72 C10 Longbed Duramax Swap!

TheIronGeek

New member
Nov 16, 2013
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Dslhtrdr: thanks so much! I'll ask google about those Kennedy Pumps you mentioned! Thank you so much! I was planning on hitting up LMC, but thought i would start here to see if anyone had a better idea :)

The Bac: Stu did stand it up to do the tailhousing. it worked out nice. I seriously can't brag on those guys enough. I wish i lived closer to them. They were friendly, and their parts were cheaper than i could find anywhere else. Maybe you're more experienced in diesel parts than i am though :) I'm admittedly pretty dumb here.

Thanks again guys!!

Edit:
dslhtrdr: I just looked those pumps up, and while i'm looking at them, are those dual pumps the only fuel pumps you're running? Some of the other links I've found are people running those dual pumps in addition to their stock "in tank" pumps. As i don't have a stock in tank pump. would thos dual pumps do what i need them to do with a stock d-max? I don't plan on doing much modding to the engine beyond a dsp5 switch.
Thanks!
 
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dslhtrdr

Always learning
Nov 22, 2012
262
0
0
Sebastopol, Ca
Dslhtrdr: thanks so much! I'll ask google about those Kennedy Pumps you mentioned! Thank you so much! I was planning on hitting up LMC, but thought i would start here to see if anyone had a better idea :)

The Bac: Stu did stand it up to do the tailhousing. it worked out nice. I seriously can't brag on those guys enough. I wish i lived closer to them. They were friendly, and their parts were cheaper than i could find anywhere else. Maybe you're more experienced in diesel parts than i am though :) I'm admittedly pretty dumb here.

Thanks again guys!!

Edit:
dslhtrdr: I just looked those pumps up, and while i'm looking at them, are those dual pumps the only fuel pumps you're running? Some of the other links I've found are people running those dual pumps in addition to their stock "in tank" pumps. As i don't have a stock in tank pump. would thos dual pumps do what i need them to do with a stock d-max? I don't plan on doing much modding to the engine beyond a dsp5 switch.
Thanks!

Yes they're the only pumps I'm running, and they're definitely enough for what you will be doing with your motor, and then some. Lots of guys out there making very respectable power with them. The best part is that they're compact and quiet. They're not self priming, so I had to slightly pressurize my fuel cell with a little air pressure with a rubber tipped air blower through a -8 an fitting on the top of the cell and they were good to go.
 

TheBac

Why do I keep doing this?
Staff member
Apr 19, 2008
15,309
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Kennedy pumps are reliable and quiet, and he stands behind them. There is no in-tank fuel pump on a Dmax truck. The CP3 pulls fuel from the tank on its own. A lift pump setup is a good addition.
 

TheIronGeek

New member
Nov 16, 2013
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I really appreciate ya'lls input!!

i've dealt with small blocks quite a bit when i was younger. This is my first foray into diesels. This is me learning new things!!
 

TheIronGeek

New member
Nov 16, 2013
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After doin some lookin', i think i'm going to go with a 69 Camaro fuel Tank, and put the filler behind the license plate. I feel like that's a nice balance between "cool" and "easy"
smile.gif
haha

Just talked to the junk yard folks today! this weekend i'm getting the Cab from the duramax truck, so that i can get the wiring and such outta there!

Also the Rearend from the Duramax as well!

Stuff's happenin' in southern indiana fellas! :D
 

dslhtrdr

Always learning
Nov 22, 2012
262
0
0
Sebastopol, Ca
After doin some lookin', i think i'm going to go with a 69 Camaro fuel Tank, and put the filler behind the license plate. I feel like that's a nice balance between "cool" and "easy"
smile.gif
haha

Just talked to the junk yard folks today! this weekend i'm getting the Cab from the duramax truck, so that i can get the wiring and such outta there!

Also the Rearend from the Duramax as well!

Stuff's happenin' in southern indiana fellas! :D

Be careful with the '69 Camaro gas tank idea. Make sure there is a working baffle in the filler neck to only let fuel into the tank and not out. Any quick acceleration or jumping on the throttle from a dead stop might make fuel come out the filler neck.
 

TheIronGeek

New member
Nov 16, 2013
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thank you! that's something i hadnt thought of.

I saw on a 69-72 forum that it was a semi common fuel tank conversion. But never thought about it NOT having a baffle.

you guys are awesome! thanks!
 

TheIronGeek

New member
Nov 16, 2013
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Hey everyone!
it's been a few weeks! Dumb old Drill weekend! followed by a weekend trip to Memphis with my wife!

However, this weekend we finally got time to work!

I got the Cab of the 05 Donor truck. Stripped the interior out of it. Seats, all of the plastic and dash ( no instrument cluster) radio, and doors! Steering Column (air bag intact) and passenger airbag! All of it's for sale if anyone's lookin!

After that was stripped, We pulled all of the in-cab wiring harness out, but, whoever bought the instrument cluster out of the junkyard just cut all of the wiring so that they could pull the cluster.

I sat down to try to start soldering the cut wires together, however, there are a LOT of wires that are the same color AND same gauge. So, i'm going to try to price a another junkyard in-cab harness that hasnt been screwed up. if that ends up being way to expensive. I might just go ahead and try to repair this one first.

While i was doing that King Mechanic Arlie was putting the 05 rearend under my 72 truck for me. That thing is HUGE. Also, it turns out this newer rearend is around an inch wider on each side. but from what we can tell it will still fit under the rear fenders of the stock bed. which, if we backspace the wheels correctly, will still look ok!

Another weekend in the bag!
 

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rfletes79

Active member
Mar 5, 2010
636
125
43
Galt, Ca 95632
I have a complete under dash harness un-cut for an 05 d max if your interested. Complete from the under hood fuse block through the firewall and under dash.

Lmk

Rick

2099869706
 

TheIronGeek

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Nov 16, 2013
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Hey Guys! It's been a few weeks! We had a vacation, a couple drill weekends, a national holiday, and one lazy weekend between postings!

First, we've started getting the 69 Camaro tank in position, i'm basically following this: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=448431 Build thread. I'll have some better pictures of MY stuff in a couple weekends, we got caught up in the DOING of it to take pictures, haha.

I put the new brakes and calipers on the Duramax Rear end that we put in.

Arlie, the mechanic of the two of us, works at a county garage in town, and had to replace the brake system in one of their dump trucks. He started figuring and looking at the Hydro Boost system.

and that dude has made it work. we have to get a block made to mount the master cylinder to the hydraboost. and i'll put up better pictures of that next time also.

That's most of what we've gotten done in the last 5 weeks or so!

next on the agenda,
master cylinder mounted
get the fuel tank plumbed so that i can connect it to the duramax fuel lines.
run brake lines!
 

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56taskforce

Well-known member
Mar 30, 2014
1,074
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Nice work :thumb: subbed for more I have a 72 that I am throwing around the idea of an Art Morrison chassis and Duramax swap for a race truck after getting hooked at the Pacific Coast NHRDA Nationals...
 

JayMuld

New member
Aug 27, 2015
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Nice project. I have a 1970 C10 long bed I want to do the Duramax Allison swap. Do you have any advice or helpful tips before I start my project?
 

TheIronGeek

New member
Nov 16, 2013
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Hey guys!

Long time no see!

So, slow progress recently, nothing big, just some holidays, a vacation by me and my mechanic buddy.

Basically we've been working on brakes, and he built a drive shaft for the truck.

JayMuld:
So far my suggestion would be, have a place where you can pull everything off the frame and start from there. sit the engine where you want it, and then kinda adjust the body around the engine. before helping arlie do my project that statement wouldnt have made any sense to me, now it makes a little more..

also, get as much of the Duramax vehicle as you can, the random parts that you can grab off of it, along with all of the wiring and stuff has helped me a lot.

also! i have a question!

my question is this,
I found on craigslist, near me, a Banks Six gun system with the knob for 300, and also a banks six gun system with the PDA for 5000 which is about half price for either of them.

does anyone have any experience with these?
is the PDA worth an extra 200 bucks? Or should i just pick up the selector switch without the PDA?

Originally i wasn't going to worry about any power adders until i got the truck on the road, however, with these being available at half price, it makes me a little more interested. :)

any input would be awesome! Many thanks!

Nate
 
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JoshH

Daggum farm truck
Staff member
Vendor/Sponsor
Feb 14, 2007
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I would recommend going with EFILive tuning by one of the many quality tuners on this forum especially with such a cool, custom build.
 

TheIronGeek

New member
Nov 16, 2013
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but efilive is so much more expensive than these craigslist tuners.... :D


really though, whenever i've looked up efilive it looks complex as hell. and lets be real, i'm not looking to be a world record holder, i'm just looking to be as bad as it can be with a stock tranny. :)

is efilive really something i need with modest goals?

i'm not being critical of your opinion at all! i'm asking for some enlightenment to my ignorance!

Thanks!
 

56taskforce

Well-known member
Mar 30, 2014
1,074
51
48
Not so expensive especially when doing a project like yours. You will really want the tuning opinions you get with EFI Live...
 

duratothemax

<--- slippery roads
Aug 28, 2006
7,139
10
0
Wyoming
At the very least, you're going to need a custom EFILive tune to disable the anti-theft and nuisance check engine lights that will result from the engine being run in a standalone vehicle...

I can set you up with a full standalone tune/pre-programmed ECM that will be fully plug-and-play...that way you don't have to do any tuning yourself. :thumb:

Ben
 

Madspeed

Fat Bastard
Mar 22, 2007
315
6
18
Elk Ridge Utah
Done 2 of these dmax swaps and well if you want some ideas on how I pulled it of feel free to email me. [email protected]
The engine looks way to high in the frame. I used round urethane bushings from http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/LSMOUNT.html like the Merchant engine mounts and fabbed my own dom tube X Member. The wiring is cake to make stand alone. You will need some electrical knowledge and use some diodes to get your 71 ignition switch to do what a dmax wants it do to. Use the blazer/Suburban fuel tank and cut open the top use epoxy and screws to fasten the dmax sender base into the blazer tank. I have pix somewhere it works tits. You can use the dmax rad core support and all the rads and coolers. Use a Fass 150/150 w filters or the like. get EFI live youl need it. the wiring is actually simple. I did ABS, cruise control, a/c, factory dmax alarm, power windows w van regs and my mods of which I have templates around, used 72 tilt colum and crusie lever, My dash is all stock 72 stuff minus gauges.
First one was 1972 4x4 blazer This next one is 1971 c10 on c30 frame w AAM rear, Dana 60 HP ford front, Next one is going to be a 71-72 Crewcab custom built cab.
Love the project so far.