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1986 K30 6.2 Diesel Truggy Build - "The Mule"

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myhichevy4x4

myhichevy4x4

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myhichevy4x4 submitted a new Build:

1986 K30 6.2 Diesel Truggy Build - "The Mule"

Ok, so I finally decided I needed to do a build thread on my project truck.

(Yes I also know there is a Suburban build called Project Mule but this is just The Mule and I did not name it but I will get to that)

Quick description of the plan: Full truggy with exo, 42" pitbulls, full hydro steering lockers and a 4 speed atlas T case.

I will start off that I am fairly new to the CK5 community but not to off-roading. I previously had a built 1989 fullsize Bronco with 37s that was my offroad truck. But don't judge me for the Ford I am a diehard Chevy guy and always have been but the Bronco was free.

Anyway, the Bronco had a frame that was rotting away from the Maryland salt and could no longer be patched and I began to look for a new truck to build.

It just so happens that I am a mechanical engineer for a defense contractor here in Maryland. I found out that they were looking to thin their herd of vehicles due to maintenance costs. It was here I found this gem of a truck. A 1986 K30 6.2 diesel, turbo 400, 205 tcase, Dana 60 front and 14 bolt rear 4.56 gears winch bumper with 10K Ramsey winch with a pretty sweet flatbed. Best part was it had 16,000 ORIGINAL MILES and all the service documentation and very little rust!

It was sold on a silent auction and I got it for a very good price.
Here are some pics from the day I brought it home.



Gotta love the west coast mirrors





Ramsey 10K worm drive winch that works! Had to buy a new winch hook....
Click to expand...

Read more about this build here...

View attachment 230253
 
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So after bringing it home I knew it needed some general maintenance. I changed the box fuel filter and it seemed to be no different. After some inspection I found that someone had installed an aftermarket Raycore fuel water separator. After opening it I found it had a paper filter that was disintegrating because it was so old.

After a trip to Napa to get a replacement it ran much better and had lots more power!!. However shortly after the box filter developed a leak at the WIF (water in fuel) sensor so I ditched that for a universal spin on fuel filter from Jegs. After that it ran even better.



Next was the huge oil leak from the leaking oil cooler lines. Ordered new lines from Rockauto and they turned out to be a PIA to replace. But oil leak fixed!.

I also added a new K&N filter to let it breathe better.

It now happily did 60 mph on the highway and had plenty of power.

Next was to add a EGT gauge and Trans temp gauge. I went with sunpro because they were cheap. And they work great.



Oh and I happened to have that piece of carbon fiber laying around:waytogo:

So I drove it like this for a few months and used it to haul mulch, scrap, and lots of other stuff. I did love the flatbed.

Truck ran great and all other fluids looked great. Was not sure what my plans really were just yet . .

And then the build took a turn . . . not a bad one.
 
Dang, the Pro Stock look. Haha, mine sported that look for months with 40s in the back and something like 28in trailer tires on the front, classy. Like the look, cool project. Any plans on a turbo maybe?
 
Deuling said:
Swayaways out back??? Nice. subsribed
Click to expand...

They are actually 18" travel 2.5" Profender Air Shocks. The guy that helped me do the tube work recommended them and is now a Profender dealer. Have not had a chance to really test them out but the price was right so we will see.
 
454Sub said:
Any plans on a turbo maybe?
Click to expand...

Holding off on the turbo for now. All bets are off once I actually finish it and get to wheeling it. I want to see how it works out with the 4 Speed Atlas with the 5.44 : 1 low range. I do want to convert it to a Serp belt setup instead of the V belts.

Someone hacked the alternator bracket all up. I believe this truck may have had two alternators at one time and one was removed because something is clearly been unbolted from the passenger side head. Not sure. The truck also has three battery trays for some reason too.
 
Ok like I mentioned earlier I got the truck running good and was using it for running errands and it was quite useful. It was at this time that I was pondering what to really do with this truck next.

And then another deal came along that greatly influenced the build. I found out through the Rausch Creek Offroad Forum that a fellow CK5er was parting out his tubed out Blazer. The truck had a TBI 350, turbo 400 trans, 4 speed Atlas T case, front Dana 60 with 35 spline outers, drive flanges, with a power lock limited slip, rear 4 linked and trussed 14 bolt with a detroit locker and disk brakes, both with 4.10 gears,

He was looking to part it out individually but me and my Brother-In-Law (newoldscottsdale77) talked with him and bought the rolling chassis. My Brother-in-law wanted the TBI setup on the motor and the hydro assist steering setup and so I ended up with the rest.

http://s169.photobucket.com/user/the5thwonder/media/The Mule Build/DSCN1005.jpg.html


Here I was getting ready to put it into the garage to tear it down.



Me and my son getting ready to unload it into the garage.



The truck had been rolled and he had cut the tube off and scrapped alot of it already.



Front dana 60 with hydro assist and power lock limited slip



Gotta love the 2x4 rear coilovers. You can just see the triple shifters for the Atlas and also the bonus Art Carr Rockcrawler shifter for the turbo 400.



MMMM 4 speed Atlasy goodness



It is pretty short too. This is a Gen one four speed before the redesign. These first gen 4 speeds had some issues with oiling at high speed. Since this truck will see very little street time I don't think I will have an issue. It is a 32 spline input with 32 spline front and rear outputs with CV flanges. It is the 5.44 : 1 low range and came with all the cable shifters.



Motor out and ready to go to my B-I-L along with hydro assist stuff



Rear 14 bolt with 4 link setup using Jonny Joints



Getting ready to load whats left of the body on my trailer for scrap.

Got a bunch of small stuff that I can re-use in my build down the road too. Overall it was a great buy that worked for everyone involved.

Now I had a stock truck and alot of parts laying around in my garage and I was still searching for what exactly I was going to do.
 
At this time my plan was to use the 4 link setup from the Blazer with air shocks and graft it onto the K30 frame and then just shorten the flat bed. Get some 52" front springs slide the Atlas in and wheel the hell out of it.

So a few months after the Blazer was parted out I still had not started.

Then yet another opportunity walked into the build. Again this one came from the Rausch Creek Offroad Forum. A fab shop posted they were looking to buy a TIG welder.

It just so happens that I had purchased a late 1990s vintage Miller Syncrowave 350 TIG from my work for a good price about the same time I bought the truck. For those not familiar with this welder it is freaking huge and weighs like 750 lbs.



I got it home and had owned it for like 6 months and used it like twice. I really had no need for it but it was a deal and I always wanted a TIG welder. Once I had it all it did was take up space and I still went to my MIG for most projects.

So I figured what the hell, and I sent the guy an email. Five minutes later my phone rang and we talked. The next weekend I was hauling the truck, the spare axles, and my TIG two hours north to Down N Dirty Offroad in Reading PA.



Got to see how my new '12 duramax did towing 12K and I was very impressed. Gotta love GM. Notice the TIG in the front and the axles in the bed of the mule.

So my plan was to trade the TIG for fabwork. The plan was to use the axles out of the Blazer and the 4 link rear and after we talked some more it seemed the only way to go was to shorten the wheelbase.

Then the Truggy idea hit!!

I spent countless nights looking for ideas and gleaning all the different details that I wanted in my build.

We sat down and drew it all up and planned it out. I planned to keep tabs on the build and help out when I could. I had no experience doing tube work but I could weld and do light fabrication. So this was a perfect plan. He could do the tube work and I would finish everything up.

At his point I am sure that some people are upset that I did not do the tube work myself but I am just not setup for that type of fab work so it really worked out for the best.

Attached is a pdf of some of our rough original sketches.

More tomorrow night.
 

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  • Diesel Truck Ideas.pdf
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Yeah, I was there last summer for the CK5 run when I wheeled with him and your BIL. Maybe I'll see you guys out there one day :pimp:
 
Now to continue tonight cutting the truck in half and the 4 link.

So I dropped the truck off at Down N Dirty Offroad (DND from here on). Mike is the owner and a great guy. He does most of the fab work himself. He has a small shop that is fully equipped including a 5x9 plasma table. He specializes in ,Cough Jeep stuff Cough, but has worked on anything and everything. He regularly works on a few teams Ultra 4 cars and has even built a few full tube chassis buggies and is actually just finishing one now.

This was his first GM fullsize truggy.

First off was to remove the flatbed.



Before anyone asks the flat bed went to my BIL and was shortened and happily lives on his truck and looks awesome.



Next step was to cut off the frame behind the cab.



Check. There was actually a large crossmember right at the back of the cab mount and about four inches was left behind that. Everything was just cut including brake and fuel lines. We saved the tailight wiring for future use.



You can see one of the beefy link mounts sitting on the rear tire all 1/4" plate.

The original plan was to re-use the 14 bolt, 4 link and joints setup from the Blazer. After we ran some numbers the 4 link setup was far from optimal especially with all the travel these babies were going to give me.



Mike at DND recommended these air shocks. They are 2.5 inch diameter 18" travel air shocks from Profender. Profender is a new comer to the US market but a few race teams are using their air shocks, coilovers, and air bumps with good success. Also the price was great with their December 20% off sale. They seem to be very well built but I have not had the chance to really try them out. Mike at DND is now a supplier for Profender.

So back to the drawing board on the 4 link.

After some back and forth we decided it would be best to re-use the axles that were already in the truck since we knew there were no miles on them. The axles under the truck already had 4.56 gears as opposed to the 4.10s in the Blazer axles. Only down side was I would have to tear down all 4 axles and swap in the lockers.

Mike went to work mocking up brackets and links for the new 4 link using the existing 14 bolt axle and re-using the Jonny Joints. My plan was to do a completely flat belly because the Atlas is rotated up flat. So the lower link brackets were located up higher on the frame than usual. (this will cause the 4 link to be re-done later see post # 88)

Lower links are .25 wall tubing. Wheel base was shortened to 118" but I will be moving the front axle forward at least 2 inches so it will end up around 120-122" wheel base.



Upper and lower link mounts at frame. Note this is at full bump.



Outter axle link mount.



Flexin it out to check for binding. Which there was none. Cycled beautifully. (so I thought but I was wrong see post # 88)



This is a later pic showing the huge truss on the 14 bolt and the inner axle mounts. This is also still not at ride height. Ride height will leave about 8 inches of shock shaft exposed for up travel (about 3 inches higher than shown here)
 
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