79' GMC C15 - Spruce Caboose

[bix]

I ordered up 3.73 gears, a full axle rebuild kit and a yukon duragrip for the rear end. When I swapped out gears it was the one thing I paid someone to do on my blazer, this time I'm gonna try and tackle it on my own. So I started tearing down the 12 bolt I have for the truck. A friend of mine coo coo clocked the ten bolt on his shorty grumman van, so it was a perfect reason to cut mine out for him also. Took the carrier out. One large shim on either side. I didn't put calipers to them yet to see what was what for preload and backlash.
Kept everything in the orientation it came out.




The pinion gear basically fell out.. once the yoke was off. Walked the races out pretty easily with a punch. She's def a little warn out so it'll be good for a tidy.


Started to wire wheel the bottom of the cab and clean it up/look for any needed repairs.

 

[bix]

Got a coat of paint on the 12 bolt. Used up the last of the por15 I had on the cab since I'll be buying more tomorrow. I still have to throw a wire cup brush on the right angle die grinder, to get into some tricky spots tomorrow. Still have the entire upper section to do, and the lower. Spending 8 hours with a wire wheel in your hand wishing you had a sandblaster.. I'm very thankful the outter and inner rockers are solid.

..Had enough paint left over to cover what was ready for paint.

 

[Truckman4life]

Lookin good! My carpal tunnel tennis elbow right arm hates grinders. Time for a dr appointment next week.

 

[bix]

Lookin good! My carpal tunnel tennis elbow right arm hates grinders. Time for a dr appointment next week.

Ah i bet. Do they give you those injections? buddy of mine gets them in his shoulders

 

[mrk5]

Okay right on, I just worried because it seems like carb was still an option in 87, or did all carbed 350s go to tbi that year ?

I know for sure 454 trucks were carb'd up until the end of the squarebodies. I think it was an option, TBI or carb, on the 454.

 

[mrk5]

Got a coat of paint on the 12 bolt. Used up the last of the por15 I had on the cab since I'll be buying more tomorrow. I still have to throw a wire cup brush on the right angle die grinder, to get into some tricky spots tomorrow. Still have the entire upper section to do, and the lower. Spending 8 hours with a wire wheel in your hand wishing you had a sandblaster.. I'm very thankful the outter and inner rockers are solid.

..Had enough paint left over to cover what was ready for paint.
View attachment 360818 View attachment 360819

Underside of the cab looks good!

Lookin good! My carpal tunnel tennis elbow right arm hates grinders. Time for a dr appointment next week.

Wonder if you need to get something that absorbs the vibration. I think they make gloves for that.

 

[bix]

I know for sure 454 trucks were carb'd up until the end of the squarebodies. I think it was an option, TBI or carb, on the 454.

ahh makes sense. ill dig in the details and make sure the one i order has a baffle. Picked up the right sending unit today. Ill have to order up the walbro pump, tank and some AN lines for the future install.

 

[mrk5]

This is what the tray looks like in my new tank:

 

[bix]

I got the rest of the cab painted that was ready. Also got the back of the frame and a good chunk of the middle as well. When I roll the cab back down I'll be able to get the rest cleaned up and painted. So much grinding.. and it's barely begun haha.

 

[bix]

This is what the tray looks like in my new tank:

View attachment 360908

I did some digging and some of the tanks state whether they are for carburetor, or fuel injection. The spectra tanks don't but the cheaper ones do. Might just go with a cheapie.

 

[mrk5]

FWIW, the one I got was Dorman 576-336.

 

[mrk5]

That por-15 looks really sharp.

 

[bix]

@mrk5 thanks! I know sandlblasting it would be the best way to go, ect... But i figure it lasted 41 years with factory paint and neglect. So hopefully with some love and attention itll last another 41 years. Almost ready to flip the cab down and do the clean up the whole kick pannel areas and the rest of the cab. Just gonna do one more heavy coat on the underneath once i patch that hole in the floor ive been staring through for too long now.

 

[bix]

I'm thinking of going with this fuel pump.
Aeromotive
https://aeromotiveinc.com/product/340-fuel-pump-gm/

They do state they've had issues with guys using the corvette fuel pressure regulator / filter , I don't understand it fully but something to do with the high amount of head pressure ( almost 90 psi ) the pumps can burn out when behind a fuel pressure regulator like that one. I'm not sure what the difference would be between one like that and a different one though. Might just be to get ya to buy one of their units...? But I'm gonna hold off on the pressure regulator side of things for now until I plumb it all anyway. I can't find a walbro 255 pump with decent shipping anywhere at the moment.

FWIW, the one I got was Dorman 576-336.

Thanks for that! I'm gonna order up the same one.

 

[Chevy305]

A pump for a GM TPI car will also work it's pretty much a walbro 255. You can get one of those from any parts store.

 

[mrk5]

I've never really heard much about the aeromotive pumps.

 

[bix]

A pump for a GM TPI car will also work it's pretty much a walbro 255. You can get one of those from any parts store.

I was thinking somewhere in my research that would come up because i remember some guys saying a few years back, that you can run camaro fuel pumps or something for ls swaps. That does seem like itd be a simpler route.

I've never really heard much about the aeromotive pumps.

Dont know much about them either as ive never used their products, but i do remember when Rene ls swapped his k5, russell used a aeromotive fuel pressure regulator, It seemed like a very well built product.. but even then thats all im going off, and dont know if ill personally go for the 200$ regulator.

 

[bix]

The duragrip showed up. Got the bearings on the carrier in preparation for tomorrow. Heated them up in the oven and then slipped them on.



I'm hoping to get it all installed tomorrow, but I also might drop the motor and trans in so I can get the trans xmember set without being on my back ( since the cab is still tipped upwards ). The crankshaft spacer for the torque converter pilot to line up came in the order.. Either way it should be a good day!

 

[bix]

Today I got the motor and trans in, got the cross member re located and attached. I had to make the holes in the flexplate 1/8 bigger since it's an older torque converter which doesn't have the metric spacing the gen 3s have. The pilot adapter for the torque converter went in the end of the crank easy enough. I managed to get the engine and trans situated so that I only had to move my cross member about 1 inch. This let me use two existing holes on one side and had to drill the rest. The ICT billet mounts I used have 4 positions for the clamshell mount so I'm happy it worked out well without having to reposition
I read somewere the flex plate bolts actually see oil on the other side, so I used a very liberal amount of blue thread locker gel to ensure no oil leaks. I also blocked off the oil pressure relief valve in the oil pan since I did the AFM delete.




The heat shield even had a slotted hole so the bracket that went to the cross member was easily adjusted and re attached. Before I dropped the cab down, I wanted to make sure the engine and trans were in a good spot in relation to the firewall and trans tunnel since this 4l60 is quite a bit girthier...? than the last haha.

After measuring I noticed I'd have about 1 1/4 inches clear of the rubber breather/vent located on the top of the trans. I had a buddy come over and help me lower the cab down. I got the two first body mount bolts in but the other two are gross so I'm gonna get my hands on some new hardware before attaching the rear.

I also forgot to get an extra inner pinion bearing, so I can hog out .020 on the inside of it so it'll slip on and off, and then I can see how many pinion shims I need for the correct depth, without pressing on and off the bearings multiple times and probably ruining it. The distance marked on the head of the pinion gear is 2.825 +0. Hoping to get a bearing tomorrow I can ruin and get some more work done on the rear end. For now I got both new races installed.

 

[Chevy305]

Wow so much room for activities between the engine and firewall!