sukhoi
Junior Member
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2024
- Posts
- 4
- Reaction score
- 18
- Location
- CO
- First Name
- Shaw
- Truck Year
- 1973
- Truck Model
- K10
- Engine Size
- 350
Howdy Friends
Mostly just want to give a big thank you to everyone who shares their knowledge on this forum. I've been working on my grandpa's 73 K10 for a few years now and I've learned a whole lot, thanks mostly to you all.
A bit about the truck: My grandpa bought it new in 1972 and it's pretty much been beat to **** since then. Nowadays it's a ranch truck and plow truck in the winter (we live at 8000ft in Colorado, there's usually a fair bit of snow, just mud this winter though...) I come from a Toyota background, and took some interest in making this truck work a little better when it turned 50 back in early 2023. I replaced a couple missing lug studs, fixed the windshield washer pump, replaced a tail light, and then, fatefully, decided it should have a spare tire. And that it should be 33". Then we got four more wheels and tires.
Before long the truck was up on jack stands taking up half of my shop. I'm more interested in function than form, and would have been happy fixing the leaky drivetrain and with some minor frame work to make the 33" spare fit up under the bed. My granddad wanted to get some new body panels, and it just kept snowballing.
I fixed the rusty rocker panels and cab corners, sandblasted and epoxy primed the cab, and we took it to a local body shop for paint. They did an excellent job of justifying my proclivity towards doing all of my own work and mistrust towards most body/auto shops. It came back looking nice enough, but with loose bolts, missing parts, wiring all sorts of disconnected and misconnected, vacuum hoses hooked up wrong, a botched windshield install, poorly adhered paint... This was in mid 2024, and prompted really going through everything.
The next big, bad, discovery: the engine codes indicated a 307, which didn't make any sense because the truck came with a 350. My grandpa had the 350 "rebuilt" in 1993 by a local shop, and I was starting to suspect that he got ripped off. I took the heads off, and sure enough the stroke was only 3.25", and the cylinders were bored .125 over to 4"!! This explained the rust in cylinder 8, since an 1/8" bore surely got into the water jacket. So, time for a new bottom end...
Anyway, here's the fun stuff, after way more time and money than anyone bargained for.
Vortec 383 with a rebuilt quadrajet and exhaust gas plumbed through the intake plenum (big thanks to Cliff Ruggles's generous book, forum, and phone support)
Rebuilt SM465 and NP205
14 bolt semi float rear, air lockers front and rear (rebuilt dana 44 up front)
Boxed frame, new leaves from Alcan spring, longish travel setup
Ground-up wiring harness
3" dual stainless exhaust with side exits
I'll get some more photos up once it's driving around - coming down the home stretch now!
Mostly just want to give a big thank you to everyone who shares their knowledge on this forum. I've been working on my grandpa's 73 K10 for a few years now and I've learned a whole lot, thanks mostly to you all.
A bit about the truck: My grandpa bought it new in 1972 and it's pretty much been beat to **** since then. Nowadays it's a ranch truck and plow truck in the winter (we live at 8000ft in Colorado, there's usually a fair bit of snow, just mud this winter though...) I come from a Toyota background, and took some interest in making this truck work a little better when it turned 50 back in early 2023. I replaced a couple missing lug studs, fixed the windshield washer pump, replaced a tail light, and then, fatefully, decided it should have a spare tire. And that it should be 33". Then we got four more wheels and tires.
Before long the truck was up on jack stands taking up half of my shop. I'm more interested in function than form, and would have been happy fixing the leaky drivetrain and with some minor frame work to make the 33" spare fit up under the bed. My granddad wanted to get some new body panels, and it just kept snowballing.
I fixed the rusty rocker panels and cab corners, sandblasted and epoxy primed the cab, and we took it to a local body shop for paint. They did an excellent job of justifying my proclivity towards doing all of my own work and mistrust towards most body/auto shops. It came back looking nice enough, but with loose bolts, missing parts, wiring all sorts of disconnected and misconnected, vacuum hoses hooked up wrong, a botched windshield install, poorly adhered paint... This was in mid 2024, and prompted really going through everything.
The next big, bad, discovery: the engine codes indicated a 307, which didn't make any sense because the truck came with a 350. My grandpa had the 350 "rebuilt" in 1993 by a local shop, and I was starting to suspect that he got ripped off. I took the heads off, and sure enough the stroke was only 3.25", and the cylinders were bored .125 over to 4"!! This explained the rust in cylinder 8, since an 1/8" bore surely got into the water jacket. So, time for a new bottom end...
Anyway, here's the fun stuff, after way more time and money than anyone bargained for.
Vortec 383 with a rebuilt quadrajet and exhaust gas plumbed through the intake plenum (big thanks to Cliff Ruggles's generous book, forum, and phone support)
Rebuilt SM465 and NP205
14 bolt semi float rear, air lockers front and rear (rebuilt dana 44 up front)
Boxed frame, new leaves from Alcan spring, longish travel setup
Ground-up wiring harness
3" dual stainless exhaust with side exits
I'll get some more photos up once it's driving around - coming down the home stretch now!
