1983 Chevrolet K10 (Canadian)

[Sponge]

Hello all,

I have decided to start a build thread to try and keep better documentation of my truck, relearn some computer skills and share the journey. The build will not be done at a high pace, due to not having a workshop/garage, so updates may be far and few between! What I started with was an 1983 Chevrolet K10. The truck was actually rougher than I thought and I knew it was bad to begin with but I was in a pinch to do some landscaping and haul kayaks for the summer.

May 8th 2014



It needed rear brakes, u-joints, wheel bearings, interior work and leaked plenty of oil but seemed to run good enough and the body was respectable for Canada. In this configuration I was running:

350CI/Turbo 350
NP 208
10 Bolt diffs with 3.08s (rear Posi)
4 inch lift




After sorting out the mechanicals that affected drivability I believe on of the first upgrades was an early 1990's split bench from Pic N Pull!

 

[Sponge]

The dash was replaced with an aftermarket pad from Summit Racing ($200ish) 3.5" speakers were installed in the corners and a $100 Cd player filled the gapping hole in the dash.

 

[Sponge]

That begins to bring us up to speed. For the final post of the evening I'm going to list a few parts that have been accumulated so the people that are interested can kind of see where I wanna take the project. The truck will never be some great expedition vehicle but I want a truck capable of forestry/oilfield roads and a semi daily driver.
Parts:

1) A set of diffs with 4.10 gears. The front is a Dana 44 or 10 bolt(can't remember). The back is a 14 bolt S.F. that should be tossed in the garbage. There is currently a F.F. on kijiji for $300
2)ORD rear shackle mounts and shackles. The 4" lift blocks cause a very rough ride, hoping this helps this
3)Transmission seal kit
4)Factory Tach, there is a cheap chrome take screwed to A pillar currently.
5) Sway bar bushings to compliment the ORD quick disconnect that was installed summer of 2016
6) Rancho Front shocks

 

[RedF]

Looks to be in pretty decent shape, considering it's over 30 years old. What part of Canada are you from?

 

[Sponge]

Looks to be in pretty decent shape, considering it's over 30 years old. What part of Canada are you from?

Red Deer. Second most dangerous city in Canada!lol

 

[Sponge]

Sway Bar bushing day.
Energy Suspension 3.5118R (1 1/4" stabilizer bar)
ORD quick disconnects and ORD steering box brace installed previously.

 

[Sponge]

Some powder coating that I did in the winter. Valve covers and exhaust manifold are currently on the truck.

 

[RedF]

Red Deer. Second most dangerous city in Canada!lol

Hey, we're practically neighbors! I'm in Lacombe.

 

[Sponge]

Cut one of the worn out Wild Country tires and had them replaced with 315/75/R16 Firestone Destination M/Ts in early summer.
You can haul two in a Honda Civic. One in the trunk on in the back seat. Ball joints, tie rods, and alignment done at this time also.

 

[Sponge]

Since owning the truck the following has been replaced:

-Radiator
-Rad hoses
-Heater hoses
-Fuel line with Edelbrock fuel filter. (Truck never had a filter prior to this :Wow1
-Fuel Pump
-Passenger fuel tank and straps
-Fuel selector valve
-Dual Battery with Voltage isolator
-PS hoses
-Valve covers with PCV filter. Previous where cheap edelbrock chromies with push in filters on both.(leaked oil every where)
-MSD cut to length plug wires
-Driver's exhaust manifold
-Oil Sending unit and fittings
-Vaccuum lines
-Removed dual shock mounts

 

[Sponge]

Found a soft spot:

 

[chilliwak]

Really glad to see another Canadian :wings:here on the site and also some one with such great taste in trucks. The rig you have is not all that much different from mine. I guess yours is about 4 years newer. If you need any info about upgrades let me know. I have some pretty good contacts for getting your best bang for your buck. check out my build thread in my signiature if you want. Once again welcome to the site and lets see more pics of your fine rig. Cheers, Chilli..

 

[Sponge]

Really glad to see another Canadian :wings:here on the site and also some one with such great taste in trucks. The rig you have is not all that much different from mine. I guess yours is about 4 years newer. If you need any info about upgrades let me know. I have some pretty good contacts for getting your best bang for your buck. check out my build thread in my signiature if you want. Once again welcome to the site and lets see more pics of your fine rig. Cheers, Chilli..

Thanks, I will have to read over you thread one evening.

 

[Sponge]

Its snowing today so I started to prep the ORD shackles.
Powder coated: Eastwood stainless steel gray
Greasable bolts torqued to 50 ft-lbs

 

[chilliwak]

Those are some beefy:Wow1: looking shackels you got there Sponge! I am looking forward to pics of the install...:drool: