Restomod 72 K10 "Good Memories"

[Richard]

Received the new oil pan. Good price and great service from Summit again! Free shipping and got it in less than two days. Supposed to receive 7 boxes full of front suspension components tomorrow, will see as UPS has been somewhat unreliable lately.
As you can see motor is set in place! Moved crossmember forward for first fit. Have plenty of room to slide it back 1". Headers fit well. Very minor clearancing on frame rails was needed. Passenger side header would need reworking if I was using the leafs as it barely interferes with the shackle.
Had to throw the engine cover on to see what it looks like in truck. Passenger pic shows clearance to firewall. I was thinking I would need to modify firewall due to others saying my headers hit.
For those that are interested. Last pic shows PacFab crossmember clearance to diff at stock ride height with stock springs. Think it sits about 1/2" higher due to the aluminum block though. Guessing stock springs have sagged bit. For me this issue has no bearing at all. Easy to see why they recommend a 2" lift. Lowering bump stops would be necessary as well.
Test fit the new master and adjustable proportioning valve as well. Blew something out in my knee today and it is as big as my thigh. May be a few days before I get the trans mount done start the trans mods.

[Richard]

A good part of the front suspension components arrived today. Found out the pan hard bar tubing is on back order and I may have to source from someone else, which I already found in stock (if they are telling the truth). Also still waiting on my coil-over shocks with springs to be shipped back to me. Need to call about the front axle tomorrow as well. Supplier has not been in touch as they had said. I feel for businesses that have been burdened from this crazy stuff going on. They should at least keep in contact though.

[Richard]

Looks like I am out for at least one or two more weeks. Knee will heal, at least I do not need surgery. Swelling has gone down. A bit sore but tolerable. Keeping of of it and doing nothing is incredibly hard for me.
More fab parts on the way from RuffStuff. The Panhard bar tube from ORD shipped as well as front sway bar and steering box brace. Expecting this week. Still waiting to hear back on when my front shocks will get here. They are dependent on King shocks to get them the parts needed.
Front axle is in queue for production. They are waiting for pinion bearings. A bit backed up. Hopefully less than 60 days. Have two side projects in the wait as well.

[underliner6]

That LSA looks right at home!

[57taskforce]

Looking awesome Richard! Hope your knee gets better soon!

[Richard]

Received the front shocks and springs today. Also have the track bar tubing and sway bar pieces (sorry no pics, let me know if you want to see) Will move forward when I am able to do so. The front axle which is the last big expense and desperately needed is still a ways out, Like that all the parts are blue!

[Richard]

Originally Posted by underliner6

That LSA looks right at home!

Originally Posted by 57taskforce

Looking awesome Richard! Hope your knee gets better soon!

Thanks for checking things out!

[72 tigger]

Making good progress! How’s the knee?

[Richard]

Originally Posted by 72 tigger

Making good progress! How’s the knee?

Thanks for asking. Getting better, just slower than I want. This has happened to me two other times in the last 10 years. Think crawling around on my knees in attics for 30 years may have something to do with it. I have been mobile for a while now but have been instructed to take it easy and mostly keep off of it.
Swelling is way down. Lots of bruising from knee down into my foot. A lot of fluid is built up below my knee cap which prevents me from kneeling and fully bending my knee. If fluid is not showing to be re-absorbed by next week will need to see doctor to drain.
Crawling around under the truck and yanking an engine hoist around is not doable right now. Been trying to keep busy by cleaning the A/C box and doing some other small stuff that can be done from a chair. With parts showing up now it can be a bit frustrating not being able to work on my truck.
If this was going to happen it is probably a good time as I can not do much with the front suspension until the axle is here anyway.

[Richard]

A little update. Not to much exiting to see. Finally got the right trans mount delivered that fits the AA adapter. Received the wrong 29 spline output shaft for the 6l90 for the third time. I removed the fixed flange on the 6l90 trans out of the ZL1. Surprised output shaft is 32 spline. As far as knew all 2wd 6l90 were 36 spline. Come to find out the ZL1 output is the same as the 6l80. No need to tear into my trans now. I can just get a 32 spline input for the np205 and trim the trans output to fit!

Rear end on my 94 C1500 started whining last week. By the time I got home it was making a clicking sound. Took cover off and found a pinion tooth laying in the bottom of pumpkin. Lucky the carrier was not damaged. New R&P arrived yesterday. Cross shaft bolt was broken that made disassembly not fun. Will get it back on the road tomorrow. Hoping the drop down to 3.73's from the 3.42's will get my mpg back to where it used to be before installing the 32" tires.

[Richard]

94 is back on the road! My first gear change ever. Test drive showed no strange noises or issues. Guess time will tell if I did it right. Good practice for the 11.5 I will re-gear to 5.13 in the 72. My DD C1500 is a bit more responsive now with the 3.73. Speedo is 5 mph to fast at 65, will recalibrate in the AM. Thinking the gear drop will help the OD hunting issue I have had since larger tires were installed. The 3.73's actually just put it back to the same gearing as purchased new on stock tires.

A/C service call tomorrow for a friends sister. Will get back on the 72 next week. Advance adapters shipped the long female 32 spline input for the 205 quickly and it arrived today. My new Deaver rear leaf packs should be ready to pick up next week and front axle is nearing production. Parts have arrived for them and they are getting caught up. Will only take a day once they get to it.

[Richard]

Crawling under the truck again. Got the measurements for the trans mount adapter and made it today. Needed a 2 1/4" riser for the trans/tcase mount. No 2 1/4" square tube available local. Able to get some 2" angle. I cut to length, stacked and welded it. Was able to make a 2"x 2 1/4" tube. Angled the ends and drilled the mounting holes. Should work well. A pic can be seen.

Installing some safari windows in a 60's V dub van tomorrow and maybe Monday depending on how well it goes. Will remove engine and trans next week and get firewall repaired and painted by end of week is the plan. Hopefully install engine and trans for the last time by the following week .

Was 10 weeks for new rear springs yesterday (what I was told). Called and said maybe another week or two. Such is things these days.

[Richard]

Been trying to catch up on the side jobs. Was able to get the engine and trans out today, cut the trans output shaft and modified the new t-case input shaft. Ready to go back in. Included a couple of pics. Second one shows the AA adapter parts. Will weld and prep the firewall for paint tomorrow, hopefully get to more frame and undercab cleanup. Family time next week so not much truck work.

I did verify my trans is a 6l90. Have done a lot of searching to find a replacement 32 spline output shaft. Seems no mention anywhere except on the forum post I found.

[Richard]

Little update- not much to see. Been scraping, wire wheeling and cleaning the underside of the truck inbetween the work. Has been 105-110 quite a bit as well and I cannot seem to tolerate working in those temps like I used to. Deaver called Friday and I made the trip down to pick up the new springs today. Nice to meet the owners and kind of cool to finally visit the location. Believe they have been in that location since the 30's and have been in business for over 100 years. Took a pic of new vs stock. It is similar to the one I took of springs that are on the truck now which is a couple of pages back (post 116).

[Richard]

My front axle finally shipped! Will post pics when it gets here. Due next week. No excuses to get off my butt and push forward when the axle gets here. Was 105 again today, so maybe some excuse. There have been some cooler days and I need to keep taking advantage of them.
I found the part number for the does not exist 32 spline output shaft in a 6L90 transmission, GM #242564190. I ordered two from Summit. Best price, free shipping but on back order. The parts were finally shipped and received. inspecting the spline section it looks identical to my output shaft and description says it is for my transmission so I believe it to be correct. Going to have the 2wd oring seal section machined off and fully splined so I do not have to cut down the np205 long 32 spline input. Only cut a small amount off my new 205 input but more splines are better right? Will use what I modified for now and keep the other output shafts if/when transmission needs rebuild.

[Richard]

My custom made D60 high pinion front axle arrived today! Was a little worried as it was shipped FedEx and sat in San Bernadino since last Thursday. All is good. Looks like paying extra for liftgate service with an appointment paid off. Attached are pics as promised. Axle is configured for crossover steering but not high steer, I am leaving the tie rod in the stock position. IMO it is stronger and I do not need the clearance as I will never go rock crawling in this truck. Need to get hubs off and machined down to accept the Ram rotors on the front side of hubs. Also need new studs for wheels as the wrong ones were installed. Underside of cab is cleaned and coated, frame under cab has the rattle can finish I am using. Goal is to get truck ready for motor/transmission installation next week.

[57taskforce]

Damn Richard, that’s a beautiful piece of hardware!

[Richard]

Originally Posted by 57taskforce

Damn Richard, that’s a beautiful piece of hardware!

Cost a bit but way less than a Currie or Dynatrac axle. Took longer than expected as things seem to go now but pleased with the end result.
Picked up the calipers and rotors today. What is with a core charge on new parts? Used to be only on refurbished. Is this only in Ca? I have no parts to supply for core so I am out more money. Checking the fit of rotors it appears the hubs do not have to be turned down for them to slide on! That is a plus.
Picking up some other parts tomorrow and will take my digital caliper and one of the studs from the hub to check wheel studs. It appears the parts store may have some in stock that are correct thread size. Working on truck again tomorrow and hope to have some more updates next week for all to see.

[mcmlxix]

When I put my D60 together I upgraded the wheel studs to 5/8" … then picked up a late model rear with metric 14m-1.5 wheel studs … now with my oversized front I need to get new hubs if I want to match the M14 on the font …

What brackets do you have for the RAM brake upgrade for the D60?

[Richard]

Originally Posted by mcmlxix

When I put my D60 together I upgraded the wheel studs to 1/2" … then picked up a late model rear with metric 14m-1.5 wheel studs … now with my oversized front I need to get new hubs if I want to match the M14 on the font …

What brackets do you have for the RAM brake upgrade for the D60?

Have Torq Motorsports brackets https://torqmotorsports.com/product/...rake-brackets/ Looks like they have gone up in price since my purchase.

Did not feel like messing with the rear end studs myself which are 14x1.5 I also already have a full set of stainless 14x1.5 lug nuts. Reason for switching out my front studs. Why cant you change the studs in your hubs? If you know the knurl diameter you can probably find studs that fit.
Pictured studs- one on left is 1/2"x20 and came in hub, three on right are 14mm x 1.5. Will use the one with the nut on it. Has a longer shank that extends all the way trough hub and will center rotor better. May have to shorten a bit. Will see when I get to that point.

[mcmlxix]

Originally Posted by Richard

Have Torq Motorsports brackets https://torqmotorsports.com/product/...rake-brackets/ Looks like they have gone up in price since my purchase.

Did not feel like messing with the rear end studs myself which are 14x1.5 I also already have a full set of stainless 14x1.5 lug nuts. Reason for switching out my front studs. Why cant you change the studs in your hubs? If you know the knurl diameter you can probably find studs that fit.
Pictured studs- one on left is 1/2"x20 and came in hub, three on right are 14mm x 1.5. Will use the one with the nut on it. Has a longer shank that extends all the way trough hub and will center rotor better. May have to shorten a bit. Will see when I get to that point.

About a year after I started my Dodge RAM big brake project those brackets came out...

When I upgraded to the larger 5/8 wheel studs, I enlarged the holes for the knurl to press in... at the time I couldn't find an OEM size 14M stud to fit …
My only option now is aftermarket studs from ARP maybe …

On the stud you're going to use, do you know the knurl diameter?

[Richard]

Originally Posted by mcmlxix

About a year after I started my Dodge RAM big brake project those brackets came out...

When I upgraded to the larger 5/8 wheel studs, I enlarged the holes for the knurl to press in... at the time I couldn't find an OEM size 14M stud to fit …
My only option now is aftermarket studs from ARP maybe …

On the stud you're going to use, do you know the knurl diameter?

Here it is on Summit https://www.summitracing.com/parts/rnb-610-333-1
also sold there in packs of 10 for less than $40
Measurements are pretty accurate compared to my digital calipers

[Richard]

Originally Posted by mcmlxix

About a year after I started my Dodge RAM big brake project those brackets came out...

When I upgraded to the larger 5/8 wheel studs, I enlarged the holes for the knurl to press in... at the time I couldn't find an OEM size 14M stud to fit …
My only option now is aftermarket studs from ARP maybe …

On the stud you're going to use, do you know the knurl diameter?

You said 1/2" first and now 5/8". Is stud 1/2" and hole 5/8"? The Knurl on studs I am using is .625 which is 5/8. Suggest you pick up or order one to check if there is enough interference to hold it in place. Orieily's had the studs in stock. Will order the rest online. There are other studs available with the knurl slightly larger. Just need to look.

[mcmlxix]

I had to go back and check... it in fact was 5/8 with a .657 knurl... Dorman 610-418

I haven't been able to find a 14M stud with a large enough knurl...

I may order some forged hubs down the road and match studs then...

[Richard]

Finally painted firewall last Thursday. Not that it matters a lot, the 2k rattle can I had mixed up ended up matching real well. Installed motor and trans on Friday, had to work Monday. Finished Trans crossmember today. May end up doing a custom one. When t-case is installed will check front driveshaft clearance and see what I have. If it can be raised I will make a custom one. Plan is to get front suspension and riveted brackets out by end of week. Will work on installing column, new steering box, motor accessory drive and a/c box in place if I have time. Need all in place to determine shock hoop clearance. Moved Tilden engine crossmember as far back as it would go. Still have plenty of clearance to firewall on passenger side which was a concern.