TreeFarm
Internet fabricator.
Well this 98 2500 7.4l manual followed me home this weekend. It’s an old work truck. Bed is beat up and carpet stained. It needs door pins desperately. But other than that it’s great. Almost no rust.
CK5
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(80 K25) "Nigel" 3/4Ton of Fun
- Thread starter TreeFarm
- Start date
I’d be proud to drive that, it looks pretty clean! Plans?
TreeFarm
Internet fabricator.
Right now just fix the door hinges and clean it up really well and drive it. I want to get a feel for road noise and comfort of the truck before I decide if I want to keep it or flip it. The guy I got it from said the clutch slipped pulling his trailer so I may toss in one of the clutches I have on the shelf.
Long term, If I end up liking the platform I may take apart the green truck and swap it all over to this one. Move the rear axle forward 24” to get the wheelbase to 131” make the bed fit that, ORD SAS brackets, and all that jaz.
There is just too much noise in the cab of my truck. I’ve insulated the floor, firewall, back wall, and doors. The cab has all new rubber. Its too loud to hold a conversation, after about 4 hours on the freeway I’m sick of the noise and getting a headache. That defeats the whole purpose of building my truck. I want to be able to road trip it where ever and be at least somewhat comfortable. My last road trip we took my girlfriends Toyota. That made me sad
I agree with your conclusions and I’m sad to here about the Toyota incident. My wife drives a sienna so I feel your pain
What kind of exhaust and insulation do you have? My crew cab is awesome on the road. Low exhaust noise, toyo rt tires which are low noise level and I only matted the floor and doors. I have rubber mat only. It is excellent.
TreeFarm
Internet fabricator.
I have a single 3” pipe with a Magna flow. It’s audible but not loud. The problem is wind noise. I’ve done a few tests pushing in the clutch on the highway and the noise without the engine was still too much. I have peel and stick sound deadener on the whole floor, firewall, back wall, and inside the doors. Over that is the jute pad and vinyl floor. All the holes in the cab are sealed and the rubber replaced everywhere.
I’m not sure how fast your going. I know I’m asking a lot of this truck to be somewhat quiet at 80mph. 55-65 mine is awesome, but the speed limit is 80 here. I didn’t replace everything with modern parts to go 65. This thing has taught me a lot about how important noise is.
Anyway. I replaced the passenger hinge pins today. I need to get another set to do the driver side. I ordered the tool to put the door springs back in too. I need to get a passenger door panel and handel. Rather than fix the pins the P.O. just man handled the door breaking off the handle and panel. I cleaned out the interior really well. The carpet is pretty stained and the seats have a few spots. I’m a fan of vinyl floors so I’ll probably swap the carpet out for that.
I took a more extensive look underneath. I couldn’t find any rust on the cab underside. There is some on the back of the front fenders and the bed sides. I pulled out some sketchy wires from the PO. the blower resistor is shot so he ran a wire from the blower motor to under the hoood. I don’t know what the point of that was.
TreeFarm
Internet fabricator.
Clutch swapped and trans is back in. Just need to toss in the drive shafts and fill it up with some MT-85. Pilot bearing was toast and the disk was paper thin. I had a clutch sitting on my shelf for a few years that I pulled out of a 66 c10 that I v8 swapped. I hit the fly wheel with some 120grit to scuff the glaze and tossed in the used clutch. Should be more than enough to get the truck on the road for a while.
Cool truck
You’re always more more productive than I am.
TreeFarm
Internet fabricator.
Not when it comes to my Willys, just everything else.
Vent windows are known to be solid sources for wind noises on these trucks. I'd say try to prove it by taping off the vent and drive it to see if it changes. might be due for a rebuild.
TreeFarm
Internet fabricator.
Well the decision has been made, I've been driving the 98 back and forth for a few weeks now. I will be dismantling the 80 and building the 98. I have put about 10K miles on this thing over the last year with zero mechanical issues other than the radiator. Its been fun, but the reg expires next month and I am not paying for another year. I thought I wouldn't mind missing all of the modern things but I guess I'm more sensitive than I thought. The NV4500 shifts like a dream, the clutch pedal is 1/4 what it is on the sm465. The cab is so much more spacious on the 98. The dog will no longer have to be my arm rest on trips, he can have his own spot in the back seat.
Right now it works out that the truck itself was free so I don't really worry about that. What I spent money on was everything I put into it. I will take the engine, transfer case, axles, fuel system, winch, and suspension to put it in the 98. The trans will sit as a spare for my jeep. I will try to sell as many of the parts I wont be using to fund the 98 build. Mainly that will be the digital dash and vintage air kit and radiator. the rest will get parted out of sold whole. probably make a bench out of the seat.
Ill start a build thread on the 98 once I actually start doing things. to sum it up SAS, shorten wheel base 24" and bob bed as much as possible while keeping room for the blazer tank.
Right now it works out that the truck itself was free so I don't really worry about that. What I spent money on was everything I put into it. I will take the engine, transfer case, axles, fuel system, winch, and suspension to put it in the 98. The trans will sit as a spare for my jeep. I will try to sell as many of the parts I wont be using to fund the 98 build. Mainly that will be the digital dash and vintage air kit and radiator. the rest will get parted out of sold whole. probably make a bench out of the seat.
Ill start a build thread on the 98 once I actually start doing things. to sum it up SAS, shorten wheel base 24" and bob bed as much as possible while keeping room for the blazer tank.
Boo. But totally understood. Comfort is a huge thing if you want to enjoy it. I'm a big enough boy that a regular cab square would not be comfy for long trips regardless of seat choice. So for me it's K5, burb or crew if I want to fit comfy.
That being said, whatcha gonna want for the vintage air setup?
That being said, whatcha gonna want for the vintage air setup?
TreeFarm
Internet fabricator.
As a daily for my short commute it is perfectly fine, but for road trips it is just a bit too much. I really didn't realize how important noise is. probably because I wear hearing protection most of my day.
I paid $1,789 for the vintage air kit. I plan on keeping the compressor and brackets for my ls since Iv already dealt with the growing pains of getting the belt happy plus its easy to adapt to the new AC stuff. The kit would include new dash controls, vents for the dash and defrost, ducting, all of the hardware, wires, tubing, instruction sheets, heater shut off valve, firewall block off plate, and everything else it had new, except for the suction and discharge hose from the engine to the truck, these are custom made for whatever location your compressor is in. I can tell you what parts to buy to make them.
So for everything else I would be happy with $800ish plus shipping. I would really rather not ship since It came in 4 boxes but I would if I needed. All the kit would need to complete is two #8 and two #10 fittings and hose(about $60total) to make the suction and discharge hose from the compressor to the condenser and evaporator. and a compressor/brackets for your motor. If you really wanted the compressor and brackets from the kit it would be $1100. Or someone could make me an offer. Its a bit of a hit off of new for me but its one of those items that I don't want sitting around and waiting for the right person to come along. I mean how many of the general public would buy used A/C stuff
Might be an idea. I'd go with a 4.3 bracket and compressor to work the hoses from there. I'd just have to come up with the coin.
I know exactly how you feel about the noise part. My 78 has pretty much sat since April now, sad but hard to beat comfort with nostalgia alone
TreeFarm
Internet fabricator.
well you have a bit of time before I pull it apart. If you want it let me know, Im sure we can work something out.
Yeah it is, it doesnt help I love a SAS'd gmt400 damn near as much as a squarebody.
So you are going to LS swap the new truck? Why not keep the 454?
TreeFarm
Internet fabricator.
A few reasons.
I will never be able to sell my 5.3 for anything near what I have into it. It already has cam, springs, headers, and all that jaz. I can sell the 454 for damn near what I paid for the whole truck. With that being said, replacement cost. I can get a dressed 5.3 here for $500. L29s are around $1k in worse condition. My fuel system is already built for the 5.3.
Simplicity, the LS is way simpler than the vortec. No distributor, no ICM, no MAF, no shitty computer that randomly dies, the wires and connectors aren’t 20 years old, the harness is simpler and more organized. The 411 pcm is far superior and considerably more programmable.
Size, while the 454 fits just fine in the engine bay the 5.3 will have considerably more room to work on things.
Cooling. 5.3s are super easy to cool with their small displacement. I live in the desert, 454s get hot.
Mpg, the 454 on it’s best day will get what the 5.3 makes on its worst day.
while yes the 454 can make way more power. my 5.3 is just shy of 400hp 400tq. The l29 300/400. Obviously the big block makes it way lower rpm but it’s not like I’m giving up a ton of power in this swap.
I look forward to this new build. If it goes like your current one it will turn out to be a cool truck.
