[68 TT]

Figured I should make a list of some of the major donor parts I used to build this truck.

Started with a 1989 C1500 RCLB truck that had a blown 305 TBI engine. All it ended up donating in the end was the completely gutted cab, T400 transmission, front seat, non-slider rear window and steel cowl hood along with the title. Everything else came from another source.

I put the 1989 cab onto a 1991 vintage K1500 torsion bar front suspension chassis that I stripped of all the parts and removed the front bump stops from the frame rails between the upper A-arms. Stripped, cleaned and painted. Polyurethane body bushings.

Rear springs are from a 1993 C1500 W/T with the helper spring removed to create clearance for the Cal-Trac bars to go on. Polyurethane rear spring eye and hanger bushings with greaseable Del-A-Lum front spring eye bushings for the Cal-Trac bars.

Rear axle is a 1993 vintage K2500 LD 6-lug 9.5" 14-bolt with 3.73 gears and a Gov-Bomb posi. It has held up so far to some pretty good abuse so it may just last. We will see. New Timken bearings and seals, Mobil 1 synthetic gear oil.

Front torsion bars are from the drivetrain and dash donor truck 1994 K2500 HD ECLB camper special 454 4L80E NP241 truck.

I tried a few different torsion bar keys to get the ride height I wanted but none gave me the drop I liked. Turned out that if I flipped the stock keys over and machined a new register in the arm for the bolt that they gave me the 4.5" drop I was looking for.

Front A-arms are from the 1994 K2500 drivetrain donor with polyurethane bushings. Ball joint angles were very bad with the 4.5" drop but I noticed the design of the upper A-arms was peculiar. I took the passenger side upper A-arm and put it on the driver side but upside down. It was magic, the ball joint angles were great. Added bonus was that it added a few degrees of caster too. Double bonus.

I installed the TBI 454 assembly and complete wire harness and PCM from the 1994 K2500 donor truck into the chassis but bolted it to the original 1989 C1500 trucks T400 transmission.

For the driveshaft it turned out that with just a new Strange slip yoke for 1350-series U-joints that the rear section of the 1994 K2500 two-piece driveshaft was the perfect length to work. Installed new Spicer solid body SPL 1350 U-joints in both ends and installed the new Strange transmission yoke then she was good to go.

Odd thing I found was that the driveshaft from the 1994 K2500 ECLB was 3.5" diameter but the one in my 1995 K3500 ELCB with dual rear wheels only had a 3" driveshaft.

Front brakes are the K1500 extended cab or HD brake option thicker rotors in the drilled & slotted variety. Rebuilt calipers, new flex lines, new Timken unit bearings, ball joints, tie rods, idler arm, pitman arm.

Rear brakes are dual piston caliper 2003 Suburban 13" with internal parking brake. Drilled & slotted rotors to match the front. New flex lines to the axle and from the axle to the frame. These required custom machined 80mm spacers to fill the gap between the older K2500 LD brake backing plate mounting flange and the Suburban caliper mounting bracket but this is where it pays to be a trained machinist with access to a machine shop after hours every now and then.

Eventually I will gather the parts to put the matching size front rotors onto it as well. The application is the 2003 to 2005 trucks with drum rear brakes. It will take a little monkey business to make them fit but I will figure it out.

Wheels are from a 2008 Silverado LTZ truck. Size is 20 x 8 or 8.5 can't remember right now. Sucks to get old. Tires are Cooper RS3-S summer only tread pattern tires in a size of 245/45-20. I even have a matching spare wheel & tire and center cap. I need to relocate the spare tire carrier hoist crossmember set before I can put the spare tire in though. As it is the rear roll pan causes the tire to be moved back toward the rear axle about 4".

Front sway bar is the largest one I could find on a 4x4 truck and it came from the 1994 K2500 drivetrain donor. Polyurethane frame mounts and end links.

Rear sway bar is from a 1999 Suburban. Polyurethane axle mounts and dog bone bushings. Had to make special axle tube mounts for it since the 9.5" 14-bolt I have has 3-3/8" diameter axle tubes.

I am missing about a years worth of photos so there are some big gaps in the process of this truck and my stepside so bear with me here.