K30 to the frame...Front axle almost complete...Hydro Assist Install

[Russellk30]

Ive been around the site for a while, but mostly just scoping out other people builds and ideas.

I bought this truck a few years ago from a guy who said the transmission and engine had only 5000 miles on the rebuild. The truck has plenty of smooth power and has been very reliable, but the tranny has a 16th inch of grease built up on it, so he may have embellished a little.

Its mostly stock with only an RV cam and an Edelbrock carburetor and manifold. It has the standard 454 to TH400 to NP205, with a D60 up front and 14 bolt out back. It also has a junk warn enforcer front bumper. My friend wants it, so to each his own I guess. The paint is pretty worn, and there are a few rot spot that are becoming problems including an almost non existent passenger side floorboard.

I'm sure plans will change, but at the very least I want to restore it from the frame up, swap in an NV4500, throw a multiport EFI system in, add a rear ARB, convert the rear to discs, lift it 2-4 inches, trim the fenders some and find some 37"s on forged wheels to stuff in there.

Unfortunately, I never really took any great before pictures and just started tearing into it a while back.

 

[chevysmithz71]

Glad to have you on the site. Looks like a good start. The paint looks pretty good to me. You might want to just throw a detroit in the rear. I think its cheaper and no need to really turn it off like an arb. Just my .2

 

[Russellk30]

Glad to have you on the site. Looks like a good start. The paint looks pretty good to me. You might want to just throw a detroit in the rear. I think its cheaper and no need to really turn it off like an arb. Just my .2

The paint does look decent in most areas, but has rotted through in a few spots as well. Don't let the shininess fool ya. I'm not sure why some spots hold up so well and others rot completely through. Underneath the rear window is the worst and will require a couple of patches.

From a practical standpoint, I would prefer a Detroit, but I'm worried about their performance on wet, snowy and icy roads. I read that there is a sacrifice to drivabilty in some situations. Are the drawbacks worth it? Are the drawbacks overstated?

 

[chevysmithz71]

http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148243&highlight=Detroit+locker

 

[wayne]

IMHO go with the ARB if you can swing it. If you drive it alot when it's done your tires will live longer. As far as snow and ice, once you get used to the Detroit it's not really a problem. They are both great lockers and you can't go wrong with either. Another plus with the ARB is you have a reason to do some sort of on board air. Looks like a good start.

 

[Russellk30]

I've been trying to find a 14 bolt ARB from somewhere other than a retailer because the things cost so much. Not much luck though. Randy's Ring and pinion sells it for less than $800. That's the best I've seen it.

I was able to pull the 14 bolt this weekend. It's been stripped and the bottom lip moderately shaved. The stock shock mounts and ubolt retainers were shaved off. There is still a lot of pitting left over from the old ubolt retainers though.

Of all the differential covers out there, I liked the Crane the most. It's manufactured out of chromoly and is about as stout as they get. It looks wicked too. One will be going on the D60 also.

Also picked up a few other parts.

 

[Russellk30]

The axle is complete for the time being. I installed a 1410 yoke after replacing the crush sleeve. The pinion nut took all my strength to remove. I torqued a new one until 15 inch/lb preload. I didn't mess with the differential bearing yet. Those will wait until a locker.

The disk brake install was simple enough, except I didn't seat one of the new wheel bearing completely and it took me a couple hours to figure out why the calipers would fit on one side and not the other.

I image the e-brake cable reconfiguration will be more difficult than the disk brake install. Some people claim that the calipers are a pain in the ass to adjust, but the process looks pretty simple, and the company that makes the kit said that after the initial adjustment, as long as the e-brake is used every month or so of driving, they don't need readjusting.

The Yoke gaurd is from DIY4X and the 1410 yoke is from High Angle. Now I just have to figure out where to put the shocks.

 

[76zimmer]

put a space or two between pics to get them to line up vertically, instead of horizontally.

Wrestling a 14 is fun aint it.

I put mine on the picnic table....saves the back.

 

[Russellk30]

Fixed. Thanks.

I don't have a picnic table nearby my condo that the neighbors would appreciate me using, or enough space in my garage to put one. I imagine the neighbors already hate me enough with all the racket coming from my garage. I just drag the thing across the concrete on some cardboard and lift it up one side at a time. It is a little hard on the back. I asked my girlfriend to help me pick up one side while I got the other. She gave it her all but it didn't budge I just hope I can clean up the garage enough to get my deposit back when I move out

 

[Teck]

What brake calipers are you using with the ebrake? Where did you purchase them from?

 

[Russellk30]

They are Cadillac calipers that will fit the brackets that you see for sale for 14 bolt axles from dozens of places. DIY4X has some nice brackets at a good price.

This is the company that makes the kit i bought: http://www.tsmmfg.com/2630E.htm If you scroll down that page you will see a parts list.

I bought mine for cheap off Ebay, or else I would have just assembled the kit myself from various sources, because it is kind of spendy. You can find the calipers in parts stores and junk yards as well. You shouldn't pay more than $300-$400 for everything. The caddy calipers are generaly much more expensive than the non-ebrake calipers.

 

[Russellk30]

Nothing exciting going on lately. Just been stripping and priming body panels and frame rails. Ive was thinking about boxing it, but I sort of want to keep that area open to use for line routing, and also so various natural elements don't clog it up. Anybody ever come across a practical way to reinforce the frame and reduce flex without boxing it?

I also found this junk on craigslist the other day. BBC TPI

 

[Russellk30]

Put some paint on the fenders doors and hood. Everything else still looks old. Its a midnight blue single stage urethane, which makes repairing damage easy, and it is as strong as paint gets. I had to use a positive pressure air supply to shoot because the vapors are a little deadly.

 

[Russellk30]

I want to maintain a factory look, but also want to upgrade quite a bit. Here is what I've been doing with the gauge bezel. I researched different makes and models of gauges, and VDO had the best combination of looks, cost and meter variations of the gauges that could fit in the bezel while still looking clean and original. I want to try to use the old gauge cluster to act as a support for the gauges too so I don't crack the bezel when bouncing. The huge fuel gauge will also get replaced with a Tach.

 

[Russellk30]

Had to tow the truck to our new house. I finished some stuff before hand, and threw the axle on in a hurry. On the back half of the frame I drilled out all the rivets, wire wheeled the frame, threw on a coat of por15 and topcoat, and bolted the axle in quick like. I used my stock 56" springs with 2.5" shackle flip brackets and slightly longer than stock super shackles from ORD. I still have some Poly bushings that need to go into the springs. DIY B52 brackets are going in the front and I'm going to find another set of 56" springs at the junkyard too. I want to make the truck as practical as possible, so the more parts that are interchangeable the better. Both driveshafts are going to be 1410's at the yoke and 1350 cv at the Tcase flange.

The rear bumper on the truck was giant turd. It was welded to the frame in 6 places and took a couple hours just to get the stupid thing off. It weighed over 300 pounds.

 

[Russellk30]

Heads mocked up on engine out of curiosity. They don't match.

One of the previous owners cut a notch out of the frame for some unknown reason. I couldn't stand looking at it and it likely compromised a bit of frame strength where the bumper mounts. It had to go.

Trimmed down a tranny cross member out of a 90's chevy truck with a 4500. It'll make installing the transmission a whole lot easier. I will just buy the bushing from the later model.

 

[Russellk30]

The replacement Tcase, I kind of miss my 205.

The replacement transmission. I don't miss my TH400. It has the 6.3.4 first, so with 37 tires and 4.11 gears, first should be a little more useful while drive and overdrive will have lower RPM's than normal. The transfer case will make up for no longer having the effect of a granny low.

 

[v30mongo]

One tons and lights

Just a question . I thougth all one tons came with cab clearance lights standard and the pickup models had five little clearance lights in the talilgate , plus if it was a dual rear wheel it had clearance lights on the rear fenders. Only the military units came without any clearance lights and they all were diesel.

 

[Russellk30]

Just a question . I thougth all one tons came with cab clearance lights standard and the pickup models had five little clearance lights in the talilgate , plus if it was a dual rear wheel it had clearance lights on the rear fenders. Only the military units came without any clearance lights and they all were diesel.

I couldn't tell you about clearance light options, or any other standard equipment based on model. I know that it came stock with a 14BFF, D60, NP205, TH400, 454, tall frame, and so on. The title and original receipt says its a K30, so I guess some came without clearance lights. Or else some fool went through a lot of trouble to make it look like a K30.

 

[yellowK20]

Clearance lights came standard on K30's , but you could opt to not have them IIRC