Boy am I excited....Just picked up this sweet 67 K 20. Truly a survivor with original paint. and decent interior...right down to the original Harrison Radiator. Yup its rusty in all the usual spots but a solid undercarriage...Kinda rare truck in my opinion.....My questions as follows: I'd like confirmation on both the front & rear axle's Looks like an Eaton in the rear & a Dana in the front...unlikely combination but looks original to me......Oh the wheels....The guy I got the truck from said the split rims & dry rotted tires were so bad he put these on....I'm looking to replace them with later model steel tubeless wheels.....
Yep, Eaton rear, Dana type 60 front axle, it appears. That's a good combination as long as the gear ratio of both axles is the same. I worked on a factory-original C-10 4X4 once, with different ratios front and rear- - - - -a 3.08 in the rear axle, and a 3.07 up front. I believe that one had a full time 4WD system, and the front/rear differential in the transfer case made up the 0.01 ratio difference front to rear. On loose surfaces, that slight ratio difference wouldn't have been noticeable anyway! Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
The gear ratio is the same 4:56, just like my C30 mason's dump....When that speedometer hits 50, that's all she wrote.....Sure wish this was a k10 with a sortie....but theses days you get what you can, & I feel I was lucky to get this....The best thing about it is the originally, never tampered or molested......and the 250 is the icing on the cake !!
I wasn't able to attach pics of the end of the front axle as I ran out of pic space...but it has the ball type end at the knuckle, with no locking hubs.......
Wheels....No it could look worse....I just don't have any luck with wheels on vehicles when I buy them....I had a nightmare on my 70 C 30, with mismatched wheels that were neither not hub or lug centric.....and held on by the strength of the lug nut against the wheel.....In this truck the wheel is so thick that there aren't enough threads for the lug nut....You can put your pinky in the lug hole & not feel the the end of the stud.....Its like 3 turns and the lug comes off???......But in the sellers defense this was a better solution than the rusted dry rotted tires....I'm just going to yard drive this for now....needs brake & carb work.........
If you search around, you could probably get larger OD 16" or 17" wheels and tires to give you a little more speed. Definitely get some front hubs, too, will help with fuel mileage and gear whine.
Ed
'37 GMC T-18 w/ DD 4-53T, RTO-610, 6231 aux., '95 GMC running gear, full disc brakes, power steering, 22.5 wheels and tires. '47 GMC 1 ton w/ 302, NP-540, 4wd, full width Blazer front axle. '54 GMC 630 w/ 503 gasser, 5 speed, ex fire truck, shortened WB 4', install 8' bed. '55 GMC 370 w/270, 420 4 speed, grain, dump bed truck from ND. Works OK.
Did notice some whine on the drive home, one of the things on the 'to do' list, so its a good possibility its coming from the front axle? Is there a way to confirm what axle this is? One comment posted Dana 60, & another Dana 44.....You got to wonder why in 52 years there were no locking hubs? The rear has a leaky wheel cylinder and the seller made a comment about not being able to get parts for Eaton rears? I don't think brake parts would be an issue???? I will say this, I made a mistake replacing the front wheel cylinders on my 70 C 30 with Chinese junk, when I got all done, I wasn't able to bleed the brakes with a wrench, as the bleeder was against the brake hose. I had to use a needle nose vice grip to get it done....Moving forward I will bead blast the cylinders, paint, & rebuild them....
I guess....So after all of these years the axle established a wear pattern? and at this point would the hubs be of any benefit? I looked them up on line and there not going to break the bank so I'll give it a try....on the 'To Do' list..... Tackling the brakes & carb. first......
A dana 60 diff cover measures aprox. 12 5/8" tall x 11" wide. If it's smaller than that it's probably a 44. Also all of the Dana 60 axles I've seen have only one U bolt and two threaded studs on the diff side.
Good info here, will get the old bones, under the truck with a camera & tape measure....Fluid levels unknown, but for sure a fluid change is in order......
