The Wife's Dually - '82 K30 dually

[The Butcher]

A friend of mine suggested the clam shell swap as well, but unfortunately that doesn't change anything. The BBC clam shell is about 1/2" to 3/4" wider than the SBC, so the two parts won't go together without excessive slop. What I failed to take into consideration (and had assumed since a BBC was previously installed using SBC mounts) is that the BBC spacing center to center of the through bolts (that hook the clam shell to the poly mount) is a little over 1" wider than the SBC. The measurement I came up with center eye to center eye is 17-1/8". The SBC center to center when mounted on the SBC frame brackets is right at about 16". I'm not really sure how in the heck they managed to get the original BBC into these SBC mounts unless maybe they somehow cut the rubber down in the original mount to give them some room to work. I have the old BBC mounted to a stand we made using new poly mounts and it too is at 17-1/8" eye to eye. I thought for a minute that the two blocks were maybe different and that was my issue, but that turned out not to be the case.

We had to clearance the frame a bit to get these headers to fit. I'm assuming these are maybe long tube 2wd headers, which don't seem to exactly fit on this 4wd chassis. Is there a difference in the 2wd and 4wd headers? That pinion bump stop ended up needing the most clearance modification. I'll get some more pics tomorrow after I hopefully have the motor fully mounted. We pulled it in and out about 8 times today checking the clearance, and I think we pretty much have it.

Ahh the joys indeed...

 

[The Butcher]

Got the resurfaced flywheel and new clutch on yesterday. I went with the LUK 04-902 clutch set. I went to remove the pilot bushing, and noticed that this motor was devoid of one. I guess the PO had removed it when he started building the motor. Made my job easier! The seating surface in the crank was a bit crusty though, so I wrapped a socket with some sandpaper and spun it around inside a few times to smooth it out a bit.

 

[The Butcher]

So what the heck am I doing wrong here? I put the throw out bearing in the clutch fork, and then put the clutch fork in the bell housing attached to the fork ball stud. It's not even close to being lined up with the clutch plate and pilot bearing. I used the alignment tool to align the plate and pilot bearing. The clutch fork is a Dorman 14550, which is the part number both Amazon and Rock Auto say is the correct one. I have the fork installed on the ball stud all the way, and if the throw out bearing is slid over more on the fork I think it will be out of the tension spring that holds it in. It's a good 1/2"-3/4" out of whack. I'm confused...

 

[sweetk30]

its all in your head . . .

the bearing is not centered on the fork . . . look at it .

just smack it in it will be just fine and center its self when lined up by the input shaft and sleave it rides on .

 

[The Butcher]

its all in your head . . .

the bearing is not centered on the fork . . . look at it .

just smack it in it will be just fine and center its self when lined up by the input shaft and sleave it rides on .

So the throwout bearing needs to have the "teeth" of the fork centered in the middle of it? I assumed it needed to be seated all the way in the fork.

 

[max 02]

So the throwout bearing needs to have the "teeth" of the fork centered in the middle of it? I assumed it needed to be seated all the way in the fork.

That is right...the center of the bearing will ride on the end of the teeth.

 

[The Butcher]

Thanks!

 

[sweetk30]

like I said stab that tranny in the hole it will slide over to were it needs to be.

" it wants to go in its home "

 

[The Butcher]

I wasn't sure if I should order a new clutch fork ball stud, but I'm glad I did. The old one was pretty worn. Got started with some body work on the doors and fenders. One door was fairly smooth/straight, but the other one needed some filling and smoothing. My guys used cold weld to cover the holes from the old triangle style side mirrors. Turned out pretty decent. It will be interesting to see how it turns out once the color gets put on it.

I'm not sure I'm going to have to cut the trans tunnel much on this cab other than the section where the removable cover will mount. This cab seems to have a hump in the rear that matches the K30 cab that my drivetrain came out of. Pics of the old K30 cab first, then of the new cab comparison measurements, and then the K30 removable hump laid over the C30 cab trans tunnel.

 

[The Butcher]

I gotta say I'm pretty darn impressed with the job my guys are doing on the bodywork for the doors and fenders. One of the doors had a ton of waves in it, and they have gotten it smooth as a baby's butt. We didn't have any automotive primer on hand, so they used an industrial epoxy primer we use all the time and it turned out really good. They were told by their body shop friends that it would work fine, so we will see. It seems really smooth, so I think it will work fine.

 

[The Butcher]

Haven't had much time lately to work on this, but my guys have been working on the body in between projects. I got a little done today though. New spring and frame bushings, HD shackles with greasable bushings, and got the motor bolted in. I've got a clearance issue with the shackle bolts and the headers. I thought about just cutting off the extra thread on the bolts to get some clearance. That only frees up about 1/2" or so though. Anyone have thoughts on that? Looks like I'm going to have to pull the oil pan off the motor as well and figure out why it leaks oil when it's tilted forward. I had to swing the headers up to get them over the cross braces and then oil started pouring out of the lower front lip of the oil pan. There is a gasket on there, but it still leaks. Should that get silicone as well as the gasket?

Oh, and I pulled the condenser box off the firewall so it could be cleaned up for paint. There was a hole in the box near the blower motor. Looks like a bird made a nice house out of it.

 

[sweetk30]

someone didn't read up on ck5 headers that fit and don't hit shackles . . . .

 

[The Butcher]

someone didn't read up on ck5 headers that fit and don't hit shackles . . . .

Those headers came on the engine which was in the 2wd black dually I bought as a parts donor. I was hoping to reuse them so I wouldn't have to buy new ones (since they are brand new as well).

 

[sweetk30]

o.k.

 

[skunked]

probably won't be an issue once some weight is on those springs and the shackles rotate back. FWIW the headman's have plenty of clearance.

 

[The Butcher]

Hopefully that will be the case. I'll take a look at that this afternoon and see if the issue will resolve itself once the body is back on. Thanks.

 

[sweetk30]

well don't forget you can trim off the extra threads to help clear a bit . . .

 

[max 02]

I turned my shackle bolts the other way around for more clearance...be a bitch to grease your fancy grease able bolts that way though. Maybe a 45 degree zerk?

No idea what`s going on with your oil leak.

 

[sweetk30]

I turned my shackle bolts the other way around for more clearance...be a bitch to grease your fancy grease able bolts that way though. Maybe a 45 degree zerk?

No idea what`s going on with your oil leak.

nope they stick out more . . .

this is the ticket ! https://www.amazon.com/Lincoln-Lubr...744591&sr=8-4&keywords=grease+fitting+adapter

 

[max 02]

nope they stick out more . . .

this is the ticket ! https://www.amazon.com/Lincoln-Lubr...744591&sr=8-4&keywords=grease+fitting+adapter

OOH! Nice!