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Never done one of these build threads but I'm going to give it a try. Have 72 C10 that I'm going to try and see how much of a 01 Yukon/Sierra I can stuff in it and make work. 5.3, 4L80E, along with HVAC, column, cluster, controls, heated seats, front AND side impact airbags, and every piece of wiring and power options I can make work. Its my backup so I want to minimize downtime so will do things in steps. Right now I'm sorting out, cleaning, and repairing the wiring and seats I grabbed from the salvage yard last weekend. I know I'm asking for all kinds of headaches, but I work in mental health so I'm familiar with dealing with things that drive a person crazy
Sounds like an ambitious swap! Will be watching for progress.
My only comment is about the airbags. Not sure it's a good idea. Pretty sure they are engineered to behave a specific way in each vehicle they are put into.
Having had one deploy on me in an accident, I can assure you that if not properly used, it's likely to do more damage than good.
Not telling you what to do, but suggesting you really research that idea........
No that's definitely good advice about the airbag! The side impact ones are out of the same Yukon and are in the seats so the orientation to the body and seatbelts will be the same. The column is pretty straight forward. The passenger frontal bag, thats another story, Right now I'm leaning toward not using it for most of the reasons you would think. If it makes you feel any better I used to be a dealership mastertech in a past career and not just some kid splicing wires :-).
I had a 67 that I swapped the entire frame from a 2000, made it a little easier.
I wish I had a shop and equipment to do something like that....or at least not live in the burb where people throw a fit if you work on your car in your own drive way. Drives me nuts, I grew up on a farm in the middle of Nebraska, not sure I'll ever get used to that kind of stuff!
Another comment on the airbags, these trucks weren't exactly engineered for safety. You get hit in a stock one of these with even a fair amount of force....you would probably have to TRY and make it less safe than it is. Lol, practically sitting on a gas tank, how is that a good idea?
Well I'm off to the Pick N Pull for a little shopping and research. Maybe a hydroboost if I can find one with a matched brake pedal assembly that would be a good fit to work with the newer column. Also looking around for a HVAC assembly that will work with the 01 controls and wiring (do some checking with maybe a S10) considering the one from a newer full sized truck is half the size of the old cab! My wife cringes when I go to the yards…..the garage is overflowing and she wants her half back before winter.
For the love of god ditch the airbags!!! There is a ton more to them than just the explosion factor! Sensor mounting surface, angle, orientation. Airbags systems are designed to deploy when the sensor sees an impact equivalent to hitting an immovable object at 14mph, which is why sometimes you see what looks like a horrific accident and the bags are not deployed, none of the sensors saw the required g-forces to deploy the bags. So if you don't have a few spare C10 s laying around for crash testing don't do it. And improperly mounted sensor or faulty sensor picked from a yard or improperly grounded circuit or faulty wiring could all result in an unexpected deployment, possibly while driving down the highway!
The truck is a plain no option 350 4 barrel with TH350.
On the way home the driver exhaust manifold broke in half so I ordered some cheap headers, x pipe, and mufflers and tacked them on. Had to replace a couple worn steering parts. Later on the TH350 started losing drive after it had been driven for a while. Fluid looked good but I flushed and serviced it plus a can of transx. Didn't change anything, probably something simple but I never found anyone that knew anything about these old things. Went to a yard and scored a SS 200-4R trans. Opened it up, didn't look to bad and had a Certified tag on it but I ordered a rebuild kit and shift kit to be safe. Life got busy so it sat in limbo for a while. Then on a half price salvage weekend I found a complete drop out 01 5.3 and a 2000 4L80E. The 5.3 looks pretty good but the 4L80 needs rebuilt but was only like $35. Picked up parts here and there when I would run across them. Started rebuilding the 200-4R, ran into some snags and I'm only now getting it finished up. Radiator was leaking but found the 01 fit with very little modifications and gave it some electric fans. Found some cheap wheels and tires on craigslist.
Due to the city and my wife I can't have anything torn apart for more than a couple days so everything I'm doing has to be done in small steps. Not to mention I don't have or make much money so I'm spending a minimal amount of money.
So the idea right now
• First step is to put the 200-4R in it so I have hwy gears
• Hopefully around this point I'll fix the rocker/floor rust
• next, plan out and run all the new wiring
• put in the newer column and headlight switch
• then come up with a plan to put the cluster, HVAC controls, and newer HVAC assembly in without it looking too tacky
• somewhere along the line I'll rebuild the 4L80 with a shift kit
• once I get everything functional I'll drop in the 5.3 and 4L80
• Then do the rest of the bodywork if I haven’t already
But time will tell how it actually plays out.
Have you seen Drew's crew cab build on the truck forum? He crammed everything into a 67-72 truck including the factory Silverado HVAC. He also used the 99-06 frame as well.
Have you seen Drew's crew cab build on the truck forum? He crammed everything into a 67-72 truck including the factory Silverado HVAC. He also used the 99-06 frame as well.
Yeah, thats a huge thread. I've read through parts of it but must have missed the HVAC part, I'll have to check that out because when I was measuring things I didn't see how it could be done without destroying the dash and HVAC. I figured I would look into using a S10 unit from around the same year when I got to that part.
Last edited by brettlongmore; 09-24-2015 at 10:42 PM.
Last weekend I put together a makeshift wiring harness for the seats, put the seats back together, and cleaned them up.
The factory fuel pump started leaking gas around the crimp so i picked up one of them.
Did a little more work on the 200 4R and found my rebuild kit didn't have a accumulator gasket. Pretty irritating, not the kind of thing I can run across the street and get at the auto parts store.....ugh, for a little piece of paper! Other than that I think all I need to do is weld a drain plug in the pan and make/find some cooling lines to use with an inline filter and auxiliary cooler I'm putting on it.
Last edited by brettlongmore; 09-27-2015 at 12:31 AM.
Replaced the fuel pump. Finished the temporary wiring for the seats, pulled the original seat out and got the new ones ready to put in. Welded a drain plug on the 200 pan and been working on getting the accumulator housing so it will seal.
And been doing lots of checks with the wiring.....lots of wires....
09-12-2015, 02:32 AM
72-01, try to swap everything 
