92 K2500 Revival

[Komet]

So a guy went on ahead and drove to Grizzly HQ to pick up a drill press:

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It was the biggest one that fit in my WJ. Clearly I need a larger vehicle as I'm now operating fully within the margins of my current payload capacity.

Since I am now a Machinist, if you need anything you can find me in the Machine Pit doing Machining.

Anyway, back to slogging it out on dirty old trucks. I have the front crossmember completely unbolted from the black truck but the fenders aren't all flippy floppy loose like on the green truck so I can't take the usual rip and tear approach here. Once I get that swapped onto the green truck, I can mock it back up into truck shape and send it off to the junkyard.

 

[Orpedcrow]

Let us know how you like that grizzly!!

 

[Komet]

Let us know how you like that grizzly!!

It's got 0.001" runout at the spindle and 0.004" runout at the base of a drill bit on the chuck, so it's within spec for what a drill press should be. I think it's the same one as the Harbor Freight / many others, maybe with a stronger motor since this one has a lower minimum speed than most. I had to chase some threads, and the motor needed a height adjustment out of the box but I was able to get it dialed in. It's no milling machine but at 1/4 the price I hope it will be accurate enough for my relatively simple needs.

I placed my order at McMaster Carr for the end mill, hss npt taps, and all the other odds and ends I need to finish up my fuel rail conversion. One thousand dollars later, I am theoretically ready to drill and tap some holes in aluminum with medium low precision once my stuff arrives next week. Got the wallet in the freezer since it's about ready to catch fire.

The green truck has been fully concourse reassembled for its final journey:

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I'm essentially done with it. If I can get a bushing out of the tailgate hinge when my buddy comes over to loot it for what he wants, that will truly be the last piece to salvage.

I swapped front clips, the aftermarket one from the green truck is worse in every possible way except straightness but it will be fine. I was going to swap rear bumpers but the green truck's bumper was a bit warped. Probably because the whole truck is a bit warped. So I looted the plastic center cover, license plate lights and harness, and reinstalled the original bumper.

Found this magnet in the back of the green truck:

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Always has been something fishy about that truck.

 

[GrimsterGMC]

So a guy went on ahead and drove to Grizzly HQ to pick up a drill press:

You must be registered for see images attach

It was the biggest one that fit in my WJ. Clearly I need a larger vehicle as I'm now operating fully within the margins of my current payload capacity.

Since I am now a Machinist, if you need anything you can find me in the Machine Pit doing Machining.

Anyway, back to slogging it out on dirty old trucks. I have the front crossmember completely unbolted from the black truck but the fenders aren't all flippy floppy loose like on the green truck so I can't take the usual rip and tear approach here. Once I get that swapped onto the green truck, I can mock it back up into truck shape and send it off to the junkyard.

I have the same machine with different branding on it. Been running it for many years with no problems, I just put 2 diagonal braces from just below the motor to the wall behind as it can start to get a wobble on when drilling at faster speeds due to the height.

 

[Komet]

Well a guy ended up wrenching on GMT400s over the weekend but not in the way I thought. I assembled the junkyard toolkit for a day at the yard only for my buddy's fuel pump to go out at a gas station by his place. I tossed my kit in the IROC-Z and headed north, we dropped the tank of his suburban right there in the lot and got it done. In the rain. But I did get a free asada burrito that was very legit and I raced some kid in a Tacoma from a stoplight and didn't lose so that's pretty neat.

Since I'm so fond of gas tanks lately, it's long past due to get mine back in the black truck. I used a cinder block and a big wood block with my jack to get it hoisted up and in. Just kinda gotta start putting things underneath the tank and slowly build it up:

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That was step 2ish, after getting the cinder block flipped upright I got the bracket resting in the frame rail.

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Step 3ish, front bracket loosely bolted on with room to slide the back out and redo the fittings. Don't be like me and leave the back strap out before the tank goes in, or you'll need to pay a visit to Mr. Cutoff Wheel in order to slip it back in.

So that's all installed now, I left the electrical connections dangling because I still need to get the fuel pump power from the FiTech back there but it's otherwise good to go.

The rest of my Machining equipment arrives tomorrow so theoretically I can get my fuel rails sorted.

I want to get the Rancho shocks swapped over, then front axles and diff can go in, and then I think it's pretty much engine stuff for a bit until it's ready to be installed. Progress.

 

[Orpedcrow]

But I did get a free asada burrito that was very legit and I raced some kid in a Tacoma from a stoplight and didn't lose so that's pretty neat.

This sounds like a good day

 

[Komet]

Drill press already coming in handy for the tap operation:

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Being able to lock down something with fine 3d adjustment is pretty cool, definitely underrated utility.

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Yeah I tapped that.

There's a lot of threads on the adapter, it doesn't look great sticking out so far but I am getting at least 720 degrees of engagement and it stops before the crossover tube hole so I don't need to do another operation to drill that out this way. Should be good with a little gasoila on there.

 

[Komet]

Going in from the front rail has a clearance issue with the IAC housing under the throttle body:

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I could maybe get by with a billet unit from TPIS that deletes the coolant passage, but it still might not be enough. So I'm going to plug the front feed, and drill out the rear driver's side rail for 3/8" NPT like so:

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Just got my second McMaster Carr order in today, hopefully I have all the kit I need to make 1/4", 3/8", or 1/2" NPT threaded holes now.

With no shock and the axle going in first, I was able to get everything assembled without dropping the sway bar:

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I was delayed a day on front suspension assembly. The grease was so thick I had to stop and pressure wash it. Should have taken the tire off, I missed the back areas but at least there were no 1/2" thick grease traps. Old front shocks were stiff, but in good shape. They're blue, dirt was too thick to discern any more than that.

 

[Orpedcrow]

I’m not a machinist so don’t take this as advisable But, what if you ran the tap deeper then cut your adapter shorter?
Or buy a TIG welder, learn how to TIG, then burn the nipple into the end of the fuel rail.

 

[Komet]

I’m not a machinist so don’t take this as advisable But, what if you ran the tap deeper then cut your adapter shorter?
Or buy a TIG welder, learn how to TIG, then burn the nipple into the end of the fuel rail.

Tap bottomed out in the rail where it changes shape, so purchase #2 included a 45/64" drill bit so I can tap it deeper. I'm not sure if you can shorten NPT threads because of the taper fit, I briefly considered that but didn't look into it. However, even if I were to get the adapter flush, the 180 fitting would still intersect. So then we'd be talking about doing a 90 adapter into a perfectly tapped hole that gets tight when the adapter is facing the right direction, and then a 90 fitting instead of the 180 just to feed the front rail from the back anyway. I still got the drill bit so I can put the plug in a bit deeper but it just makes sense to go in from the back since that's where my lines are coming from.

TIG is thing I'd love to have eventually. I'm trying to get away with not buying a welder because I'd need some junk unit that runs off 120v right now and it's been 20 years since I welded anything so that will be a whole relearning adventure.

As a Machinist I have faith in the NPT setup, the threads I've been cutting with these Widia GTD taps are really nice and cinch down smooth.