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bucket

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K5 thru K30
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I went to autozone and oreilley today and neither could find any for me. The guy at oreiily said he just uses bolts through from the fan clutch.. :banghead:

Howdy from Ohio!

There are usually stud kits in the Help!/Dorman area. Also, many hardware stores like Ace stock hardened automotive type studs. They should be 3/8", fine thread from what I recall. Or maybe 5/16"... I'm having a brain fart right now.

What part of Illinois? A member here @Kim Burke told me about a great radiator shop in the Danville area, but I've never been there yet.
 

BoxT86

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Chris
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1986
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K20
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SB 400
What part of Illinois? A member here @Kim Burke told me about a great radiator shop in the Danville area, but I've never been there yet.
Central, we've got a good one over in Springfield too, a-z radiator. They worked on radiators when I was a kid, took a radiator from my old 64 massey to them a few years ago after I drove a stake through it. They told me next time use the bucket instead of the radiator.. i agreed. I'm taking this radiator I found in the bed to them next week, they'll get it right.
 

legopnuematic

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1971, 1̶9̶7̶4, 1976, 1979,1̶9̶8̶5, 2002
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Dart Swinger, Sierra 10, C10 Cheyenne, C10 Big Ten, Silverado 10, Ram 2500
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225/6, 350 c.i., 350 c.i., 5.9l Cummins
Welcome from Missouri.
 

Mr Clean

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454 BBC, & 383 Stroker
:welcome:
 

ChuckN

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Bellinham, WA
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1981
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C10
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350
Central, we've got a good one over in Springfield too, a-z radiator. They worked on radiators when I was a kid, took a radiator from my old 64 massey to them a few years ago after I drove a stake through it. They told me next time use the bucket instead of the radiator.. i agreed. I'm taking this radiator I found in the bed to them next week, they'll get it right.
Welcome! Maybe bring them a box of donuts, those shops aren’t as easy to come by as they used to be.

Nice truck!
 

86 C10 Shortbed

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Mark
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Welcome from Central Ohio
 

dhartman

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michigan
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daniel
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1980
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c15
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350
Welcome from Michigan.

I can talk first hand about the project with the kiddo. My son and I doing that right now with his truck. From the pics looks like you have a great starting point.

1 piece of advice take it slow and enjoy the ride. Trying to move to fast you make dumb mistakes.

There is a "under construction " thread that you can post about you progress. Look forward to seeing you build up and eventually the restore.
 

Fr8dog

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Utah
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Jeffrey
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1987
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V3500
Engine Size
350

AuroraGirl

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Hey, Chris in Illinois here. Well, it appears this forum has been here a while but I just found it.

I picked up :D an 86 K20 a few years ago. I'm finally getting started on getting it going. The kid I bought it from was mid process swapping the diesel for a SB 400. It's basically a short block so I've been trying to get parts to finish out the engine.

So, there's a newish water pump on it with no studs, so I need to find those.

I already installed a new alternator. I have a new power steering pump and hoses. They arrived yesterday, I'm hoping my ebay bracket will fit the small block and ps pump with reservoir and hydro boost.

I still need to take the, what I assume to be, original radiator laying in the bed in to a shop for cleanup and repair if needed. Also, i have the fan and clutch that I assume is from the diesel. I'm not sure. I also don't know if I can use the fan and clutch from the diesel on the small block...

Lots to do, but worth it. The body isn't great but not terrible either. The goal is to get it up and running enough to make a few off-roading memories with my son, then hopefully restore it with him to be his when he's old enough.

I'm looking forward to learning a lot here from folks that have already done all this and hopefully will not repeat all the mistakes already documented here, along my way.
id check that your pulley's are not close to rotting away, they are thin and if the grooves are worn or the metal is rustying badly, the belts will get cut up from them as they wear more. And your outer pulley can come off its for an AIR pump.

the fuel pump you should make into an edelbrock so you have the right fuel pressure. Unless you have a lot of debris in the tank you should not use a filter inline the fuel supply
 

BoxT86

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Location
Earth
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Chris
Truck Year
1986
Truck Model
K20
Engine Size
SB 400
id check that your pulley's are not close to rotting away, they are thin and if the grooves are worn or the metal is rustying badly, the belts will get cut up from them as they wear more. And your outer pulley can come off its for an AIR pump.

the fuel pump you should make into an edelbrock so you have the right fuel pressure. Unless you have a lot of debris in the tank you should not use a filter inline the fuel supply
Thanks, it looks like there is an aftermarket chrome fuel pump on there now, I'll have to checkout what it is and make sure it can provide enough pressure. I do intend to drop the fuel tanks for inspection before using them. I hope at least one of them is clean enough to use. Also, i am unsure if there is a sending unit in those and what I may have to do to make sure it works with the new sb400.

Luckily, the pulleys have some surface rust but are pretty good, a wire brush cleaned up most of it already. I was told the engine came out of an wrecked or abandoned late 70's RV that only had 36k miles on it.
 

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