72 k20 project

[ryanroo]

not a bad idea. i am leaning towards a hinged plate. the magnets are a neat idea, but i would be afraid of loosing them or some passer-by snatching them for the heck of it.

i may also be able to use a thumb screw and tap a hole in the fairlead face. i am leaning towards the hinged apparatus though.

[ryanroo]

these used to be cool...



frame all cleaned up. more paint once i dismount the winch.

[DeadheadNM]

Wow!!

[ryanroo]

Thanks Pete!

you guys are probably tired of the same pics, but i like em!

sitting at RH. front and rear. a poor representation. the floor slopes to the rear, and the front tires are smaller. should have a little bit of a nose heavy stance. i prefer that look in a "working" truck. always looks ready for a load and seems more aggressive. i will have to tune the ride height once it is all together and i can have it on some level ground. looks close to me though.





slammed all the way out front and rear. curbside load position should be pretty close to a stock 4wd. i dont have one on hand to measure, but comparing numbers to my yellow truck shows it to be in the area.



jammed in tight.





truck puller mode. no air front, at the top in the rear.



this would be dumped rear and RH front. trailer hook up position



the goals here where to measure for shock length front and rear.

this is at the top front and rear. bag spec on the rear says it could go at least 2 more inches up, but i didn't like it. got nervous about the bag over extending.

the fronts by spec have more than 3 inches left. they scared me too, so i stopped. i will probably set up the limit straps and shocks to take adavantage of the added length, to a degree, but i will err on the conservative side since the down travel will be less of a concern on this truck.





gratuitous shot



roughly comparing my yellow truck with a 2.5-3" lift, it will be in the area of a 5.5-6"ish lift over stock. again, i'd need axle to frame measurements to compare or a factory height truck around to compare more accurately. the rake is a little more than stock for sure.

[ryanroo]

I also did a little "test" not the most reasonable since the rest of the truck is not here, but i filled one front bag while all the rest were empty. i didn't take any real measurements, but the chassis is pretty darn rigid, but does flex just a touch. perfect.

[BigRed76]

Awesome work on the chassis
Is there a bit of a body lift on the cab I see?
And I see the factory front shock mounts are still on the frame, are you planning on using those?

[mx289]

Looking good there Ryan.

Very cool to see the suspension in all "modes".

And it all fits.
All those details are paying off.

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by BigRed76

Awesome work on the chassis
Is there a bit of a body lift on the cab I see?
And I see the factory front shock mounts are still on the frame, are you planning on using those?

Busted. i wasnt going to tell anyone and draw as little attention to it as possible. should have painted the pucks black. i have a new chore. the cab was not around when i did the front suspension. so... the cab supports hit my link brackets. i had this sneaking suspicion that i was possibly going to need some extra space. i dont have a humongous gripe with a 1" lift, but i do wish i had a little better set up to test fit all this stuff in a timely fashion. oh well. the space also allowed for the 5" exhaust to fit without any compromise and a few other fitments that were pretty tight loosen up a bit. also makes it a bit taller and i wish that wasn't the case.

Originally Posted by mx289

Looking good there Ryan.

Very cool to see the suspension in all "modes".

And it all fits.
All those details are paying off.

there are definitely some things i need to address, but so far i cant gripe. i am excited to post pics of the different modes being controlled by my control ciruits and all the bodywork on, but i cant resist some motivational pics.

[BigRed76]

Originally Posted by ryanroo

Busted. i wasnt going to tell anyone and draw as little attention to it as possible. should have painted the pucks black. i have a new chore. the cab was not around when i did the front suspension. so... the cab supports hit my link brackets. i had this sneaking suspicion that i was possibly going to need some extra space. i dont have a humongous gripe with a 1" lift, but i do wish i had a little better set up to test fit all this stuff in a timely fashion. oh well. the space also allowed for the 5" exhaust to fit without any compromise and a few other fitments that were pretty tight loosen up a bit. also makes it a bit taller and i wish that wasn't the case.

Yeah a 1" body lift is tolerable IMO, I can't stand the 2" & 3" body lifts.

[ryanroo]

I agree, anything over 1" is totally out of the question for me. i am less impressed with myself than could be due to the lack of forethought that could have prevented this, but the added space i got in other areas really does make it a positive. feels like heresy to say that.

here are the old next to the new.



installed. new bolts will have to happen.



punched the wiring pass through holes in the bumper and trimmed excess off the receiver tube as well



also melted this in.

[ryanroo]

open to suggestions on ideas for bumper color

i am thinking silver or white with a mild chance for black. i am almost positive the front bumper will be OEM and white.

[jbclassix]

Crazy thought, thinking about going this route on my Cummins swap, what about raising the cab mounts the necessary height, and dropping the bottom of the core support. Since you are pretty much building a bed, why not drop the bed floor. I say all this knowing that you are already way past that point, just agitating that twitch.

[DeadheadNM]

Originally Posted by ryanroo

open to suggestions on ideas for bumper color

i am thinking silver or white with a mild chance for black. i am almost positive the front bumper will be OEM and white.

I'd vote for something like an argent silver - keeps with OEM-color theme for a factory step bumper. White my second vote.

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by jbclassix

Crazy thought, thinking about going this route on my Cummins swap, what about raising the cab mounts the necessary height, and dropping the bottom of the core support. Since you are pretty much building a bed, why not drop the bed floor. I say all this knowing that you are already way past that point, just agitating that twitch.

That would work, but to what real benefit? you could spend a million hours modifying the body to have taller mounting points but in the end, you have just made a really time consuming body lift.

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

I'd vote for something like an argent silver - keeps with OEM-color theme for a factory step bumper. White my second vote.

i knew there was a reason we were friends, Pete! that is basically what i am thinking

[6BT 56]

I really think that will look cool with the bumpers painted that way. I have always loved the look of a highly modified truck that makes the average joe think it's mostly stock . The period correct colours are where it's at. I even vote for 10 wide steelies and stock hubcaps .

[swamp rat]

What about a charcoal color?

http://paintref.com/cgi-bin/colorcod...ette1982WA7420

[Snork]

AWESOME WORK!!!! I am impressed with the core support rehab. I may have captured some screen shots to use for ideas. I am mostly interested in the mounting of the a/c condenser, and clearance from the grille and hood latch. I will be following this thread until completion, once again, great work.

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice work Ryan! The suspension looks great! I vote white on the bumper since the front will be white. For some reason, I just think white will look better than black on that green.

[mx289]

Those cab pics make me want to call Rambo for a recon mission.

That bumper is stout.
Now,i almost feel bad for what you back into with that !

And i think like Dieselwrencher on the bumper.White.
But,you and Pete are right.Silver would look good too.
Decisions.

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by 6BT 56

I really think that will look cool with the bumpers painted that way. I have always loved the look of a highly modified truck that makes the average joe think it's mostly stock . The period correct colours are where it's at. I even vote for 10 wide steelies and stock hubcaps .

i like a subtle touch as well. just enough of a clue that something is a little different but who knows what, to the average joe.

due to my choice in brake upgrades, i have to run a 17" minimum. i am going for 18". with all the super duties out there with OEM 18"s i think they will get cheaper and be easy to find. so aftermarket wheels are the plan.

Originally Posted by swamp rat

What about a charcoal color?


http://paintref.com/cgi-bin/colorcod...ette1982WA7420

In retrospect i wish i had chosen a color like that for my engine accents. i still like what i have, but i think that silver would look good on the black. still a little to dark for the bumper for what i am seeing in my head.

Originally Posted by Snork

AWESOME WORK!!!! I am impressed with the core support rehab. I may have captured some screen shots to use for ideas. I am mostly interested in the mounting of the a/c condenser, and clearance from the grille and hood latch. I will be following this thread until completion, once again, great work.

Thanks! i was really happy with the core support when i was finished. i am sure you can get the same result.

i cant say for sure right now, but i think the condenser will fint with only a little additional trimming of the grill support. i have not even figured out the condenser i will use so that is a bit in the future.

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Nice work Ryan! The suspension looks great! I vote white on the bumper since the front will be white. For some reason, I just think white will look better than black on that green.

Thanks mister. I am a fan of satin black, but when i close my eyes, my brain sees the truck with a light colored bumper. i can still remember the truck when i was a little kid, still relatively well preserved and the bumper was silver.

Originally Posted by mx289

Those cab pics make me want to call Rambo for a recon mission.

That bumper is stout.
Now,i almost feel bad for what you back into with that !

And i think like Dieselwrencher on the bumper.White.
But,you and Pete are right.Silver would look good too.
Decisions.

Oh dear...

itll be bolted to the frame, so best get arnie to help. sly is to itty bitty for that!

i pity the fool that takes a crack at the back bumper. i feel like i will win.

[ryanroo]

I did a little water jetting today.



those go together like such.

fuel sender and the new draw tube.



turned a lip on the weld-in piece .



i also got this all mounted.



in a bit of hidden fastener trickery, the bolt threads through the clamp and sets the filter in place. does not take much, just a little pressure. that also mounts the clamp.



jam nut on the bolt makes sure the clamp is tightly mounted to the pump bracket.



i had a friend already on the way to four states gasket, so i had him pick up an appropriate sheet of fuel safe gasket material to make a seal.

[Vintage Windmills]

Good progress Ryan!

I vote white like this from 66knsmodels:
Second pic is CG's awesome truck shown for a look at black.

[shopteacher]

Awesome Work!
Totally impressed !

I have read and looked through the pictures SEVERAL times and I find something new every time!

Oh, that Cab shot doesn't get old, just looking better every time I look at it !

[Dieselwrencher]

That's great work on the sender rehab!

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by Vintage Windmills

Good progress Ryan!

I vote white like this from 66knsmodels:
Second pic is CG's awesome truck shown for a look at black.

That darker green looks good with a black accent, but i just think it would look funny against that minty medium green. the white is really cool too. jeez. hard to decide what is the coolest.

Originally Posted by shopteacher

Awesome Work!
Totally impressed !

I have read and looked through the pictures SEVERAL times and I find something new every time!

Oh, that Cab shot doesn't get old, just looking better every time I look at it !

Thanks! the cab on the frame is a motivational sight in the garage. makes me want to plow on.

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

That's great work on the sender rehab!

Thanks!

here are some more.

burned a hole in the tank.



welded in the flange.



added a pick up tube of appropriate size. also made a gasket. the material was Buna.



an as spec'd -10 fitting for fuel pump draw. the sender is in as well.



and jabbed in the tank. it looks a little like it is on steroids. i suppose that is ok though...