MY 1979 CHEVROLET CUSTOM DELUXE
WHAT I'VE DONE
Pictures are at the bottom
Clutch
When I first received the truck the clutch did not operate. I pulled the transmission and transfer case from the bottom of the truck using an engine hoist through the cab of the truck and replaced the flywheel and the clutch. The flywheel also needed to be replaced because there was heat marring done by the clutch slipping.
Carburetor
On this truck it came with Rochester Quadrajet. The carburetor did not work properly when I received the truck so I rebuilt and tuned the truck. Before the carb I replaced both sending units, the fuel pump, both fuel filters and all fuel lines.
Axles
This truck has a four speed SM465 manual transmission. The manual transmission puts extra strain on the axles because there is immediate torque through the drive train. The truck originally came with 3.42 geared axles which is quite high for a Colorado truck. This meant that my top speed was around 120, but it took a long time to get there. The rear axle has issues with the spider gears. Because of this issue I replaced both axles with heavier duty axles that had 3.73 gearing. This made that truck drive much better.
Cylinder Heads and Camshaft
The 350 cubic inch engine that came in the truck did not make much power and at elevation it did not run how I would like. I saved up and was able to buy Vortec cylinder heads and a Crane Cam for the truck. I also replaced the intake manifold with a cast aluminum intake rather than the stock cast iron intake. The new cylinder heads allowed for better intake duration and had larger intake and exhaust ports. They also allowed for higher rocker arm lift. This meant engine could allow more air into the cylinder before the valve shuts. The camshaft was much larger and had a longer duration making the idle have a lope and the engine increased from 275 hp to close to 400 hp.
Interior Floor Pan
When I got the truck I stripped the interior and found some rust on the driver side floor pan. I then cut the rust out and created a floor template using 16 gauge stainless steel. After cutting and fitting several times, I then welded the new floor piece into place making the floor stronger than new condition.
2002 Vortec Engine Swap
Carburetors are not fun so I decided to find a wrecked Chevrolet with an LS based engine and swap it into my truck. I found a 2002 Chevy Suburban. This was the perfect candidate because it still used a mechanical throttle cable rather than drive by wire. First I removed the engine from the old suburban and that took about two days because I did not want to cut the harness. This is because I rewired the harness from the suburban to fit the K10. To install the engine into the old truck I replaced the flywheel, the pilot bearing, and the motor mounts. The bellhousing from the old Chevy bolted right up to the new engine. Putting the engine into the truck took only three days. The harness was another story. I spent several months after school removing wires I did not need for the old truck and rewired the ones I needed to a stand alone fuse block. This fuse block contains two relays that work together to send grounds to the PCM and power to the fuel pump in the tank.
