Most of us have some form of adhd and prefer pictures.
I knew I forgot something!
Here’s a few body shots and the engine.
Its here in Virginia so the only big deal rust is the classic rocker panels but even still here not as bad as I’ve seen before. It started life in a horse farm then moved to the sod farm and was painted this god awful bronze color my wife hates…so I’m keeping it lol All he gears of mud actually wound up leaving everything pretty rust free other than light surface corrosion. I weighed it before and after I power washed the mud off, some of which required my air hammer to break up, and in total, the truck shed almost a half ton of weight. It was crazy.
As it is Virginia, the first thing that was done was the A/C system. It had zero charge to it. So, being it’s so old, I said screw it and replace everything but the evaporator and condenser. Oh, and the switches and pressure sensors as they tested good. As I run my own heavy repair shop and fabrication, I get a sweet deal at NAPA so it wasn’t too painful. She blows super cold but I still had the issues with the heater core so a bypass and filter went on.
Next it got a full tune up. I’m running straight 30 weight Rotella T1 as it’s August here, and T1 has crazy amount of Zinc in it. The oil flushed and cleaned the engine clean and I Im on filter number three in under six hours and miles and two oil changes from the sludge get cleaned up and clogging filters.
The cooling system had a small leak at he block due to the cheap plastic clip. New hose and clip and no issues. I just filled it with green coolant for now. It’s getting a donor diesel double core dropped in soon and I’m fabrication a steel tank for the system as welded and polished beats plastic anyday.
The imtake Manifold was removed and cleaned of the decades of soot. It also need a new fuel pump and filter too. All filters got changed during the tune up. The engine was connected to a vacuum guage and pulled a steady 20-21 mmHg at idle and was smooth from idle to WOT and back. Compression is still amazingly to factory. She does have some wet spots from oil seeping but it’s over two decades old so I’m not complaining.
As the truck will ultimately either be a medium duty service truck, the 3.73 gears won’t do. While each diff got new Rotella gear oil, both axles will be swapped. The rear will get a donor FF with 4.56 gears that’s currently being broken down for overhaul and rebuild. The front will likewise get 4.56 gears and a rebuild.
Brake system need a new line but next mon5 every line is being replaced. The system was flushed out and filled with Bosch EI6-SN severe duty fluid.
The front end was totally overhauled. The only original components are control arms, CV axles and salvageable hardware. Axles will get replaced when the axle is overhauled. Gear box was pulled and overhauled. PS likewise and the system was run through with ATF and through a hydraulic filter to clean out varnish and debris. The truck will be getting Hydroboosted next month so this month is the pre clean. Front brakes are JB8 upgrades with the related pads, rotors and calipers. Flexible lines and ABS sensors were also replaced. The MS cylinder was also replaced.
Parking lamp sockets were replaced along with the circuit boards for the tails. It has a gooseneck hitch ball and a wiring plug which we got working with the trailer brake controller.
The T Case was being a pain not disengaging in neutral and transitions back to 2 wheel. The fluid was flushed out and filled with Mobil DEXRON HP and it’s worked itself out for now. The 4L80 will be pulled at some point and an Allison stuffed in behind whatever diesel I finally settle on (It won’t be a DMax). Tranny did hesitate a bit between shifts and between Reverse to Drive. We drained ATF and added a bottle of Lucas Tranny Fix. After about fifty miles, the tranny shifts as smooth as butter.
In a October, the bed will be pulled and a service bed will be fabricated for it on vehicle so thatll be fun. Once that’s done, rust it’s gonna be patched and the Bronze Beauty will be blasted, etched and undercoated underneath and blasted, etched, painted and clear coated everywhere else. The interior is another story but honestly after a vacuum, shampoo and steam cleaning, it’s actually tolerable. As it’s a Cheyenne, creature comforts are lacking but that rubber floor is perfect. As stuff gets done I’ll add pics, maybe a video or two. We’re also debating YouTube but I’m not a fan of that medium so we shall see
Best part: After replacing all four very dangerous tires and all the work, the truck went from a pathetic 9 MPG to 14 MPG with aggressive driving ie a Heavy foot. If I didn’t put 265’s on it, it’d likely get more but then the cool factor wouldn’t be there…
