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My 1984 K10 - LM7 swap!!

Surprisingly, the crank didn't look too bad. I think I stopped driving it just in time. I spent about $20 on wet/dry paper, metal polish and some shoe laces. I think for what it is, it will be just fine. This is the worst journal after polish.

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your no dummy so im sure your going to measure the journals as well as bearings installed with caps installed and torqued. then plastiguage the bearing when the crank goes in for the first time to make 100% sure your in spec. ;)

it would piss me off to no end if i cut them corners and it failed in 200 miles.
 
Oh, yeah. I'll check everything as it goes together. Biggest thing is how the crank spins after it's torqued. Hand tight and the crank won't spin freely. After all the mains are torqued, it spins like butter.

Tonight I got the AC lines cut and crimped. Also vacuumed and filled the system. It blows pretty cold just idling in the driveway on a 95 degree day. I can't wait to see what it does on the highway with a ton of airflow. Buying the crimping tool was definitely a good investment.

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I picked up this little gem today. 32 spline input shaft for a 208c T-case. I'll need it if/when I go to an 80e. It will happily sit on the shelf until that day comes.

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Shoot. It's been a while... Year end update:

I've been busy. Most of my free time is spent on my side hustle, building 4L60e's. Since my last update, I've gotten the truck professionally tuned. That was about a year ago now. The guy remoted in, and within 30 minutes and a couple drives around the block, I was dialed. No stumble, and the hot starts are spot on. Best money I ever spent. Makes the truck a pleasure to drive. Well, as pleasurable as a stock suspension 40 year old truck can be to drive. However, that will be addressed here shortly.

Next step is a gear ratio swap. The stock 2.73 on 31" tires is painful. I literally never even use overdrive. Even on the highway. I'm thinking 3.73 should be perfect. I had the setup in my old 305/700r4 K5 and it worked great. Should be even better with the extra HP of the cammed and tuned 5.3.

I didn't want to have the truck down for a long time, so I sourced a set of axles form a buddy for $0. The plan is to do as much as I can, but pay to have the ring and pinion set up. I have a friend who is friends with a differential specialist. Rumor has it, if you get everything sparkling clean, and provide all the parts, he will set up the R&P so cheap, it would be foolish to DIY. So that's the plan. Clean everything else up while it's apart, new bearings, seals, brakes and e-brake cables. Everything will be brand new. Then once the rear is done, I will start on the front.

While it's apart, I'd like to get the truck a little closer to level also, The back end sits 2" or maybe even 3" higher than the front, and it looks silly. So I need to figure out how many leaf's to pull to get it closer to level. I'm not really worried about weight hauling. This trucks "heavy hauling" days are long since past. It's mostly just a small parts runner now.

Anyhow, once the rear is done, I will start on the front.


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I don't often pay to have work done for me. Setting a ring and pinion is one exception. This is the result.

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Bearings and seals are in. Might take me a minute to clean up the axles before I slide them in. I have a solution to keep the dirt and bugs out. 3d printers are super useful.

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​Brakes are done, I think. Somebody let me know If it's wrong. Showing the RH side.

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Trying some DIY evaporust to clean up these nasty drums. Results to follow.


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That rear drum looks correct. Knowing your work I'm sure it's clean, but make sure the adjuster is clean and lubed. Not that anyone ever uses it until you have no rear brake bias, lol..
 
FordMan77 said:
...make sure the adjuster is clean and lubed. Not that anyone ever uses it until you have no rear brake bias, lol..
Click to expand...

Cleaned, de-rusted, and lubed. With any luck, they *might* actually auto-adjust like they're supposed to.

DIY rust remover seems to be a winner. This is after a 2 day soak. It was only supposed to be a day, but I honestly forgot. The solution didn't touch the base metal. I will be using this stuff a LOT moving forward.

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I have one of those sliding windows in the back of my S10. I like it but it does rattle some. I put a cover on the bed and some shims so it won't open too much that it gets tough to close. I totally get that you didn't like it, I can see that too. I don't really worry about the truck getting broken into.
 
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