HARDTRAILZ
Certified
I plead the other way....its a truck. Please use it this winter and enjoy it. Wash it and take of it but dont deny it usage.
1968 Chevy K10 SWB Overlander
- Thread starter snekvasil
- Start date
Larry
Bigassgas Explorer
No way, you just can't wash off all of the salt spray. It gets everywhere. That is why you don't see ‘68, or even ‘88, trucks on the road in the Midwest. They all rotted away. Sam's truck is a clean rust free Southwestern truck. No need to ruin it now after it survived 46 years already. The 6 years I lived in Detroit my '78 K10 stayed under the carport from October through May. When I moved out of Michigan my new at the time, 3 year old Z71 was already sprouting rust under the hood lip and door edge bottoms. Traded that sucker off a few months after we moved back to CO. Glad I moved out of the salt belt!
BTW, the truck is looking great Sam. Take it easy on adding too much heavy bits and pieces to it or the genesis that really makes this truck will be something you'll start to hate the most and that is the 292 rock solid straight 6. Next thing you know you'll be like me and need a 500 cubic inch engine propel the heavy pig then look back and wonder why you built it so damn heavy.
snekvasil
Adventurer
I see you're from Farmington! That's awesome. My grandparents lived in Silver City, close to the Gila Wilderness. Thanks for the manifold offer; I'll keep ya posted. I'm holding off on the exhaust work till next summer.
snekvasil
Adventurer
I've been wondering about that for a couple weeks now...what's TOO heavy for this 292? Other than the cage, I'd like to eventually add a tent up top and a spare tire + gas cans on the bumper. Is that too much? I've been trying to judge the weight issue using firewood in the back. I've had the bed chalked full of ash logs and the engine didn't seem to dog at all. The only thing that was negatively affected was the brakes...haha, those drums SUCK! If I just stick to the cage, RTT, bumper mods, will the 292 perform all right?
Clutch
<---Pass
What Larry said...."rust never sleeps"
Being from PA, my '76 F250 succumbed to rust..., went through two beds, a couple floor boards, body mounts...frame broke in half eventually. We were pretty good at cleaning it too. My dad purchased that truck new.
1stDeuce
Explorer
It's not so much about power as about just not making a sloppy pig. On the trail, or even driving around, a 6000lb half ton truck is a beast to deal with...
From my experience, the more weight you add, the less fun it is to pilot down the trail, and the easier it is for it to damage itself just because of the weight...
I've read most of the thread now... Any idea what axle gearing it has? Mine had 3.54 axles with the same driveline, and I've seen a few other straight six trucks also with 3.54... but if your uncle special ordered the 292, it's possible he also ordered 4.10's, or even limited slips at one or both ends... ??
If only I could just go order this truck new RIGHT NOW, I think I would. No fancy crap, just the essentials, and wrapped in the best styled sheetmetal GM ever produced. (Sorry Larry.)
FWIW, if you ever get excited about a rear lunchbox locker, call me and I'll talk some sense into you. I did it to my truck, and it was horrible.
From my experience, the more weight you add, the less fun it is to pilot down the trail, and the easier it is for it to damage itself just because of the weight...
I've read most of the thread now... Any idea what axle gearing it has? Mine had 3.54 axles with the same driveline, and I've seen a few other straight six trucks also with 3.54... but if your uncle special ordered the 292, it's possible he also ordered 4.10's, or even limited slips at one or both ends... ??
If only I could just go order this truck new RIGHT NOW, I think I would. No fancy crap, just the essentials, and wrapped in the best styled sheetmetal GM ever produced. (Sorry Larry.)
FWIW, if you ever get excited about a rear lunchbox locker, call me and I'll talk some sense into you. I did it to my truck, and it was horrible.
snekvasil
Adventurer
It's not so much about power as about just not making a sloppy pig. On the trail, or even driving around, a 6000lb half ton truck is a beast to deal with...
From my experience, the more weight you add, the less fun it is to pilot down the trail, and the easier it is for it to damage itself just because of the weight...
I've read most of the thread now... Any idea what axle gearing it has? Mine had 3.54 axles with the same driveline, and I've seen a few other straight six trucks also with 3.54... but if your uncle special ordered the 292, it's possible he also ordered 4.10's, or even limited slips at one or both ends... ??
If only I could just go order this truck new RIGHT NOW, I think I would. No fancy crap, just the essentials, and wrapped in the best styled sheetmetal GM ever produced. (Sorry Larry.)
FWIW, if you ever get excited about a rear lunchbox locker, call me and I'll talk some sense into you. I did it to my truck, and it was horrible.
Yeah...I've done a lot of reading and talking to guys about lunchbox lockers. I'll do air lockers down the road if I think it's necessary.
Ok, in regards to your statement about not wanting a "sloppy pig" to drive down the trail...I guess I need to figure out how I can get the rig I want with as least weight as possible. I also think the future disc brakes, suspension, and power steering will help in handling this old iron.
Gear ratio: all the tags are gone, so I'm not entirely sure. My best guess is 3:54. One of the things I'm most excited about is that the axle I'm getting is geared to 4:56, which is what I'm re-gearing the back axle too as well. After talking with Larry and several others, it seems this is the best ratio for this engine.
Larry
Bigassgas Explorer
I’d don’t know about that. My old K10 wheels better now than it did before it gained weight. The added weight keeps it much more planted with sticky traction on the trail. Rides a lot nicer too. I guess it all depends on how much weight we're talking and what kind of trails you throw at it.
No harm by me. I agree with you 100%. I’m a big fan of 67-72 trucks. I’d even go as far to say they the 67-72 have much better/stronger bodies than 73-87. Darn good looking too! My first car was a 68 GMC, which I still have. It’s a little hot rod though.
That’s only for you to know. Depends on what you can tolerate. With what you’ve done so far, I’d say you’re still probably doing just fine with power to weight.
snekvasil
Adventurer
Precursor to the BIG post
Took some shots of the front axle BEFORE the swap. It was ugly. I talked with my buddy about rebuilding the closed-knuckle, but he said it would end up costing me around a grand and I'd still have drum brakes. I decided to ditch the whole thing and go with a rebuilt '78 Dana 44 with discs. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here are the before pics, showing the condition of the original axle. On the first pic below, you can see the oil leaking down the the tire. It was nasty. The locking hubs were pretty jacked up too. I think my grandpa scraped a rock more than once :sombrero:
Pictures don't really do it justice--it was definitely showing its age. Diff fluid was leaking pretty badly. The front drums were fine unless I had any weight in the back, then they were absolutely junk.
My next post will be with the new axle (4:56 gears) and lift installed. It's almost there!
Took some shots of the front axle BEFORE the swap. It was ugly. I talked with my buddy about rebuilding the closed-knuckle, but he said it would end up costing me around a grand and I'd still have drum brakes. I decided to ditch the whole thing and go with a rebuilt '78 Dana 44 with discs. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here are the before pics, showing the condition of the original axle. On the first pic below, you can see the oil leaking down the the tire. It was nasty. The locking hubs were pretty jacked up too. I think my grandpa scraped a rock more than once :sombrero:
Pictures don't really do it justice--it was definitely showing its age. Diff fluid was leaking pretty badly. The front drums were fine unless I had any weight in the back, then they were absolutely junk.
My next post will be with the new axle (4:56 gears) and lift installed. It's almost there!
east_tn_81
Adventurer
Can't wait.
1stDeuce
Explorer
I assume a big part of the decision to go to 4.56 was a good price on the front axle, but 4.56 gears with 33's and no overdrive and a 292 is NOT what I'd call ideal gearing...
My 250 six would smoothly rev to the moon all day, but the 292 is a long stroke engine, and spinning at 3000rpm's to do 65mph is really not ideal for it.
Because of the long stroke, the official redline for a 292 was pretty low, like 4500rpm. It'll have plenty of torque to move mountains with that gearing, but it's going to be fairly wrapped up running down the highway! At least you're not still feeding it with the little one barrel that pretty much airflow limited mine to about 4000rpm with any sort of load.
BTW, your "construction site" pic is now framed in my office. Love the truck, and love what you're doing with it, even when it isn't exactly what I'd do!!
Chris
My 250 six would smoothly rev to the moon all day, but the 292 is a long stroke engine, and spinning at 3000rpm's to do 65mph is really not ideal for it.
Because of the long stroke, the official redline for a 292 was pretty low, like 4500rpm. It'll have plenty of torque to move mountains with that gearing, but it's going to be fairly wrapped up running down the highway! At least you're not still feeding it with the little one barrel that pretty much airflow limited mine to about 4000rpm with any sort of load.
BTW, your "construction site" pic is now framed in my office. Love the truck, and love what you're doing with it, even when it isn't exactly what I'd do!!
Chris
snekvasil
Adventurer
I assume a big part of the decision to go to 4.56 was a good price on the front axle, but 4.56 gears with 33's and no overdrive and a 292 is NOT what I'd call ideal gearing...
My 250 six would smoothly rev to the moon all day, but the 292 is a long stroke engine, and spinning at 3000rpm's to do 65mph is really not ideal for it.
Because of the long stroke, the official redline for a 292 was pretty low, like 4500rpm. It'll have plenty of torque to move mountains with that gearing, but it's going to be fairly wrapped up running down the highway! At least you're not still feeding it with the little one barrel that pretty much airflow limited mine to about 4000rpm with any sort of load.
BTW, your "construction site" pic is now framed in my office. Love the truck, and love what you're doing with it, even when it isn't exactly what I'd do!!
Chris
Chris,
Yeah, I thought about the gearing for a long time and considered your exact points. Truth is, the truck's not going to be a highway machine, and I don't want it to be. It barely got to 60mph even with 3.53 gears. My decision was pretty much whether I wanted higher speeds or better low end torque. I could've gone more middle of the road with 4.10s, but I opted for the 4.56. Gotta pull those logs outta the woods
livetoride21
Adventurer
wow Great looking truck! love to see a survivor like that, with an I6 to boot!
snekvasil
Adventurer
Axle swap/lift install
Well, I realized a valuable lesson during this project: it ALWAYS takes longer, more money, and more parts than expected. But I'm very pleased with the turnout. Apparently '68 K10s don't have an abundance of parts suppliers...had to do quite a bit of improvisation. I'll start with the lift first.
I purchased a 2.5" Skyjacker lift from Summit. According to the website, the lift kit would fit a 68-72 K10. Little did I know how different a 68 is from a 69-72...
Here's the original stance of the truck back in New Mexico before I got it:
Since the Skyjacker lift kit didn't work, my buddy suggested we splice the two leaf springs together. So he took the new leaf springs apart and built new ones so that they would mount correctly. I realize we could've done a couple other things, but this worked. I took the bed cage off so that I can paint it as soon as it gets warm. Here's the new stance:
I was lucky enough to be able to retain my Rancho springs. I was afraid I would have to get new ones after the lift was installed Some pics of the leaf springs from underneath:
New U-bolts, bushings, the whole nine yards. It rides so much better than before! Surprising soft ride. It was stiffer before the lift (believe it or not).
I also replaced the dash. Here's the old one, cracked and trashed from the New Mexico sun:
And the new one, fresh from LMC:
Well, I realized a valuable lesson during this project: it ALWAYS takes longer, more money, and more parts than expected. But I'm very pleased with the turnout. Apparently '68 K10s don't have an abundance of parts suppliers...had to do quite a bit of improvisation. I'll start with the lift first.
I purchased a 2.5" Skyjacker lift from Summit. According to the website, the lift kit would fit a 68-72 K10. Little did I know how different a 68 is from a 69-72...
Here's the original stance of the truck back in New Mexico before I got it:
Since the Skyjacker lift kit didn't work, my buddy suggested we splice the two leaf springs together. So he took the new leaf springs apart and built new ones so that they would mount correctly. I realize we could've done a couple other things, but this worked. I took the bed cage off so that I can paint it as soon as it gets warm. Here's the new stance:
I was lucky enough to be able to retain my Rancho springs. I was afraid I would have to get new ones after the lift was installed Some pics of the leaf springs from underneath:
New U-bolts, bushings, the whole nine yards. It rides so much better than before! Surprising soft ride. It was stiffer before the lift (believe it or not).
I also replaced the dash. Here's the old one, cracked and trashed from the New Mexico sun:
And the new one, fresh from LMC:
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