CK5
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1989 Crew Cab Tow Rig Build
- Thread starter Kay86K5
- Start date
They truly are. I really wish GM wouldn't have discontinued them. I understand why they did cause at the time gas prices were over $4.00/gal pretty much across the country and diesels were making a big push in the consumer market, but I hope they bring back the 8.1 (or a different version of it) as an alternative to guys who want a tow rig but not the maintenance costs of diesels. I kinda doubt it with the advancements of 6.0's and I have even heard talks of them putting the 6.2 (same as in the Camaro's) in the trucks, but one can still hope
I thought the 2015's were 6.2's?
Maybe 
. I haven't paid too much attention since I can't afford them anyways 
. I haven't paid too much attention since I can't afford them anyways
Maybe
I don't either however I heard some loud mouth talking about his new truck having a 6.2l and a eleven million speed transmission.
Small change....I was going to have my 97 NV4500 rebuild just for the peace of mind...until a friend of a friend heard I just picked this trans up. He has built a 95 Tahoe 2 door that he swapped an 95 NV4500 in it (with the external slave that hangs on the passenger side low), but he is 3 linking the front of his to where his external slave wouldn't work (was contacting his upper link) and he needed to get an internal slave NV4500. So he got in contact with me and asked if I wanted to do a trade with him. So I traded him (plus a little bit of cash) my 97 NV4500 that he was gonna rebuild and is what he needed, for his 95 NV4500 (same gear ratio as the 97, but an external slave) that only has 10,000 miles on a complete rebuild with a almost brand new clutch (was swapped in at the same time of the rebuild of the tranny). It was a pretty good deal and we both got what wanted/needed.
Pic of the now 95 NV4500 with a rebuild 10,000 miles ago
Pic of the external slave bell housing. I need to get a new throwout bearing, but that is easy and cheap
Pic of the newish (10,000 miles on it) clutch pack
So my new plan it not to get Advanced Adapters bell housing anymore. I am going to try and make this external slave housing work. I have read so many threads where guys say there is interference with the front driveshaft on these square bodies if you use the external slave, but I plan to lift this thing 3-4" and I have no plan to have this thing off road really (no extreme flexing) since it's going to be a fun/tow rig so I think I can make it work. The guy I got the this from said I could have his slave cylinder and the line as well and try to make it work on my clutch master cylinder. So I'm gonna give it a shot. So all I should need for the tranny swap parts gathering to be done is a 8.1 specific flywheel and bolts and I should have everything necessary for the NV4500 swap. On to gathering parts for the motor swap (including the motor, haha)
Oh, and I also picked up a steering wheel off the late 80's/early 90's trucks to swap on to this thing. I love these style of steering wheels (I have one on my wheeler too)
Pic of the now 95 NV4500 with a rebuild 10,000 miles ago
Pic of the external slave bell housing. I need to get a new throwout bearing, but that is easy and cheap
Pic of the newish (10,000 miles on it) clutch pack
So my new plan it not to get Advanced Adapters bell housing anymore. I am going to try and make this external slave housing work. I have read so many threads where guys say there is interference with the front driveshaft on these square bodies if you use the external slave, but I plan to lift this thing 3-4" and I have no plan to have this thing off road really (no extreme flexing) since it's going to be a fun/tow rig so I think I can make it work. The guy I got the this from said I could have his slave cylinder and the line as well and try to make it work on my clutch master cylinder. So I'm gonna give it a shot. So all I should need for the tranny swap parts gathering to be done is a 8.1 specific flywheel and bolts and I should have everything necessary for the NV4500 swap. On to gathering parts for the motor swap (including the motor, haha)
Oh, and I also picked up a steering wheel off the late 80's/early 90's trucks to swap on to this thing. I love these style of steering wheels (I have one on my wheeler too)
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I want one of those wheels in my K5 too. I love them.
Nice find on the trans!
Nice find on the trans!
Sounds like a good trade.
+ want one of those wheels too, been on the lookout for a decent one.
+ want one of those wheels too, been on the lookout for a decent one.
I found this wheel on ebay. I was hoping I would find one of these trucks on clist being parted and steel the wheel for cheaper, but wasn't finding any luck. So when I saw that one on ebay I jumped on it.
I felt like the trade was a good deal for both of us. He got a tranny that will work for his application (and a little cash to help him get it rebuilt) and I got a tranny that will probably work even better for my application than the 97 and is truly ready to drop in, plus a really nice clutch setup too.
CUCV2
5/4 ton fun
You could always switch to a driver's side drop front axle if clearance on the slave is an issue.
That just seems like way too much effort/$ for not that much benefit. That means locating a 78-79 ford d60 (which are hard to find and are some $) since there is no way I would get rid of having a 60 in the front of this thing and switch up tcase's to have a drivers drop front output and then deal with shifter modifications. I am thinking the front d-shaft will clear just fine, especially after the lift I put on it. And if there is an issue, I will just get a new front d-shaft with a smaller diameter tube on it. Way easier and cheaper than swapping axle and tcase....especially cause I want to keep both the front axle and tcase that are currently in it
CUCV2
5/4 ton fun
Just thought I would mention it since the transmission you have is originally a drivers drop and a lot of people actually prefer the high pinion front axle for it's strength and driveshaft clearance. Those front axles are a little more common around here. I have two at the moment.
I do appreciate the suggestions, and I have had a few people mention this exact same thing to me too, but here in CO those ford 60's are hard to come by, and if you do find one they want a pretty penny for them (at least in the Denver area where I am at....I am sure you could find better deals elsewhere in the state, but that would include more expense of driving or shipping which wouldn't make it worth it). I am trying to keep this build as simple as I can, even though I am doing a modern motor swap and converting from auto to manual, I still don't want to over complicate this build by doing things to it that I deem as unnecessary and could be handled a better way with the parts already on the rig that are in good working order.
If I was going all out with this thing making it the "Ultimate" tow rig, probably the only drivetrain that would be left would be the rear 14bff (and I would still maybe ditch that for an AAM with factory disc brakes), but that is not my goal with this rig. It's building a rig that I will tow with (and want it to tow pretty well....not perfect but good enough up these pass's we have in CO) but also just have fun in it too using as a normal truck with good dependability (and a lot cooler than anything else you normally see on the road).....for cheaper than just buying a 2000+ year diesel truck. And the way I am doing this....it's almost all completely bolt in with little fab work to get it to work.....the KISS theory at its best with these trucks
Update:
First off, I purchased this adapter from Advanced Adapters that is more like just a spacer between the round pattern np205 and the NV4500. I could have just bolted the 205 directly to the 4500 but I would have had to swap the long 32 spline input on the 205 to a short 32 spline input which would require a teardown and then I would at least do a seal kit too. But this AA was cheaper than all of that. Also, with the AA adapter on the back it makes the setup the exact same length as the TH400/205 setup that is currently in the truck so no driveline modifications. The other route it was up in the air if the stock slips on the shafts would handle the offage. I also picked up the little 205 shifter bracket too. This is the worst part of the kit and the thing most complain about that this bracket can't handle shifting the 205 and tends to bend, but I found some guys who just beefed it up a little bit and it worked just fine. So that will be what I do.
So the only thing left for the NV4500 swap is an 8.1 specific flywheel, and adapt the 95 slave cylinder's hydro line to the 85-87 master cylinder
Speaking of 8.1.....
I finally found an 8.1 liter on CL for a good price for what it was. It's a 2002 8.1L with 91K miles on it. And for those of you who have a good eye, you might notice that it already has the Workhourse accessory brackets on the front which moves the A/C pump up high on the drivers side, and moves the Alt to the high passenger position. Also the water pump was swapped to the correct one as well. The only thing I have to get is the correct harmonic balancer/pully as they are differnet for the workhorse brackets (pretty cheap) and the tensioner puller (cheap too) as that is missing right now. Other than a few odds and ends that you would imagine from a CL motor that I need to get to finish it off....its ready to drop in. I do have the truck accessory brackets that came with it along with the power steering pump, just not the correct A/C pump yet, but that can be bought after it's in the truck. Also, for those with a good eye, that last pic is showing an L29 vortec 454 throttle body as that is what I'm going to run with a TB spacer so I can run my factory cable throttle body instead of the drive by wire set up. And in the end I will end up getting a full stand alone harness/tune from Howell.
I'm pretty excited about this one....now just to keep gathering all the little odds and ends for the motor swap
First off, I purchased this adapter from Advanced Adapters that is more like just a spacer between the round pattern np205 and the NV4500. I could have just bolted the 205 directly to the 4500 but I would have had to swap the long 32 spline input on the 205 to a short 32 spline input which would require a teardown and then I would at least do a seal kit too. But this AA was cheaper than all of that. Also, with the AA adapter on the back it makes the setup the exact same length as the TH400/205 setup that is currently in the truck so no driveline modifications. The other route it was up in the air if the stock slips on the shafts would handle the offage. I also picked up the little 205 shifter bracket too. This is the worst part of the kit and the thing most complain about that this bracket can't handle shifting the 205 and tends to bend, but I found some guys who just beefed it up a little bit and it worked just fine. So that will be what I do.
So the only thing left for the NV4500 swap is an 8.1 specific flywheel, and adapt the 95 slave cylinder's hydro line to the 85-87 master cylinder
Speaking of 8.1.....
I finally found an 8.1 liter on CL for a good price for what it was. It's a 2002 8.1L with 91K miles on it. And for those of you who have a good eye, you might notice that it already has the Workhourse accessory brackets on the front which moves the A/C pump up high on the drivers side, and moves the Alt to the high passenger position. Also the water pump was swapped to the correct one as well. The only thing I have to get is the correct harmonic balancer/pully as they are differnet for the workhorse brackets (pretty cheap) and the tensioner puller (cheap too) as that is missing right now. Other than a few odds and ends that you would imagine from a CL motor that I need to get to finish it off....its ready to drop in. I do have the truck accessory brackets that came with it along with the power steering pump, just not the correct A/C pump yet, but that can be bought after it's in the truck. Also, for those with a good eye, that last pic is showing an L29 vortec 454 throttle body as that is what I'm going to run with a TB spacer so I can run my factory cable throttle body instead of the drive by wire set up. And in the end I will end up getting a full stand alone harness/tune from Howell.
I'm pretty excited about this one....now just to keep gathering all the little odds and ends for the motor swap
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That's awesome man! I am jealous about you running the 8.1. I miss mine. A lot.
I imagine the new design intake manifolds work well, but they sure are damned ugly.
Martin
Martin
I am really excited about it. I think it will work really well for what I plan to use the truck for
Disagree, but to each their own
Fixed it for ya.
nothin a little flapper wheel and a few hours wouldnt fix..
