mountainexplorer
1/2 ton status
I finally drove my tan '83 around more than a few blocks for the 1st time since it was a C10.
It was a truck I bought for $500 because it was a good deal and had a rust free body. But it was a 2wd and that bugged me. So after saving some good parts and pieces from other rigs Ive had, parted out or resold, and working on it off and on in spare time over the past year and a half, it's now a homemade stock looking K30 with a 350, TH400/205, Dana 60 front, 1990 14-bolt rear with ribbed housing, and a winch. By my calculations, if I include the profit I made from the dually truck the frame was originally, I have made a profit of $395 and have this vehicle (minus my time/labor)
Here it is along the way:
When I first got it and was driving it as a C10 about 3 years ago:
Decided to make it a 4x4 in 2007 and started selling the 2wd components off it.
May as well make it a 1-ton 4x4 while I'm at it:
Only got this far in fall of 2007 then it snowed and it sat all winter.
2008, not much time, but got the exhaust welded up, hooked up the fuel system and lines, then got the body off the 2wd frame and on the 1-ton 4x4 frame and put the front bumper on. Then it sat just sitting there with nothing bolted down or hooked up all summer.
Then this fall I bolted down the body, hooked up wiring, linkages, radiator, hoses, brake lines, and the front driveline. Got it running and was able to use front wheel drive and front brakes to load it on the trailer and bring it into town for winter.
Then sat again since no rear driveline fit. Changed carbs, Got a rear driveline shortened for it, changed rear brakes, put on front shocks, cut the hole in the floorboard hooked up the shifter, changed rear tires, added rear end gear lube and put on the rear cover, put on rear brake lines, and just now today got to drive it in rear wheel drive.
I still need to license it, bleed the rear brakes, put in a wiring harness for the rear taillights, and put the grille in, tailgate trim pieces, and then mount up the brackets and mount for the Meyers snow plow.
But I'm really close now.
Here's the long calculated breakdown of where all the parts came from:
Body and Motor:
1983 Chevy ½ ton 2wd Cost: $500
+180 Sold 2wd TH350 Tranny and parts
+200 Sold Rally wheels and tires
+30 Sold Exhaust/front shocks
+15 Sold front bumper
+60 Sold ½ ton 2wd Rear axle
-15 remaining balance into body and Goodwrench 350 motor. Also retained rear bumper
Frame:
1983 Chevy K30 regular cab Dually that was in a fire Cost: $1300
+275 Sold Dana 70 rear end
+250 Sold aluminum rims
+50 Sold rear bumper
+25 Sold fender
+50 Sold doors
+150 Sold bed/cab
+500 Sold 454
+900 Sold Dana 60 Dually front
+600 value trade allowance for TH400/205 from ’84 Blazer deal from sale of 700R4 and
NP208 (long story but amounts to $600 received in cash from the 400/205)
+1500 Profit [kept frame, rear springs and hitch for ’83 Tan Truck project]
Dana 60 front axle:
1981 Chevy 1-ton 4x4 Flatbed Cost: $1400
+90 Sold Two new front Tires- other matching tires I already had went onto truck
-30 coolant purchased for truck
-140 Cost of Title Transfer/Tabs/Plates
-20 Paint/misc purchased to rattle can truck white
-5 Purchased one rear tail light
-0 350 from a parts truck swapped in place of the Goodwrench 454
+20 Sold one Exhaust manifold
+15 Sold stock Intake manifold off 454
-50 placed Wheel Deals Ad 1
-$1520 balance
+1500 Sale of Truck with 350 motor
-20 Balance [Kept Dana 60 front for ‘83 and 454 motor to be used in my ‘87]
Transmission and Transfer Case:
1980 Chevy ¾ ton 4x4 and 1981 Chevy Crew Cab Both Cost: $1900
+100 Holley Carb that came with ’80 Chevy
+300 Sold 205 slip yoke T-case from 1980 Chevy
+100 Sold 292-6cylinder from Crew Cab
+100 Sold 400 tranny from Crew cab
+200 Sold 14-bolt Gov Lock 4.56 ratio rear from Crew Cab
+300 Sold 1980 Body and Frame with title
+25 Sold Stock 8-lug 16” rims off 1980
+75 Sold Hydroboost off Crew Cab
+35 Sold Door off crew cab
+60 Sold Cab off Crew cab
+25 Sold Dashpad from crew cab
+45 Sold Nose clip and bumper
+50 Sold crew cab 1-ton Frame
+40 Sold Rear springs and overloads from crew cab
-445 Balance [Kept TH400 tranny from 1980 ¾ ton and NP205 transfer case from 1981 Crew Cab and bolted together for use in 1983 Truck]
Rear axle:
14-bolt full floater 3.73 open carrier 1-ton “ribbed housing” rear end from Alaska from trade deal with Joe. No cash.
Other Miscellaneous:
$0 Front Shocks- leftover from 1990 parts Suburban
$48 Rear driveline from parts truck- shortened at Murls
$0 Front driveline from parts truck
$0 Newish 3-row large tank radiator kept from 1983 Crew Cab (swapped for other
radiator)
$225 New Exhaust originally done at Muffler Mart in 1999 on 1981 Suburban- then
transferred exhaust system to red 1978 Chevy truck- then transferred exhaust
system to this 1983 Chevy truck
$0 Visor kept off a 1977 Chevy that was resold
$77 Winch and Bumper Kept off a 1986 Suburban that was resold
$0 BFG A/T Tires kept off 1978 2wd Crew Cab
$125 Wheels originally purchased in 1996 for red ’78 Truck
$0 Hooker headers for SBC kept off a 1977 K5 Blazer parts rigs
$0 Quadrajet carb kept off parts suburban
$0 Tan bench seat out of ’79 Dually- original seat went to ’81 Flatbed which front end
came from
$150 Accounted for in miscellaneous fluids, supplies and parts during conversion
Total Miscellaneous- $625 combined with -$35 balance equals a $660 investment
$1105 investment combined with $1500 profit from ’83 Dually truck that the frame came from equals a profit of $395 cash ahead.
It was a truck I bought for $500 because it was a good deal and had a rust free body. But it was a 2wd and that bugged me. So after saving some good parts and pieces from other rigs Ive had, parted out or resold, and working on it off and on in spare time over the past year and a half, it's now a homemade stock looking K30 with a 350, TH400/205, Dana 60 front, 1990 14-bolt rear with ribbed housing, and a winch. By my calculations, if I include the profit I made from the dually truck the frame was originally, I have made a profit of $395 and have this vehicle (minus my time/labor)
Here it is along the way:
When I first got it and was driving it as a C10 about 3 years ago:
Decided to make it a 4x4 in 2007 and started selling the 2wd components off it.
May as well make it a 1-ton 4x4 while I'm at it:
Only got this far in fall of 2007 then it snowed and it sat all winter.
2008, not much time, but got the exhaust welded up, hooked up the fuel system and lines, then got the body off the 2wd frame and on the 1-ton 4x4 frame and put the front bumper on. Then it sat just sitting there with nothing bolted down or hooked up all summer.
Then this fall I bolted down the body, hooked up wiring, linkages, radiator, hoses, brake lines, and the front driveline. Got it running and was able to use front wheel drive and front brakes to load it on the trailer and bring it into town for winter.
Then sat again since no rear driveline fit. Changed carbs, Got a rear driveline shortened for it, changed rear brakes, put on front shocks, cut the hole in the floorboard hooked up the shifter, changed rear tires, added rear end gear lube and put on the rear cover, put on rear brake lines, and just now today got to drive it in rear wheel drive.
I still need to license it, bleed the rear brakes, put in a wiring harness for the rear taillights, and put the grille in, tailgate trim pieces, and then mount up the brackets and mount for the Meyers snow plow.
But I'm really close now.
Here's the long calculated breakdown of where all the parts came from:
Body and Motor:
1983 Chevy ½ ton 2wd Cost: $500
+180 Sold 2wd TH350 Tranny and parts
+200 Sold Rally wheels and tires
+30 Sold Exhaust/front shocks
+15 Sold front bumper
+60 Sold ½ ton 2wd Rear axle
-15 remaining balance into body and Goodwrench 350 motor. Also retained rear bumper
Frame:
1983 Chevy K30 regular cab Dually that was in a fire Cost: $1300
+275 Sold Dana 70 rear end
+250 Sold aluminum rims
+50 Sold rear bumper
+25 Sold fender
+50 Sold doors
+150 Sold bed/cab
+500 Sold 454
+900 Sold Dana 60 Dually front
+600 value trade allowance for TH400/205 from ’84 Blazer deal from sale of 700R4 and
NP208 (long story but amounts to $600 received in cash from the 400/205)
+1500 Profit [kept frame, rear springs and hitch for ’83 Tan Truck project]
Dana 60 front axle:
1981 Chevy 1-ton 4x4 Flatbed Cost: $1400
+90 Sold Two new front Tires- other matching tires I already had went onto truck
-30 coolant purchased for truck
-140 Cost of Title Transfer/Tabs/Plates
-20 Paint/misc purchased to rattle can truck white
-5 Purchased one rear tail light
-0 350 from a parts truck swapped in place of the Goodwrench 454
+20 Sold one Exhaust manifold
+15 Sold stock Intake manifold off 454
-50 placed Wheel Deals Ad 1
-$1520 balance
+1500 Sale of Truck with 350 motor
-20 Balance [Kept Dana 60 front for ‘83 and 454 motor to be used in my ‘87]
Transmission and Transfer Case:
1980 Chevy ¾ ton 4x4 and 1981 Chevy Crew Cab Both Cost: $1900
+100 Holley Carb that came with ’80 Chevy
+300 Sold 205 slip yoke T-case from 1980 Chevy
+100 Sold 292-6cylinder from Crew Cab
+100 Sold 400 tranny from Crew cab
+200 Sold 14-bolt Gov Lock 4.56 ratio rear from Crew Cab
+300 Sold 1980 Body and Frame with title
+25 Sold Stock 8-lug 16” rims off 1980
+75 Sold Hydroboost off Crew Cab
+35 Sold Door off crew cab
+60 Sold Cab off Crew cab
+25 Sold Dashpad from crew cab
+45 Sold Nose clip and bumper
+50 Sold crew cab 1-ton Frame
+40 Sold Rear springs and overloads from crew cab
-445 Balance [Kept TH400 tranny from 1980 ¾ ton and NP205 transfer case from 1981 Crew Cab and bolted together for use in 1983 Truck]
Rear axle:
14-bolt full floater 3.73 open carrier 1-ton “ribbed housing” rear end from Alaska from trade deal with Joe. No cash.
Other Miscellaneous:
$0 Front Shocks- leftover from 1990 parts Suburban
$48 Rear driveline from parts truck- shortened at Murls
$0 Front driveline from parts truck
$0 Newish 3-row large tank radiator kept from 1983 Crew Cab (swapped for other
radiator)
$225 New Exhaust originally done at Muffler Mart in 1999 on 1981 Suburban- then
transferred exhaust system to red 1978 Chevy truck- then transferred exhaust
system to this 1983 Chevy truck
$0 Visor kept off a 1977 Chevy that was resold
$77 Winch and Bumper Kept off a 1986 Suburban that was resold
$0 BFG A/T Tires kept off 1978 2wd Crew Cab
$125 Wheels originally purchased in 1996 for red ’78 Truck
$0 Hooker headers for SBC kept off a 1977 K5 Blazer parts rigs
$0 Quadrajet carb kept off parts suburban
$0 Tan bench seat out of ’79 Dually- original seat went to ’81 Flatbed which front end
came from
$150 Accounted for in miscellaneous fluids, supplies and parts during conversion
Total Miscellaneous- $625 combined with -$35 balance equals a $660 investment
$1105 investment combined with $1500 profit from ’83 Dually truck that the frame came from equals a profit of $395 cash ahead.
