Some of you seen some of this before, here goes...

Started with a 83 k10 shortbed, found lying in a yard with no fenders, hood, trans, t case but behold it had 10 bolts and 273s..lol I bought a 84 blazer for the 350,465/208 front clip and the hood. Had to use bushwacker cuttouts to cover where i cut out most of the rust.

http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/l_749de55dc7bac78cb6bbb7c412c7d2f7.jpg

http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/l_e176165a1058670d80a29e72a241fff2.jpg
Had to change, floor pans, rockers, cab corners, new fenders, one door and installed the blazer clip. Bought a 74 chevrolet with a d44 and 14bolt with 4:10 and then stacked springs to make a 6 inch lift up front. The rear i added 5.5 inch blocks, it started as a budget build. Then found a set of 38 gumbo monster mudders on hurricanes also 91 burb rad support and a military grill guard... Heres what it looked like then...also one of the custom seat and interior, was all different colors but i painted them black. New carpet and covered the dash pad with felt from walmart..

Then some wheelin at paragon to see how it worked, We had a mudbogg close by so i tested it there too...heres some pics...

http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/l_413ceb7fac6a311c493f0e2da830b710.jpg

http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/Picture173.jpg

http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/Picture260-1.jpg

That was the last trip of the season , on the way out i ran over a root on a toght trail and the bed slid into a tree and caved the side in and then tore the mirror off. no pics of damage tho, i bought also a set of 37/12.50/16.5 ssrs instead of the old monster mudders.

Then we changed the 465/208 to a 465/205 with a slip yoke, The motor from the 74 i kept and had it bored .040, line hones decked, magged all prepped , bought a set of bowtie heads with 2.055 valves, keith black .220 domed pistons, comp cam 515 lift, 7 quart pan, rpm air gap, holley blue mech fuel pump, all arp bolts, 1.6 comp roller rockers, diesel radiator 4 core, melling oil pump, moroso hardered oil pump shaft, eagle rods, scat crank,edelbrock 40% more flow water pump, chevrolet satin black valve covers, timing chain cover and air cleaner with k&n filter, mallory unilite with msd ignition box. I had a 750 double pumper but it sucked off road so i changed it to a 670 truck avenger carb -2 had to jet that up and do a bunch to make it work right, could of used a 770 i guess. The whole deal was dynoed at 453 hp, runs race fuel only, really likes 105-108 octane but will run with 102 or above...since its 12.5:1. I had a hard time finding a upper hose to fit so i bought a spectre stainless flex hose that seems to work good. It doesnt have a whole lotta vacuum so i needed a vac canister. Under the hood is all cleaned up now but i dont have any pics of it in the making or dyno video, lost in comp crash.

I then installed a set of headman 1 5/8 flow tube with 3 in collector headers, ran all 3 inch pipe with a set or flowmaster super 44s and bent on a 45 behind the bumper. I was given a 95 stepside bed that was in immaculate condition so i swapped it on, the cab has a 2inch bodylift and the bed has a 3inch so it sits a lil better.

I traded a friend for a warn winch bumper , added some support to it and a skid plate. Painted it black with rustoleum hammerhead black. Then a set or warn flares on the bed.. The last one is before the black rustoleum...

The bed was then primered black and a roll pan was added. I couldnt find a decent bumper so i used ford tow hooks that a friend gave me..

I bought a 85 m1008 and took the d60 out and the 14bolts guts, put them in my 74 14b ff. The 60 was rebuilt hub to hub, king pins, bearings, axle joints calipers, pads etc. I needed new front springs so i bought a set ot 8inch superlifts. The removing the drums for discs caught my eye so i bought ruffstuffs brackets and calipers, hoses, pads, banjo bolts for a 75 chevy 3/4 ton. This and the last few pics above were done about the same time so some pix are mixed up...

The blocks had to got so form ck5s classifieds i bought a shackle flip and 6 inch shackles. I had to move the brackets up to get a better shackle angle. Also new skyjacker nitros without boots, I drilled a whole thru both pieces of the shackle and bolted a piece of steel tubing for extra support. The truck sits on an angle in the last pic, the grounds uneven.

I searched craigslist and found a set of 39.5-15-15s super cheap, i put them on eaton 15x10s with 3 3/8 backspacing. Had to do some grinding for them to fit.....

Again from the classifieds i bought a whole skys crossover steering kit, installed it with an 78 2 wheel drive steering box and changed all the seals. I bought an ems offroad cap for hydro assist, b&m steering cooler, trail gear hoses, 2x8 ram , mounts and fittings. Did the west texas offroad mod to the pump and welded a 9 inch tall piece of exhaust tubing to add more fluid. I cut the top off the pump and welded it on to the top of the tubing so i could use the origional cap.

The steering box with the cap installed:


http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/0813091458b.jpg

We then wheeled it a lil in wilberton pa, heres some pics of our last trip.


http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/Wheelin09027.jpg
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/Wheelin09026.jpg
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http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/Wheelin09019.jpg

http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/Wheelin09066.jpg
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/Wheelin09069.jpg
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/Wheelin09006.jpg
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/Wheelin09083.jpg

I thought it was time to change the paint from black to green, so i went to wallmart and bought some krylon satin green.

We had a local mud bogg here, some pics...and 2 little videos
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/MuddBogg09010.jpg
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/MuddBogg09006.jpg
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/MuddBogg09015-1.jpg
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/th_MuddBogg09047.jpg (http://s463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/?action=view&current=MuddBogg09047.flv)
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/th_MuddBogg09048.jpg (http://s463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/?action=view&current=MuddBogg09048.flv)
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/MuddBogg09005.jpg

I blew a right front hub so i called a local parts store and the had a set of warn premiums, they delivered them and i put them in. I made a few more passes and it stuck in 2nd and the clutch exploded.... the 1st pic made the 2nd...lol

I installed a new clutch and made a new dash bezel for my new guages, 1/16 sheet alluminum and screwed it to my old bezel...

http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/1022091148a.jpg

http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/1022091144a.jpg
and the turn signal / high beam indicators

Good looking build!

Thanks much appreciated , ill be doing more to it shortly. Ill be putting in 35 spline stubs, spicer ujoints and 35 spline warn premium hubs as soon as they come in. Then its a new front 1350 drive shaft , Do the sye conversion on my 205 and have a 1350 rear shaft made. Ill be putting dual orbital batteries , powermaster alt and prob a smittybuilt 10,000lb winch since i dont do alot of winching. Over the next few months im getting a to z fab in cressona which is ten miles from me to make rocksliders and weld on beadlocks, for their decent prices i couldnt do it myself cheaper.

That truck would be sick with a flatbed...

You truck looks awesome except for the exhaust dumps look a little funny

I'm stealing your exhaust tubing reservoir idea, I was going to use stick hose and cut the top off the res. but I like the tube idea better

The dumps are cut off now an inch below the rollpan. The reservoir idea works good and you dont ever need to worry about it like you would with the rubber hose. Just make it plenty tall atleast 8-9 inches or so, mine uses almost the whole pipe when you turn the wheels and watch the fluid go up and down. I sawed the end off the reservoir and went to a local exhaust shop , had a friend make it fit real tight at each end so when i welded it i didnt have to worry about leaks.

sorry im not too into the flatbed idea, it would be nice to have a bed of the cabs era but the newer one wont rust so easy...lol

Def keep the newer bed, you don't see that a whole lot and yours looks great.

Wonder where all that fluid goes?

Very nice rig. I like it except for that visor on the cab. I have never liked them. But its your truck so if you like it, you can keep it. The square body style cab combined with the '88-'98 style bed is a unique look. Kudos to you for coming up with that.

Scott

Thanks, the cab had holes drilled in it already so the visor wasnt by choice but i am changing the windshield so i might fill the holes in and not put it back on. The bed was almost free so i tried it, i liked the look so i bolted it down.

Thanks, the cab had holes drilled in it already so the visor wasnt by choice but i am changing the windshield so i might fill the holes in and not put it back on. The bed was almost free so i tried it, i liked the look so i bolted it down.

Ah, that makes sense now. Thanks for the clarification.

Scott

nice looking truck...great build...now pound on it...:smokin:

Thankyou.......Dont worry about pounding on it..lol....it gets plenty of abuse.

If you haven't spent the money on dual orbitals yet look into an odessey, I would say a pc1750, that should have all the cca's you need and a healthy reserve for winching. they have a 4 year free replacement too, soon as my optima dies I'm getting one.

Heres the latest work that was done to my stepside, I bought 53 inch alcans (new never used)from the classifieds they came with shackles, mounts and poly bushings. The bolts I used are cat grade 8 9/16 bolts, lock nuts and washers. The alcan swap i posted here by itself so im adding it to my build. 1st drilled new holes for the shackle mount but it made the shackle angle too steep. So we plated the frame with 1/4 plate and redrilled the holes. I bought 24 inch earls brakelines and 12 inch travel skyjacker nitros also diy4x shims to get the pinion up to where it needs to be. Ill have a long slip shaft soon along with new shock mounts. Here are some pics, shackle angle with the truck level on the ground, axle at full flex, shackle at full flex, truck sitting on all 4s, and last axle moved forward......

http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/cid__0310001617.jpg

http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/cid__0310001320.jpg

http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/diesel/cid__0310001319.jpg
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http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/cid__0316001924.jpg

nice truck man.. i like the newer bed on it alot

nice truck man.. i like the newer bed on it alot

Thanks, it doesnt quite fit right but it came out decent...

Some new parts just came in , I bought a virginia 4x4 steering arm , super nice powdercoated, heavy piece. (Thanks matt/rob)...went with their taller arm to get the draglink away from the spring. Also new shocks, which are rancho rs9000x adjustable in 14 inch travel. (couldnt pass up the deal, 4 for the price of 2)
A friend made up the shock mounts from 1/2 plate with bolt in studs to weld on top of the frame rail, should work out nice.

arms installed...

I did the xj shaft mod today, i think its a lil long. I might shorten it a bit but im not totally sure. Hope to get the 4 rancho 9000s 9 ways on shortly, then i have some 35 spline yukons with spicer joints and an axle seal to change. Going to be changing to propane, i have a 450 kit with two forklift tanks coming in a few weeks. Then it should be all ready to do some wheeling.....

A little while ago, i bought a 1350 front shaft with 12 inches of slip, fully balanced and 31 pounds. Its a nice lill piece of mind...lol...Installed but never yet used, changed the purple boot to red thats all that was done besides bolting it on.

nice build, i also wheel up behind Wilburton but havent come across ya yet. im usually out there in my red ranger

that is a nice, clean build. Swapping those late model stepside beds are real popular with the 67-72 crowd, but i havent seen many of the 73 and ups. imo looks a LOT better than the 67-72's. keep the good work up! :smokin:

nice build, i also wheel up behind Wilburton but havent come across ya yet. im usually out there in my red ranger

We go there from time to time, last year was the last time. All i seen was jeeps the last time there.

that is a nice, clean build. Swapping those late model stepside beds are real popular with the 67-72 crowd, but i havent seen many of the 73 and ups. imo looks a LOT better than the 67-72's. keep the good work up! :smokin:

Thanks, its getting there. The only down fall to the bed is its fiberglass but just gota take it easy on tight trails i guess...The beds dont look bad on the onder trucks just that the wheel wells dont match, the fenders are round and the beds are square. The flares and by lifting it up some make it fit better but not perfect....thanks again...:D

A little while ago, i bought a 1350 front shaft with 12 inches of slip, fully balanced and 31 pounds. Its a nice lill piece of mind...lol...Installed but never yet used, changed the purple boot to red thats all that was done besides bolting it on.

I would have left it purple.:D

I would have left it purple.:D

You would of.....:flipoff2:

Shock mounts all welded up and the shocks are bolted on, gets me 6 inches up travel and 8 inches down. Shocks are set 7 on the front and 5 on the rear, seems so far so good almost no body roll. Ill have to turn em down to half of those settings when i get to take it offroad, to make it softer. Heres some pics......

I got tired of messing with the truck avenger, getting it to work properly drove me nuts. I bought a propane kit here in the classifieds, x450 with an x-1, came with everything and 3 tanks. I hooked it all up and i had to mess with it to work right but i finally got it and it runs better that the t-a. I had to do alot of searching , had help from the guys at wheelin dixie and the propane guy tech support . Hopefully this stays working like it does now, it runs like its injected. Here are some pics of it, the motor is real dirty from all the mudding trips, the bed will have roll on liner and 2 tanks shortly.

Maybe buying a used kit wasnt the best idea but the rebuild kits are cheap and the x-1 has little moving parts. The two kits are around 100.00, ill get those and a spare lock off for the just incase needs. It takes a little to get started but im working on that. Should have it all done today. Needs alot of rewiring under the hood will be done shortly.

nice build. does anyone here know if propane works good in the colder temps? i occasionally go out in winter for a little snow and just know how my bbq likes the cold (it doesn't).

I had starting problems, it wouldnt fire. It smelled like gas so i figured might be spark. I changed my mallory unilite module with a new style thats half of the price, changed the blaster 2 coil, sparkplugs, wires and cap/rotor. Still no go. I even checked the power wire to the dist, i figured id change all the ignition parts since it was time anyway and with propane it should be in tip top shape. What i found was i had problems with the x-1 propane evap/regulator, the high pressure seat was bleeding by , a rebuilt kit was almost as much as a new one. I bought a woodward N-h420sa which is an exact duplicate of my x-1, also bought a new 121 advanced fuel electric lock off and a new filter. The old filter was rusty inside and the lock off was too cheap not to buy a new one. Also received a msd 6al, and wow with that i was impressed how nice of a wiring diagram it has and all the hardware is included. So far so good, i didnt get to drive it far but ill get there tomarrow.

nice build. does anyone here know if propane works good in the colder temps? i occasionally go out in winter for a little snow and just know how my bbq likes the cold (it doesn't).


The evap/ regulator has a primer button just like on a lawnmower, they also make inline electric primers for the cold temps. As long as the ignition is all good, i shouldnt see having a prblem in the cold. Might take som feathering of the pedal to keep it running till it gets some heat.

I fixed all the little problems i had with the propane kit, i rebuilt the x450a, shortened the fuel rods, made a mount to move the evap regulator closer to the carb, ran new vac hoses, wired the lockoff and ignition to 30 amp fuses, ran some brass fittings to get the feed line moved to where i needed. By doing all that it had made throttle response alot better and also made cold starts much sooner. The timing is now set at 12 degrees, i have 25 degrees of advance all in by 3500 rpms. This will rev and pull to a clean 5500 rpms. With a heated o2 and a new aem digital wideband ratio air/fuel guage i was able to tune it decently that at idle i get 15.5, cruise i get 15.8 and under load i get mid 14s on the air fuel guage. Those readings along with the timing make the 358 run real nice. It has a steady 725 rpms at idle after it gets to 100 degrees. Heres a pic of the evap/reg moved
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq353/GMC1983/securedownload.jpg