2 wheel peel / rebirth of a short bed c-10

[sweetk30]

well took some time today and beefed up the 12 bolt truck rear a little more .

pic 1-2 = stock angle as the axle sits on its backing plate flanges on some 2"x4" square tube off the 1" thick plate steal work bench . as you can see there .4* off left to right . but the left side perch was a little deformed just a tiny bit . so it could be abuse or factory play in 1972 when the axle was built for the 1973 truck year.

pic 3 = spring perch center to outside edge of backing plate flange as a backing plate would sit on it. and this spec is for 1/2 and 3/4 ton 42" width .

pic 4-5 = general idea of how much more the ruffstuff specialty products perches have over stock . and just about or slight over 1/4 " taller over stock also .

 

[sweetk30]

then we got the old ones off / cleaned up the tubes / burned the new ones in place . and as you can see nice welds for a non school learned person and also great fitment to the tubes and good heat all the way threw both perch and tube for a great weld.

 

[sweetk30]

pic 1-2 = once cooled down and checked I was shooting for 9.4* - 9.5* to be in the middle of the original range . but I got 9.1* and 9.2* I don't think it will matter that much on a 2wd build . and the .1* is a lot closer than original difference.

pic 3-5 = then I made a few plugs out of washers and electrical tape to act as a gasket and sealed off the pinion area and axle ends and used threaded rod for all the hardware. also poped on the diff cover to seal that up also .

then on lunch I droped the empty / sealed housing and both rear leaf spring packs off at the blaster to get striped and ready for me to paint up black yo match the rest of the rolling frame.

I also have the new top plates from ruffstuff specialty to match the rest of the leaf spring clamping needs.

then its time to toss it all back together and bolt it in the truck .

 

[82355]

Isn't that counter productive to lowering it?

Martin

 

[sweetk30]

Isn't that counter productive to lowering it?

Martin

1/4 " wont kill the truck .

but yes it kind of is. but I wasn't going for dead level anyways .

 

[sweetk30]

bed mods today to clear the longer shackle swing .

marked it before box removed .

dropped down 1" from flat bottom of rail .

then used section of 2" exhaust pipe for a thick wall and radius .

then filler panel for ends .

 

[sweetk30]

as you can see the pieces welded in great .

I drilled a drain hole on each end in the middle section since there was no real way for it to drain out now if need be .

and last was old cut out section next to modified section now.

 

[y5mgisi]

Clean. Good job.

 

[sweetk30]

got a big package of brake parts .

drums qty 2 = 11" x 2 & 5/32" big brake option for 1/2 ton .
reman shoe's 11" x 2 5/32" also
hardware / hold down kit
left & right adjuster kit's
wheel cylinders qty 2
all ebrake cables cab down to axle
already had axle seals

got the used backing plates and brake bars from ( gonicgm member here ) and blasted them up in the shop cabinet and then welded up the shoe wear pads that were worn down a bit he already told me about.

so the ebrake cables arms look the same from small to big brake option . and I had both shoes in hand and tried them both with no noticeable difference.

next is to prep them and paint them black to match the rest of the under parts of the truck .

pic 1 = parts in the tool cart top/bottom

pic 2 = new wide shoe on bottom and old narrow shoe on top . for a difference comp view

forgot to get pics yet of the backing plates all blasted up .

 

[sweetk30]

few pics of the 1973 12 bolt rear all cleaned up and lookin real good over any I have seen this clean up here in the rust belt. you can even read the casting #'s on the diff section .

also leafs all blasted up ready for paint. I have new pinch bolts / nuts / tubes with 4 new anti squeake pads also to put back in the #2 leafs just like factory had .

then the ruffstuff top plates to match the beefy spring perches you seen me install before blasting . just need to hit the local shop up for some ubolts when I am ready .

 

[Deuling]

That will look great! I love sandblasted steel.

 

[sweetk30]

few pics of the rest of the parts blasted .

and repair welds ground down from groves in backing plates were shoes ride.

 

[sweetk30]

small parts painted and also leaf springs .

 

[sweetk30]

drum's / axle housing / stock cove ( not sure what to do with it ) and hardware for backing plates to axle housing / wheel cylinder's to backing plates / centerpin's / ubolts.

darn 11 5/32" x 2 3/4" drums are heavy !!! but that's compared to the baby drums I took off.

center pins are allen socket bolts and 2 nuts . will show why later when I assemble stuff.

 

[sweetk30]

rear leaf pack rebuild today .

all layed out in order

then new anti squeaker pads clipped in place.

pack assembled all tight .

pair of extra nuts rounded off to fit in the center of the top plate nice n tight for less movement.

 

[sweetk30]

then i installed the energy suspension bushings in the eye ends of the main leaf.

also I took a thick washer and extra nut for centerpin and sandwiched the top plate on in place . made for fast / easy install .

and then both packs got bolted in to the trucks hangers and 1" longer diy4x hd shackles for that extra 1/2" drop I talked about before.

 

[sweetk30]

and then it was time to install the ratech solid pinion spacer and shim as needed for preload. this unit eliminates the crush sleave .

empty case clean and ready for parts to be reinstalled.

pinion is in and spec was 10-15 inch pounds turning force used bearings I got just about 14-15 range then with the seal I got about 2 more as normal seal drag is 2-3 .

so I droped in the used 3.73 ring on the brand new Detroit true trac unit. got here in and clamped tight with 60 ft lbs on the main cap's . and don't forget I used arp. main studs for a ford 8" diff rear same application placement. neet trick to do .

then I got the backing plates bolted on and slid in the shafts and droped the c-clips on and plopped the center wedge in and little blue locktight and 20 ft lb as per directions for center bolt. and I will say there is hardly no play in the axle end play now with this setup .

 

[sweetk30]

some more fun was had .

yes that's a broken tap in the cover bolt hole.

found the T/A cover bolts to be 2 threads short of full tight to hold the cover down . so I had to finish with a bottom out tap the factory holes that just didn't get done all the way .

and then bolt #1 as I started it must have been a worn / weak tap as hardle any pressure it poped .

but I was lucky it broke under no load and was able to hammer/punch walk it out to the point of vise grips . thank the auto god's
now the T/A cover is on tight / load bolts @ 5ft lbs and jam nuts tight . also I added Teflon paste to the load bolts to help from any gear oil leaking I hope.

and the cover is BEEFY for sure.

 

[sweetk30]

I wont go into the brakes as we seen them done lots of times .

but as you seen above we have basicly 90% all new parts ex backing plates and brake bar's .

yes I skipped painting the ends of the axles. I can get them later .

and here she is in all her reman glory ready to roll over on go-jacks to be installed in her new home . from a 73 c-10 long bed to a pickup trailer for years and now back in service with some goodys inside and back under a whole truck again .

 

[sweetk30]

just a few glory shots of her back on 4 wheels again .