And So It Begins

Last night I set up my work area for my most ambitious project in a while. I am making this truck a Manuel. I have had a manual transmission for this for a long time left over from a failed S10 V8 project. Same with the transfer case. You need to either switch stuff internally in the transfer case on the truck or get a transfer case from a 3/4 or 1 ton because the output shaft on the manual has a higher spline count. The 4L60E in my truck has been acting up for a while and it had 254k miles on it. I do have a 4L80E but it seems like I would need to either reprogram the ECM or update the truck to a newer ECM. If I do the manual I don’t have to do either. Everything bolts in place and all the holes are marked in the can from the factory, I just need to cut them. I will have to shorten the rear driveshaft and lengthen the front. There is a driveshaft shop 10 minutes from where I live. I am pretty excited to do this!

All the plywood to make it easier to roll on a creeper on gravel.
All the plywood to make it easier to roll on a creeper on gravel.
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Is that truck underneath something?
Is that truck underneath something?
Yup. It’s underneath my house. More space than the garage and the garage has a dirt floor that is super uneven.
Yup. It’s underneath my house. More space than the garage and the garage has a dirt floor that is super uneven.
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Illustration for article titled And So It Begins
This is an NV3500. I would’ve bought an NV4500 but this came with a flywheel and a fairly new clutch so I chose this one.
This is an NV3500. I would’ve bought an NV4500 but this came with a flywheel and a fairly new clutch so I chose this one.
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NP242 attached to a 4L80E that came out of a 1992 3/4 ton that was getting scrapped. Only has 100k on it.
NP242 attached to a 4L80E that came out of a 1992 3/4 ton that was getting scrapped. Only has 100k on it.

I am pretty sure I have sourced all the parts except for a clutch master cylinder. I am converting from push button 4WD to manual shift. It’s easier to do. I have to cut and weld together a clutch pedal assembly because there were only two manual trucks in junkyards within a 100 miles of me. The one that I really needed was only a bracket, no pedal arm. So I got another assembly from an older truck and will combine the two and make it fit. Before I can do any of this though, I have to fix the brake line that I blew last year that’s behind the gas tank. I am just going to pull the bed did the trick to have easy access to it.

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I will post updates as I go and I only have a month to do this. After a month the wife comes back home.

Wish me luck Oppo!!!