78 K10 Desert Wreck, watch as it grows.

[myk5rox]

Hey I figured, that i would make a build thread for this crazy idea for a truck i have. We dunno the history on this truck, but do know that FIL ( that's father in law) got it for the wife back in high school, then got passed to the next kid, trans burnt up, the truck got sold to a cousin, then said cousin had to get rid of it, and GAVE it to me, then i rebuilt the trans only to have it burn up a couple weeks later ( we think warped case). the last time i drove it was '07.

life got in the way, and payments to a 04 f150 prevented any work to it, but we kept it anyways.

the rims sittin there are HMMWV wheels 12 bolts that will eventually make their way under there.

overall goal for the truck is high speed/rock crawler. there isnt much mud in AZ so building it for JUST that route is silly, but there are lots of wide open desert roads that i LOVE flying down, so i dont wanna beat my kidneys outta my abdomen, so it's gonna be soft for that kinda stuff, and it'll be able to crawl on the rocks.

Plans include swapping in a 700r4, to get that low 1st gear and overdrive. then first off part time conversion to the 203... a doubler at some point.

In process right now, is a 52" swap. usin stock mounts up front and DIY4X mounts for the rear of it, with 7.25" shackles.

eventually the rear will get ORD shackle flip and i like the price of profender shocks so some biggole longuns will make their way under there to control bounciness. but for now this is what ya got!!

Thanks for readin!

 

[chevysmithz71]

Looks like a good start. Can't beet a free truck. You're probably going to cut a ton of dead weight off this thing for go fast fun?

 

[myk5rox]

yes i plan on puttin on a fiberglass front end... and if they made longbed glass sides, i'd do that too, but i'll probably just skin the bedsides ( after a small bob of them . i have no plans of keeping or using the bed as a bed anymore with a cage (at least shock cage) and fuel tank goin' front and center.

 

[Stomis]

Lol rockcrawler/high speed you're funny.

Word of advice, look into switching to a link suspension in the front. If you cant invest heavily in good deaver or alcan springs, GOOD shocks, and air bumps.

 

[myk5rox]

Lol rockcrawler/high speed you're funny.

KOH does it.... albiet with MUCH MUCH more money... and ...of course coilovers.....and more money.... oh and a lil bitta money.

 

[myk5rox]

heck with all the research i've been doin.... i might be persuaded to use DIY4X's shackle flip, it'll save me some bux that i can put elsewhere, and allow for cheaper adjustability, What say you fine CK5'ers?

 

[y5mgisi]

No one is going to try to talk you out of it! Everybody likes their kits!

 

[myk5rox]

awesome, i like saving pennies.... well not really saving them, but putting them to use elsewhere in the project these trucks dont really "save" pennies.

Any pros and cons to each fabricator's setups?

 

[Stomis]

KOH does it.... albiet with MUCH MUCH more money... and ...of course coilovers.....and more money.... oh and a lil bitta money.

True.

 

[82355]

With the DIY4x shackle flip you have to use a different shackle than the OEM style. I actually prefer that because the shackles are super easy to fabricate, so if you want to try different lengths, you're not out much.

Whereas the ORD (which I have on my K30) use the OEM style shackles. You can even use the factory shackle, which is nice if that length works for you, but if you want to change shackle lengths they are more expensive to buy, and more difficult to fabricate.

Martin

 

[myk5rox]

Thanks for that!! Good to know.

 

[myk5rox]

Not much in the way of progress, super busy with other things but decided to try and get the axle back under the truck and springs on.... The realized, I need way more jack, and way more jack stand to get it high enough to get the springs on!!




When I jacked it up originally I made sure to have like 6+ inches under the tire to accommodate the lift the longer spring would give, but totally forgot that is lift ..... With weight... Not stretched out n junk

 

[myk5rox]

S'more work done tonight. Couldn't get my hands on a jack, so instead of liftin truck to get things to line up, I tried deflating the tires. Still not low enuff.. So I just took off wheels and tires and put the diff on the ground.

ATTACH]139607[/ATTACH]
Much better

Got everything else slapped together.

 

[myk5rox]

Before


After

 

[y5mgisi]

Looks great! I think you will find that you want to put the overload leaf back in the pack. At least most folks do.

 

[myk5rox]

I held onto them JIC. Happen to know it they interfere with crossover at all??

 

[y5mgisi]

I dont think so. You read the "all the 52 threads" thread right?

 

[myk5rox]

Still in the process it's an awesome reserve of knowledge!!

 

[y5mgisi]

Indeed!

 

[Thumbs75]

How much lift did you end up with?