'91 K5 Four Wheel Camper

[ZooMad75]

Larry knocked a couple items off the punch list today. Trans got cleaned up the rest of the way, painted and PTO covers resealed and reinstalled.

The new slave is on with new plumbing to make the newer integral slave work with the stock squarebody clutch master cylinder. I had originally intended on getting the line that @78SWB used on his 4500 swap. It's made by McLeod and available here: hose and fitting. The thing I couldn't stomach was the price. Holy crap! After brainstorming with Larry we came up with a very simple solution from Earls. The main item is the adapter that replaces the stock quick disconnect on the slave cylinder. Link for the adapter at Summit: here

The quick connect fitting goes on only by a small roll pin that holds it in place. Push the roll pin out and remove the stock fitting and replace it with the Earl's fitting. Reinstall the roll pin and now you can use a -4 AN brake line to connect to it. On the other end at the master you use the same Earl's fitting that @78SWB used that goes from the stock metric bubble flare fitting to -4 AN. The link to the fitting is here. The nice part is if you factor in the cost of the Earl's fitting and -4 brake hose I'm in it for half of the McLeod hose and fitting. Nothing against that part, just I am pinching pennies hard and needed to save where I can.

The trans is ready for sauce.

Further inspection of the trans looks like it was probably rebuilt back in 2009 based on a stamping on the input shaft.

The 241 is getting it's switch to 32 spline input next.

 

[Atl-atl]

Chevy Orange all the things!!!!!

 

[Larry]

Chevy Orange all the things!!!!!

Ya, except the trans isn’t Chevy Orange but the lighting sure made it look like it in that first picture. Its actually red primer implement paint with gloss coat engine paint like the TBI 350/465/205 below that will eventually end up in my Blazer.

 

[campfire]

So is that the stock '96 GM NV4500 slave cylinder?

IIRC the later ones had hoses leading to a quick connector over by the firewall.

 

[campfire]

Is that a 32-spline NP205?

 

[Larry]

So is that the stock '96 GM NV4500 slave cylinder?

IIRC the later ones had hoses leading to a quick connector over by the firewall.

Yes, it is a stock 96+ slave/release bearing assembly. As Rob stated, I removed the OEM quick connect fitting and change it to AN fittings and hose so it can be used with a 85-91 clutch master.

Is that a 32-spline NP205?

Yes sir! Its for my Blazer. That 465/round 205 was one of the best craigslist scores I ever got. $250 for them from some old man in Canon City that had them laying around forever

 

[dbcorvairracer]

Larry knocked a couple items off the punch list today. Trans got cleaned up the rest of the way, painted and PTO covers resealed and reinstalled.

The new slave is on with new plumbing to make the newer integral slave work with the stock squarebody clutch master cylinder. I had originally intended on getting the line that @78SWB used on his 4500 swap. It's made by McLeod and available here: hose and fitting. The thing I couldn't stomach was the price. Holy crap! After brainstorming with Larry we came up with a very simple solution from Earls. The main item is the adapter that replaces the stock quick disconnect on the slave cylinder. Link for the adapter at Summit: here

The quick connect fitting goes on only by a small roll pin that holds it in place. Push the roll pin out and remove the stock fitting and replace it with the Earl's fitting. Reinstall the roll pin and now you can use a -4 AN brake line to connect to it. On the other end at the master you use the same Earl's fitting that @78SWB used that goes from the stock metric bubble flare fitting to -4 AN. The link to the fitting is here. The nice part is if you factor in the cost of the Earl's fitting and -4 brake hose I'm in it for half of the McLeod hose and fitting. Nothing against that part, just I am pinching pennies hard and needed to save where I can.

The trans is ready for sauce.

Further inspection of the trans looks like it was probably rebuilt back in 2009 based on a stamping on the input shaft.

The 241 is getting it's switch to 32 spline input next.

The slightly out of focus background and super clean detailed transmission in the first picture almost look like a posed picture of a miniature model.

 

[Larry]

The slightly out of focus background and super clean detailed transmission in the first picture almost look like a posed picture of a miniature model.

Hehe, every since I found this "Live Focus" feature on my Samsung Note 9 camera I feel like some photo pro . They do make for some neat pictures though and almost look fake

 

[mrk5]

I noticed that too. I'll have to check that feature out.

 

[ZooMad75]

Long day yesterday. Rescued the parts hauler. Thankfully my Dad took most of the stuff apart to figure out what I needed. Outer bearing was nuked and the race would not come off the spindle even after making a relief cut to it. So used spindle, new rotor, bearings, seal and dust cap.



It's always fun working on stuff with my Dad. He pulls gems like the "Super Ratchet" out to make me laugh.


But the parts got swapped and the S10 is a driver again. Junk parts to the iron pile at work


The haul. Two GM fenders and a single headlight core support.

 

[mosesburb]

Long day yesterday. Rescued the parts hauler. Thankfully my Dad took most of the stuff apart to figure out what I needed. Outer bearing was nuked and the race would not come off the spindle even after making a relief cut to it. So used spindle, new rotor, bearings, seal and dust cap.

View attachment 351403

That floor jack is a thing of antique awesomeness. Is it a Hein-Werner?

 

[ZooMad75]

That floor jack is a thing of antique awesomeness. Is it a Hein-Werner?

I think is a Walker. There is a logo you can just kinda see if you zoom in on the topside that has a greyhound with Walker above it and whippet below it.

I know it's older than me and I'm 46. It's probably got the smoothest action of any jack I've ever used.

 

[mosesburb]

I think is a Walker. There is a logo you can just kinda see if you zoom in on the topside that has a greyhound with Walker above it and whippet below it.

I know it's older than me and I'm 46. It's probably got the smoothest action of any jack I've ever used.

That's right, Walker was the blue/yellow jack. Hein-Werners were a reddish color in that vintage.
Nothing beats the action of an old jack!! New jacks are pure junk by comparison.

 

[Larry]

Rob’s 241 27 spline to 32 spline swaperoo and refresh is all wrapped up. Probably tomorrow I'll poke the engine in the frame

This was also a good opportunity to do a side by side family photo of an identically prepped 465 and 4500. I discovered the 1985 and later 465 is actually 1.5” longer than a NV4500 although the transmission mounts are in the exact same spot. The 465/205 is for my K5 build and the NV4500 is going behind the 8.1L in Rob’s.

The trans mount locations are the same though, which explains why when I went from a 465 to 4500 in my Polar Bear Suburban the crossmember did not need to be moved at all.

I would have never guessed this.... I would have figured they were closer to .5" difference

 

[warrpath4x4]

Rob’s 241 27 spline to 32 spline swaperoo and refresh is all wrapped up. Probably tomorrow I'll poke the engine in the frame

you even put a pencil sharpener on it, now that's cool

 

[ZooMad75]

The 8.1 has landed in it's new home. I wasn't without a struggle at all though. For all of the previous 8.1 swaps Larry has done and my 5.3, all were dropped in by himself without any issue. All of them had the core supports and fenders on too, with a transmission in to add to the complexity. One would have thought with no front clip on and no trans to line up, this should have been a slam dunk and drop in the hole in 20 minutes. No forking way. Larry fought for over 3 hours Friday and got beyond pissed. It shouldn't have been that hard. He could get one bolt through the mount but the other side was over an inch off. He took the engine back out, removed the spacers between the saddles and block and still it was off. He had to get out of the shop.

He called in for reinforcements. Our buddies Bill and Ian and I showed up and we put our collective heads together. I got there and to find Bill and Larry under his K10 making comparisons and taking measurements. Seems like the mount saddles were a half-inch off. The hole for the through bolt to the mount was a 1/2" further away from the block than the ones in the K10. Larry and I had this discussion Saturday while I was running the parts dept at work. I was able to research the part number stamped into the saddles I had picked up at a local boneyard. All research pointed back to fitting small block and big block in 73-87 trucks. I could not confirm the part number in the GM catalog as the number had superceeded a few times. Looking at the catalog did show a specific part number for small block and 6.2 diesel engines and then two other part numbers for 454 engines. No specifics were given for the two different part numbers for the big block to know what the difference was. No dimensions are given either. The odd thing is, Larry's polar bear burb used small block mounts for sure as they were the ones he pulled off the 350 when he did the swap. We didn't expect this issue.

After confirming we needed different saddles, Larry went behind the shop in his stash and pulled two more sets. One looked like the ones we already had and the other set were the right ones with the hole a 1/2" closer in like we needed. There was no part number stamped on those and Larry can't remember what the hell they came out of. They could have been off my '75, his Dad's K20 (that did have a big block in it) or two more small block trucks he parted out in the last year or so.

With the right mounts on, we still had to fight it. We could only get one side to fit. The passenger side fell into place, the driver side would not go down enough to get the bolt started. We yanked, tugged and shoved that damn engine around to no avail. Now the actual mounts were suspect. These are the same mounts we used on the 5.3 and were indeed small block mounts. Again knowing that's what Larry used we didn't expect an issue. Ian and Bill started surfing on their phones and proved there is a big block version of the poly mount. The ears on the mounts were upside down. Comparison to Larry's two truck were also upside down too. If we flip them around then the ears don't sit right to the mount. We left them the way we had them with a slight adjustment on the bench grinder to make them fit. We dropped it in again and like before the passenger side fell into place. The driver side still fought us. We were able to pry and pull and get the saddle to fit over the mount to get the holes to line up. The bolt was driven home and it was finally in place. It took way to long but it's finally in it's home.

 

[82355]

Small block and big block motor mounts are different.

If you use the same upper and lower mounts (both small block, or both big block) it works just fine. You can not mix them.

Martin

 

[max 02]

Small block and big block motor mounts are different.

If you use the same upper and lower mounts (both small block, or both big block) it works just fine. You can not mix them.

Martin

I thought the only difference was between 4x4 mounts and 2x4 mounts, in the height of the clamshells. 3/4” taller on the 4x4 ones I believe.
Other then that I thought they were the same. BB and SB.

 

[ZooMad75]

Small block and big block motor mounts are different.

If you use the same upper and lower mounts (both small block, or both big block) it works just fine. You can not mix them.

Martin

That's the messed up part. We thought we were using both the small block saddle and mount. We are certain that's the exact setup on Larry's burb as it was pulled right from the small block he pulled out of it. It's been out twice and each time dropped in without any drama. We knew something was off, but couldn't confirm it until the other saddles were unearthed. The measurements were one thing, but seeing the difference was the proof we needed. The next issue with the big block saddle and small block mount were expected since we knew there were two versions.

 

[ZooMad75]

I thought the only difference was between 4x4 mounts and 2x4 mounts, in the height of the clamshells. 3/4” taller on the 4x4 ones I believe.
Other then that I thought they were the same. BB and SB.

The GM parts catalog does show a different part number between small block and big block. It does not show a difference between 2wd and 4wd. There might be a difference in the big block mounts since they showed two different part numbers but the catalog did not show any reason for the difference. I might have to dig out an actual parts book from upstairs to see if it lists any difference.