1972 k30
 

Ok time has come to document this build and progress on the 1972 k30 build. In the works is

Power train
-Stroked BBC (1969 427 2 bolt car)
-4l80e (2003 gmc)
-Twin stick NP205 (1991 1 ton)
-Holley sniper (will also control the trans)
-HD 4x4 engine crossmember built by CFM industries (We used my chassis for the proto type for a product that was desperately needed in the market)

Chassis
-1971 Chevy K20
-52" Alcan 4" lift springs
-Diy4x4 B52's up front and their shackle flip in the rear (should be around a 8 inch lift)
-1.5 dom Crossover steering and tie rod with barnes 4x4 weld in inserts

Diffs
-14 bolt w/ 4:56 & Grizzly locker built by Great Lake Offroad with their disc brake kit and hd cover. (I need to run the numbers on this because it is a direct bolt in for our trucks)
-Dana 60 w/ a spartan locker, yukon 4:56's, hd lock outs, 35 spline stub shafts and GLO hd cover.

I acquired the chassis from a local pick and pull (Feb 19')but didn't decide to build the truck until my dad and I made a 3 hour trip out to plains to buy a cab off a Facebook post (May 20')
Well enough off blah blah here are some pics from the adventures of my old man and I playing with trucks

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Worn out, greasy, rusty, dirty parts

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Diffs

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Fighting king pins.... After stripping the 7/8 hex, then running out of gas with the torch and uga dug power on the breaker bar I used a you tube method of welding a piece of steel to the king pin. It didn't say no when I hit it with the 10lbs sledge (my purse):lol: Had to borrow a friend's BA torque wrench to get the new king pins to 600 ft lbs!!! To say the least I was a little intimateded but it went smooth with the 5ft handle.

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Did a road trip with my dad to Alcan Springs in Grand Junction to grab some buddies and my springs. They gave us the nickel tour of their spring making process and wow these guys are a top notch small biz. B52 52 inch spring conversion and shackle flip and dropping the frame off to get blasted.

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NP205 came put of a 1991 1 ton but I didn't get the golden adaptor. Cool thing is that it has the gm vss in the output for the 4L80e. Was a pretty simple rebuild for playing with my first one. Had to get new shift forks and shift collars because they had some hefty wear. A friend of mine milled down the shift rail detents for the twin sticks.

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NP205 twin stick shift rail with detents milled out next to a buggered up stock rail. 4L80E was built by TnT automotive and random pic of the chassis

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Pics

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The cab was built summer of 2020 and I did most of the work with supervision because my dad had his shoulder replaced that April. He showed me more tips and tricks that i can add to the hat. Panel bond for the win on the rockers

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I gotz the bluessss :cool:

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Glass, door and Q-pads

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Bed

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More bed pics

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Bed is on the frame and looking goofy with them little tires. Had some 72 steel DG4 mirrors chrome plated thanks to a good friend and some other parts zinc plated at Denver Metal Finishing.

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CFM Industries 4x4 engine crossmember.
In the begining i was going to put an LS 6.0 in the truck and after searching I wasnt impressed with the products avaible in the market. I then contacted CFM about if they made a crossmember for 67-72s because they had a LS one for square body's. They said they didn't but would like to scan a chassis with their 3D scanner and asked if I could bring it there. Turns out they are only a couple miles from my shop and ended up coming over with their super high tech 3D scanner to scan the frame. After me changing to a BBC a few renderings Darren engineered this one and wow.... No drilling, no modifications to the brake lines, 0-2.5" forward adjustment from stock, removable cross section for oil pan access and here is the kicker small block, BBC or LS adaptable with clearance to keep the AC compressor in the factory location. Pretty cool to be part of this product because it was a void needed for us 67-72 guys

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Looks like excellent work Curt. Following.

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Right on Pete, it been a fun project for my old man and I:metal:

Just got the big blocks back from the machine shop. The 427 and a 402 for a later project. Just ordered the parts for the 402 today and started looking at heads and the stroker kit for the 4x4. Figured I'll practice on the 402 for now. More fun coming up soon.

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Nice work Curt, that’s gonna be a really special truck when you are done. I still have the one me and my old man built way back when I was in high school. Can’t wait to see it continue to come together. That crossover setup on the 60 looks good. If I ever decide to take mine that high I’m going to do something similar with my 60. I keep swearing that 4” is all I need but I do like them up in the air. That crossmember looks awesome, I’ll keep it in mind when I get to my 6.0 swap.

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Very nice work on this K30! Everything looks beautiful. I really like that engine cross member. There definitely weren't many options for these trucks. Finding original ones that are nice is tough and I hate those stupid flat mounts mainly because they suck to put the bolts in. :lol:

What did you use to paint your frame and suspension? Your trans and tcase looks very nice as well. I've got a 72 K20 Cheyenne Super I'm working on now and I almost went with that blue and white but I might paint it back to it's original colors. I'm not sure. I've always liked that blue and white but never had one.

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Awesome so far. How are you putting the 205 on the 80e?

Also i see your paypal in your sig. Does that mean you want donations?:lol:

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Thanks Tyler:metal: She sure is up there in the sky and might take another look at total height once the weight is on it. Still making adjustments to the crossmember design and we will mock up a 6.0 just for the heck of it so more to come on that.

Ryan, we used chassis saver paint for the chassis and diffs. The Great Lake Offroad covers and dana 60 hubs got the fancy PPG concept gloss black. A lot of the misc suspension parts are just rattle can rustoleum. I have a soft spot for the med blue and white because my first truck was a 71 custom deluxe in that color. Ended up selling it to help build the orange truck but sure do miss that old rig. This truck is kind of a tribute to ol blue. Thanks dude:metal:

That's an interesting question because I'm stuck between machining a spacer or whacking down the output shaft on the trans. I intended to run the stock 4L80e adaptor with a little machining for the shift rails because the T case bolt pattern is the same for the 205. Was going to run a advanced adaptor spacer with a clocking ring but I think that's just too much going on there. Probaly going to just mill a 1/2 longer spacer and if the T case needs clocked I'll drill new mount holes in the case. I'll see if I can find a pic of the stock adaptor whacked out for the shift rail. Used to sell a few parts on the board so hence to paypal sig but donations are always welcome, I'm sure I'd find a way to waste them on old truck parts:lol::lol::lol:

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LMAO at the donations. Maybe you're on to something? :lol:

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Cool to see this one finally got a build thread going. I'm going to have to reach out to CFM on that cross member an 8.1 that I've got laying around just might fit in that.

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Right on:metal: We are still fine tuning the x-member for the big block and have yet to mock in the LS but hopefully one of these days soon I'll get to play around with that.

Haven't worked on the truck much because work has been eating up the fun time but did get to tinker with some interior stuff last Saturday and hang out with my ol man. Installed some black carpet material in place of the jute pad on the firewall, radio and heater boxes. Mocked in the modified under dash harness that hopefully is set up good for the Holley sniper that ships June 30:smoke: The 402 for another truck is finished and now time have to shift gears and get going on the big block for this truck.

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I’m really digging this build thread.

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Everything in these pics is beautiful! June 30th for a Sniper? Man, everything is nuts. Your BBC looks great, but what is the awesomeness setting next to it?

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Awesome build!!!
Gene

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Really cool you and your dad are doing this together- good memories

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It's the day and age we live in now:waah: My neighbor at the shop who is the engine building master mind unfortunately is a F@rd fan:lol: We have been battling for the last couple years and the pranks only get better as time goes on. They break in and tag me with Ford junk or other Easter eggs in my shop:sumo: His engine is a Ford 5 something cube boss stroker with beast of a super charger. My little Chevy motor is dwarfed next to it. He is building a 68? Mustang (will probably be corrected on that) that won't have a power problem but may have a traction problem:metal:
Thanks Gene, more to come soon

Kirk, I'm blessed to be able to have fun with my old man working on these old trucks. Every Saturday he comes up to the shop with burritos in the morning. Something we tinker with trucks or tools or sometimes we just BS and hang out. :metal:

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Get the Ford guy some heat packets for his gloves and tell him you couldn't afford the heated tail gate. :lol: That is funny stuff and pretty cool you have that relationship with them. Nice edged parts there, and you wall art is nicer than my saved parts for projects. Haha

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Took a snow/hookie day and played trucks at my old man's place today. Colorado is getting a late snow storm and what a perfect time to put together some shiny stuff. We built an addition to the cab cart to support the front clip. My plan is to set the whole assembly as a unit over the engine onto the chassis using a two post lift once that is in place. We cut up a junk cab for the firewall section to get the engine and drive train as far back but more on that later. We fought and Tinkered with getting everything lined up but after a solid day we have awesome body lines and the hood fit ready for the last blue through the gun. Looking like a sort-of-truck now.

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You did the right thing, snow is deep
Gene

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It's looking great!

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Looking great and I see those sexie ALCANS..
Whose firewall insulation did you use??

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I used Q-pads sound deadener and a black velvet material lightly spray glued over the pads. Been down the road of trying aftermarket firewall pads and was disappointed with the fit. We are going to try out one from classic industries in my dad's truck and if it doesn't work out it will get the custom job as well.

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This is quite the build! Beautiful truck in progress. I'm also envious of you getting to work on it with your dad and spend your Saturdays together at the shop. Not as envious of the Ford clowns, haha, but actually that's pretty cool. I just ran across this USA manufacturer in another thread. They don't sell direct, but jegs seems to have decent prices on them. Saved to my info list and thought I would drop it here for your firewall insulation.

Firewall pad, door window seals:
http://www.repops.com/product-search...=2&mo=102&yr=1

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Paint on the body is all wrapped up :metal:I have a ton of small parts to send off to powder coat and we'll be waiting on engine parts for 6-10 weeks but that will give me some time to finish some smaller tasks. A goodie package from summit came in and kicked me into gear on painting the masking and painting the engine block. Going to try and wrap up what I can with the interior, trim and wiring while we wait on the rotating assembly and brodix heads.

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Didn't do much in June on the truck, apprentice and I caught the covids then had to make up a bunch of jobs afterwards. Got some parts back from the powder coater and engine master Steve put together the short block. He had to do a little clearancing for the #7 and #8 rods to clear the block. He replied with that's stroker sh#t. As soon as the heads and the sniper show up we can start rocking and rolling putting the pieces together.

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Very nice project

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Engine jedi master Steve finished assembling the engine with the brodix heads. CFM's cross member works with stock BBC exhaust manifolds but not with headers so we are going to redesign and build another for sbc/BBC 4x4's. On a second note the first designed cross member works awesome for a LS with LS3 exhaust manifolds and clears the stock ac comp. Just for research I put a 5.3 in to see how the design works and I have to say it works great. More to come once we get the new cross member in.