Larry's 1978 K10
- Thread starter Larry
- Start date
Clutch
<---Pass
LOL...oh I see how he rants on about Fords. There wouldn't be much Ford on that truck after I was done...about the body and that is about it.
I am not discriminatory, that ol' sayin' "If it gots tits or wheels it is gonna give ya trouble..." :ylsmoke:
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Larry
Bigassgas Explorer
Hehe, nah….no worries. I must say those old Ford crew cab shortys are pretty cool. A Cummins or Navistar 7.3L would be more at home in one of those though or even a MPFI 460 big block gas with a ZF 5 or 6 speed. Old trucks are what dreams are made of! You can’t really go wrong with any of the old iron rigs.
Actually we did a quick overnighter to the mountains last weekend and got about 6 hours behind the wheel with the Shelf-it overhead. I didn’t even notice it was there but did notice I didn’t need to use the sun visors much now. Almost tempted to take the sun visors off completely. Member Coloradobill has had these in his trucks for years and raves about them. I think I am a fan now too. Wish I would have gotten one years ago.
Clutch
<---Pass
460/5-6 speed would be nice. No diesels...I have an utter distain towards diesel...maybe because in my first half of my life I was a heavy equipment operator...the smell alone sends me reeling. Plus I think I am half deaf from sitting aboard John Deeres, Cases, and Bobcats...
I found a '76 crew for $800 blown motor and no rust...almost had it on the flatbed...but the owner couldn't find the title...and didn't want to deal with a bonded title...even if I did all the leg work. It is still sitting in the yard too...drive past every once and a while.
Larry
Bigassgas Explorer
I hear that regarding diesels. I love them as much as the next guy as far as the coolness factor and torque they offer as well as the fuel economy gains but I wouldn’t go too far out of my way to build a project with one. I work with new modern problematic diesel engines every day and learn to hate them more and more every day. If a Cummins or 6.2/6.5L fell in my lap I wouldn’t turn it down for my Polar Bear Suburban though otherwise it will get an 8.1L too as I have a few of those laying around.
That is too bad about the ’76 crew cab. Hopefully, you’ll find another. There actually is a red one of that generation rolling around here with a Cummins in it. Nice looking truck!
Clutch
<---Pass
A diesel makes a heck of a lot of sense power and fuel economy wise....that is until I hear the "diesel knock" and catch a whiff of the exhaust. Who knows...maybe I can get over that. Buddy of mine just did a 5.9 Cummins into his F250...the power sure is nice. He is getting 18-20ish mpg too. He picked up that motor for $800 and rebuilt it himself, and did all his own fab work. Said it was a huge pain in ********...but well worth it. Since he'll most likely be buried in that truck.
Yeah, my heart about broke with that crew, it was literally getting ready to be loaded on the flat bed. Oh another will come around...or heck maybe the guy will change his mind.
I used to have a '76 F250 regular cab, painted damn near identical to this crew at one time, then it we took it red. Would love to get one back into my stable.
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zoomad75
K5 Camper guy
The outside upgrades look good. Very creative use of the roof rack to give a good point to hang the shower from too! The shelf it looks like it should give some valuable storage in a tight space. If you don't need the visors now, I bet I won't be able to see traffic lights if I'm riding along. Have fun on this next desert trip coming up. You know who to call if you get in trouble!
Larry
Bigassgas Explorer
Thanks Zoo! You kinda looked like Rat Fink riding in my truck even before it got a Shelf-it. Hehe!
Willy,
Believe or not, it pulls around 10-12 MPG as long as you keep it under 70 MPH. It actually does very well on fuel out on the trail as it just lugs along at idle in high range most of the time like a diesel, especially when we are playing around the desert in UT/AZ. The 8.1L matched to a manual trans has a lot of low end grunt and doesn’t need to be worked hard. Interestingly enough I was talking to a guy at the OX12 with a new Power Wagon with a similar camper as mine that claims to only get 4 MPG on the trail. I can’t fathom that! Kinda ruins my dreams of having a Power Wagon.
The main info I can give you on an engine swap like this is to do a lot of research, use a NEW harness instead of trying to rework a donor harness and plant your money tree early because you will need every green leaf on it. The cost of the installation pieces will cost more than the actual engine will.
Willy,
Believe or not, it pulls around 10-12 MPG as long as you keep it under 70 MPH. It actually does very well on fuel out on the trail as it just lugs along at idle in high range most of the time like a diesel, especially when we are playing around the desert in UT/AZ. The 8.1L matched to a manual trans has a lot of low end grunt and doesn’t need to be worked hard. Interestingly enough I was talking to a guy at the OX12 with a new Power Wagon with a similar camper as mine that claims to only get 4 MPG on the trail. I can’t fathom that! Kinda ruins my dreams of having a Power Wagon.
The main info I can give you on an engine swap like this is to do a lot of research, use a NEW harness instead of trying to rework a donor harness and plant your money tree early because you will need every green leaf on it. The cost of the installation pieces will cost more than the actual engine will.
Thanks for sharing your truck Larry!!! It's a nice one!!! I like the clean look and a few of the details like your use of cargo nets, the drink holders, the shelf over the windshield, and the swing-out tire carrier. I plan on building something similar for my truck.
Thanks again for sharing
)
~Wes~
Thanks again for sharing
)~Wes~
Dgurley2000
Adventurer
Saw you guys in Mesa Verde and Telluride. Looked like you guys were having fun and enjoying your nice rig.
Larry
Bigassgas Explorer
Yeah, we just got home this evening from 7-day 1,555 trip around Southern Utah and Colorado. Was that you driving the well outfitted Land Cruiser 80?
Dgurley2000
Adventurer
Might have been me. I've seen a few others on the trip. I also liked the old Surburban and Ram Charger you were traveling with.
Larry
Bigassgas Explorer
Rear brake upgrade: 11" to 13"
Yeah I know, most people with these old GM trucks are busy jumping through their very own pie hole junking rear drum brakes in favor of rear disk brakes but I don't totally buy into the rear disk swaps especially when using the problematic El Dorado calipers combined with the small front brake rotors mounted to the rear axle. I hated working on El Dorado calipers when they were on El Dorados let alone to bolt those turds on my toy. No way! The late model GMT800 rear disk component swaps to these old trucks are worthwhile but the parts are too pricy.
Anyway, how this project came to be is due to the fact that I finally had to make a tough decision to scrap my dad's K20 wrecker . I plan to use the 4:10 ratio axles (D44 front & 14 bolt full-floater rear) from the wrecker in my Polar Bear Suburban but the wrecker had 13” rear brakes. My heavy K10 with little 11" brakes could benefit more from the larger 13” brakes than the Suburban so I renewed everything on the 13” brake system and swapped them over to the K10 last night. WOW! With the combination of the hydroboost that I swapped on a couple years ago along with these 13” brakes the big heavy truck stop on a dime now and gives back 8 cents change! The dang park brake finally works now too. Actually, it feels like it stops better than my stock Silverado HD with rear disks.
On with the pictures…
Off with the little 11”s
Check out the difference when the 11's are laid next to the 13's. I installed the new shoes, hardware and e-brake cable on the 13” backing plates last night so it make the job quick and easy today. That 13” drum is a heavy ********!
The big 13” drums stick out much further behind the wheel
Rear view of the 11's before tear down
Now I have to get to work on rebuilding these 11" brakes and finish getting the D44 front axle ready for the Polar Bear.
Yeah I know, most people with these old GM trucks are busy jumping through their very own pie hole junking rear drum brakes in favor of rear disk brakes but I don't totally buy into the rear disk swaps especially when using the problematic El Dorado calipers combined with the small front brake rotors mounted to the rear axle. I hated working on El Dorado calipers when they were on El Dorados let alone to bolt those turds on my toy. No way! The late model GMT800 rear disk component swaps to these old trucks are worthwhile but the parts are too pricy.
Anyway, how this project came to be is due to the fact that I finally had to make a tough decision to scrap my dad's K20 wrecker . I plan to use the 4:10 ratio axles (D44 front & 14 bolt full-floater rear) from the wrecker in my Polar Bear Suburban but the wrecker had 13” rear brakes. My heavy K10 with little 11" brakes could benefit more from the larger 13” brakes than the Suburban so I renewed everything on the 13” brake system and swapped them over to the K10 last night. WOW! With the combination of the hydroboost that I swapped on a couple years ago along with these 13” brakes the big heavy truck stop on a dime now and gives back 8 cents change! The dang park brake finally works now too. Actually, it feels like it stops better than my stock Silverado HD with rear disks.
On with the pictures…
Off with the little 11”s
Check out the difference when the 11's are laid next to the 13's. I installed the new shoes, hardware and e-brake cable on the 13” backing plates last night so it make the job quick and easy today. That 13” drum is a heavy ********!
The big 13” drums stick out much further behind the wheel
Rear view of the 11's before tear down
Now I have to get to work on rebuilding these 11" brakes and finish getting the D44 front axle ready for the Polar Bear.
