'76 k5 mid life crisis

[chicken joe]

Good evening everyone. this is my first thread. my story so far, in april i sold my 1994 ram 2500 and bought a 1976 k5 chyenne. it has a 350 with a rod knocking around 3500 rpm's which is fine im going to rebuild something dont know for sure what yet, but i do have a 350 block at the machaine shop. turbo 350 trans is good, np203 is good too (but debateing sm465/np205 conversion). has dana 44 front axle i put new u-joints, wheel bearings, and i think its a inner hub bearing. the front leaf springs need new busings. it has a 4" pro comp lift and i already have the spring busings, u bolts, and sway bar end busings. i just got the truck back from paint two weeks ago and got it prety much put back together. had new inner and outer rockers replaced, new tailgate (which we did get lined up), rear uper wheel arches and had all body rust fixed but wasnt much, the quarters and fenders are cut for 35" tires which are on. the complete interrior from firewall to tailgate and all up the sides is color matched bed lined, as well as the inner lower doors. the outside was painted original 23 hawaiian blue and 12 white with the stripe down the side. from the body line down is color matched bed lined, the whole cab top and fiberblass top are white color matched bed lined.(i would love to post pics but have no idea how, i have befor and after)so i guess where i am at right now is i want to do the front spring busings but honestly have no idea where to start. i am giong to replace all steering componenets on the axle too. i have to do this on the street in front of my appartment building. (a little back ground i have 20+ years experience 15 as ase master tech auto and diesel, and from my time in the army track and heavy equipment) i guess what i want to know right now is where is the best place to start, any problems i might run into and any other parts i might need that i might not have thought of. if everything i have read and researched so far the hardest part is going to be getting the bushings out of the springs. so this is my build so far, constructive criticism, encouragement, and motivation are welcome.

 

[K85 Octane]

Hey Chicken,

First off, welcome welcome.
Second off, please try breaking up your paragraphs and use somewhat complete sentences. It's just a peeve of mine, make things much easier to read and thus you'll get more replies

Third off, you can put pictures as attachments or upload them to a host site like Photobucket. Then link them from there.....to here.

Fourth, what are your plans for the truck. Daily driver? Weekend warrior? What are your goals, or what do you want the truck to be able to do?

Get them pics up!

 

[chicken joe]

sorry about the paragraph and sentenceing, i was in a hury and wanted to give as much info as possible about what i started.

its prety much my daily driver but just around town for now untill i get the bushings done and limited highway until i get the engine done.

i guess my goal is to have a relieable, dependable rig first off i have a 3 year old little girl who will be riding with me. i told the guy at comp cams 95% of the time i will be driving respectfully, but that other 5% i want to be able to beat the ever living crap out of it. i dont have any friends with mud rigs or even know where to go around here. hope that makes sence.

 

[chicken joe]

the first pic is the day i brought it home, the next two were right befor it went to paint.

it is far from a show truck. everything was done professionaly. when we were doing the body work it was decided then that i was going to use it and abuse it, so the paint is not perfect (i figured if it were to make the body a perfect show stopper i would never drive it the way it was intended) with enough bed liner to do 4 8ft pick ups which also helps cover things not perfect.


anybody have any ideas which double sided sticky tape to use to put emblems back on??

 

[K85 Octane]

looking good
like it more without the fender flares

What are the axle gears? Is the 203 still full time?

 

[y5mgisi]

I like it better without the flairs also. Looking good.

 

[chicken joe]

as far as i know from the original build sheet it has 3.73 gears.

yes the 203 is still full time. this could be a good place to start, what is the easiest way to swap to part time, is it even possible with my stock th350/np203 combo? it would be sweet to get 10mpg

 

[chicken joe]

i also like it without fender flares, but i dont know if you can see from the pics but most of the screw holes are still their. my girlfriend thinks i should put the stock body trim back on any thoughts?

 

[Mark1968]

as far as i know from the original build sheet it has 3.73 gears.

yes the 203 is still full time. this could be a good place to start, what is the easiest way to swap to part time, is it even possible with my stock th350/np203 combo? it would be sweet to get 10mpg

Cool build. Swap out the trans and T case.

 

[chicken joe]

ok so which combo would you guys suggest, a sm465/np205 or th400/np205. i know im going to go to the np205 but not sure what to put in front of it. the engine i will be putting into it is going to be between 350-400 or so hp

 

[K85 Octane]

do you want a 4 speed manual trans or 3 speed auto? Pretty simple really. Both are bullet proof. The manual will have better 4L capability.

Again, just personal preference. You can't go wrong with either.

Me, I'm way off in left field on this one. 700/241, cause I don't want to shift gears, good highway running, but lowest 4L combo without being manual.

 

[Mark1968]

I went 465/208. Have not run it yet but it looks cool sitting in there.

 

[chicken joe]

ok, when i swap to the 205 i will have a 203 left over, how about a doubler. i dont know much about them, would a doubler be ok for every day driving or more hassle than its worth. the odds of me actually needing something that beefey are honestly slim to none. but the triple stick looks prety sweet, if i were to go that way i want to make hurst olds style lightening rod shifters

 

[Mark1968]

Check the price on that doubler kit before you think too much about it.
Lightning rods would be cool though

 

[chicken joe]

im prety sure im just going to do the sm465/np205 swap when i rebuild the engine. its only right, this is my only vehicle out of 4 that is automatic. i cant come up with a good reason not to, local craigslist has a couple combos for $100-$400.

i could do a twin stick with lightening rods

am i going to need different drive shafts to do this swap?

 

[Mark1968]

Very possible. My front shaft from the 208 looks much like the one on the 203. The rear isn't even close. Get as much from the donor as you can.

 

[Deuling]

Subscribed. Nice rig. new paint looks good.

 

[454Sub]

A 465/205 will have a decent low low. Way better than an automatic anyways. Im considering swapping my 400 for the 465 just to get a somewhat decent crawl. Not a bad all around choice, both gear driven to reduce as many fluids needed, and both tough units.

 

[chicken joe]

i got off track a bit here, i am about to do the front spring busings in the next couple of days.

i know how to do what i have to do, but can i get away with doing one bushing at a time or is it going to be best to just drop the complete axle assembly?

i already have new axle u-bolts, 3* shims, spring bushings, and sway bar bushings. when i take it appart im going to replace spring hardware too just not sure what i need till i get it taken appart.(i use grade 8 as replacement for everything, all my body parts we put back on all new hardware all grade 8 lol)

the only reason im asking is im going to do this on the street in front of my appartment building. i have all the tools to do the job. i just dont want to leave this thing up on jack stands in the road for a day or two if something goes wrong, and as of latey murphey has been my best friend.

 

[chicken joe]

next week im going to be ordering steering controls, drag link and rod ends. i have the 1st design steering controls.

my question is should i just go with stock replacement parts or is their something better i should be looking into???