Project Tow Mater

[Nin92]

Hey yall, been here a while and figured I would start my build thread on my truck. The plan was to build it as a off road oriented truck but that has changed within the last couple of months. I've decided to not have a goal as to what to build it into but rather just decide as I go. I have many plans for the truck. I am set on building it up right now, doing all the fab work and repairs. Then tearing it down one last time for a final build where I focus on paint, interior and other luxuries. It's come a long way since I got her but she's still got a long way to go.
The day after I bought it, A 1976 4x4 K10 LWB. 350/350 NP205 and you can see where she got her name



Later on I decided to throw a 4" Rough country lift on her with 35"x14" TSL Boggers.


After Troubles getting the truck titled due to the PO. I was left with no choice other than to find a different cab to use with the truck. The trucks body had a lot of rot and I found a great deal on a truck with almost zero rust for $400 dollars

[Nin92]

I decided to tear down the truck and really start my build after buying the donor truck for the cab.

Removing cab from Mater



Removing Cab from donor truck



After removing the cab I decided to clean up the frame of all the mud and grime while the body was out of the way. I cleaned up a low mile 350 SBC to throw in there for the time being



350 and SM465 Mounted in frame

[Nin92]

I put the new cab from the 86 on the 76 frame with energy suspension poly bushings.





Mounting up the alternator



Painted the interior black and mounted up the manual pedal assembly and column. Also installed my dash out of boredom lol

[Nin92]

Decided to go ahead and shorten the frame now rather than later.



14" out of the center section and 6" off the rear with the plasma.







Tack welded together until the next morning


Finished Welding, plating and boxing the frame




With the bed mounted




Mounted the radiator and front clip for mock up.

[Nin92]

Decided at this point that I needed to get everything around to fire off the engine. Fuel lines, fuel cell, starter, fluids, battery, grounds/wiring ect. I used a speedway 12 fuse wiring kit.

Custom 30 gallon aluminum fuel cell.



Started up the engine for the first time, Open headers

[Nin92]

I decided at this point to swap the 14 bolt in so i could go ahead and get my drive shaft measurement to have it made.

Stock 10 bolt



Out with the old






In with the new



Decided to go ahead and take off the diff cover of the 14 bolt to make sure all was as it was supposed to be.. well it wasnt.. The bright side is that it has a locker, the not so good is that I found some bearings and a bearing cage in the bottom of the pumpkin




Some carnage on the diff cover


It was the pinion pilot bearing, it didn't look to have caused too much damage and everything looked to be in working order other than that.

Called Napa the next day and had a new bearing, seals, and some fluid.

Removing pinion housing




The culprit


New bearing next to old



Replaced and all cleaned up




Love the POs style with the diff cover



I'll update as often as I can, it's a work in progress! Hope yall enjoy!

[57ToyBox]

Excellent thread. Awesome build.
Ur truck is look'n great

[Greenlee]

Nice build!
Posted via Mobile Device

[Nin92]

Thanks yall! Drive shaft should be in tomorrow so I'm excited about that. Wiring has been taking up a lot of my time recently. I've also been looking for a set of SRW Dana 60 hubs and hope to have those by the end of the week so i can swap my 1 ton front in!

[Telecasterjoey]

Nice build! Who's the old guy having a sit in the background? lol

[Nin92]

Not much has gotten done in the last week. My source for SRW Dana 60 hubs didn't come through so I ordered them from Offroad Design along with a drop steering arm. They should be in next Tuesday. So until then their is not going to be much visible progress, mostly just finishing up wiring I've been putting off and bolting on the front clip.

Got my 8 lug wheels mounted up on the back.



They're off a Dodge 2500, They fit pretty darn good!



Side view comparing the wheels haha.



New driveshaft!





Removing Dana 44




Dana 60



Like an idiot, I tossed the spring plates to the Dana 60 thinking they were the same as the Dana 44. The driver side is, but the passenger side isn't. Decided to improvise with 2 pieces of 3/8" steel.





I'll update tomorrow!

[Nin92]

Originally Posted by 57ToyBox

Excellent thread. Awesome build.
Ur truck is look'n great

Originally Posted by Greenlee

Nice build!
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks yall!

[Nin92]

Originally Posted by Telecasterjoey

Nice build! Who's the old guy having a sit in the background? lol

Haha he's the shop mannequin that watches over the place when I'm away.

[cletis]

Nice build, any plans on paint yet? I liked the old paint on the original truck, it's giving me some ideas.

[Nin92]

Originally Posted by cletis

Nice build, any plans on paint yet? I liked the old paint on the original truck, it's giving me some ideas.

Thanks! I plan on painting it with a black epoxy primer until the final tear down and build.

[Nin92]

Was waiting a while for my hubs to come in before I updated. I've gotten a bunch of wiring done but nobody wants to see that haha.

Mounted up the wheels on the front to see the difference between a SRW and a DRW.

[Nin92]

My SRW Dana 60 hub/rotor assemblies came in from ORD. I'm glad to finally have them
I wasn't able to swap out the hubs tonight. Had the wrong size spindle nut socket and Napa wasn't open (BTW can anyone confirm what size it is? I'm being told its 2 9/16")



Calipers removed



Removing the hubs.

[Nin92]

Time for an update! I finally got the time to throw the new hubs on and get back on track!
Repacked all the bearings and replaced the seals and got her sitting on her own again.











Looks much better with SRW hubs than the DRW hubs!

[Nin92]

I started to work on steering tonight, installed my steering riser block. I have to order some grade 8 studs for it. I also replaced the steering stabilizer. I plan on welding my rear shock brackets on the 14 bolt tomorrow and then working on the front clip along with the cooling system.

[Nin92]

Hey ya'll, been real busy lately so I haven't been able to update but I plan on updating more often.

Finished the shock mounts on the 14 bolt.






Put an electric speedometer sender on the transfercase.



Put new a new alternator bracket and powersteering pump bracket on the engine.





ARP studs came in from ORD.



Ordered some gauges from JEGS and wired them up.





Also decided that I like the 73-80 look better and ordered a new core support, hood and inner fenders. Found some decent fenders at the scrapyard since maters original ones were completely gone on the backs and bottoms.

[Nin92]

Forgot to add that the front brakes are hooked up and ready. Working on rear brakes and mounting the radiator and core support this weekend hopefully!

[kevinr1970]

Was it worth buying SRW hubs vs. finding a SRW front end? If you don't mind me asking, how much were the new hubs?
Also, was the rear from a DRW? If so, what did you do to make it work as a single?

Nice progress on your build!

[Nin92]

Originally Posted by kevinr1970

Was it worth buying SRW hubs vs. finding a SRW front end? If you don't mind me asking, how much were the new hubs?
Also, was the rear from a DRW? If so, what did you do to make it work as a single?

Nice progress on your build!

Oh it was definitely worth it, around here Dana 60s go for $800+! I already had a DRW Dana 60 so it was the obvious choice. The SRW hub assemblies I got from ORD for $600 without shipping. Came with everything besides bearings. The rear is actually from a 78 3/4 ton K20, so I didnt have to change anything with it. Thanks!

[Nin92]

Got the front clip bolted on. Still needs a little work but is mostly straight. Going to straighten it out tomorrow and bolt on the hood after I swap the windshield wiper studs to 73-80.



Aftermarket fender required a good bit of grinding to clear the steering box and rag joint.. had to take off at least an inch.

[Nin92]

Wow I cannot believe a year has passed since I last did an update. Lost interest in the truck for awhile and it sat. Got the bug again and decided to get things rolling again! A lot has been done in this period of time and it shows. Doesn't even look like the same truck anymore. I decided to go with all new sheet metal for the front clip (hood, valance, inner fenders and fenders) and made a battery tray to go with it. Also bought a set of manual doors off CL to put on with fresh bushings and hinge pins. Patched a few rust spots in the core support and then it was off to paint. Decided to go with Cadillac Raven Black.

Battery tray


Welding patch into core support





Undercoated and fitted. Aligning fenders to newly fitted doors as well









Finally into paint! new cab corners and lots of shiny paint!





























Like a mirror



Undercoated the frame as well. Tailgate is done but the bed is going to paint soon just have to shave the fuel doors and figure out if I'm keeping the fuel cell in the bed or making on to fit between the fuel rails under the bed.









Finally have Mater back at the shop. Also one of the reasons I put Mater on the back burner is on the lift in the background. 79 Camaro 357 SBC.