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CK5
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1980 Jimmy Build - K5 owner again...
- Thread starter BC98
- Start date
Lolz_cats
Uga duga
Which goal do you plan to start with first?
Great question. The near term goal is to fix all of the interior rust issues to get the cab sealed back up again and then get rolling on the drivetrain swap. I already have the LQ4 sitting in the engine bay (primarily to free up space in my small garage). I'd like to test fire it while it's still in the frame and after replacing the fuel tank and prepping the fuel system for EFI. After that will be locating a trans, swapping parts in the NP241 to mate up to a 4L80E, and then dropping it in and (hopefully) getting it driving again. I don't need it perfect (it won't be at this point) but I do want it mobile again.
I think I need to get those things done fairly quickly to stay motivated. Bodywork intimidates me so I tend to take it VERY slow. I just don't want to get discouraged or burned out before I'm able to get the rig roadworthy again.
Lolz_cats
Uga duga
How are the floor pans? Having obtainable milestones will help keep you motivated!
The front floors are a little thin towards the rocker panels. The rear passenger floor pans by the bottom of the b-pillar has definitely seen better days. The rear cargo area was really good with the exception of the tailpan area. I'll try to get more pics uploaded in the next day or so to show more.
After the Jimmy got home with me, I started tearing it down to assess the real condition. I started finding a lot of things that I hadn't noticed while I was inspecting it before buying. The biggest issues that I didn't see were the roughly gallon of bondo that shoved into the rust holes in both front fenders, both rear quarters and the rockers. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics of that stuff. I did get a fair amount from the interior teardown. I will have to address the tailpan, patch the lower tailgate posts, the rear floorpan (b-pillar area), and a previously unfound giant hole in the tailgate.
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It has sliding quarter glass windows but they'll need to be rebuilt as they are currently locked in place. Found some other small areas that need to be addressed as well.
Patch holes from a CB antenna through the roof, weld up tears (yes, tears) in rear frame at the bumper mount area...along with some overly aggressive cuts from when I had to cut out the bumper bolts, and some rust holes in the windshield frame when my son and I popped out the windshield and cleaned off the gasket area (no pics at the moment).
Patch holes from a CB antenna through the roof, weld up tears (yes, tears) in rear frame at the bumper mount area...along with some overly aggressive cuts from when I had to cut out the bumper bolts, and some rust holes in the windshield frame when my son and I popped out the windshield and cleaned off the gasket area (no pics at the moment).
For an engine, I decided to go with a 6.0L LQ4 out of a 2000 Silverado 2500HD. A little backstory on the engine: I actually bought it about a year before I bought the Jimmy. I had been watching a few YouTube videos of guys who had pulled them out of the junkyard and gotten them running on the cheap. So, I pulled the engine out of my local U Pull yard by myself and brought it home. I swapped to 862 heads to bump compression, replaced some gaskets and sensors, added a set of factory manifolds from a V8 Envoy, and stabbed in a Summit LS Truck cam. I decided on the factory manifolds to keep costs down and the V8 Trailblazer/Envoy versions run tighter to the block than regular truck manifolds. After the Jimmy came home to my relatively small garage, I decided to "store" it in the engine bay. I'll be reworking the factory harness myself and have already removed VATS on the ECM with LS Droid.
With a little more space in the garage, I spun the Jimmy around as I decided to start tackling the bodywork from the back first. This is where I started to find out how bad the tailpan area was. I have removed all of the rusted sections in that area and found that I will also need to make a patch for the inner wall structure around the gas filler cover. I picked up the tailgate post and taillight reinforcements from LMC and will be using them to patch the minimal amount necessary so I can keep the most factory sheetmetal possible.
That pretty much catches up with where I'm at right now. I did need to make some positive progress so I took a weekend to clean off the surface rust and paint the core support. I'll add some pics of that later.
Next steps for me will be to clean up the frame and apply Rust Bullet converter and some Rustoleum top coat to stop the crust. Then get the tailpan, various patches, and rear cargo floor installed. Where feasible, I plan on using a rust converting product on any corrosion that is mostly surface to save some time. I'm not intending this as a high-end restoration so the main goal is to keep the elements outside the vehicle with all of interior bodywork.
Next steps for me will be to clean up the frame and apply Rust Bullet converter and some Rustoleum top coat to stop the crust. Then get the tailpan, various patches, and rear cargo floor installed. Where feasible, I plan on using a rust converting product on any corrosion that is mostly surface to save some time. I'm not intending this as a high-end restoration so the main goal is to keep the elements outside the vehicle with all of interior bodywork.
Lolz_cats
Uga duga
Making some headway! I hate finding bondo... Especially gallons of it!
Aaronkkillian87
Newbie
I would keep the 205 it’s a better transfer case u can get the adapter from off-road design
Aaronkkillian87
Newbie
And for the rust por 15 is the best its a one time coat just clean knock of surface rust then apply there metal prep which is acid based then apply por15 with brush and you are done .will never rust again it doesn’t scratch or chip and both can be applied with a brush I bought 1 gallon and did complete frame axels core support and underbody
The 205 is long since sold. I picked up a 241 out of a 90 Suburban in the junkyard for about half the cost of the adapter from ORD. Honestly, the NP241 will handle things just fine for now. I just want to get the rig back on the road as soon as I feasibly can.
I've used POR-15 on a past project and had the opposite experience. I followed all prep steps to the letter of the instruction and had issues with rust coming back through the paint and some flaking. The guys at New Legend 4x4/Anything Scout use the Rust Bullet in some of their mid-level restoration/"Driver" series builds and have lots of good things to say about it. Figured that I'd give it a shot.
The NP241 is a better transfer case than an NP205. You upgraded.
Martin
Martin
I was able to get a little garage time to work on the Jimmy today. Needed a break from body work so I decided to move ahead on refurbishing the rear suspension. I was able to get the truck's frame on jack stands and spent the rest of the afternoon fighting rusty nuts and bolts to get one of the rear leaf packs and shackle out. The main thing I wanted to do was confirm spring & bushing diameters and U-bolt dimensions. After that I was able to place an order with ORD for their new tension shackle spring hanger, some new rear bushings, and a Zero Rate add-a-leaf. I'm planning on cleaning up and painting the leaf packs, cleaning up the frame and applying the Rust Bullet to the rear of the frame since I have better access with the tires off for now. After that, put everything back together and move back to the rear body work.
It's been a while and I've actually made progress on this thing. Since my last post, I have been able to get the rear portion of the frame coated and painted, the ORD shackle hanger and tension hangers installed, and the rear leaf packs painted reassembled and installed. After the rear axle was reinstalled on the leaf springs and the truck was back on all 4 tires, it was time to get back to body work...
I found that the bottom portion of the tailgate supports had to be repaired on both sides and the inner wall on the passenger side below the pass through for the fuel fill hoses had also rotted away. Those areas were patched/rebuilt and then I was able to permanently install the new tailpan. I also patched up a rust spot on one of the rear wheelhouses (though I think the other one may be too far gone).
