Rob's K/35 Project - 4wd Conversion

Rob's just getting started here!

A.

A] My first plow truck (and 4x4) was this "basket case" GMC 3/4 ton I towed home back in '97. I had originally intended to put it on the road, but it was pretty rough so it ended up being a parts truck: Cab, 4-spd, 203 transfer case and a decent 350 were what I saved. Towing it is my '75 GMC 1-ton, which is the truck being converted to 4x4.

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B.

B] I prefer 1-ton stuff (a.k.a. "Dana 60") and when I had the chance to get this crew cab for $300 I grabbed it. It's got 1-ton axles front and rear, single rear wheel setup. It's sitting on one of my other projects, a trailer I built about 10 years ago.
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1.

1] Since I'm essentially building this frame from "leftovers", Chevy/GMC interchangeability has been a great help. Radiator saddle and cab mounts on the '81 crew cab frame were rough, I used ones off an '80 3/4 ton. To remove them from the donor truck, I cut the rivet heads off with a torch and then knock the part free with a tapered pin and hammer. Here's what one of the cab mounts looked like to start with.

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2.

2] To remove the rivet from the part, I grind the shank of the rivet down flush with the surface. You can see the outline of the rivet shank on the hole at the top right of the mount. With the part clamped in a vise, the tapered pin and a hammer is used to knock the rivet out. Also visible is a radiator saddle mount that's had the same treatment.

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3.

3] A bit of work with the air chisel and wire wheel cleans them up nicely.

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4.

4] The rivets are a size in between 3/8" and 7/16". Drill out the holes to 7/16" and use Grade 8 hardware to install. This pic isn't the best, but it shows how the inner layer of "double-frame" plate covers up the mounting holes - bottom of the pic to the left of the rivet heads. Using the existing hole in the frame as a guide, it's drilled out to 7/16", the hole at the top of the pic has been done.

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