BBC In '72 K20 Sub Pics

[mosesburb]

Wandering around the bowels of my computer I found some old pics of the Gen V that I put in my '72 K20 Suburban.

I was told that you can't use a long water pump in this body style and also that a tall radiator from a '73 and up will not fit either. Hmmm, looks like it fit to me.

Token interior shot (not the best quality obviously). Re-did all the HVAC components. Insulated the firewall and floor. Modified the stock brake pedal to the wider '73 and up style (not as easy as it sounds), and also the wider gas pedal from the later models.

 

[CDA 455]

Pretty cool. Thanks for sharing da pics !

 

[Burt4x4]

hahahaha!

Allways good to see pics of BBC trucks/rigs

 

[Yukon Jack]

Looks very at home in there. What kind of fitment issues did you encounter. I see you are using the stock manifolds. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to fit them on my bbc as I was looking at the frame/motor clearance.

 

[mosesburb]

Looks very at home in there. What kind of fitment issues did you encounter. I see you are using the stock manifolds. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to fit them on my bbc as I was looking at the frame/motor clearance.

I had the usual fitment issues. Cave in the firewall for valve cover clearance, a little massaging for the big-cap HEI etc. I used the small block crossmember with small block mounts and had no fitment problems whatsoever with the manifolds. Being a Gen V, I had to modify the pan to clear the crossmember. Not a major deal, but was necessary to fit it in. I do not know if Mark IV motors have the same problem though.
After all was said and done, for some reason (I don't remember why) I took the truck to a frame shop and had the frame straightened. The frame wasn't racked, the front was bent up starting under the cowl, forward of the body mount there. The old-timer that owned the shop said this is a very common issue with these trucks and that mine was about average. When he got done, my clearance between the valve covers and the firewall and distibutor clerance improved dramatically (wish I would have done it before I caved it in as I wouldn't have had to do anywhere near as much). A quick check of the door to fender gaps will often show if the frame is bent in this way. If the door gaps are tight at the top and wide at the bottom there is a high probability that the frame is bent like mine was. My truck had original sheetmetal and body mounts that had never been touched so it was real easy to tell. The gaps are much better now.

 

[Yukon Jack]

The old-timer that owned the shop said this is a very common issue with these trucks and that mine was about average. When he got done, my clearance between the valve covers and the firewall and distibutor clerance improved dramatically (wish I would have done it before I caved it in as I wouldn't have had to do anywhere near as much).

That is very interesting. When I put my body back on my K20 I used all new poly mounts and a body lift - I had to cut the lift blocks that sit at the radiator an 1" shorter. I never have been able to figure out why that was necessary but the above might be part of the reason. It never made sense because before I took the body off it just had the old factory mounts and the body set just fine. I definitely can tell the body is angled forward. When I get my K5 roadworthy I'm going to work some more on the K20 to get rid of some of the body lift and figure out why the body is sitting like it is. I'm sure when I get the body level that will help me have more clearance so I can reduce my body lift.