‘87 Chevy V20 - “Heavy Duty Stock” My Daily Build

[FoxCustom]

Hey guys,

First a “thank you” to this forum! There is a ton of great knowledge, cool reference photos and good help on here! Such an awesome resource while troubleshooting fuel injection, figuring out that exact spring / tire setup, what to do and what to look out for on drivetrain experiences, etc.

I’ve had my ‘87 for just over a year a half now and I’ve become quite (VERY) obsessed with it! I wanted to start this build thread to document the current status of the truck and all the big and little steps we’ve gone through in between! (And there are still plenty of things on the list!) But keeping it on the road as I maintain and improve the truck is the main priority.

I’ve always had a soft spot for squarebodies as my Dad had several half tons and a nice Suburban when I was a kid. Now, wanting a REAL truck, 4wd and a daily with some good character led me to my ‘87 3/4 ton. (A few years ago, I had a ‘84 C10 in this exact color combo and it was stolen... so when I saw this truck pop up for sale, I knew I had to have it!!!)

This truck lived its life in Lyle, Washington - I bought the truck from a dealer in far-eastern Ohio who had just brought it in from out west. Fortunately, they did some of the basic tune up work before I bought it. The Friday before Christmas, my Mom and I drove down to Ohio and I cruised it all the way back home to Michigan (roughly 5-1/2 hours). Made it home A-Okay aside from the exhaust cracking and falling down on I-75 and losing a Cotterpin in the shift linkage.

Upon getting the truck home, I had come up with an overall look I wanted to shoot for with the build - “heavy duty stock”. Basically, tall and skinny tires on fresh white wheels, a solid and reliable drivetrain, bed mounted spare and a clean interior.

This top photo is how my pick em up is sitting today!

The middle photo was taken the day I brought it home.

The last photo shows the most recent (and biggest) modification I’ve done on it:
replaced the th400 / np208 setup with a tight ‘78 SM465 that I went through and cleaned up and mated it to an NP205 built by OffRoadDesign. I couldn’t be happier with the swap!

[FoxCustom]

From here on out, I will be posting each step of the build. I’ll try to get these earlier steps up in the next couple days! Thank you for reading!

[LT7A]

Nice looking truck. I'll be glad to follow along. I have a Suburban with the same color combo and it's really been growing on me since I bought it. The stock look is a great one for these trucks.

[FoxCustom]

Thank you, LT7A!!! I've never seen a two-toned Burban in doeskin and white (usually only single color or the red / doeskin combo) - very cool! Your truck's gotta be pretty clean considering the area you're in.

[FoxCustom]

The shake down:

Immediately upon getting the truck home from OH, I did the usual spark replacement, oil, check all fluids, replace all the bulbs, filters, and standard tune up things. Being that this was in the winter in Michigan, 4wd had to be functional! So a pair of Warn Premium hubs soon took the place of the broken factory units. (First Photo is from the initial “test cruise” on Christmas Eve! Success!!)

After finishing up my ‘50 Panel truck for Autorama, it was time for some spruce ups like fresh lenses front and rear, removing the old headliner, and more odds and ends.

Then.... the fuel tanks. Both of them. Dripping out of the bottom... After the wresting the new tanks in place, the worst part was just getting all the hoses hooked up (with really no room above, it was not easy). Each tank was loaded up with fresh TBI sending units and a fresh right side pump. Before installation, I scuffed and brushed POR15 on the bottom half of each new tank. Holding up well to this day!

The on-the-road Photo is from the day trip out to th west side of the state - everything performed great!

At this point, I had been cruising around with the stock muffler and single exhaust system so it was time for some fresh pipes and cherry bombs tucked up nice and tight under the chassis. (Broken in very nicely now and give a good “raappp” sound!)

[LT7A]

Originally Posted by FoxCustom

Thank you, LT7A!!! I've never seen a two-toned Burban in doeskin and white (usually only single color or the red / doeskin combo) - very cool! Your truck's gotta be pretty clean considering the area you're in.

Thanks. It's getting there.

I always like hearing about the new rigs getting the essential maintenance knocked out and then starting in on the improvements like your extra-protected fuel tanks. And then getting it out on the road!

[FoxCustom]

That is one big and cool Suburban!!! Looks very solid too! Excited to see how you go with it!

[Shifty One]

87 V20's really are the best Squares....

[wixthedog]

Nice looking truck! Looking forward to seeing the progress unfold.

[focusedontheprize]

Beautiful truck. It is a direction I am going with my V30 - simple, clean, and heavy duty. It looks great! Keep the photos coming.

[FoxCustom]

Originally Posted by Shifty One

87 V20's really are the best Squares....

Yessir!

Thank you, guys! I really appreciate the words and glad you all are digging it.

I'll update my thread this evening with some of the more recent progress!

As of last month, I've been getting this rig ready for winter:

fresh RedHead steering gear install, aluminum radiator with hoses and all the other goodies to go along with that, cab corner replacement and paint touch up, etc. And on monday, I'll be getting the truck undercoated / oil-film sprayed

-Zach

[FoxCustom]

Red Head Steering Gear upgrade!

So this was the final piece that ended the leaky steering system - early this summer, I had replaced the pump itself. I knew it was time to replace the gear itself along with the pressure and return hoses. After reading some very informative, negative info about Napa’s “refurbished” gears, I decided that I wanted to do this job once with the correct part. Enter RedHead - they build all their boxes starting with OEM cores, and then use the best seals and even go through the process of matching the recirculating balls to eliminate any slop.

The installation was not only a success because of everything being sealed and neat, but the added bonus of a tight steering action is wonderful! The cheapest route but wouldn’t go any other way!

[FoxCustom]

Getting back into this thread where we left off after the gas tank replacement.

After going through small details like fresh lens, and continued cleaning, it was time give the shoes some much needed freshening up!!!! Honestly, one of my favorite parts about these trucks is how cool the stock wheels look on them. They’re minimal and utilitarian but so tough looking.

Since the rims themselves were chewed up and pitted pretty bad (from some full disc caps), I started by grinding them with 60 grit and then coming down to 150 by hand. The back sides were in great shape so just cleaned those with thinner and did a good amount of scuffing. Since I wanted to be able to do some easy touchups (around the beads and lug holes) I opted to use brush on white Rustoleom.

[FoxCustom]

After that first summer with the truck, some new rubber was needed. I decided to go with some 8 ply 7.50-16 STA Super Traxions. I have bias plies on all my other vehicles so I was used to the occasional flat spots and the usual manners, so I was prepared for that and the look had me hooked!

As an added bonus, I re-aligned the front end.... and BOY, what a difference. The truck was toed-in way too far before. Finally found a number of around 3/16” toe in that works for me, keeps the truck straight and minimizes tire wear.

(After about a year on the 7.50’s, I swapped them for Toyo M55’s for better performance and to save unnecessary wear and tear on the truck.)

[FoxCustom]

Next order of business was taking care of the spare tire. The look of a spare tucked up along the bedside of an old work truck has always stood out to me as cool. And also very practical too keeping the spare safe and clean also allowing a full 4x8’ space on the bed floor.

[Shifty One]

Nicely done brother!

[wixthedog]

I really like how you did the bed mounted spare tire!

[FoxCustom]

Originally Posted by wixthedog

I really like how you did the bed mounted spare tire!

Thank you, guys!!! I appreciate it!

I basically used the concept / function of the factory’s in-bed spare mount but just simplified and beefed things up a bit. I’ve been considering a toolbox for some extra sealed storage, but I don’t want to compromise the look and placement of the spare.

[Bladeboy1998]

Subbed for an awesome build thread!

[FoxCustom]

Originally Posted by Bladeboy1998

Subbed for an awesome build thread!

Thank you!! I'll be posting up some more pics this week of the 465/205 conversion tackled over the summer - best modification yet!

[rusty76]

I’ll be watching

[FoxCustom]

Last couple weeks, the truck was down due to the Cold Case radiator I had installed a back in November. Not to dog them, but the core had developed a leak up near the water inlet - that is because the design created a “hot spot”.

Never the less, the local radiator I normally use came to the rescue!!! They fabbed up a sweet, custom aluminum radiator to replace the aftermarket one. Typically, I would’ve had the original brass one rebuilt, but the tanks were super thin and starting to get weak so that’s what let me to run aluminum.

All great now!!! Holding all its coolant, heating the cab nicely and providing a good engine temp! In the process of waiting, I did swap in a stock-style clutch fan combo to replace the fixed blade flex fan that was on the truck when I bought it. Warms a bit quicker now and the fuel injection likes the more consistent temp!
I can grab the part #s for this setup in a bit for you guys.

[FoxCustom]

Now, let’s go back to summer and visit the auto-to-manual conversion and NP205 install!

I had picked up a ‘78 SM465 mated to (unknowingly at the time of purchase) a full-time NP205. After some research, found out that the full time case is not the ideal setup - so that case was off the table now. But the Trans felt super nice and tight and the adapter was in great shape so those were keepers.

As a bonus, the whole deal came with all the components I’d need to complete the swap! Hallelujah!!!! Correct aluminum bellhousing for a manual clutch, all clutch linkage, one-piece main seal type flywheel, and the pedal assembly!!!

(These pics were from bringing the setup home! Also, my buddy who sold everything to me has a super clean and nice K20 setup in a similar style. He’s the one that phrased it right - “heavy duty stock”!)

[FoxCustom]

The tell-tale sign of the full-time 205 case... this little oil passage in the rear cover. Since my truck was setup from the factory as part time (and since it’s a stronger, more positive and straightforward setup), I Decided it was best to forgo this part time case and find an alternative route.

That alternative came in the form of a freshly rebuilt part time NP205 from Off Road Design. I opted for a stock style rebuild so that I could keep the factory single shifter, the flange yoke up front and the 1310, ubolted yoke in the rear. They did such a beautiful job and were very informative with all the specs, spline counts they need from me. I beyond excited when it arrived!!!

[FoxCustom]

Now for the trans! After opening up the trans covers completely, it was time for a full visual inspection and “flush”. The inside was spotless! Since the trans was in such good shape and felt great, I didn’t want to tear it fully apart - if it ain’t broke...

While apart, I did touch up any marred or gouged sealing surfaces with a grinder/file and then also flattened out the PTO covers that had been over tightened and deformed over the years.