Larry's 1978 K10

[xripx]

Yeah, a few months back, I was hauling about 1500lbs of cinder blocks and the ride was MUCH nicer. That being said, I do have a 6.2 diesel with a turbo which is about as heavy as a big block. I'm also going to be swapping my very unfriendly SM465 for a mich more civilized NV4500.

I'll be taking your suggestions under heavy consideration, as well as the fact that I will not have a camper like you. I'm struggling to find a camper shell for our trucks. Soft top no problem. Nothing hard though. Oh, well, old car problems.

Thanks for your help.

 

[SilicaRich]

I'm very mad that I ventured from the Jeep threads to the Full-Size threads because now I want this K10. This thing is flipping awesome!

 

[Larry]

My butt comfort is more important that parts breakage....especially when I am giggling like a little girl going fast on washboard.
I remember you telling me the data thing a few times Larry, oh well I am still going to go fast on the washboard

I have found that my custom leaf springs, Fox reservoir shocks and front hydraulic bump stops and airing down make it way more fun to go quick in the desert, so I do and I accept the increase in likely failure. However that doesn't mean other folks should beat up their rigs....

Hehe, you’re going to rethink that when you break a leaf spring, roof rack and rear tire cracks and falls off in the middle of nowhere :sombrero:

And Larry you drive slow everywhere
And I am still happy to be on the trail with you Colorado characters

Slow everywhere, noooo…… only drive slow off-road because I believe in approaching things with finesse instead of throwing a vehicle at an obstacle or rough road with pure speed :sombrero:

Yeah, a few months back, I was hauling about 1500lbs of cinder blocks and the ride was MUCH nicer. That being said, I do have a 6.2 diesel with a turbo which is about as heavy as a big block. I'm also going to be swapping my very unfriendly SM465 for a mich more civilized NV4500.

I'll be taking your suggestions under heavy consideration, as well as the fact that I will not have a camper like you. I'm struggling to find a camper shell for our trucks. Soft top no problem. Nothing hard though. Oh, well, old car problems.

Thanks for your help.

Oh, yeah….a diesel should be plenty heavy enough to get a decent ride out of the front with some good springs. The rear will probably still be pretty choppy if the bed is empty.

I'm very mad that I ventured from the Jeep threads to the Full-Size threads because now I want this K10. This thing is flipping awesome!

Don’t feel bad because when I look at the Jeep threads I want a TJ or JK Ruby!

 

[Larry]

In other story time chronicles of the K10, I just finally got the body cleaned up after 3 months since we returned from Desert Trip 2016. It really took a beating on the Kelly Point trail

Just before we left on Desert Trip 2016. This picture was back in June

Poor paint took an absolute beating on the Kelly Point trail. The surface dust really exaggerated the scratches in this photo but it didn't look much better after it was washed. I will admit, I as a bit worried! My buddy from Michigan that actually painted this truck 18 years ago was with us on this trip. He's like, “Nah, man….that will buff right out”. I'm like…..okayyyy if you say so. He was right

This is how it looked after we got home from Desert Trip 2016. Sadly, it sat in the shop like this for about a month before it got a washed. The Polar Bear Suburban was first in the shop to get cleaned up as it gets driven much more to pull our travel trailer on family outings.

Then a lot of work with this stuff along with some 2000 grit sand paper in a few spots.

Cleaned up nice like nothing ever happened. It hasn't looked this good in probably 17 years. Oh, yeah...I actually need a new 1977/1978 grill as this one broke big time on the trip. You can't really tell but there are about a dozen black zipties holding it together :costumed-smiley-007

I also removed the flares to clean behind them and repaint. I used SEM Charcoal bumper paint for the flares and rhino lining. Works great and really easy to touch up when they get buggered up!

Surprising how nice the paint still looks after 18 years. The camper side window on the other side is scratched for life though. That is alright, earned battle scars are better than shopping basket wounds from Walmart anyday

The poor Polar Bear Burb didn't fare much better but it too turned out better than ever after the 3M treatment with the buffer. I'm really surprised how well the Burb cleaned up as it has just cheap Maaco single stage paint. I pulled the flares off it too for a reseal and repaint

Typical old square bodies with flexy springs, the tires like to get friendly with the rears of the fenders. This was an easy fix with a few pushes with a Porta Power and a few whacks with a rubber mallet. I left some of the natural "clearancing" there to save room for the next interference.

Unfortunately, the Polar Bear needed a full on brake job too after it got cleaned up. Apparently my buddy was a little aggressive with the brakes over Wolfcreek Pass as pads/shoes were burnt to a crisp and the rotors/drums were badly warped.

Everything is fixed and clean up now. Guess we need to plan another trip to muck them up again :sombrero:

Might get one more mountain fishing trip in with the K10 before it goes into hibernation for the winter....

 

[xripx]

That's awesome Larry. I hope to get my K10 in a place where I can come out to Colorado from here in Southern California one day.

 

[Wally'sJimmy]

Don't waste your time with the 5100's. I have them all around on my Jimmy, the front is ok but I know I need way more shock with the Deaver coils, their super spongy. The rear is a different story, I have the stock leafs with a 4" ORD shackle flip and 12" travel 5100's, Their ok until you hit a bump. Because their nitrogen charged their hard to compress and have very little rebound control. If I hit a big enough bump the rear end of the truck feels like it's going to fly in the air and anything not tied down in the back hits the roof, they don't have enough rebound control to control the leafs. My old truck I had Rancho adjustable shocks in the rear and had good luck with them, in the front I had Bilstein rebuild-able 7100's and after a couple of trips to the shock rebuilder for some valving changes I got them just right. This is most likely what I'll do again.

 

[SilicaRich]

I ran 5100s for a bit on my Jeep and loved them. That being said, a little TJ and K10 are pretty darn hard to compare especially when it comes to weight. I heard that 5100s tend be a little stiffer but work pretty good on heavier than stock vehicles, dare I say it's a HD shock. That's probably the reason I never had an issue with them since my TJ would be considered obese compared to stock. I think they would work fairly well with your setup.

 

[chilliwak]

Great to see your trucks out there getting well used Larry. Too bad about having to do the brakes on the polar bear but at least thats simple for someone with your skills. As to the question of wether Bilstein shocks work well I have to say that I have only had good experience with them. Here is my front shock set-up...



I wore out a set of Ranchos in 2 years and I only drive my truck in the summer...:Wow1:

 

[Wally'sJimmy]

Don't waste your time with the 5100's. I have them all around on my Jimmy, the front is ok but I know I need way more shock with the Deaver coils, their super spongy. The rear is a different story, I have the stock leafs with a 4" ORD shackle flip and 12" travel 5100's, Their ok until you hit a bump. Because their nitrogen charged their hard to compress and have very little rebound control. If I hit a big enough bump the rear end of the truck feels like it's going to fly in the air and anything not tied down in the back hits the roof, they don't have enough rebound control to control the leafs. My old truck I had Rancho adjustable shocks in the rear and had good luck with them, in the front I had Bilstein rebuild-able 7100's and after a couple of trips to the shock rebuilder for some valving changes I got them just right. This is most likely what I'll do again.

Turns out I'm old and confused I was under the truck yesterday and I happened to look at the rear shocks and their 5125's. I swear I bought 5100's for the rear but I guess not, sorry for the bad info.

 

[Larry]

Thanks for the input guys. As I looked a back at my spreadsheet (yes, I am a nerd that keeps everything on the trucks tracked on a spreadsheet…LOL) I actually had Bilstein 7100's listed on my wish list. I just hadn't figured out the part number needed yet pending the required length once the new axle is in and shock brackets are figured out.

I've actually needed shocks for quite a while but been putting it off as the rear axle needed a fresh solution for shock brackets anyway. Since I am going with a completely different axle anyway give me a lot more freedom for shock mounting at the axle since new mounts will need to be added. The driver's side got mushed pretty bad years ago (back in 2008, wow..hard to believe its been that long) on a trail here in CO when I got fangled up on a big rock :Wow1:

That was a rough trip back in August 2008… the rear slide into a big bottomless sink hole in the middle of the trail then later the rear axle got snagged on a big rock :snorkel:

Lesson learned…. Do not stash recovery gear places where you may not be able to reach them when stuck. In this case, the receiver hitch firewood carrier prevented the tail gate from opening where the recovery goods were stashed under the sleeping platform. All recovery gear now resides behind the seat since then! This was also the maiden voyage for the 8.1L

 

[chilliwak]

Now thats one crazy sink hole Larry. But I am sure you got out of there in due time. What a way to break in your newly installed 8.1! Even though the trip happened years ago I stil think its cool to see the pics. Thanks for posting. Cheers, Chilli...

 

[1stDeuce]

I find myself looking through this thread again... I just found a '78 K10 stepside that I might need to acquire... Had one in HS that got me through college, and then went on to serve other family and friends in MI as a plow truck. The one I found is pretty much the same truck, with a 350 instead of a 6 cyl. Even the color is right!! (Blue, of course!)

From pics I've been sent, it appears to have virtually zero rust or dents, but the grille is in need of repair, and it could use a paint job, and a new floor in the box. The condition of these old vehicles out here just amazes me... My '78 was 12 years old when I bought it for $400, and was a dented, rusted, busted piece of junk. I put a rust free '82 cab and front clip on in 1991 and painted it in 1993. When it make the final voyage to Moab, and then the scrap yard in 2003, it was again a rusted piece of junk. The driveline lives on, but the rest was worthless. I miss many things about Michigan, but rust isn't one of them!!

I already have a line on a '93 G20 van with a 5.7 in it... Thinking I may freshen the '93 TBI engine and swap it in. I'll just keep the 465/205 setup that's in it, since it won't really see a lot of highway use, or use at all for that matter. It'll just be my classic Chevy.

 

[Larry]

I find myself looking through this thread again... I just found a '78 K10 stepside that I might need to acquire... Had one in HS that got me through college, and then went on to serve other family and friends in MI as a plow truck. The one I found is pretty much the same truck, with a 350 instead of a 6 cyl. Even the color is right!! (Blue, of course!)

From pics I've been sent, it appears to have virtually zero rust or dents, but the grille is in need of repair, and it could use a paint job, and a new floor in the box. The condition of these old vehicles out here just amazes to me... My '78 was 12 years old when I bought it for $400, and was a dented, rusted, busted piece of junk. I put a rust free '82 cab and front clip on in 1991 and painted it in 1993. When it make the final voyage to Moab, and then the scrap yard in 2003, it was again a rusted piece of junk. The driveline lives on, but the rest was worthless. I miss many things about Michigan, but rust isn't one of them!!

I already have a line on a '93 G20 van with a 5.7 in it... Thinking I may freshen the '93 TBI engine and swap it in. I'll just keep the 465/205 setup that's in it, since it won't really see a lot of highway use, or use at all for that matter. It'll just be my classic Chevy.

Cool! That sounds like a fun truck to have. I’ve always been a big fan of the old stepsides. Yeah, nothing lasts in Michigan. Even plastic will rust there. I lived in the Detroit burbs for 6 years and what a great place to leave.

A TBI 350 would be a quick and easy swaperoo that would run nice. G-vans are cheap to buy and mke great powertrain donors. I’ve got a 292 I6, SM465/205, and a front D44 sitting in the garage waiting for something to go into so I’ve been trolling CL for a cheap beater K5 or K-truck to put it all in for a local mountain beater. Also have a 2011 L96 6.0L here too but I’d rather to do a 292 I6 (with TBI or FiTech) as 292’s have gobs of low end grunt and it would be something entirely different than what the swappers are doing today. The 292/465 would be cheaper than another Vortec/NV4500 swap too. Those late model engine swaps get expensive even when the engine is already on hand. TBI may not provide the power but it does provide drivablility and dependability

Let us know if you get that stepper!

 

[1stDeuce]

I had a 292/465/205 in my truck. It started as a 250, but I got a free 292 out of a bread truck and rebuilt it right after I got out of college. Converted it to TBI later. We used the '93-94 system, and the timing was never quite right, but it still ran better than when it had the Mono-Jet (AKA Mono-flush) I still have the distributor and harness and some other junk... I used a Brazilian intake manifold, but I think I sold it. I'll have a look in my box of goodies and see what I kept.

I didn't tell you this, but there's an AWESOME gray blazer on CL in Montrose right now. $3k, but ZERO rust from what I see in the pictures. Kinda tempting to snatch it up, fix it up some, and just sit on it while the value climbs... It's no 68-72, but still has more class than anything built since...

No, you leave that one alone... Find some junky one to use as a mountain beater...

 

[chilliwak]

Larry I would really like to see you build a mountain beater as you call it out of that old drive train. Also, 1st Duece, can we see some pics of the old Chevy that you might be aquiring? That would be cool. Cheers, Chilli..