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71K5 - BP71K5's Just for fun build

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I think you can buy a new pivot ball at just about any parts store.
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I thought that too, but the few I went to either didn't know what it was, or got confused by the time I got to explaining the engine was a 71, the tranny, a 95, the throwout bearing was for a 89, etc...

I'm heading to a local speed shop and see what they got.
 
Update:

Thanks to some help from Scott (again), I've got my pivot ball installed and ready to go. You can see in the first picture what looks like a bolt head welded onto the stud. (That's because that's what they did). They just cut the threads off of the old pivot and welded a bolt in place of the threads. This made the shoulder on the ball stud 1/4" longer and I used a washer to bring the new length up to .3" longer. It appears to work great and my clutch fork now sits like it should.

Then I removed the old crossmember and drilled new holes in it so I could move it forward 3.5". This distance will let me get the transfer case shifter back onto the tranny cover and gets the doubler adaptor to sit in a small channel under the body so I can flatten out the lump I hammered in it. If I had measured properly the first time, I could have got away without having to cut the body at all. Next time...

I also degreased and cleaned up the crossmember and gave it a nice coat of black paint. I'm now waiting for some custom designed TBI fuel lines from inline tube to arrive on Wednesday so I can start the motor install on Saturday.

ball stud.jpg

motorrmounts 002.jpg
 
So in the above picture, is your engine crossmember moved forward 3.5"s already?

If so, did you have to do any clearancing on the ends of the crossmember to allow it to push forward that far? I'm moving my engine forward too and it seems like I might have to grind a little off the ends of the crossmember as it appears to be hitting the sides of the frame when I try to push it forward.
 
did you have to do any clearancing on the ends of the crossmember to allow it to push forward that far?
Click to expand...

Yes, it's already moved forward. I had to remove some material on the back side (closest to the rear of the truck). The frame narrows towards the front so I had to shave off about 1/8"-1/4" off of each side and that was plenty.

I'm not sure if all frames are like this, but 3.5" just so happend to be where there were already additional holes on the top side of the frame. So I only had to drill new holes on the bottom portion of the frame and one extra one on top (instead of 4). I'm guessing the extra holes might have been for the bigblock crossmember if there was one?

I didn't take any pictures of the crossmember modifications, but I basically had to "move" the holes about 1/4" inward. I did that by grinding them out with a diegrinder and then bolting everything up and marking the side of the holes that needed to be filled in. Then I welded up the gap and cleaned up the holes with the right sized drill bit.
 
I also forgot to add that moving the crossmember 3.5" forward also brings it right above the pumpkin on the axle. When the engine is out, it looks like plenty of clearance, but I'm thinking it'll be very close once the motor goes back in. If you have a bigblock, I'd check that twice and make sure it's ok. If it is a problem, ORD has a highclearance crossmember that's supposed to solve that.
 
Update: Engine is back in

After fighting the typical issues (for 6 hours) with getting the tranny and engine block lined up enough so they can bolt back together, the engine was back in and ready for all the accessories to get bolted on and get it ready to fire up.

Fortunately, the cherry picker I got lifts high enough to clear the firewall by about 1/2". No airing down of tires needed to get the engine over.

You can see there's plenty of clearance for the electric fans I've got and the doubler adaptor fits perfectly in the little lump that the console bolts down onto. I should have moved the motor like this in the first place.

Up next: I need to mount a fuel pump and locate a hole for the ECM harness.

engine install 001.jpg

engine install 007.jpg

engine install 015.jpg
 
Started hooking up the tbi harness and sensors. This was easier than I thought. I just used a 2-1/8" hole saw and popped a hole in the firewall for the rubber grommet that comes with the harness.

I did have to move some of the wire splices to different spots to make the harness a little better organized and not look so messy. The ECM is being mounted behind the glove box. No pictures of that yet.

tbi 003.jpg
 
Looks nice, looks like you'll have her running real soon now.:woot:

The TBI swap is so easy when you get a second gen harness. I'm suprised more people don't do it.:dunno:
 
I used a harness from an 89, but took out the stuff I didn't need. Is that harness different from a second gen?I just used the painless loom shrouds instead of regular split loom.
 
Update: fuel lines and axle

So I've been working out the best way to install the fuel filter and the hard lines to the tbi. I got some custom bent stainless lines from inlinetube, but my usual problem of NOT doing proper planning caused me to have to trash those. I decided to get some raw stock and bend my own. The problem was I kinked the return line so I need to order some more tube.

You can see the mallory fuel injection filter bolted to where the stock fuel pump used to be. The pressure and return lines just route in the same area as the stock hard line.

fuel lines 003.jpg
 
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Here's an overall shot of the garage space. It's a complete disaster of parts everywhere. If you look close you can even see the bathroom sink my wife won't let me get rid of.

Also there is the new 14bff axle. I removed the drums and hubs to prepare it for disc brakes. I can tell you that the lugs on one of the drums\hubs were so tight that I was flinching everytime the 12 ton press I was using broke one loose. It made the loudest "CLANK!" and the lug would shoot down to the floor and scared the crap out of me the first time. For some reason the other side wasn't as bad.

I'm avoiding opening the diff cover for now. The brown ooze that flowed out when I removed the axles has me a bit concerned. I'll certainly need new bearings and seals.

One interesting note is that I got a "deal" on the axle because it already had the spring perches moved inward and welded, but for some reason instead of moving both perches inward the same amount, they only moved one side in. I'm never surprised at what people do anymore. Since I have to rotate the pinion to my own needs, I'd have to cut the old ones off anyway so it's not a bad deal.

14bff 001.jpg

14bff 003.jpg
 
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electric fans are done

In my spare time waiting for parts, I built a new electric fan shroud with some 1/8" aluminum plate and made some brackets that mount it to the factory fan shroud mounts. It's amazing how much more light, but rigid 1/8" aluminum is compared to the much thinner steel version I hacked together. Plus since this is aluminum, I can pressure wash everything off and not worry about peeling paint or rust.

I just ripped the plate down to size on my table saw (carbide blade) and then used a router with a circle guide to cut the big holes for the fans. Then I used some mitered aluminum angle from the hardware store to go around the perimeter and provide a plenum. The two fans are just some 14" hayden's from the Kragens around the corner.

4x4High gave me the idea and it works and looks great.

fans 003.jpg

fans 004.jpg

fans 002.jpg

fans 001.jpg
 
Small update

I've been pretty anxious to be able to drive this thing so I've tried to make even just incremental progress each day. Yesterday I cut to length and installed the spark plug wires. I also picked up a set of 8-lug wheels and tires from one of the nor cal guys who works at Pacific FAB which is just down the street from my house. They have some pretty cool projects in the shop!

Right now, I'm waiting on some u-bolts for the rear end so I can get it back up safely on four wheels again. I need to get under there and install the fuel pump, but I don't like doing much underneath while it's on jack stands for safety reasons. Also, my $200 "good deal" rear end is ending up being closer to $1000 after gears and bearings. :doah:

Here's the major items left to do before I can get it moving again:
1. Install disc brakes and hubs on rear end.
2. Drop gas tank and install pump and sender.
3. Secure fuel lines to frame rail.
4. Hookup ECM to the fuse box and run fuel pump wires to rear.
5. Fab new alternator bracket.
6. Check all bolts and hose clamps.
7. Fabricate custom accelerator bracket for TBI.
8. Fill with oil and water and check for leaks.
9. Take the driveshaft back to the shop to lengthen and install a 1350 CV at the axle end.

sparkplugwires 002.jpg
 
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