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'72 K5 - AJ's Gray Matter Build

Overview Gallery Discussion
Burt4x4 said:
That is a double crossmember, I have the same thing under my 72 :D. I belive that the K5s that came with a factory gas tank skid also had this dual x-member/skid as part of the package.
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That makes sense. I do have the factory gas tank skid plate. I don't know the option packages as well as I thought :doah:
 
Update 6/02/08: Woohoooo!!! Got my shocks and F*rd shock towers installed on Saturday. These were the last components of the suspension phase of the build:woot: I want to say they ride great, but I didn't drive the truck much this weekend...something doesn't feel right with the motor and I need to get it checked out.

I put the towers behind the factory shock bump on the frame. I used 2 existing holes, and drilled one new one. They're within 1/2" of the firewall, so I may need to do some tweaking later.

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Bilsteins installed:
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Coming soon: before and after pics of this phase. Should be cool.
 
Update 6/15/08 - Father's Day so Dad (that's me) went to the shop to tinker on the truck for a couple of hours. I thought I had blown a head gasket or cracked a head a couple of weeks ago. But, a reagent test earlier in the week showed no exhaust gases in the radiator or coolant *whew*. So, today I started pulling plug wires, the brand new MSD's, and found the boot on cylinder 4 was cracked and the wire on cylinder 6 was cracked too. At least the engine's not toast.

While there, I finally got time to put in the new transfer case "sleeve". When I pulled the old one sleeve out of the tcase I was greeted with two surprises. The first was a lot more ATF fluid in the case than I expected. I'd guess about half a cup poured out of the hole. I knew the rear seal on the tranny was bad, but I didn't think it would fill the tcase that high! The second surprise was the ghetto attempt to repair the sleeve by the previous owner.

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What you're lookin at here is a reamed out sleeve with a vacuum hose insert to act as a "gasket". The hose sat flush with the sleeve, so I pushed it out a little for reference. No wonder it leaked...
 
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Yeah....I was supposed to be doing "season 1" recap pictures and getting the truck ready for a Labor Day run at Trees Ranch. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. They never do. I blew the tranny and am collecting parts to swap out the 350/205 combo for a 700r4/SYE 241 combo. More updates will come as I finish gathering parts and start the build.
 
UPDATE 9/9/08: While waiting for stuff to show up I put on a 1 ton booster and master cylinder and am putting all new (rebuilt) calipers on too. Should be HUGE difference in the braking.

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Now things get exciting...at least I think so...the first of a couple of big parts for the next "phase" of the build came in tonight. Here's a teaser pic...HINT: it's not the EZ GO.

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More to come!
 
Looks a bit too short to be a 4L80E, so I'm guessing TH400??? :dunno:


:usaflag:
 
That would be a 700r4. I can pick those things out a mile away.:wink1:
Of course it helps we already talked about what he was going to order.:doah:



I'm just waiting to see what is going to get bolted to the back of it.
 
bigblock72 said:
That would be a 700r4. I can pick those things out a mile away.:wink1:
Of course it helps we already talked about what he was going to order.:doah:



I'm just waiting to see what is going to get bolted to the back of it.
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We have a winner!! That would be a Monster Transmission's SS Mega Monster 700r4...built for 650HP. :cool:

The other key part is supposed to be delivered by Mr. Brown tomorrow. I ordered an fully rebuilt NP241 from Monster too. I figured a fresh t-case from them would help to alleviate any warranty issues that might arise. They replace just about everything except the case and use Morse chains. First thing I'll do to it is tear it apart to install a NIB JB Conversions SYE that I picked up on ebay.

I'll put up more pics this weekend when I get some shop time.
 
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I know I asked this before but - when are you going to bounce that thing?
:)
 
I don't do a whole lot of "bouncing". Heck, I can't even drive the truck right now with a dead tranny. It will get wheeled once I get it all back together and drivable ;)
 
UPDATE 9/14/08: I managed to get a lot of good "shop time" in this weekend. All of the major pieces are on hand and I started prepping for the install. First order of business was to unwrap all the hardware:

700r4
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NP241
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JB conversions SYE...found it on ebay NIB for $200!!
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Next step was to finish all the plumbing on the brake system upgrades I'd been working on. I got the master cylinder lines bent and installed. Now I just need to bleed the system.
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This next pic may seem a little out of order. But, there's a method to the madness. Installed some diff armor from Ruffstuff...D44 front cover, 14FF rear cover and a diff cover bracket for the rear brake line splitter.
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Installed the rear cover and bracket and rebent my lines since they're centered on the diff cover now
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Now it was time to tackle the the 241 and the SYE. Now, I've always been the guy who liked to take things apart to see how they worked. But, it was a little scary to think about splitting open my brand new 241 and tear it apart. No fear!! Must make progress. Propped it up on some of the packing foam and started.
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HOLY @#$%!!!! Completely torn down. Looks like the tcase vomited all over the floor.
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Almost finished assembly. Dinner called so it was time call it a day and go home. All that's left is to do on the 241 is button up the case and put the speedo housing back on.
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More to come in the next few days.
 
Dinner called so it was time call it a day and go home......Don't you hate it when you're making good progress and you've got to stop just to do something like eat? :D

That price on the tranny looks pretty good for the HP rating. When I was looking locally I couldn't find anyone to warranty a 700R4 with my engine tranny combo (406/205) so I went 465. Just out of curiosity, would they not warranty the tranny with the 205 transfer case or what made you pick the 241?
 
The 700r4/241 was a simpler swap...less adapters. Additionally, the 700r4/241 has a better crawl ratio than a 700r4/205 does. The 241 has a deeper low gear.
 
UPDATE 9/15/08 - I spent a couple of hours the shop wrapping up the SYE conversion on the 241. I gotta admit, it wasn't that bad. JB Conversions did a great job on their instructions. The only question I ran into was which direction to install the blue speedo gear...I didn't pay attention when I took it off. The hardest part of the install was removing and installing the snap rings. There are 4 to remove in the tear down and 3 to install on the build. For anyone looking to do this conversion in the future, invest in a good set of snap ring pliers. The snap rings look like the one shown below. They don't have the holes in the tips that I'm used to seeing.

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All in all it was a good evening. Here's the finished SYE 241:
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Tomorrow night: remove the TH350/205 combo and put it up for sale.
 
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