Great White: A Chevy K10 Build

[Ouiwee]

I used a couple of trailer axles for the swing outs on either side.



A 1/4" plate on top and bottom anchor the spindle to the tube. The corner is triangulated, so there isn't much give.

Left swing out:



I have a TIG welder, which is good when it comes to welding sheet metal. The tab swings around and hits a stop on the back so that the carrier doesn't hit the truck bed.

Chromoly panel on the underside.

 

[Ouiwee]

I used a dimple die to provide some grip on the step plate.





I boxed in the sides so as to block the view through the bumper. I figure there is some room under there for LED pods.

 

[Ouiwee]

I'm sending it all off for paint today. I still have to build a box for the left swing out and press in a couple wheel studs to secure the wheel on the back.

 

[bknudtsen]

Nice. How are you securing the swing outs in the closed position?

 

[Ouiwee]

Each has a plate that joins in the center. Half a hole is on the left and half is on the right. They sit on an inch wide threaded piece of round stock. I'll turn a stainless fastener on the lathe with a threaded bolt bottom and integrated washer/stop and run a t-handle through the top.

There is a stop on each center plate so that the swing out doesn't hit the tailgate. I have about 2 inches of clearance from the tailgate, which gives me room to include a drop down table/surface on the back of the swing out.

 

[MTCK]

Very nice fab work. Truck looks great.

 

[Ouiwee]

Well, I decided to change the old school 454 SBC to a modern power plant. I figured the best thing for a truck is a flat torque curve and the best way to do that is forced induction. So, I got one of these.

 

[Ouiwee]

It is a GM LT4 but still a small block Chevy. It has direct injection and a supercharger good for 650 lb/ft of torque and the same horsepower.







They put these things in Z06 Corvettes. I wish it didn't come with the Corvette badge on top.





I got the Chevy Performance controller as well. It is divorced from the rest of the car electronics and is a simple affair to wire in an older vehicle.

 

[Ouiwee]

The devil is in the details. Chevy kept the same bolt pattern on the engine, except the top bolt hole. The crank flange is now 8 bolts and 0.400" closer to the engine. The pilot bushing/bearing has to stick out from the crank farther and the flywheel must be moved away from the engine with a spacer keeping the teeth in the correct location.

A nice feature is the fuel pump controller that comes with the controller. It uses pulse width modulation to control fuel pressure--no regulator required. I'll be sticking with the fuel surge tank, but will have to sort out how to get the fuel from the tanks. I was using the old school diaphragm pump.

I also have to figure out how to include the Saginaw power steering pump in the accessory drive (Corvettes have electric steering).

 

[jbeer]

LT4 K10 - YES! Love this build, great work so far.

 

[bknudtsen]

So much win!

 

[Ouiwee]

There are parts that do not exist for connecting an 8-bolt crank flange to an NV 4500 transmission. And welding cast iron sucks.

The crank flange is 0.400" forward, toward the engine in the Gen 5 engines. So, to keep the starter teeth where they need to be, I machined a spacer to bridge the 0.4" distance. The hole pattern is different (8 holes instead of 6) and is not a standard bolt hole pattern with holes 45 degrees apart...two holes are spaced differently.

I welded the spacer onto the flywheel so that it could be machined flat and the holes in the flywheel could be filled in.










I then machined the front to flatten the holes and bored new bolt holes. I had the flywheel resurfaced and balanced.





I only hope the welding didn't make the center of the flywheel too brittle...a single hard launch will tell the tail.

 

[Ouiwee]

The engine is installed and I am working out the remaining issues. The exhaust manifolds dump just about right into the motor mounts, so I have some headers ordered. The Z06 front accessory kit doesn't remotely clear the AC compressor on the bottom left. I had to move the entire driveline forward an inch to make room at the rear of the engine. The high pressure fuel pump requires a bit more room up top and I saw no need to cut the firewall.



I kept my former fuel system with the exception of adding an electrical pump to replace the mechanical lift pump. I replaced the Walbro 255 for a Walbro 450 with the low pressure relief (85 psi, I believe). I had to machine a fitting for the LT4's fuel pressure sensor. The pump controller is mounted on the firewall below the wiper motor.

I had to make some fittings for the oil cooler and steam port. I welded the larger port on the bottom of the radiator, similar to what GM does with the Corvette.



The clutch seems to work just fine.



Moving the driveline was simple, just an additional bolt hole for the transmission cross member and the sliding motor mounts make it simple. I installed some urethane mounts while I had them out.

 

[Ouiwee]

I got the bumpers back from paint and they look great. I just need to build a couple racks for the left swing out.

 

[Ouiwee]