Phase 1: Drive train

Engine

The replacement engine was purchased from GM Sports Salvage in San Jose for $3000. The vehicle was an automatic (4L60E tranny) and was involved in an accident that only damaged the rear portion of the car. All engine compartment components were intact. The water pump was shot but was replaced under warranty.

After I got the engine, the next step was to work my way through the wiring harnesses and sort everything out. The shop manual from GM was absolutely essential in doing this, but it wasn't really all that hard. I spent the equivilent of about two days working on the wiring discovery. The key task was removing all non essential components and retaining everything else. The ABS system along with air-bags were removed. All other engine/lighting wires were retained. The Blazers harness and fuse block was removed. In fact, the only wiring that remains stock in the blazer is the harness running to the tail lights and the ventalation system. Everythign else is Camaro now.

The following shots show the wiring harnesses as they were being pulled appart (split-loom removed) and also show the tranny/transfercase in place, as these were both part of the wiring work (computer controlled tranny and electronic speed sensor on the TC)

One of the interesting mods I had to perform was the AC compressor. On the Camaros, it's mounted low on the passenger side of the engine. This wont fit within the frame of a truck. Since I don't intend to run AC in the truck, I opted to pull the AC and modify the tensioner pully to change the path of the belt to clear everything. I was able to drill the mounting bracket of the tensioner pully so that I could mount it to one of the old AC bracket holes, and with some spacers and a long bolt it worked great.

Prior to installing the new engine I made sure to clean up the engine compartment and tranny tunnel. 25 years of grime can be pretty thick. I rented a steam cleaner and made a nice little mess in the driveway, and all over myself.

And after the install...

On 9/18/00 @ 8:25pm the engine was started in the truck. Two days later I drove it down the street for the first time.

Tranny

Transfer-case

Front/Back end

Before...

After...

And the axle swap...

Custom drive shafts

Wheels and tires

Misc.

• Custom power steering hose. (Royal Brass in San Jose)
• High pressure fuel pump/filter AC/Delco
• Custom hose work to hook up the fuel pump. Mostly from the Camaro, but some magic from NAPA auto parts.
• Cleaned and flushed the fuel tank
• Fuel return line into tank (drill, pipe fittings, silicon)
• Completely replaced wiring. Only things left that are stock '74 chevy are the rear light harness, the HVAC controls, and the steering column. Fuse block and relays are from the Camaro.
• Rust removal in the cab. Driver floor has a few small holes but other than that its not too bad. The fenders have a bit but that will be dealt with on phase 3.
• Removal of after-market carpet kit
• Replacement of dash pad with "boxy" late model version
• Replacement of instrument cluster with electronic version from late model Suburban. It works with the sending unit from the T-case, and the camaro computer is happy with it. (One of the variables I was unsure of going in to the project.)
• Autometer tach.
• T-case shifter from the donner truck that provided the T-case.
• B&M Light truck megashifter. (Tight fitting with the T-case shifter while leaving space for a future center console.)
• Aftermarket performance air filter.
• New cross-member / tranny mount that has sufficient clearance for the front drive shaft with the NP-241C. (Quite a bit lower than the NP-203 that the truck had)
• I'll need to come up with some sort of skid-plate for the t-case as it droops pretty low and could get bashed hard on rocks while wheeling.
• Slip-shaft eliminator kit for the NP-241C transfer case. Had I known I would need this I probably would have tried to find another type of T-case for this application. The only catch was that I needed the electronis speed sensor, so the 241 may have been my only choice anyway... The basic problem was that with the revolver shackles, the angle that the rear drive shaft had to perform at was too much for the standard shaft used on the 241 with a tail house slip shaft. To get a heavy-duty CV-joint drive shaft requires the eliminator kit.

Final product of Phase 1