'85 C30 now a K20 - Grandpa's Truck

[mill5471]

Any real reason not to build a separate truck? You've got a fully functional driver you a tearing apart....

Well yes and no...my grandpa daily drove the C30 and was in two hard accidents in the front left with it. cracked frame by the upper rear control arm, which i had to fix. also the front frame horns are tweaked enough to where i had to use regular hex head bolts that were a size smaller just to get the front bumper to sit right. The steering is on its way out too, needs an idler and a tie rod, also an upper control arm bushing and the lower ball joints have some play in them. Now don't get me wrong it drives down the road with no dog tracking. If i was on my A-game and thinking i should have swapped frames when we redid the body, but i didnt and life goes on haha. So instead of redoing the front end of a not perfect frame why not swap it out for a good 4wd one. The snowball continues to roll..

funny you mention about having two trucks...i have the 84' C20 burb that needs a trans. the same guy the frame came from was kind of interested in it. he has a C10/Th350 with a 6 cylinder that uses more oil than it holds in a week with a damn nice body on it. me and my buddy know the guy well and he said hed let it go to one of us for a grand. being he was interested in my burb that has $700 into it i offered the burb and a few hundred for the C10, he said he'd think about it. thats better than a no! im not getting my hopes up but if this pulls through ill definitely have to reconsider/reshape my plan . only time will tell, at this point nothing will happen until i acquire many parts.

 

[82355]

Do you really want to do 52's up front? You don't need much flex for sand do you?

Martin

 

[mill5471]

Plan is to do the 52's for the roughly 4 inches of lift and to replace the bad front core supports mounts at the same time, kind of killing two birds with one stone. and i have access to basically free 52's. Also, when the body starts to go and i actually decide to start wheeling this thing ill already have 52s up front...

 

[Greg72]

Sounds awesome, but sure you don't want ot have 2 trucks? The memories and effort that went into the C30 will be hard to stomach when you beat on it as a 4x4.

Any real reason not to build a separate truck? You've got a fully functional driver you a tearing apart....

If the budget is already tight to build one truck it's only going to get worse with TWO!

BTDT... I had a small fleet of "someday" projects a few years ago. It really wears you out mentally trying to prioritize both your time and money on several vehicles at once. Unless our are a magician (or a millionaire) you will end up with a bunch of partially built and not-so-good trucks cluttering up our property.

My vote is to keep forging ahead on the current build, do it right and be smart about where you take it wheeling. You don't HAVE to get body damage to enjoy 4-wheeling.....IMHO.

-G

 

[Deuling]

You keep saying when the body rusts out, but you said you store it in the winter... The 2 dont really go together if you keep it clean and take good care of it (which i know you do) put the 4wd stuff on it and just run it at the dunes to get ur wheelin itch scratched, unless ur a crazy driver theres not much body damage you will do there

 

[jekquistk5]

If the budget is already tight to build one truck it's only going to get worse with TWO!

BTDT... I had a small fleet of "someday" projects a few years ago. It really wears you out mentally trying to prioritize both your time and money on several vehicles at once. Unless our are a magician (or a millionaire) you will end up with a bunch of partially built and not-so-good trucks cluttering up our property.

My vote is to keep forging ahead on the current build, do it right and be smart about where you take it wheeling. You don't HAVE to get body damage to enjoy 4-wheeling.....IMHO.

-G

I remember when I stopped by your house. You had some sweet rides What did you get rid of?

 

[mill5471]

Greg - Thats my problem, like many of people on here, if a good deal comes up and i can someway afford it or think i need it ill try to get it. Like you said im hoping to just stick with my original plan, just dunes and light stuff. Putting myself on a budget seems harder than i diet!

Adam - I totally understand what your saying but eventually, when i say rust out i mean years down the road, it will start to rust. whether it be 5 years or 20 it will. Besides once its 4wd i dont know how many more years itll get stored in the winter. I like to use my projects when im finished with them and storing my truck every year is getting harder and harder to do !

 

[max 02]

I`d say make it a 4x4, nice truck you got but so much better with a front axle.

Sorry to hear about your grandma.

 

[mill5471]

Thanks Max, Ya the plan is to have the frame, front and rear suspension, front axle and maybe most the drive train together before i tear into the C30. Shouldn't be to bad swapping body, motor and rear axle over.

 

[82355]

I don't think you will like the way the 52's ride if you don't actually need the flex. That's just my opinion though.

Martin

 

[mill5471]

I don't think you will like the way the 52's ride if you don't actually need the flex. That's just my opinion though.

Martin

I'm new to the 4wd scene, so by all means opinions are welcome. id like to hear why you say i wouldn't like the ride? i have heard that they tend to have more body roll..

 

[AJMBLAZER]

That's what he's saying. They are FAR softer than most lift springs and probably most front replacement springs. You'll have a lot of roll and sway with them.

There's a reason most folks only run 52's and longer front springs under wheeling trucks.

 

[jekquistk5]

I'm new to the 4wd scene, so by all means opinions are welcome. id like to hear why you say i wouldn't like the ride? i have heard that they tend to have more body roll..

If you like a softer ride you may like the 52's. But you would need to do the same to the rear if you want a decent ride. Otherwise you may get some bucking action going on.

 

[mill5471]

aaah gotcha. planning on shackle flip in the rear and liked the idea of going with the 52's being that i have access to free ones, it would level the front out, and that the B52 hangers would replace my front body mounts at the same time.

one question, if i did the B-52 hangers with 52s and end up not liking the body roll/ride, wont a set of Tuff country EZ rides bolt right in the B-52 hangers? i could always buy a set of them if i don't like the 52s... hope all that made sense

 

[y5mgisi]

BTDT... I had a small fleet of "someday" projects a few years ago. It really wears you out mentally trying to prioritize both your time and money on several vehicles at once. Unless our are a magician (or a millionaire) you will end up with a bunch of partially built and not-so-good trucks cluttering up our property.

Quoted for truth! Thats what im going through right now! Really contemplating getting rid of the 77 to both eliminate it as a source of time/money as well as get some money for the other three.

 

[Greg72]

I remember when I stopped by your house. You had some sweet rides What did you get rid of?

I'm down to the "Might As Well" project truck and my daily driver.....that's it.

It was hard to make the mental shift and not own a bunch of vehicles but now that I have, things are a lot simpler in my life and I've got more money and focus for the project that matters most to me. Ultimately, I want one REALLY nice truck....and that mistress is proving to be expensive enough!

-G

 

[mill5471]

did some more reading and i think im going to pass on the 52's. Hope to get the frame up by the garage so i can start doing all the little stuff like removing the old brake lines and some PO bracketry. ill try to remember some pics

 

[colbystephens]

Probably a good call. I have Procomp 4" lift springs front and rear, and I've never found them to be the limiting factor on my suspension. I can get plenty of travel out of them. And, they're real stable for road use.

 

[jekquistk5]

aaah gotcha. planning on shackle flip in the rear and liked the idea of going with the 52's being that i have access to free ones, it would level the front out, and that the B52 hangers would replace my front body mounts at the same time.

one question, if i did the B-52 hangers with 52s and end up not liking the body roll/ride, wont a set of Tuff country EZ rides bolt right in the B-52 hangers? i could always buy a set of them if i don't like the 52s... hope all that made sense

I'm not sure if you can run stock length springs on a b52 hanger, but I'm sure kert can customize some for you and put an extra hole or two for stock length springs

 

[Bowtie85]

Probably a good call. I have Procomp 4" lift springs front and rear, and I've never found them to be the limiting factor on my suspension. I can get plenty of travel out of them. And, they're real stable for road use.

Got the same springs, seem to ride/flex pretty decent