1980 Chevy K10 LWB Project

[8lugnutz]

Not really build related, but found "three bundles" of hardwood floor on Craigslist that my wife just had to have for her remodeled room. Got there and the "bundles" were about two feet high 4' x 8', all very neatly stacked. We will have to make two trips! When we got home, my wife calmly says, "well honey, your truck now has the wood bed floor option." She cracks me up.....

My stepson Robert helping me load and stack:





Only one more trip to go!

[TheBlueBomber]

Just curious, What is the paint code for your truck? Mine is tangier orange and it looks similar depending on the light.

[8lugnutz]

Originally Posted by TheBlueBomber

Just curious, What is the paint code for your truck? Mine is tangier orange and it looks similar depending on the light.

I really don't know, because the glove box sticker has been removed, but I was told it was Tangier Orange. Looking at the information from the GM Heritage center for 1980, it looks like it was special order, which would be SEO 9V2:

[8lugnutz]

Well, well, well.... Ordered the invoice from the GM Heritage Center in December, but never received a reply. Just thought about that today, so I gave them a call and turns out they processed the request the same day, but got my e-mail address wrong. The guy that I talked to was VERY helpful and forwarded the invoice to my e-mail, and I took a look. Turns out I was all wrong about the paint code on my truck, it was shipped as Cardinal Red! Another interesting note is that it was sold very close to where I live. You think I could take it in for warranty work?

Also looks like I am going to be on the lookout for an 8-track....

[TheBlueBomber]

It's funny that you posted this... I was on the way over to say the color is definitely Cardinal Red. My friends kept saying that it was Tangier Orange but something inside of me was telling me it wasn't orange...

LOL

Thats cool about the Heritage Center. How much did that run you? Curious if they have mine up there also.

[8lugnutz]

The invoice copy from them is $50, Keith Seymore was the guy that turned me on to the site. Here is the link to the general information kit, which is free:
GM Heritage General Information Link

And the order form for the invoice ($50):
Order Form

You will have to figure out whether it's worth the money, I wanted the information because my SPID sheet in the glove box was gone. I didn't really know what I had, and this pretty much told me everything I wanted to know, and then some.

[gmachinz]

That is very cool! Ya know....I'm not sure I've ever seen a factory 8-track still in any pickup I've ever come across. I wonder how different they'd be from a regular car? I have a couple on my shelf but they're out of late 70's Montes.

[8lugnutz]

Well, I don't think they are that different, but I really can't say for sure. I have a cassette player that I was going to put in it, but now after seeing the invoice (and the fact that I have a ton of 8-tracks already), I'm going to start looking for an 8-track. I will have to get out the cassette player and take some pictures and put it on the for sale board.

[TheBlueBomber]

Originally Posted by 8lugnutz

Well, I don't think they are that different, but I really can't say for sure. I have a cassette player that I was going to put in it, but now after seeing the invoice (and the fact that I have a ton of 8-tracks already), I'm going to start looking for an 8-track. I will have to get out the cassette player and take some pictures and put it on the for sale board.

Looks like you'll need a new bezel. It looks like they cut that one for the player. 8 track is where it's at. And I think the older radios sound great.

[8lugnutz]

I have a couple of nice uncut bezels that I have purchased from other forum members. It's the dash that I'm going to have some issues with, it's been cut as well, so I will have to fix that. I will also have to rewire the wiring harness, as the PO cut the stock radio connectors. Found a really good place for replacement radio harness plugs online at the Repair Connector Store:

Rear Speaker Connector (blue)

Power Supply Connector (black)

Front Speaker Connector (white)

[TheBlueBomber]

Originally Posted by 8lugnutz

Found a really good place for replacement radio harness plugs online at the Repair Connector Store:

Rear Speaker Connector (blue)

Power Supply Connector (black)

Front Speaker Connector (white)

Sweet. Yea my rears had been cut as well and rewired for some newer speakers that are just sliding around back there. There are a bunch of players on ebay in good condition and a variety to choose from.

[8lugnutz]

I did not realize it had been over year since I updated this thread....

From the original list of items to fix....

Interior: (Completed items in Green)
Missing the factory 4x6 speaker covers (speakers are still there, along with what's left of the speaker covers that were attached, they just disintegrated)
Door panels need repaired/replaced
Dash pad needs replaced
Clock needs fixed/replaced
Dashboard bezel needs replaced. (I have to fix the radio mount first)
Radio needs replaced (It was cut out for a single DIN unit) - Note: I now have an original GM cassete player, need to fix the radio mount
Wiper switch needs button or cover (it works, just doesn't have the plastic on it)
Fuel selector switch needs new bezel on dash
Glove box needs replaced, hinge is broken.
Driver's side window motor needs replaced (works, but is REAL slow). It is still REAL slow....
Trim covers for door strap need replaced (both doors)
Door strap on passenger side needs replaced
Chrome trim between upper panel and lower carpeted door panel needs reinstalled on both doors (I have the trim)
Seat belts need to be replaced
Rear speaker covers need replaced
New arm rests for both doors

Exterior:
The truck will need to be repainted, the clear coat is peeling
Lower trim under grill needs replaced
Front passenger orange sidemarker lens needs replaced, chrome is missing
Windshield needs replaced
Front turn signal lenses need replaced (clear ones)
Small rust spot behind back tire on drivers side needs repair (rust is not all the way through)
Rust on inner bed wheel well; needs fixed/replaced
Rust on passenger side inner bed rail needs fixed (caused by old toolbox)

Under the hood:
A/C needs new clutch and either charged with R12 or converted to R134.
Needs correct radiator (that's my fault, had to get a radiator to get home)
Washer fluid motor needs troubleshooting to figure out what's wrong with it.
Fuel selector does not work on Driver's side tank, needs troubleshooting.
Need jack and components (hardware to secure jack is present)
Needs a good cleaning, maybe dressing it up a bit too.


Current Activities:
I am in the middle of a transmission swap.
Added grille guard to the front, replacing the bumper guard uprights.

[77K10Silverado]

Love this truck!! Only year for that grille, right?

[77K10Silverado]

What size tires are you running on her? They look like 32's/33's...

[8lugnutz]

I think they are 31x10.50 actually.

[8lugnutz]

Correction to the tires on my truck: they are 33x12.50. Was under the truck until almost 4AM making some changes and noticed it on the sidewall. Made a mental note to come back and correct my statement.

I have been contemplating a swap from a TH350C to the 700R4 for quite a few months, and I was very apprehensive about tackling something like that as it was above my comfort level. Well, I bit the bullet yesterday and dropped the TH350C that went out in the spring and am installing the 700R4. I don't do any trailer pulling or haul anything very heavy, so all I was looking for was lower RPMs at cruising speeds.

First some background of what I know about the two, although the TH350 and the 700R4 share the same 27 spline output shaft, the one on the 700R4 is too long. This forces the use of an adapter to mate it up to my NP205 transfer case. Summit Racing had the part 7Q-35A for $99. Even with this kit, you still have to trim the output shaft about 3/16". This setup adds almost 4" to the length of the driveline, which means that I will need to shorten the drive shaft.

Note: If you are using an NP205, this also moves the position of your 4WD lever 4" rearward.

So, armed with that knowledge and the kit, I dropped the drive shaft and removed the transfer case. If you ever do this, do not try to bring down the tranny AND the transfer case as one unit....I have a huge U-Haul transmission jack and could never get it balanced right, so I supported the tranny with it still bolted to the motor and then dropped the transfer case first. From the top, I pulled the shifter knob, boot and frame, then unhooked the 4wd indicator light, then went underneath for the dirty work. Disconnected the speedo, and then with the transmission jack underneath it, removed the 4 bolts that secure the transfer case crossmember, the bolts from the stabilizer bar, and then removed the 4 bolts that secure the transfer case to the transmission, split them and dropped it all as one unit. Once dropped, I supported the crossmember on jack stands, and the output shaft housing on another so that I could get the transmission jack out, and then started on the tranny.

Removed the braces on the dust cover, then removed the torque converter bolts. Then with the transmission jack underneath, pulled all six of the bolts holding it to the motor, disconnected the kick down cable, the transmission cooler lines, disconnect the vacuum hose for little thingamabob on the back, disconnected the PRNDL lever, the electrical connector for the lockup, and then dropped the tranny.

I will post some pics later. Baby just started crying, because she needs dinner!

[77K10Silverado]

I thought they looked meaty. Thanks man.

[8lugnutz]

HA! I had a detailed reply typed up and my login timed out. SO I will try this again.....

I started with the prep on the 700R4 first, because if I screwed that up, there wouldn't be any reason to proceed. I pulled the adapter kit out and dry fitted the part with the square rubber seal. I am using a used 700R4 because I am cheap.


The afternoon sun was nice!

The output shaft on the TH350C is only about 3/4", and the output shaft on the 700R4 is much longer. Even though the adapter cuts down on the length of the exposed shaft that mounts in the NP205 adapter, it still has to be shortened about 3/16" in order to work properly. I measured the output shaft on the TH350C and then transferred that measurement over to the the 700R4 and marked it with some ol' Scotch Blue painters tape.



Reading some of the other treads, the guys said that the shaft could be trimmed with a hacksaw or a sawsall pretty easily.

Bull.

Several minutes with a brand new blade in the sawsall produced an extremely small, almost undetectable dent in the shaft. Do yourself a favor and grab a grinder. I had a brand new die grinder still in the package that I picked up somewhere for cheap, so I opened it up and started with that.



I'd like to say that this part of the project took a short time out of my day....... but that would be a lie. My poor air compressor couldn't keep up, so I had to grind a while, then do something else while the compressor built back up enough air to do it again. So I cleaned the shop, cleaned tools, organized my toolbox etc. in between.



Halfway through!



Almost done.....



FINALLY. Geez. Well, the sun WAS nice...



Dressed up the end with an angle grinder to match it up as close as I could to the shaft on the TH350C.

TH350C Output Shaft:



700R4 Output shaft:



Installed the 700R4 in the truck. Added the adapter to the end of the tranny then I reconnected the transfer case, bolting it back on with the supplied posts and 9/16" nuts. The posts that go on the top of the NP205 adapter that go into the 700R4 could stand to be a little bit longer than the ones supplied (like all-thread), but I was able to get enough of the post through the nut to where it was almost flush. One thing of note, these kits were really designed for swapping a 2wd 700R4 *to* a TH350. I thought about getting some longer grade 8 bolts from Tractor's Reply but that won't work...there's not enough clearance for the length of the bolt that would be required with the adapter. I guess I will just have to live with it for now. Here's what it looked like just before putting it in the truck. The length of the tail shaft matches perfectly with the stock TH350C



I tend to get lost when I am working on this truck, I lose all track of time and reality. Calming for the soul so to speak I guess. The radio station I listen to has no commercials and they don't recall them ever announcing the time or weather. I kind of got curious about what the time was after I heard the same song for the 10th or 11th time. It was around this time that I realized it was nearly 4AM in the morning.... three missed texts from the missus wondering what I was up to.. Oops.

Next on the list will be figuring out how to address the unintended consequence of the now out of place 4wd lever. Although the 700R4 that I have is from a 4x4, they were never mounted to an NP205. So I have an extra 4" in the drive line because of the adapter, and now the hole in the hump doesn't match up with the new location of the 4wd lever. If I leave it as-is, it will never move from 4Low! This presents a couple of problems, since the new location doesn't match up to the hole in the hump, the carpet won't match up there either! I see a couple of options.... get another hump and make a new hole and buy new carpet, or relocate the existing lever somehow. I might try fabricating an extension on a the lever to move it back to where it should be. We'll see what happens. I like to save the original parts in case I ever sell it and the new owner wants to put it back original.

Don't know what the word for that condition is, but I'm sure my wife has a word for it. She gave me quite a few words after I woke her up at 4AM when I got home, but I don't think any of those fit. :-)

[8lugnutz]

I got it all back together on Saturday, but just now getting to the update. I didn't take any pictures, there was no need as it was all pretty much straight forward wrench turning, with a sprinkle of welding and a pinch of hammering. This install started out as a permanent swap, but I may change my mind because of the issues with stretching this, chopping that, bending this, adapting that, etc... I guess it will depend on the end result and how it turns out. I am in the process of rebuilding my TH350C myself right now, and it may get put back in if I don't like the 700R4 setup.

A forum member here has been giving me some really sound advice and I wanted to publicly thank SPICER for the confidence that he as given me (I needed it!) and the gentle nudge I needed to push forward with this since it was a little out of my comfort zone! He is a wealth of knowledge about the history of drive trains in these trucks, and I am forever grateful. Now, on to the update.

At the end of the previous post I had attached the NP205 to the 700R4, and made mention of the issue with the 4WD lever now being too far rearward, and wouldn't go in to 2H or 4H, so for the time being I just removed the 4WD lever and manually put it in what I thought ought to be 2H. I found out that there were six different levers that came installed on the NP205 over the years, and you can heat any one of them up and bend it however you wish. Again thanks to SPICER for that info! I haven't gotten that far with it yet, I'm impatient and wanted to get it all buttoned up and test driven. Finished up installing the cross member, but had to drill a couple of holes through the frame to accommodate the new location of the bolts. All in all wasn't that big of a deal, I used my hydraulic jack and my hand drill as an inverse drill press and holes were done in no time. Got that all squared away (no pun intended), and moved on to the drive shaft.

I bought a 69" drive shaft from a local forum member (texassquarebodies) to chop up and shorten because I like to keep my original equipment just that - original equipment. I put the original drive shaft yoke in output of the transfer case and carefully measured to get the distance between that and the yoke on the rear differential. Came out to be 57", so I would need to chop 12" off the drive shaft. Carefully measured and marked the places where the drive shaft should be cut, then measured again. Then went back under the truck to verify I had the right measurment. No turning back now......CHOP. I then lined them up and welded it back together. I will need to get it balanced eventually, but for now it'll be fine as I won't be running it on the highway at 75MPH. After the rear drive shaft was shortened, I removed the output yoke from the old drive shaft. Since the yokes were now mismatched, I had to get a bastard u joint to mate the two together, but got them all pressed in. Another bastard u joint to match the diff yoke, and presto, drive line done.
A note on the front drive shaft, I have not put the it in at this point, I will either need to get another one and get it stretched to accommodate the rearward movement of the transfer case by nearly 4", or just leave it out for now.

After ensuring the transmission had the right amount of fluid, I raised the vehicle, put the back differential on jack stands. Just a note here, although everyone probably already knows this..... If you have the drive shaft in, you can use the brakes to stop the drive line while on jack stands. If you ever put your transmission in drive with no way to stop the drive line (if the drive shaft is out for example), you need to FIRST shut off the motor, and then put the transmission in park. Otherwise it would be like putting it in park while driving down the road, and that would NOT be good.

So, I got in the truck and cranked it up. I still hadn't put the boot back over the hole in the floor so that I could verify that I had the transfer case in 2H, so I dropped it in drive, and watched for the front output yoke to spin on the transfer case. Sure enough, I went to far and it was in 4H instead of 2H. Applied brakes, then park, and shut it down. Crawled underneath and disengaged the front axle by moving the selector one position and fixed that issue. Repeated process to make sure back drive was engaging, and front was not. Success! I let the engine and tranny warm up and after about 5 mins checked the fluid again. Perfectly between the hashes the way that it should be. Almost ready for a road test, except I am waiting on a TV cable from RockAuto, but man I was chompin at the bit to get it out of the garage....

Now, keep in mind at this point it was was nearly 2AM in the morning, and if I did get it out on the road, If something went wrong, I would be walking back to the shop to get the van and the car hauler, because there is no way on earth I am going to wake my wife up to come get me, there's no way I'm taking this thing out of the garage..... Patience I tell myself...... Clean up thes tools I say..... Put the tools up I say..... Go home and get some sleep I say..... Wait for the Tv cable I say...... There's always tomorrow I say.....

So I took a little test drive through the neighborhood.......dropped it in drive and moved it slowly out of the shop......so far so good. Went down the driveway, and it shifted smoothly out of first but was at a high RPM, and that didn't feel normal. Then I went out on the county road to go a litte faster.... I'm not fully trusting my welding job just yet....gas it just a little....

Holy COW! I have 3.08 gears and the power and torque that I have with this setup in first gear is unbelievable! Same issue as before with shifting, so I went on to the fire station to turn around. Uh oh. No reverse! No choice but to drive it through the ditch and take it back to the shop and park it. Dang it!!

Researched a little more on the interwebs, and no 2/4 and reverse is a common issue with these transmissions. I will have to troubleshoot that now to see if it is something simple or if I am in for a rebuild on this one too... SPICER gave me some pointers to check out, we'll see what happens next.

Dmp dmp dmmmmmmm....To be continued....

[8lugnutz]

Well, I have decided to rebuild the original TH350C and put it back in the truck. This will preserve the value of the truck when I have to sell it, which as it turns out, will be soon. I am a foster parent and the truck just doesn't have the room that I need for my kids, so I am rebuilding the transmission in another build thread. I will be switching to a Burb when I can find with 4x4 and a third row.

[77K10Silverado]

Cool and ahh man..

[8lugnutz]

Originally Posted by 77K10Silverado

Cool and ahh man..

A sad day indeed.