Great White: A Chevy K10 Build

[Ouiwee]

I forgot to follow up on the electrical system. I have a 140 amp alternator and battery mounted in the rear of the truck. A 1 gauge audio amplifier cable runs from the back up to a fuse panel that I milled out of Delrin.
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I have a total of 24 separate fused circuits. I have the starter and front winch fused (winch uses 3 fuses of 200 amps each). The entire system is isolated using a Cartek GT Battery Isolator (solid state battery cut off unit). I have a kill switch inside the cab that, when activated, kills power to the ECU (thus fuel pump) and disconnects the battery ground. I intend to put an external switch on the truck so that it can be killed by someone externally.
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The switch panel I built to control lights, onboard air, and all the other stuff fits in the center top of the cab. The stainless loops are 3/16 brake line that I bent around a pipe and tapped the ends. I might mount a radio to the bottom of the switch panel; however, if I do not then it is a good place for map lights.
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The dial on the left is a bass Epicenter control from the AudioControl equalizer/signal processor. It was fun threading the wires across the cab roof and down through the pillar. I use mil spec flanged receptacles so that all wire harnesses can be disconnected if the cab is removed.
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I use rubber boots on the external wiring but not on the interior.

 

[Ouiwee]

By the way, the switch panel is made from aluminum and welded (internally).
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On board air is provided by the standard Warn pump. I'm not usually in too much of a hurry so didn't think a more complex set up is required.
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I got the top links in the rear installed.
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I might have already mentioned it, but the links are solid 7075 aluminum. I'd like to get some aluminum bottom links for the front to replace the 1/4 DOM steel that is currently there for increased strength and less weight.

 

[8520]

Loving your build. Lots of attention to detail.

 

[Ouiwee]

This is a top notch build going on. Kudos to you.

600hp......that would be a good time.

Maybe I have a skewed perspective. I have a car that goes like this:

 

[Ouiwee]

I finally had enough of the pancake compressor that came on the truck as original equipment. They generally suck, unless one is lucky enough to get the one in a hundred that works for more than a few months. The power steering pump reservoir and large feed line to the pump made for very little clearance with the compressor. So, I converted over to a Sanden AC compressor. The mounting hardware I bought made use of the second manifold bolt, which was problematic because of the layout of the headers. I would have been delightfully surprised if it would have worked without modification. So, I modified the bracket and milled a plate out of half inch 6061 aluminum to tie in the lower mount and at the same time provide an additional mounting point for the power steering pump.
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[Ouiwee]

Some time back, I bought a hydraulic hose crimper so the hoses were simple enough to make.
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I need to figure out how to wire the compressor. It has a single terminal whereas the R4 has two.

 

[Ouiwee]

I had an issue with the AC high pressure side spiking. It turns out that the condenser was building excessive heat and driving up the pressure.

Lesson learned: if the AC is on, the primary cooling fan MUST be on. These trucks came equipped with a clutch fan, so no risk of excessive heat in the condenser.

The new compressor works great and seems to run much smoother than the R4. With 7.4 liters of displacement, there is good torque at idle so no need to have the ECU step the throttle.

 

[Ouiwee]

I decided to mount the Garmin GPS unit on the same stalk that holds the engine management control/digital dash screen.
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I have no idea why pictures get rotated.

 

[ajmaudio]

I need a mill... sheesh.. What machine are you using?

 

[buellconvert]

It made sense to make them bolt-on, rather than burn them into the frame. I might have to take a tank out at some point.

View attachment 406430
View attachment 406437

This is not a good picture, but it shows how the front support is tied to the frame as well as the mount for the front suspension links. I used .25 wall steel for front and back supports and .125 wall 2x3 for the inside rails. You can see the inside rail as well.

View attachment 406443


Lots of careful, tedious welding to get this done right.

View attachment 406442

I know what you mean about tedious work welding that expanded metal like that, I use it a lot at work to make guards for production equipment and it's definitely a time suck for sure and by the way I absolutely love what you have done to your beautiful truck

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[MTCK]

Beautiful truck and great custom work. I'm glad the EFI is working well for you. I had a first generation Holley commander 950 and it was not easy to tune or adjust. I saw the turbo and wrap in the one pic and thought holy crap he needs more power haha.

 

[Ouiwee]

I need a mill... sheesh.. What machine are you using?

There used to be a Grizzly warehouse and store not far from me in PA. I got a floor model G0755 for a song and put a 3 axis digital read out on it. It is a small machine but does a nice job on softer materials. I have a G0709 14" gunsmith lathe that I picked up from the same warehouse store. I attend auctions at machine shops when I can to pick up tooling (the real cost).

 

[Ouiwee]

Thanks for the compliments on the truck. I saved for this build for 15 years and have been fortunate this year and last to have time to work on it.
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Next is the body and paint work, which I hope to get done this fall/winter. I also am thinking through what to do with the interior and will likely get a fair amount of custom work done. I'll post as I do.
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Some ideas so far:
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[mccustomize]

Absolutely love the build!

 

[FBJR]

Very nice. Sure miss my old 77. I had recarro's in it and used simple T's to fuel both tanks.