1973 K10 Build

[sokoloka]

Found my K10 on CL about a month ago. Been dealing with the little "fix-it" issues as they arise, looking forward to building it up into a badass expedition & adventure rig as time goes on.

They day I brought her home:

Has a nice Alu-headed 350:

Couldn't be orange without a flat black hood and racing stripe:

Current issues I'm dealing with:

Annoying hood gap at the rear with the hood riding high above the cowl. Any thoughts on how to fix this?

The truck is burning up starters like crazy. About to go through my second one since I've owned it. Underhood temps are high and with the headers basically touching the starter I think I'm frying the solenoid. Starter wrap makes no difference, getting ready to wrap the headers when I replace this starter in the near future. Any ideas?

Thanks for looking!

 

[metalneverdies]

Im going to guess the rear hood gap is bad hinges.

 

[wage92]

Thats a sweet truck man, has a great stance.

For your started problem, what if you tried gettting an aftermarket underdrive starter, they make them smaller than the huge stock one i believe.

 

[454Sub]

You can also buy a factory Gm gear reduction starter for the newer year 350s. Its alot smaller, and it has that cool sound when it cranks over. A bit pricy though.

FYI header wrap will rot the headers out.

 

[magik235]

Nice truck

 

[sokoloka]

Thanks for all the positive comments!

You can also buy a factory Gm gear reduction starter for the newer year 350s. Its alot smaller, and it has that cool sound when it cranks over. A bit pricy though.

FYI header wrap will rot the headers out.

Looking to avoid the header wrap if possible - for the price I could get close to the price of a new starter anyways.

What year truck / 350's should I be looking at? Something like a 1997 C1500?

 

[454Sub]

Im not sure on the 350s. I know my 454 is a 2000 model year, and it came factory with one. But since I bought the motor at an auction, it didnt have a starter. So i tossed an older style one on it to save money.

That being said, what I would do is have your parts house grab out a generic 80s model starter, as SB and BB are all the same. Then have them grab a newer one, I think 97 would be gear reduction, and look at them. The gear reduction should be much smaller, and alot lighter. Make sure the bolt pattern to mount it is the same. Once you get the right one, your good to go.

 

[dremu]

W.r.t. the starter, yep, the solenoid is the first to go. I used to replace starters biannually, but since I started using the Dorman heatshield, I haven't replaced any. That includes my built 468 BBC with unwrapped headers.

http://www.dormanproducts.com/p-3269-45629.aspx

Cheap, simple.

Mind you, I also got good starters -- IIRC, the current ones are Delcos, from a dealer. They're not gear reduction or anything goofy, just stock style. My motor guy says you maybe want those for a crazy high compression race engine, but for regular motors, get a regular starter.

-- A

 

[sokoloka]

What's becoming an all too common occurance:

Bought a brand new PMGR starter for a 1997 C/K 1500 on Tuesday, toasted it 6 starts later on Thanksgiving morning. Is there anything else besides heat that can be tearing up these starters?

Need to do plugs and wires on the truck; complete tuneup realistically. Whoever had this k10 before me wasn't very up on routine maintenance.

On the plus side, local pick-a-part had a 50% off black friday sale! Got a tilt column, new window regulators, glass, vent windows, three point seatbealts, tailgate and a hydroboost off a 1974 C20 dually for a little over $100.

 

[454Sub]

If your burning up starters that fast, your positive cable is probably bad with to much resistance at the starter end. Or possibly your negative cable. Check the condition of both of them, plus the battery itself. I have had the same starter for 5 years with headers and it hasnt missed a beat. I would bet cables first, then battery. I build my own cables, vs buying the cheap ones at the parts houses. I have found alot of times the parts house ones use smaller cable, and use thicker insulation to make them seem the same. So I build all my own, plus the charging cable. Easy to do, plus you can route the wiring in a way better way than the PO usually has done.

A side thought, make sure your alt is charging correctly and charging the battery at idle.

 

[sokoloka]

If your burning up starters that fast, your positive cable is probably bad with to much resistance at the starter end. Or possibly your negative cable. Check the condition of both of them, plus the battery itself. I have had the same starter for 5 years with headers and it hasnt missed a beat. I would bet cables first, then battery. I build my own cables, vs buying the cheap ones at the parts houses. I have found alot of times the parts house ones use smaller cable, and use thicker insulation to make them seem the same. So I build all my own, plus the charging cable. Easy to do, plus you can route the wiring in a way better way than the PO usually has done.

A side thought, make sure your alt is charging correctly and charging the battery at idle.

Thanks for the advice. With the way everything is hacked up under there I'm just going to get new battery cables at the same time as plug wires and plugs.

Where in Southern Illinois are you? I'm originally from Chicago - went to school in Champaign.

Spent a few hours and put in the junkyard windows, regulators, vent windows, tracks and latch hardware. Have to strip the tint all over again but it's SO nice to be able to roll windows up and down and lock the doors

I'm wondering, is the 80's glass thinner? Windows I put in seemed lighter than the ones I took out.

 

[454Sub]

I live about 20min south east of St Louis. Went up to U of I several times a few years back when my friends where up there. Great place to go I will say. Yes I believe it is, I know GM switched bumpers, fenders and glass in an effort to shave weight from the trucks, probably happened in the 79-80 rolling model change.

My sister lives in Santa Barbara now, or some town/city/village/country near or around that area. Not sure exactly. Been out there once, nice weather.

 

[sokoloka]

Working on checking plugs, wires, cables, and possibly alternator off the list this weekend.

Found the cut wire for the fuel sending unit. Hooked it up and the gauge jumped from WAY past full to full - only challenge is I'm quite sure the tank ISN'T full. What does that imply?

Does anyone have a really good writeup on installing hydroboost?

 

[sokoloka]

Got some wrenching time in today in-between errands. Hardest thing I've done on the truck yet - swapping the rusty chrome sideview mirror for black and mounting a passenger one as well.

Bought new from LMC - pain in the ASS. Stoked to have mirrors on both sides now though.

Also figured I'd replace the alternator and see if that helps with my issues. Just as a sanity check, this is a long water pump right? (want to order a new alternator bracket and ditch the cheesy chrome)

New (reman'd) alternator seems to work just fine - time will tell if it keeps charging the battery though.

 

[supermotard750]

yes long water pump you can tell by the dished pulley

 

[sokoloka]

Alrighty - was gone for a little on business but am back now and got some wrenching done:

Installed Optima RedTop with 800 CCA rating
Accel 8mm spark plug wires with ceramic boots (things are freaking SWEET)
Fresh AutoLite spark plugs

Just by installing wires alone noticed stronger starts and smoother idle. Very pleased so far.

While I had the plugs out I did a compression check as well. Compression values for each cylinder were:

1 - 170
2 - 190
3 - 185
4 - 170
5 - 175
6 - 170
7 - 180
8 - 175

Average compression across all 8 was ~176. How do you guys think that rates? Anything it should tell me?

Need to make new battery cables as well, have 15ft of Painless 1g wire waiting to be dropped in

 

[wage92]

seems pretty good to me, i think one of the biggest things is that they are all pretty close to each other, so you have a balanced engine and no one cylinder is doing all the work.

 

[82355]

What do new alternator brackets cost? I probably have a set you could have for the cost of shipping.

Martin

 

[454Sub]

Its not a big deal, but on them valve covers, I would recommend some load spreaders on the bolt down T's. Lessens your chances for leaks. I always liked the T's as it makes everything so much easier as far as valvetrain inspecting and such. And I think they look kicka$$.

Your compression is good, nice and fairly even. So now you know you have a fairly sealed up strong motor. Always nice.

 

[sokoloka]

seems pretty good to me, i think one of the biggest things is that they are all pretty close to each other, so you have a balanced engine and no one cylinder is doing all the work.

That's what I was thinking - definitely good news to find out!

What do new alternator brackets cost? I probably have a set you could have for the cost of shipping.

Martin

I appreciate the offer. I just paid $40 or so for the billet aluminum ones that Summit has. Had a similar setup on my 1972 Corvette and was quite pleased with it.

Its not a big deal, but on them valve covers, I would recommend some load spreaders on the bolt down T's. Lessens your chances for leaks. I always liked the T's as it makes everything so much easier as far as valvetrain inspecting and such. And I think they look kicka$$.

Your compression is good, nice and fairly even. So now you know you have a fairly sealed up strong motor. Always nice.

Where would I find those load spreaders? Summit?