‘76 K5 LS swap fiberglass body

[Asherk5]

Hi guys, I’m starting my build thread here. For starters I bought a wrecked 76 K5 blazer as an anniversary gift to my wife who grew up driving squarebodys. Im a few years into the project now and just got the truck into the body shop. I’ll post up some pics from the last few years.

 

[centexk5]

Nice. Which body did you go with?

 

[Asherk5]

here are a few pics early on... or maybe not... will need to figure out how to do that on my phone.

 

[ktmoutfront]

You need 3 posts before you can do pictures.

 

[Asherk5]

I am thinking about the USBody source 76-91 tub. I haven’t been able to find others. Thank you for the heads up ktmoutfront.

 

[Asherk5]

I bought our fiberglass body today. They are backed up due to Covid so should be ready for pick up in May.

 

[Asherk5]

This is a pic when we bought the truck. Turned out the frame was bent and obviously needed a front clip and passenger door.

 

[Asherk5]

Got a front clip about a month later and had the frame straightened.

 

[Asherk5]

Stripped the front clip and doors and found that they were all really decent.

 

[Asherk5]

Here is a picture of when we bought the engine and transmission. A wrecked 06 savanna with a 6.0 LS. May 2017

 

[Asherk5]

I picked up an ‘88 K5 that was absolute rust junk but it did have a NP208 transfer case and suspension lift to rob for mine. July 2017

 

[Asherk5]

Got a new job October 2017 and met a guy with CUCV that he was tired of dealing with. Picked up this gem with 6.2 diesel that he could never start. I put a new canister style fuel filter and manual button glow plugs. Turned around and sold for a good profit. Jan 2018

 

[Asherk5]

Started doing some frame cleanup while installing the lift springs. Also installed a vetteworks fuel pump ring and a GM replacement pump for possibly a 2000 Silverado?? Also shout out to off-road designs for the shocks, bushings, and new greasable bolts. July 2018

 

[Asherk5]

Started the LS swap. Made my own engine cross member and mounts. Bought some mandrel bent tubing for exhaust. Also finished up the new brake lines. Jan 2019.

 

[Asherk5]

I had a few major interruptions since getting the blazer running with the LS swap. The wife wrecked my daily driver and I had to make a trip to Oklahoma City for a front clip to fix it. We built a shed in July 2019. We then found our little slice of heaven and moved in 2020. This doubled my shed square-footage and i bought/installed a lift.

 

[Asherk5]

That is the quick and dirty to get to December 2020 when I was able to get the blazer into the body shop. Here are some pictures of the tear-down process until we saw how much rust we had. This issue got me interested in the fiberglass body due to estimated cost and the fact that my body shop is having a hard time getting the required panels. #covid I pulled the trigger on the 76-91 K5 blazer tub and fiberglass dash cover. We are supposed to be able to pick them up in May.

 

[ktmoutfront]

You have been on this forum since Sept of 17, and we are just now seeing all of this goodness?

Keep it coming.

 

[a77blazerchalet]

The curiosity question I've long had is what the weight difference is between the US Body fiberglass tub is and how much the factory steel tub weighs. If I had unlimited cash and was desperate to have a fully modern, practical camping rig that occupied the same physical space as a vintage Blazer Chalet, I'd take this fiberglass tub route along with an orphaned Chalet shell that's engineered for easy installation & removal, gutted and re-outfitted with lighter weight interior and a properly designed pop-up roof that doesn't leak rain & snow into the camper unit.

 

[CUCV2]

What are you doing with the old K5 tub?

 

[AJMBLAZER]

@73k5blazer did a similar project with a fiberglass body.

https://ck5.com/forums/builds/73-k5-fiberglass-body-tub.392/