My 1973 K10 Chevy Cheyenne

[Chris]

Looks good ! worth the effort Chris ! This repair and getting rid of the gay wheels and tires will make this a much better truck . What's crazy is the amount of money spent on the frame repair and tires and Rallys is small for the improvement . You couldn't get the same ROI on a new truck . Good job man !

Absolutely. Those wheels set me back $1000 but the guy I bought them from on eBay is a connoisseur. He goes around to swap meets and finds the Rally wheels, has them fully stripped, re-painted, and gets new chrome rings for them.

Those M/T tires are just trash. Thunderer M/Ts; I looked them up and they're something like $147 a tire and clearly they're just cheap junk. The 12.50" width is too wide IMHO. The KO2s will be lighter and the 10.50" width is much more suited for this truck.

I also noticed the previous owner had wheel spacers on this truck. No idea why, probably wanted that skateboard look.

At least this truck has value and should in theory hold onto a lot of that value. For a long time I was really tired of working on cars. I dreaded it due to how complicated they've become. This truck has reignited that spark in me for working on cars again. I can work on it and I find it to be a pleasure. I'm not constantly cursing and finding myself frustrated. Everything is very simple and easy to get to. You know, the way cars used to be before they got so complicated.

I posted the wheels and tires on FB Marketplace and already have a number of people inquiring about them. I was surprised anyone would want those tires but it seems that people do.

 

[Chris]

By the way, when I removed the steering box I had to get the pitman arm off. First time I've ever taken a pitman arm off without any trouble at all. I loosened the bolt and gave it a few smacks with a piece of wood and a BFH and it fell right off

 

[ColoJeep]

Absolutely. Those wheels set me back $1000 but the guy I bought them from on eBay is a connoisseur. He goes around to swap meets and finds the Rally wheels, has them fully stripped, re-painted, and gets new chrome rings for them.

Those M/T tires are just trash. Thunderer M/Ts; I looked them up and they're something like $147 a tire and clearly they're just cheap junk. The 12.50" width is too wide IMHO. The KO2s will be lighter and the 10.50" width is much more suited for this truck.

I also noticed the previous owner had wheel spacers on this truck. No idea why, probably wanted that skateboard look.



At least this truck has value and should in theory hold onto a lot of that value. For a long time I was really tired of working on cars. I dreaded it due to how complicated they've become. This truck has reignited that spark in me for working on cars again. I can work on it and I find it to be a pleasure. I'm not constantly cursing and finding myself frustrated. Everything is very simple and easy to get to. You know, the way cars used to be before they got so complicated.

I posted the wheels and tires on FB Marketplace and already have a number of people inquiring about them. I was surprised anyone would want those tires but it seems that people do.

The old wheels and tires are a rednecks dream if priced right , been there , done that . Poor folks can only do what they can do . The wheel spacers are just wrong in so many ways and add hugely to the flighty driving with 10" wheels . It is easier to enjoy working on old vehicles , I open the hood on our 71 C - 10 and you see the air cleaner , SBC , alternator , and master cylinder . No need to be so embarrassed of your engine , you have to hide it under a plastic cover.
Value wise you will always have a more stable bottom line than your Nissan or even the F-150 when you calculate depreciation loss per month. I can't wait to hear how K - 10 drives when your done !

 

[Chris]

The old wheels and tires are a rednecks dream if priced right , been there , done that . Poor folks can only do what they can do . The wheel spacers are just wrong in so many ways and add hugely to the flighty driving with 10" wheels . It is easier to enjoy working on old vehicles , I open the hood on our 71 C - 10 and you see the air cleaner , SBC , alternator , and master cylinder . No need to be so embarrassed of your engine , you have to hide it under a plastic cover.
Value wise you will always have a more stable bottom line than your Nissan or even the F-150 when you calculate depreciation loss per month. I can't wait to hear how K - 10 drives when your done !

The plastic cover! Yep, same way I feel! What a joke that modern engines have become so ugly and complicated that they have to hide them under a plastic cover.

Looking at all the things I've discovered now with the steering and driveline it's no wonder it was a little bit sketchy at higher speeds. I also took the driveshafts into my local driveshaft shop and he said the front driveshaft had a slip joint that was shot while the rear was out-of-balance. He's fixing those for me with new u-joints and rebalancing both shafts.

I'm excited to get it driving again. I replaced the steering shaft with this as well:
https://www.offroaddesign.com/u-joint-steering-shaft 1.html

That gets rid of the factory rag joint and supposedly tightens up the steering quite a bit.

Anyways, I'll report back once I get it all buttoned up and back on the road. It's gonna be a big difference, I'm sure. Especially with those awful wheels and tires.

First time I'll have had steel wheels on a vehicle!

 

[ColoJeep]

By the way, when I removed the steering box I had to get the pitman arm off. First time I've ever taken a pitman arm off without any trouble at all. I loosened the bolt and gave it a few smacks with a piece of wood and a BFH and it fell right off

I had the same experience with my K -20 when I changed out the leaking box . The specialty tool , was finding the right wood block in the firewood bin .

 

[Chris]

I had the same experience with my K -20 when I changed out the leaking box . The specialty tool , was finding the right wood block in the firewood bin .

That's interesting! Have you ever tried removing the pitman arm from your TJ? I did that once and it was a real SOB. I had to get the pitman arm puller tool and even that was a PITA!

 

[ColoJeep]

First time I'll have had steel wheels on a vehicle!

Damn Dude , the first vehicle I had alloy wheels on was 18 years after i started driving ! It was an 1984 Wagoneer Limited in 1993 .

 

[Chris]

Damn Dude , the first vehicle I had alloy wheels on was 18 years after i started driving ! It was an 1984 Wagoneer Limited in 1993 .

View attachment 639995

I'm sure that at the time alloy wheels were a big deal, huh?

 

[ColoJeep]

That's interesting! Have you ever tried removing the pitman arm from your TJ? I did that once and it was a real SOB. I had to get the pitman arm puller tool and even that was a PITA!

I haven't had to remove any TJ pitman arms .

 

[Chris]

I haven't had to remove any TJ pitman arms .

Consider yourself lucky! I don't know why mine was such a PITA. It wasn't rusted or anything. When the K10 pitman arm just came off as easily as it did I was shocked. Took me probably 30 minutes to get the whole steering box / drag link assembly off. I was not expecting that. Anytime I start a project like this is always turns into more than I was anticipating.

You know the drill:

"Honey, how long do you think you'll be in the garage?"

"Maybe an hour tops."

4 hours later...

"I thought it was only going to be an hour?"

"Yeah...me too!"

 

[ColoJeep]

I'm sure that at the time alloy wheels were a big deal, huh?

Actually , we were just a poor single income family and where thrilled to get the XJ instead of the 4 of us having to ride in single cab square bodies !

 

[Chris]

Actually , we were just a poor single income family and where thrilled to get the XJ instead of the 4 of us having to ride in single cab square bodies !

I remember trying to fit 4 people in an XJ...those backseats are torture for anything other than children

 

[ColoJeep]

I remember trying to fit 4 people in an XJ...those backseats are torture for anything other than children

Opposed to how luxurious the rear seat accommodations are in a TJ or TJU !

 

[Chris]

Opposed to how luxurious the rear seat accommodations are in a TJ or TJU !

Even on a JKU the back seats are laughable. They might work for little kids but trying to put an adult in just about any Jeep back seat is a lesson in masochism.

The Grand Cherokees and Wagoneers are a different story.

 

[Dans98TJ]

Beautiful, I had one many years ago I wish I would have kept it and restored it.

 

[Chris]

Got the new Rally wheels on. Check out how much thinner they are from the back! They also don’t stick out nearly as much as the previous setup. Admittedly this has me wanting to drop the lift from 4” to 2”, but I won’t worry about that now.

I’ll take some good photos once I get the steering box back on and everything buttoned up.

 

[Chris]

 

[ColoJeep]

View attachment 641324View attachment 641325View attachment 641326View attachment 641327View attachment 641328

MUCH better @Chris !

 

[Chris]

MUCH better @Chris !

Agreed! Now I’ve gotta figure out this janky mess that the previous owner did with the dual saddle fuel tanks.

The factory switch on the dash doesn’t work. Apparently he installed some aftermarket switch (which also doesn’t work) which engages an aftermarket pump that takes fuel from the aux tank and pumps it into the main tank.

This seems like a good idea I suppose, but I think I am more inclined to get the factory pollack valve working with the factory dash switch.

 

[ColoJeep]

Agreed! Now I’ve gotta figure out this janky mess that the previous owner did with the dual saddle fuel tanks.

The factory switch on the dash doesn’t work. Apparently he installed some aftermarket switch (which also doesn’t work) which engages an aftermarket pump that takes fuel from the aux tank and pumps it into the main tank.

This seems like a good idea I suppose, but I think I am more inclined to get the factory pollack valve working with the factory dash switch.

Sounds like it would have been easier to fix the valve and switch . Does the Sniper FI use a return to tank line? If so you could use a 1980 C6P K-20 valve and switch.