chev c3500 w/ a 502 or? work truck. Now a build thread

[M92PV4U]

Well that's just weird. Maybe that style didn't need a much heat?

I have no idea, mine like that is a 91 c3500hd and it passes ca smog, it has a replacement cat that I installed and my dad's friend has a 94 k2500 like that also with a replacement cat that he installed which also passes ca smog.

The smog tech wasn't happy about it, but it is the stock location.

 

[Leadfoot21]

That is one slick ass truck ! Heck of a find

 

[tracyb]

a pain in the ass. and way too much time swapping beds

the flat bed was built for a srw SD f350. then went easily to the next. the chevy was a pain to fit it to, and i lost a bit under box space. i got it to work but will probably change the mounting a bit. i just realized, right now ,the bed sits too low in the front but dont have time now to change it so that will be later.

didnt get it far enough, i got to get some out side work done soon. will wrap it up tomorrow.

first fit.

cut this much out of the front boxs, and the frame of it got around 2" cut out to fit it lower. / helpers

the frame on this truck is wide up front then it skinnys down to the rear, to the same width the SD truck was the whole way.

mounted

its needs work, but it needs to get to work first. i dont like the rake, the bed not mounted level, the headache bar is too high and might need to try to arch the bed side, the tire sticks out about an inch on each side. aif bags and ride height will be dealt with first after its ready for work. i am happy with the bed height tho, its low enough that I'm not against a little lift in the front to level it out if that's what's needed after the tools are on it.

going to get the light wired in, and tools on it first. new fuel pump should be here today, so might get that in too.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

Only gm would taper the frame after the cab, wtf

 

[arse_sidewards]

Only gm would taper the frame after the cab, wtf

Wait until you see what they do with the web height after the front spring hanger.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

Wait until you see what they do with the web height after the front spring hanger.

Ya, that's a good point. That body style is when they started the factory body lift look

As much as I don't care for that body style at all, I do kinda like this truck, especially with the 502/manual

 

[tracyb]

yeah the frame narrows and looses allot of web height. i'm sure the bed being attached will stiffen it up a bit.

what surprised me the most was how much the spring hangers are fwd compared to the rear. the boxes have 51" between them, the rear hanger easily fit between, and the front boxes had to get notched out about 3-4" each side.

on the duperduty the front boxes had a small 1" notch in them but iirc it because the hangers are bigger at the front, not the actual leafs being mounted wider.

certainly a lighter duty truck, i'll take the trade off of a better ride. this truck is more comfortable to drive than any superduty i've had, and plenty duty enough for the work i do. soon i'll see how it rides all loaded up.

i'll get more pics up once its wired and loaded up. and attempt a video.

 

[Yotota]

Yeah, the 2500/3500 non-HD GMT400 trucks are much closer to a consumer truck than a commercial truck. But parts are so damn cheap and common, and as you noted they drive well (when the front end has good bushings and joints and rod ends and shocks).

I was going to buy a 454 4wd GMT400 for my work truck but when the time came I couldn't find a single one. I know Chevy better than Ford so it seemed like a decent option. Instead I ended up with a project Super Duty that's still in the shop...

 

[tracyb]

well the bed not mounted level and the rake of the truck is bugging me. i used a jack to see how much it needs to be level, only went up an inch in the front but it also made the bed more noticeable. so i'm pulling boards and going to get the bed mounted right, in line with the body lines. then going to chack again what is needed to be level. at first i was thinking i was going to lower the truck now its looking for like a small lift, but we'll see.

trucks pretty much set up. i know i'll be changing what tools are in what boxes etc. its really nice to have all the tools in one truck again.

i still need to make a cover for the passenger side front box. i ended up leaving the whole in the driver side box. this way i can route the leads under the bed to the welder and not have them sitting on the bed in the way. i keep one length connected all the time and enough to reach another 100' in the cab. i also keep the 220v cord always plugge in.

front of welder, leads going under bed. also where the fuel fill neck comes thru. i need to mount the fill neck better, another thing that will wait for another time.

and into the box. i've got bang on around the cut out to protect the leads. and here you can see the old filler. its getting taken out. never worked well any ways, wasn't high enough above the tank and was slow to fill. mount for this truck will be on the head ache rack eventually.

i think the cord mgmt here will work out. they may still end up on the deck there to the right of the top box, but trying this out for now.

and pretty much how it is now. that haed ache bar needs to come down around 4", another thing i'll get to sometime.

a can load it as the job need, but i would really like to have an air compressor on board at all time. the aircompressor just needs to be enough to run a hypertherm 45xp. i have 2 compressors for mobile, one is in the van right now, an electric roll air wheelbarrow compressor. and the other is a 13hp honda emglo. id hate to take up any more deck space, so i'm hoping i can figure out an easy mount to put a compressor under the bed in the spare tire location. i got 2 extra tires now.. no need for a spare. should be able to make it work. i might also just buy a new compressor if i find one that fits better.

 

[[486]]

well the bed not mounted level and the rake of the truck is bugging me. i used a jack to see how much it needs to be level, only went up an inch in the front but it also made the bed more noticeable. so i'm pulling boards and going to get the bed mounted right, in line with the body lines. then going to chack again what is needed to be level. at first i was thinking i was going to lower the truck now its looking for like a small lift, but we'll see.

longer shackles in the back, man
make you some 7ga sheetmetal fenders to get tire clearance if you gotta

 

[tracyb]

longer shackles in the back, man
make you some 7ga sheetmetal fenders to get tire clearance if you gotta

yeah, definitely maybe.

i even have the shackles sitting on a shelf here, ordered them assuming i would lower the rear. i would only need to cut the side rails 1 to 1.5 inchs to be sure the tires dont hit the bed before bumpstops. i wouldn't even do fenders just cut a nice radious and soften the edges.

however, the bed is plenty low enough, i could go 2-4inchs higher and be happy, but the current height is perfect. can easily work off of, and easily get a knee on the bed to climb up. whats really holding me back is the more i look at it the more i think it might be too low to get onto the barge/ landing craft. besides for working on the barge, it also takes me where the ferries dont go, i want to be sure i can drive on and off easy. maybe i lower it and use airbags to lift it up when needed?


my van, is lifted and on 32 tires iirc. and its big old ass end that stiick out the hitch drags the deck if i forget to take it out. the hitch is also about 18" further back from the rear tires than on a truck. i'll compare depart angles to see how close it will be and if i have the room to go lower.

 

[tracyb]

this is where the bed will live. its not perfect, but looks okay.
got the rest of the tools in it and the old truck emptied out.


i think its almost perfect, not to change any ride height. got work outside work, material pick up (only one supplier wont deliver to my home/shop pita) time to get paid.


nothing is perfect the bed aint flat. from most angles it looks perfect this makes it look sloping into the cab, oh well.

kinda better

other side

and back

i raised the front of the bed about 1-1/2". angles check out i should be able to load the ferrys and transporters, maybe need a little lift, but hopfully just air bags in the rear and air shocks in the front. just an inch or two would make all the difference.... but its like 4x4 for a work truck, only need the extra clearance a couple times a year so i'll see if i get hung up and go from there.

motor seems to run better everyday, i only have maybe 150 mi on it. i'm going to give it a couple tanks of fuel before i put the new fuel pump in and start trying to see about making more power. as is its way better than the old 454tbi i had. i'm happy with it.

 

[tracyb]

going to be updating this thread more when I get a chance...

this truck has been great. but, i've been really thinking about getting a new truck, problem is I just don't think they are worth the price and the beds are always really high and not as friendly to work off of. bed height and access are perfect for me on this truck. I think I mentioned earlier in the thread 7yrs ago or so I sold a crew cab truck very much like this one... the person I sold it let me know he was wanting to sell it. 95 c3500 nv4500 454, has ~107k miles on the truck. other guy only put ~4k miles on it the 7yrs he had it. pretty straight and clean, zero rust, no door sag etc.

so I thought I buy the crew cab and decided to start building the truck I really want. and started on it about 3wks ago.

the new work truck plan;
-swap the motors. 502 in the new truck and 454 into the current truck, get the work truck back going asap
-let the 502 make the power it was supposed too. no more tbi, sniper efi. new clutch to handle the new power. the motor is stock crate 502ho with thorely headers, Weiand intake, and roller rockers. should be 500-550hp or so from what I understand.

• suspension. I always run airbags on my trucks for towing an heavy loads. figured why not go full air ride? so full air ride.
• interior. first 3layers of sound deadening every where. new headliner. Eva boat decking instead of factory. carpet or vinyl. longer term bucket seats up front, maybe in the back too. good stereo, but not overkill. and replace every biut of plastic trim with aluminum. going to start with this dash 1995-1998 Chevrolet OBS GMT400 C/K1500 Truck Aluminum Dashboard – LRB Speed then over time replace the door cards and everything else.
• a ton more that will come together over time.

a longer term goal will be to go 4x4. but for now staying 2wd. really want some alcoa rims, currently thinking 19.5's though I would rather have a rim with a bead seat I can run bfg at's or similar on. I dont like the stiffness/ traction of the xx.5 commercial type tires. I'll probably clean up the rims on the older truck and swap them on until I can find bigger rims I like. I want a 32-33" tire for now, when/ if I go 4x4 a little bigger. in general I think a 33" tire is about perfect on these trucks.

made allot of progress the first few weeks. I took a week off work and had help too. but progress will be slower from here out as I plan to start using it as my daily by January


a couple pics of where i'm at so far.


airbags at ~150psi

~5ish psi in the bags. on bump stops
I replaced all the fitting with DOT fittings and chased every air leak. tanks fill to 200psi and have zero bleed down when sitting over a week. bags the same. allot of soap testing and redoing fitting goop and teflon tape.

best part is this puts the top of the flat bed right about 32" off the ground. and super easy to reach material on the rack. I'm 41yo now and not getting any younger. going from working off superdutys to the gmt400/ obs was awesome, and this will be even better.

I plan for ride height to be very near stock height.

sniper and intake stuff. went with the Holley distributor and drop in fuel pump to match and make things easy.

sound deadening got all in and with half the Eva foam floor going down. I think i'm going to go grey for the interior. headliner is the same grey as floor. I want the colors lighter so I can see under the seats and everywhere better. will make finding tools and crap the get under the seat etc easier to find. I have more of the Eva foam in a dark grey I plan to put down on top of this as permanent floor mats. help make the interior not look so dirty all the time. I may down the road decide this flooring isn't what I want and cover it with the factory black vinyl flooring i'm keeping on the shelf until i'm sure I like this. the Eva is a closed cell foam like most last layers of sounds dead mat, so its not a waste to have installed.

motor bay. I have allot of wiring to cut out and clean up still. I didn't plan to do roller rockers, but when it was ready to drive i used it a few days messing with the sniper settings... has a TON more power than when it was held back by the factory tbi. it used to only rev to 4k and made no more power after 3k rpm... well as I got comfofrrtable with it I decide to run it out a bit hard a few times. 2nd and 3rd gear roll on to ~5500rpm. she gets it!! but heard valve noise I got back to the shop. I read this is common on these motors, and rockers and new studs are a very common thing. this is where I'm at right now. got every in and adjusted but waiting on new valve covers that can clear the rockers before I can drive it. should be here this coming wed or Thursday.

so its coming along and will soon be daily driven. for now i'm going to put the flatbed from the other truck on it and put it to work. but I plan to build a new bed for it. the new bed will be all aluminum, have more storage, plan to utilize all under bed space as best I can, we'll have to see how it comes together but I have allot of ideas in my head for it. basic idea being keep it low, utilize as much dead space as possible.

lots to do still, parts are collecting on the shelf. currently #1 priority is get it into work duty. after that start chipping away at project on weekends and slow work weeks.

as it sits I have around $15k into the truck. 2500ish has been in labor paid to friends helping me out. and they have probably done more than half the work. suspension is the only thing i've done solo on it so far. most of costs so far being, the truck 5k, all the holly sniper stuff ~3500, and airride kit 2200. i'm not paying a shop for any work (maybe a paint job next year only) but will be paying people i trust to do as much of the work as possible. had about 50hrs of paid help to get to this point.

I want this to be my forever truck and think i'll have under 25k into by the time I have it all the way I want. i think that's pretty reasonable, and far less money than any other options I had been looking into.



this is the dash I linked above and will probably order it this next week. it gets allot of hate on some forums and social media, but I really like the idea of no cracked plastics and think it fits this truck perfect for the goal of being a work truck to last me a long time. they offer door pieces too but I figure i'll built those myself, a long with making all the other little a b piller etc pieces.

that's all for now. i'll try to get more pics up of progress so far and keep up as I go.

 

[tracyb]

how I put the rear suspension together. the airride kit is just a cheap kit off eBay. the front was basically just a bolt in deal, for the rear a pile of parts and figure it out.

most the guys I've seen put the ladder bars inside the frame using a fuel tank from a burb that goes behind the axle. I wanted to keep this tank here. and it all worked out. I was worried about how it will ride, but after driving it I am happy with it.

 

[Provience]

Fun

 

[PAToyota]

going to start with this dash 1995-1998 Chevrolet OBS GMT400 C/K1500 Truck Aluminum Dashboard – LRB Speed then over time replace the door cards and everything else.

I've been looking at a similar 88-94 metal dash for the same reasons: obsmetaldash

It's steel and either as a kit ($650) or fully assembled ($1495). They have a 95-99 version as well, but it seems to be only available fully assembled and is quite a bit more expensive. It's also modeled on a 67-72 C10 dash.

 

[BustedCrank]

I would think you are going to get a lot of extra noise with that dash.

Dig the truck though.

 

[PAToyota]

I could see the glovebox rattling, so put some rubber in there. Same with any other mounting points. The cracked and broken plastic makes a fair amount of noise too.

 

[tracyb]

I've been looking at a similar 88-94 metal dash for the same reasons: obsmetaldash



It's steel and either as a kit ($650) or fully assembled ($1495). They have a 95-99 version as well, but it seems to be only available fully assembled and is quite a bit more expensive. It's also modeled on a 67-72 C10 dash.

thanks for those links. I had no idea I might have other options. and those ones look cleaner. i'll have to look more into them.

I do like that 88-94 dash. and think I could put it in this truck. even though it has the newer dash in it, its an early '95 truck that is obd1 and most everything is identical to the 88-94 trucks. the only thing I've found so far that is different is the ECMs. which isn't even used anymore.


I do get the rattle concerns, its my biggest concern as well. when I do a metal dash I will for sure be covering the back side in sound deadening, and thinking all seams and connections, contact areas in 3m vhb tape.





on the sound deadening. I have only driven this truck as it is now for 3-4days, before I parked it to do the rockers and studs. I didn't use the best stuff, it was just the Amazon special but it does have a layer of butyl, then a 'hybrid' layer, and finally a closed cell layer. went with the thicker options on all layers too, probably 1/2" thick everywhere. the doors have had any sd in then yet either, planning to do that when I change the door cards out/ do the power windows and locks.

but I really thought it would be quieter than it is. I haven't done the exhaust yet, its currently a single 3" from the header collector to a flow master at the back of the cab and dumps before the rear axle. the exhaust is too loud, I need to get it quieter. I would say the cab noise is still 'loud' but its a different type of loud, it is now very easy to talk when at highway speed and wasn't before. the doors closing make a much better thud too. I think a big factor is not having carpet, and is one reason i'm considering putting the vinyl floor back in since it has all the blanket material on it, would probably help with the noise.



currently I plan on keeping the exhaust a single 3", the biggest restriction looks like its at the collector so I don't think its worth going bigger unless I change that out. I've got a bunch of 3" 16g 304 stainless here I'll build it out of and hope I can dump it after the axle similar to what it would be stock but don't know If I can yet with how much the suspension travels it might be to hard to fit it all. then I don't know what i'm going to do for a muffler. keep the flow master or? I dunno . I know a guy that has been doing exhaust for more than 20yrs and i'll talk to him about what he thinks would be best.

any thoughts on the exhaust? think I should do something different? maybe a muffler suggestion that sounds good but keeps it quiet? this is going to be a driver, the low end torque and drivability matter far more than hitting peak hp

 

[PAToyota]

Well, mine are diesels, but I just have 3" into Walker mufflers. I hear the exhaust, but it isn't bothersome.

 

[Provience]

thanks for those links. I had no idea I might have other options. and those ones look cleaner. i'll have to look more into them.

I do like that 88-94 dash. and think I could put it in this truck. even though it has the newer dash in it, its an early '95 truck that is obd1 and most everything is identical to the 88-94 trucks. the only thing I've found so far that is different is the ECMs. which isn't even used anymore.


I do get the rattle concerns, its my biggest concern as well. when I do a metal dash I will for sure be covering the back side in sound deadening, and thinking all seams and connections, contact areas in 3m vhb tape.





on the sound deadening. I have only driven this truck as it is now for 3-4days, before I parked it to do the rockers and studs. I didn't use the best stuff, it was just the Amazon special but it does have a layer of butyl, then a 'hybrid' layer, and finally a closed cell layer. went with the thicker options on all layers too, probably 1/2" thick everywhere. the doors have had any sd in then yet either, planning to do that when I change the door cards out/ do the power windows and locks.

but I really thought it would be quieter than it is. I haven't done the exhaust yet, its currently a single 3" from the header collector to a flow master at the back of the cab and dumps before the rear axle. the exhaust is too loud, I need to get it quieter. I would say the cab noise is still 'loud' but its a different type of loud, it is now very easy to talk when at highway speed and wasn't before. the doors closing make a much better thud too. I think a big factor is not having carpet, and is one reason i'm considering putting the vinyl floor back in since it has all the blanket material on it, would probably help with the noise.



currently I plan on keeping the exhaust a single 3", the biggest restriction looks like its at the collector so I don't think its worth going bigger unless I change that out. I've got a bunch of 3" 16g 304 stainless here I'll build it out of and hope I can dump it after the axle similar to what it would be stock but don't know If I can yet with how much the suspension travels it might be to hard to fit it all. then I don't know what i'm going to do for a muffler. keep the flow master or? I dunno . I know a guy that has been doing exhaust for more than 20yrs and i'll talk to him about what he thinks would be best.

any thoughts on the exhaust? think I should do something different? maybe a muffler suggestion that sounds good but keeps it quiet? this is going to be a driver, the low end torque and drivability matter far more than hitting peak hp

Summit Racing SUM-630400-1 Summit Racing™ 304 Stainless Steel Mufflers | Summit Racing

Free Shipping - Summit Racing™ 304 Stainless Steel Mufflers with qualifying orders of $109. Shop Mufflers at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

Add once of these to what you have now for the exhaust.

 

[Provience]

Post in thread 'What did you do to your RV today?' What did you do to your RV today?

With video for my 3" exhaust, all summit mufflers. Granted, million feet long and stock manifolds. I've done a few with a glass pack and flow master style combo, always like it much better than just the chambered flow master style

 

[fordguy]

3v absolutely not.

x infinity

 

[tracyb]

I like that summit muffler, planning to keep this truck forever I would like the entire exhaust to be 304.

when the valve covers get here later this week and I can run it I think i'll mess around with the mufflers I have. the flowmaster that's on it, I'm not sure what series it is ATM, and I also have a big truck muffler 4" straight thru with packing, its probably 3ft long. I think I'll put the big truck one on, see how it sounds, maybe put the flowmaster in line with it. probably a waste of time but easy enough so why not.

I like your RV exhaust. I think in the end i'll do a similar resonator and exhaust thing.


when the donor truck had the 502 in it the sound was good. it has a flomaster too. will be checking out what series each truck has today. I think a big reason the exhaust was fine before, is it was chocked up with the tbi. now that it can breathe and actually rev out its way louder. also I have a feeling the new truck has a 40series and the donor might have a 50series. in any case i'll be looking at them today.

 

[tracyb]

so both trucks have flowmaster 40's on them. I just went and ordered a 50 series. I'll put that in and see if I want to do more after.

I didn't imagine, that doing the intake and sniper efi would open it enough to make it too much now. I figured the new truck would've had something different on the louder end of what flowmaster has.

exhaust and vavle cover are supposed to be here soon so planning to have it all back together by Sunday for a drive. hopefully the roller rockers I got them tightened right I might loosent them all and check again. the hydraulic lifters seemed a little spongy on a few I may have overtightend, worried some might be collapsed but from what I understand they are probably fine. well see, its my first time doing rockers on anything.

also noticed some of the spark plugs I pulled out ran to far on the cold side. the front cylinders looked fine but got blacker towards the back. so I got new ones that are supposed to be right, hoping that will help it run a little smoother. its a little choppy off throttle, playing with the timing settings on the sniper helped a little but hoping plugs help more. maybe some of the lifter noise I heard was from fouling plugs? I dunno. I don't work on motors outside regular maintenance much at all.

they all had way too much gap too. these plugs have been in this motor for ~5kmi its only been driven in this truck with the new efi etc for about 50-100mi

 

[GLTHFJ60]

40 series and 50 series aren't a whole lot different in my experience. Little bit. Hopefully you like them.

 

[tracyb]

exhaust got bumped down the list, progress has been negative.

got everything back together and fired it up today, still hearing a knocking sound, so shut it down and took a peak a the the oil, cut the filter open....

FML

guess its time to pull the motor and see how ****ed it is. thinking a piston skirt broke and has been banging 'knocking' around, bearings? I don't ****ing know, i'm not a motor guy.

i've got some work to take care of tomorrow morning, then start pulling it apart. should have it on a stand and the pan pulled by tuesday. see how ****ed I am, hopefully i can get my motor guy here to tell me what i'm going to need to do before Christmas.

what a ****ing kick to the balls. but its better I found this now

 

[Provience]

Probably not a skirt.

Interested to see what you come up with

 

[tracyb]

Probably not a skirt.

Interested to see what you come up with

yeah, this is not my wheelhouse, this will be the first time I've ever gotten into a bottom end (of a motor) I just don't know how to explain the banging/ knocking sounds another way. maybe lifters are shot too causing the sounds and bearings are going too? those are the only 2 things I can think of for the noise.

 

[Provience]

I'm all for taking it apart until the problem is obvious. That's a decent bit of metal