The Dakota Cadillac (68 K20 w/ Cummins)

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Nice burb other than the mirrors and caddy lights.. I am really digging the rest of it..

[lowrollin70gmc]

Originally Posted by FRENCHBLUE72

Nice burb other than the mirrors and caddy lights.. I am really digging the rest of it..

You and me both! As soon as the metal work starts on this the mirrors and lights are going back to stock (stockish for tail lights...).

I finally uploaded pictures of the clocked transfer case and twin stick shifter. For the shifter I used an aluminum shifter meant for a stock car 3 speed transmission and some rod ends and rods to go to a few plates I made that fit into the shift rails of the transfer case. The rubber hose is on there to prevent rattles as the rails are close to the trans and floor but don't hit under normal circumstances. Transmission mount will also be redone with a fresh shipment of 2x2x.25 wall and some universal poly bushings for more support on the frame.











The hardest work was fixing the floor work the previous owner did as well as the extra room my trans and t case mounting took up. Most isn't too noticeable and will never be seen once I put insulation and a floor mat back in it.






I also got Off Road Designs crossover steering kit as well as a rebuilt late 80s 2wd box. No pics of it yet, but everything is rattle canned and ready to go. Pics will eventually come when installed.

To complement that kit as well I got a Captainfab's power steering adapter bracket. True, I could have made something work myself as there were a few spacers between the current box and frame. Unfortunately there are multiple holes in my frame and I have sheared two bolts off on the box due to hardware loosening rapidly. No amount of loctite or a torque wrench could stop this from happening and safety is paramount.

I opened the box and thought there must be some mistake, why is jerky in this box? It's not jerky, but a vacuum packed bracket, hardware, and instructions. Great detail and I'm very happy with the quick ship time and quality.





Hopefully after this next week of nights replacing a natural gas turbine I'll get the time to set up the front D60 and get the driveshaft lengthened. My 63 was not the greatest on ice and snow for some reason. Alas, the 63 will be torn down and sent to the body shop for the winter.

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Are those twin sticks really as short as they look? In the pics they look about 6'' high?

[lowrollin70gmc]

The shifters are close to 6-8" tall, but they're also mounted high on the trans and clear the dash by 3-4". I have to lean over to tap them in and out of ranges. Nothing too bad and about as tall as the stock shifter while allowing me to know what range/axle selection I have and also somewhat out of the passenger's "oops I kicked it" range.

Also picked up a set of 16.5x9.75 slots for the 37s. They were well priced locally and that never happens so I bought them an hour after they were on Craigslist. Not sure if I want the black steelies or the slots and it's always nice to have options. These might push my tires out too much on the late model rear axle for my taste, but we'll see.

[RatRod68]

polish those slots up a bit to a clean machine finish or paint them satin black with a polished lip and chrome lugs and center caps. :drool:

Only thing better than those slots are the turbines. I traded off an old ford with a set of 16.5 turbines. Whish i would've kept them now.

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by lowrollin70gmc

Hopefully after this next week of nights replacing a natural gas turbine I'll get the time to set up the front D60 and get the driveshaft lengthened. My 63 was not the greatest on ice and snow for some reason. Alas, the 63 will be torn down and sent to the body shop for the winter.

I laughed pretty good at that! I daily drove a 69 Nova inline 6 4 door car through a bad winter. It did better than I thought it would, but it sure wasn't my truck.

Great work on the tcse shifter. That is sweet! I like those slots. Why is it every old set of slot wheels look like they require shouldered lug nuts? My brother had a set on his 88 V30 and they had to have the shouldered lug nuts too.

[mknittle]

Transer/trans looks good!Good mod for a truck that goes off road!
when I built my 68 years back i used a devorced 205 transfercase and mounted it centered between the axles and as high as i could.
Guys that would say theirs is higher. I would tell them park next to mine and look under them

[mknittle]

Love the subs!

[1972RedNeck]

Subscribed

Originally Posted by mosesburb

Did it have any power?? I realize it is naturally aspirated, but it is 478 inches of naturally aspirated motor.

I would also like to know the answer to this.

[lowrollin70gmc]

The 478 had some decent torque and pulled the truck fine for driving duties. Heck, I ran 75-80 on the trip back to base when I bought it. Just not fully practical for daily driver duties that will soon include -20 days. Heck, even the Cummins in there now isn't fully practical for these temps.

I did finally get the locker tossed in and am just dialing in the pattern. It was a toasty 40 degrees this weekend so it was pleasant in the garage, but I have a feeling it'll be more like 15 out when I finish it later this week or this weekend.

Side note and slight rant: speedy sleeves for a D60 yoke are $50 at the local parts store!!! 1350 yokes are $80 from Denny's Driveshaft so what do you think I ended up with? Also ordered Spicer 5-806x joints as well because the local parts houses don't sell genuine Spicer stuff. I need to find a driveline place up here to lengthen my shaft and start buying joints from as NAPA and Kragen are batting 0 for 2.

[RatRod68]

Buy the new yokes. Check fleebay. They are usually really cheap on there. I have purchased multiple yokes from there.

[lowrollin70gmc]

Already bought and delivered, it's a no brainer for more strength as my driveshaft is getting lengthened anyways so a switch to a 1350 yoke on there isn't too big of a deal.

[RatRod68]

schweet! I also wanted to let you know i have a couple utility truck consoles that lock, have a lid that either slides open or lifts open, and locks. Its about the same height as your bucket. I don't need them, so you pay for the ride, you can have one. If youre interested, shoot me a message

[Luther Grimace]

Awesome truck! I like those 37s!

[lowrollin70gmc]

Thanks for the compliments, I can't wait to buy a house with at least three more inches of garage door room to toss the 37s on. 1" radius plus raise rear another 1" and 1" breathing room as I rub on my current rental garage.

I never did put pictures of my 4" exhaust on here, so I'll toss them up now. I started with a Diamond Eye kit for a 91 Dodge W250 and switching everything around, cutting, and welding resulted in a nice fit outside the frame. The passenger front wheelwell was already cut up so I dropped the pipe outside the frame up immediately after the turbo. Tire clearance isn't too bad as I haven't hit it yet, but I haven't fully flexed it out either. Proceeded to tuck it in nicely all the way back between the spare well and the tip dipping out unobtrusively.

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice work on your exhaust!

[68Cummins]

It that a 4 or 5" tip on your burb? Thats the exact look im going for. I have 4" turbo back and was going to just drop it out like yours but dont know if I want a tip
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[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by 68Cummins

It that a 4 or 5" tip on your burb? Thats the exact look im going for. I have 4" turbo back and was going to just drop it out like yours but dont know if I want a tip
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I'm betting it's a 5" tip.

[lowrollin70gmc]

Correctamundo, it is a 5" tip. I have it clamped on so that if I decide to get super crazy off road I can pull the tip and the exhaust doesn't drop lower than the body. The routing wouldn't be possible without the shackle flip and even then I have 1/2" clearance at many points in the last 3 feet of exhaust.

You can see the exit (and dirty 5" tip) in these pics from page 3. It seems like it sticks out the side in the second pictures but that's just the perspective as it is tucked in closer than the bumper end.

[lowrollin70gmc]

Not much happening due to the cold weather, but I picked up some more vintage parts. 16.5 x 9.75 turbines! Six of them for a great deal that took all the cash in my wallet as I thought he was only selling four.

Now I'll have to clean these up and figure out which set of wheels to run my 37x12.5x16.5s on. They're currently on freshly powder coated steelies but I acquired a set of slots a few months ago (near the top of this page) and now these!



Decisions, decisions, decisions.

[RatRod68]

Turbines. Definitely the turbines.

[jbclassix]

Man those are my favorite 16.5" wheel ever. They look sweet!
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[1985-GMC]

Sweet! Get a set of hummer tires to throw on those.
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[Ackattack]

Sorry, not a fan of turbines....I'd go with the slots

[lowrollin70gmc]

Originally Posted by 1985-GMC

Sweet! Get a set of hummer tires to throw on those.
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I've got a set of HMMWV tires kicking around the garage on the black steelies. They are shown a few pages back, but here is a picture when I test fit them. If only the truck could fit out of my rental's garage with them on.



I also tossed up a wheel poll in the 4x4 Sub-Forum, so please visit it and throw a vote or three in.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=568443