Re: 81 Chevy K10 ShortBed
 

Looks like a blast! Glad to see you out putting it through its paces.

Re: 81 Chevy K10 ShortBed
 

I think you had too much fun.

Re: 81 Chevy K10 ShortBed
 

Shame about all the missing pictures in the first several pages, but the done pictures look great!

Re: 81 Chevy K10 ShortBed
 

So at this point in this trucks life the only things that haven't been rebuilt are the transmission and transfer case. Well after my last wheeling adventure, the transmission wasn't to happy with shifting and the torque converter is constantly unlocking and locking which makes the truck jerk violently. So I pulled the pan off and sure enough lots of metal shavings and burnt smelling fluid. I put new fluid in and it drives better but it is very lazy shifting and sometimes will slip. So on the 9th of April I'm dropping it off at a local transmission shop to get rebuilt. I also plan on buying a boat soon and don't want a questionable transmission far from home.

To top off a fresh rebuild, I ordered a deep transmission pan from B&M. Holds an extra 3 quarts of fluid, should be handy for when I'm towing in the future.

I painted the B&M logo black for some contrast, this is a VERY quality item the mill job is awesome.
https://i.imgur.com/cyXq6zV.jpg

Re: 81 Chevy K10 ShortBed
 

Got the truck back from the transmission shop and it shifts great and the converter locks when it should and I actually get better mpg now as a result. I have officially put 20,000 miles on the truck since the major overhaul I did 3 years ago. Everything is holding up great and just thought I would post my thoughts and opinions on my experience rebuilding this truck.

First off, try to do all the work you can possible. I say this because it seems like in this vintage (73-87) shops at least in my area don't seem to appreciate them and don't properly care for them when you take them in to get something done or fixed. For example, when I brought my truck to the transmission shop, the owner scratched my door and rocker panel. Also early on in my build I was stumped on my ignition switch and had a shop near me fix it and when they fixed it they did a poor job on finish work etc.

Secondly, try not to make everything perfect. This is especially difficult for me because it drives my ocd crazy lol. These trucks were not perfect from the factory, so don't sweat the small details if everything didn't come out perfect. A good example of this is go to a car show and if you look at the cars/trucks closely, most of them have imperfections here and there which in turn make me feel better about the overall quality of my truck.

Thirdly, Drive it! I built my truck to be driven, not be a trailer queen or garage queen. This kinda goes in part with the second thing I mentioned, but honestly if you're going to spend the time and money to fix up one of these trucks drive it, don't be afraid! At the end of the day if driving a square means bringing back memories from a younger you or if you are new to this vintage be happy with what you have accomplished and at least you're not driving a blob painted silver.

If I were to go back and do a couple of things over, I would have not done the detroit locker in the rear end, I should have just put a true trac. Another item I would have done different is I would have rather put a rubber floor mat in. The last item I would have done different is I should have swapped in a manual transmission instead of rebuilding the turbo 350 oh well maybe in the future.

Future? The only things I have planned for this truck is to swap my chrome window gaskets in and replace my rear glass and buy that dang steering column I have been talking about for about a year now haha. I also need to get the front driveshaft rebuilt as the slip yoke has play in it. Also going to eventually get the exhaust done.

Here is a list of everything I have done:
Motor, all accessories, radiator, fan clutch, motor mounts etc.
All new interior, rubber seals, glass, fatmat on the floor.
Front and rear axle completely rebuilt with lockers/posi, rear driveshaft rebuilt
Vintage air (one of the best upgrades)
New paint
New transmission

Good news is that all the pictures are back so any newcomers can look and enjoy. Bad news? I got screwed a little on the paint, the guy that did it isn't holding up to his end of the bargain and won't repaint the roof and fix a few spots. Touchy subject because he is my uncles worker of 20 years or something like that.... lets see what happens before I move.

Anyway enough rambling here are some pictures of my new general grabber x3's 35x 12.50 r15 these are a true 35" tire much better highway cruising now.
http://i.imgur.com/rsgn869.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/37A8idF.jpg?1
http://i.imgur.com/uBLjPRw.jpg?2

Re: 81 Chevy K10 ShortBed
 

Looks great.

Re: 81 Chevy K10 ShortBed
 

it reminds me so much of my 81 but mine was far from nice. .
great job.

Re: 81 Chevy K10 ShortBed
 

Truck looks great.
Point # 3!!!!

Re: 81 Chevy K10 ShortBed
 

Truck looks really really good.

Re: 81 Chevy K10 ShortBed
 

Truck looks great. And thanks for your thoughts and ideas.

Re: 81 Chevy K10 ShortBed
 

Well guys its been a while since I have updated my build thread. I moved to Idaho back in August and have really been enjoying it here loving the cooler weather, less congestion and country lifestyle. Here is a pic hauling the U-haul trailer it weighs 2000 pounds empty and I had it full to the brim with heavy stuff and the bed was full of plants my guess was it weighed around 4500 pounds. The truck towed it fine and did great despite the 100 degree temperatures and 860 miles of driving I did in one day.
https://i.imgur.com/rk70RYW.jpg?1

Unfortunately, I am having some issues with my truck since I have moved up here. When I was moving up here I got to Wells Nevada and while I was at my one of many fuel stops for the day I heard a faint knocking sound at idle but went away with any kind of rpm. I finally got to my new home in Idaho and did some investigating and the knocking sound only comes after driving it on the freeway and only while it is in gear. If I drive it around town there is no knocking sound. Now fast forward to the last few weeks and there is a big shudder when the converter locks up and now I can hear a grinding/vibration sound when driving around. The noise happens when it reaches a certain revolution like room room room if that makes any sense lol. I unplugged the electrical connection on the side of the trans and there is no shudder but there is still a grinding and vibration like I mentioned before. The trans was rebuilt earlier this year with a new lockup converter. The transmission shifts fine and the fluid looks nice bright red and clean no shavings etc. I know new parts can fail but I am at a loss here any ideas? Flexplate maybe?

Also, this might be unrelated but my starter has been turning over really slow sometimes and today when I was out it BARELY started the truck. So my question is could the flex plate be warped or cracked causing the starter to drag more and ultimately making all this noise. Other times it starts really quick like it normally does. Any advice would be appreciated.

Re: 81 Chevy K10 ShortBed
 

Congrats on the move! I’m spit-balling here, but maybe you smoked the lockup clutch in the torque converter? And it is hanging up when you’re starting the truck? In neutral (park) that might not make much drag. I feel your pain. My truck is back in the trans shop for another rebuild 15 months after the last one.

Re: 81 Chevy K10 ShortBed
 

A cracked flexplate can simulate a knock sound.


Might just start there.

Re: 81 Chevy K10 ShortBed
 

So I ended up having a cracked flexplate so while I had the transmission out I went ahead and upgraded the torque converter to a heavy duty towing/4x4 application with brazed fins all fixed.

Also I have decided to sell the truck I have had my fun and have enjoyed it very much but it is time for someone else to enjoy it as much as I have had.

Re: 81 Chevy K10 ShortBed
 

Good luck with the sale. You’ve got a solid truck. What’s next?

Re: 81 Chevy K10 ShortBed
 

Thanks I just lost interest in the truck. I won't take a bath on it so it might not go anywhere I had it on craigslist for a few months with a lot of interest but no buyers. I'm not sure whats next probably just buy a cheap car for now.

Re: 81 Chevy K10 ShortBed
 

So I have had my truck up for sale for about 5 months now and lots of interest but no offers at what I want for it so the only place it is still for sale is on this forum.

Also, it turns out that in the county I moved to in Idaho has smog tests for 1981 and newer FIGURES ONE YEAR!! Anyway, I took it to a smog station and it only has to pass a two speed idle test for Hydrocarbons and CO and there is no visual inspection on 81,82, and 83 model year vehicles. So I took off my air injection, egr valve, and the miles of vacuum lines and just left the catalytic converter on it. I took it to the smog station and it passed blowing under 50ppm on Hydrocarbons and the CO was insanely low and the smog guy was impressed. The limits are over double the limits California had for emissions not to mention the visual inspection California had which I should have failed before because I never had a EFE valve hooked up. I don't mind passing emissions this way as it should not matter whats under the hood as long as it passes. Long story short, I am good for smog for 2 years.

So after I did the emissions delete I was surprised how much smoother the engine runs. I know it doesn't add more power (just the gain from driving the smog pump which I heard is 1hp) but its just SO much better to look at under the hood and work on it and it still passes emissions with the CAT which I will never remove. Everything went well except the air injection pipe on the drivers side I had to remove the exhaust manifold to remove the rear most air injection fitting what a PITA. Here's what it looked like after I got done with it. I still need to remove the thermal vacuum switches from my water neck, I will do that when I put headers on and will buy a nice set of valve covers and air cleaner.
https://i.imgur.com/7wxK940l.jpg

and back together with the 1/4" pipe plugs from Home Depot
https://i.imgur.com/izsFMR8l.jpg

Engine
https://i.imgur.com/vUC4AKjl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Gny4NW8l.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/oNaLzqol.jpg

I also fixed one of the painters screw ups which was painting the back side of the doors as the backside of the doors were still tan. I sanded the area and shot it with 3 coats of color and 2 coats of clear it came out better than I thought.

https://i.imgur.com/2yuf9oxl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/DTuxoULl.jpg

I have to drive back to California to pick up my brothers stuff because he too is now moving to Idaho with me I will be leaving on the 19th towing the same U-Haul trailer down there and back up here. So I have gone over the truck with a hawk eye and its ready. I will try to take more pictures as the drive is really cool and scenic. I just need to make sure I use my water cooled credit card to pay for the gas haha.

Re: 81 Chevy K10 ShortBed
 

The truck is looking awesome! Good luck on the road trip.

Re: 81 Chevy K10 ShortBed
 

Well the road trip was a success 1900 miles total got about 9-10 mpg while towing. Towed fine, slow in the hills especially at 5000+ feet in elevation which is most of the 93 in Nevada/Idaho. Did 65-70mph the whole way up and down, a gear vendors would have been great 2700-3000rpm the whole time got old.

There was a roll over accident just south of Wells, Nevada was stuck here for 2 hours as they had to airlift 2 people out of there. Got my windows tinted before I left, AC works better now.
https://i.imgur.com/cJbs5l6h.jpg

and a TON of this flat land lol
https://i.imgur.com/sf6D7G2h.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/W2qKqSOh.jpg

You really don't want to break down out there cell signal is out of the question for most of the 93.

Re: 81 Chevy K10 ShortBed
 

Mine has been for sale for about the same time frame with the same result. I have taken down my ads and will get back to work on it. I never really wanted to sell it anyway. :)

When I moved to Pittsburgh years ago I have to deal with emissions testing for the first time. My Jeep passed all of the actual tests, but failed the visual inspection. I had to spend a bunch of money to make it legal... and the numbers were worse afterwards. Makes no sense.

Re: 81 Chevy K10 ShortBed
 

Well the truck is still not sold, so I went ahead and did some more engine cleanup as well as reroute the engine wiring in conduit. New aluminum valve covers, some new paint on the intake and its looking a little more respectable. Hopefully this year I will be installing some headers and while I do that, I am going to make some custom length spark plug wires to make it nice and neat.

Before:
https://i.imgur.com/AFBHHCIh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/uDQKSFkh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/6e4H4qgh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/atiFBQEh.jpg
During:
https://i.imgur.com/4AEXcdsh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/IdOZZbsh.jpg
After:
https://i.imgur.com/oZFbAeoh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/oHojpfph.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/H7a69jnh.jpg

The engine wiring is in good shape, but I went ahead and ran my AC compressor wire back through the firewall under the dash and out the drivers side. I also went ahead and replaced the two prong connector on the alternator, distributor, and tach connectors . I did pull the intake off and worked for almost an entire day on rerouting the wiring and placing it in conduit. A big job, but I feel a lot better about the wiring being protected and routed correctly.

Re: 81 Chevy K10 ShortBed
 

Looks good!

Re: 81 Chevy K10 ShortBed
 

I’m pumped you still have your truck! Updates are clean.

Re: 81 Chevy K10 ShortBed
 

If it's any consolation, the amount you're accomplishing after professing to have lost interest, is more than some of us are accomplishing who feel like our interest remains full-strength. The underhood work looks really good.

Re: 81 Chevy K10 ShortBed
 

sold. going to focus on my 67 gmc.
last picture I took of it on the buyers trailer. It is going to a great home in Abilene Texas will miss it for sure but it is time to move on.
http://i.imgur.com/uyfXJ38h.jpg