I convinced Owen to call it a night and hit it again after work today. Korbin got a few pictures before it got to dark.

Re: Henry - 1984 C10
 

Sorry about the pictures, that is first time that has happened to me posting pictures. On my PC they show up correctly not rotated upside down.

Anyone know how to fix that?

Re: Henry - 1984 C10
 

I am assuming you posted the pictures with an iPhone? If so, on the phone;
1) go to the picture
2) pick edit
3) rotate the picture 360 degrees (may have to do it in 2 steps)
4) post it again

It’s dumb, but if you don’t hold the phone vertically when taking the pictures, this seems to be the way around it.

Re: Henry - 1984 C10
 

Ill give it a try, They look right on my phone and on my laptop. I actually uploaded them from my laptop.

Re: Henry - 1984 C10
 

Does not matter what I do with those pictures, they still post upside down on here. I just remembered, I did not take those with my phone, Korbin took them with his and texted them to me. Sorry guys, I tried.

Here are pictures from this weekends progress. First picture is of the LS with the front cleaned up and the painted brackets and accessories installed. Saturday we got the new set up in and mounted up. Out with the old, in with the newish...

Re: Henry - 1984 C10
 

old out, new in...

Re: Henry - 1984 C10
 

Sunday was spent getting the inside of the front boot painted satin black since most of the areas where not painted well from the factory. Got it all painted and started on the '84's engine wiring to hook up gauges, do away with wires not needed anymore.

Re: Henry - 1984 C10
 

Also, did the front of the core support. Owen pulled the tank and I made up the sending unit with the new pump and fittings. Got that all back together and ready to go in once we have the fuel line and needed fittings. We also measured for the driveshaft and I will be taking one to the local shop to have it shortened.

Thanks for looking, that's all from this weekend.

Re: Henry - 1984 C10
 

very nice karl it looks like it was a very clean truck to start with... & you guys are making it better!! I was wondering if you might share (willing) to indicate where you retrieved the LS motor from? i m getting my ducks in a row to do the same thing (LS swap) & just trying to get info on different possibilities...

again great looking truck & thanks for the time to share!

rodstored-72

Re: Henry - 1984 C10
 

Good work! Lookin sharp!

Re: Henry - 1984 C10
 

The truck is really clean, we got it a few years ago when it had about 80k original miles and was well maintained. It started having typical issues with the engine and trans, so a LS swap was planned about a year ago.

The funny thing about this engine is its origins and the story since then. We got a complete 2000 GMC 1500 Sierra a neighbor's son had totaled. $800 and we drove it up the street to my house. We kept everything we needed and sold off parts. All in we had about $400 invested. We also learned we could have (should have) kept other parts and pieces and maybe made a few more dollars on parts, but no time and we where still learning LS Swaps. That was 7-8 years ago. This particular engine has been in 3 other trucks of mine or my son. Before it went in the one before this one, It probably had well over 240k miles...it was pulled COMPLETELY apart since a cam bearing had fallen out when doing a cam swap. I was surprised how well the rest of the bearings looked. I cleaned EVERYTHING and put new cam bearings in the block and reused all the other bearings and put in new seals and gaskets. It runs great, completely stock set up!

Long story short, find a complete LS powered truck or SUV and keep all the engine, trans, harness, pcm, fuel pump, cooler lines, etc for your swap. If you are good with wiring and reading schematics, keep the BCM and switches to integrate into you old truck some of the newer truck features. Sell the rest of the parts from the donor that you don't use and you will be money ahead. :metal:

Re: Henry - 1984 C10
 

Progress has slowed slightly since Owen started football two a days on Monday. School starts next week, so I has to get done. After work I got home and did what I could till I had to get him after practice. I got the fuel lines made up and installed on the engine and the tank. Got the electrical connected and ran the power wire up to the engine compartment for the fuel pump. I then reviewed wiring that needs to go into the cab, and noticed that I had left out two wires. I will get that corrected today. After Owen got home from practice, he installed the vent line on the sender and reinstalled the tank on the frame rails. We had to cut the detailing short so it went back in as seen in the picture. After work today, Korbin will help me do some work since Owen asked him to help since he had football. Korbin is a great older brother and agreed to help since Owen asked.

Re: Henry - 1984 C10
 

Well last night was not as productive as we had hoped. I got the needed wires added to the PCM and the PCM mounted to the bracket that will bolt on the inner fender. About the time Korbin got home it started raining. We covered everything up and went to go get Owen. The 3 of us went out to eat then home. It had stopped raining, but it was dark. We put on the front clip. Korbin and Owen worked on the inner fenders as I kinda cleaned up be cause we had made such a mess. Working in the dark on the wet ground is not fun for me anymore. But they got in and did what needed to be done. We finished the night with the front boot bolted down, the inner fenders in, the battery tray mounted, and the radiator reinstalled with new rubber pads and the correct top mount.

Only pic I got was Korbin and Owen working on getting the driver's inner fender installed, using headlamps and cell phone flashlights...:lol:

Re: Henry - 1984 C10
 

I feel your pain. Add to that list:

• Crawling around under a truck on jackstands in the dark.
• The repeat in & out/up & down from under a vehicle on jack stands.
• Working outside in the driveway (parking lot for me) in >100°F heat plus the TX humidity....