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1978 K20 farm truck "Boring maintenance phase"

1978 K20- Rusty beater farm truck
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GWeakland620 said:
Nice progress sir!

How about a picture of the flat bed?
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Thanks Greg! I actually am getting a better flatbed off my friend that I sold that K2500 too. The Hillsboro I have was rustier underneath than I wanted to mess with so he's going to hook me up. I'll of course get you guys pictures when it comes time to mount the bed!

campfire said:
Hahaha. Haven't heard that one before. Even wifey laughed (she's from the state of Misery).
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So it hits close to home :haha:
 
Getting back to the build phase. I'm skipping a bit of stuff just to get caught up.

Here's how the fuel lines I scavenged from the suburban are installed on the truck. Plumbed though new 3/8 and 5/16 hardlines up to the factory lines from the TBI. Ran them through a factory 1991 filter using dorman tube sections with the proper o-ring fittings
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Factory TBI fuel filter, also visible are the stainless rubber lined clamps held on by grade 8 bolts. I don't own hardware less than grade 8.
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As you can see in the first picture the supply line is rubber and not stainless braided. The braided line got pinched on accident and started to leak. Luckily GM made it easy to repair cheaply. This picture is the hose and fittings after disassembly.
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If you ever have the stainless line fail on a TBI truck just forcefully remove the stainless hose from the fitting. You're greeted with this lovely sight on both ends. Both end fittings are 3/8 barbs, simply add 3/8 EFI rated hose and you're good to go.
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This engine always started hard in the suburban. With fuel pressure like this it's not really a surprise.....
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While working around the rear of the truck last night I managed to get my foot tangled up and trip. Naturally i caught myself with the fuel return line :doah:. RIP to the sending unit that I just installed a new fuel pump into.
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So after fussing around with the truck and scan tool for a few days I've finally gotten it idling below 1,200 RPM. Only thing left to fix is a vacuum leak from the EGR gasket and it should idle down to normal levels
 
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While I'm not usually a car quest guy (the nearest is 25 miles) when they have an up to 70% off filter sale you gotta check it out. Not bad for spare fuel filter, air filter, and oil filter. Along with an EGR gasket

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After replacing the EGR gasket and doing the IAC relearn procedure it idles right where it's supposed to. Fires up on the third revolution and idles like a champ.

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We've been slow at work the past couple days so I took today off and came home after only being there for 20 minutes.

Not much for pictures but I got the crossmemeber welded in, fuel tank vent line ran, bed on, then installed and wired the new lights for the bed. Only things left are actual fuel tank straps (currently ratchet straps), filler neck, and receiver hitch.

Got the rotten Hillsboro on to get me through harvest. Couldn't put the box back on, I measured wrong and my tank is 1/4" to high and the filler neck and bed floor try to occupy the same space.
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Got the rub rail modified for the filler neck. Need to get a new 2.25" hole saw first
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And the conglomeration of parts I'll weld up tomorrow to make the required filler neck. The nipple and 5/8 vent tube are from the burb filler, the flanged piece is from my old 1995 F250 PSD. Won't be pretty but it's what I have to deal with for the time being.

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Looks like someone had a vise bolted here at some point. Thinking I'll probably put my spare Wilton up there.

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And the K10 now minus its flatbed. Going to drag it over to long term storage with the parts burb and parts Jeep. The K20 and K10 sitting side by side tell a hell of a story with all the mismatched body panels
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It'll be nice to get some miles on it this weekend if I can get the filler done. Should've quit much earlier in the evening after putting in about 10 straight hours I feel like I got hit by a bus.
 
campfire said:
And Polk County?

I'm guessing that's the work truck. But it still feels like you've joined the dark side, eh? :haha:
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That is the one thing that pains me about the service truck! People think I'm one of them.
 
Finally got my 2.5" exhaust 45's in the mail today. It was a little loud with the exhaust ending under the cab at the mufflers. Just need to run to town after some rod to make the hangers tomorrow while I'm off work.

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Took a test drive with some self tapping screws holding the outlets in place and the in cab noise is much improved!

If the truck wasn't as ugly it'd be a sweet picture, but I enjoy the ugly duckling look it's got going now :D. Almost forgot until posting this that after over a year I finally said hec with it and stuck the CK5 sticker on there.

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78K30 said:
Finally got my 2.5" exhaust 45's in the mail today. It was a little loud with the exhaust ending under the cab at the mufflers. Just need to run to town after some rod to make the hangers tomorrow while I'm off work.

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Took a test drive with some self tapping screws holding the outlets in place and the in cab noise is much improved!

If the truck wasn't as ugly it'd be a sweet picture, but I enjoy the ugly duckling look it's got going now :D. Almost forgot until posting this that after over a year I finally said hec with it and stuck the CK5 sticker on there.

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Not ugly, just chock full o character
 
campfire said:
I like it, and I'd submit it for the calendar if I was you. The scene is nice, and the truck is different enough from the standard rock crawling K5 that you just might make it in. :waytogo:
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I don't even know how one does that haha but thank you! It'll look better when the doors are white again.

The fronts are dead unknown branded units from many moons ago, the rears are tough country 2" lift units I got with the blocks and U-bolts. The rear rides noticeably better than the front
 
GWeakland620 said:
Nice work man!
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Thanks Greg! I'm loving it more and more all the time.

The engine still wants to idle a bit high which is odd. No vacuum leaks that I can find for some reason the computer is holding the IAC open a bit more than it should. The thermostat is old and it's not up to temp which is likely the cause. Thinking it'll get a new temp sensor and thermostat soon. And if I'm feeling ambitious I'll get the wasted factory heater ripped out and the Summit heater installed. Currently only water in the cooling system due to planning on this.
 
78K30 said:
Thanks Greg! I'm loving it more and more all the time.

The engine still wants to idle a bit high which is odd. No vacuum leaks that I can find for some reason the computer is holding the IAC open a bit more than it should. The thermostat is old and it's not up to temp which is likely the cause. Thinking it'll get a new temp sensor and thermostat soon. And if I'm feeling ambitious I'll get the wasted factory heater ripped out and the Summit heater installed. Currently only water in the cooling system due to planning on this.
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Just for giggles, I might pull the IAC solenoid and clean it an the throttle body really well. Then double check your ground wiring

You can also voltage check the TPS to make sure it's reading in the correct idle range
 
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