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1981 k5-thats all she wrote :(

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Smokinthehippies

Smokinthehippies

3/4 ton status
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May 6, 2009
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Millard, NE
Smokinthehippies submitted a new Build:

1981 k5-thats all she wrote :(

well, as my 76 jimmy project turned out to be more then was prepared to invest at the time, i sold that to a buddy and bought this one.
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1981 Blazer, mildly rebuilt 350, th 350, np208, 14 bolt , 8 lug 10 bolt.
6" all spring lift, 8 bolt h1s with 37" militarys. ran great cept for an exhst leak

wheeled it once super mildly just to test it out.
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even that mad flex was enough to make the edelbrocker stall out lol.

so the first thing i did was a truck avenger. went wheeling again, did pretty good for what i was expecting until i got the very back side of Hollister, when the distributor died leaving me with no power on the side of a hill, my buddies zebra ended up having to bump draft me to the bottom and had AAA take me home.
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after that trip i decided it was time to get serious
bought a set of 56s used off craigslist, while BSing with the guy found out he had a set of 38" TSL's on rims that he didnt want, and i had a set of 37" hummer tires and wheels that he did want. straight trade, my setup & spacers for his setup. i'm happy, def got better wheeling tires plus ditched the spacers.
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had a buddy of mine start geting some tube to start a cage, of course i didnt have him start it til a bout a week before the first pismo trip, so we only had time to do the front half,
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plans are to take it all the way to the gate and leave room to keep the back bench intact.
bout that time i bought some corbeau super fatty seats and harnesses.
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grabbed a 14 bolt 4.10s and already set up with disk brakes off CL
of course that was the day after my...
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also before pismo i decided since the factory batter tray was toast, that i'd make a battery rack and put it in the bed. used 2ga cable based on advice from here, all went really simply and worked out good.

til the first run in pismo, truck stalls and acts like it has no battery.
i hope out check the battery, connections look good?
get down to the starter and see fire!!! luckily i brought two extinguishers with me. guess the cable got some slack and was resting on the headers. as the truck got hot enough, the sheathing melted and i'm guessing the headers arc'd on the cable. did a quick trail fix as in pulled back the melty mess and electrical taped it toghether, and by god if it isnt still holding. thats how i loaded it on trailer and drove it once i got home.
i've got the pieces to run a battery switch and power block under the hood, when i pull the headers to chase an exhaust leak and clean them up, i'm going to completely re-run the battery cable so its a better/more permanent install. trucks been basically sitting while i been parts whoring.
 
lots going on there Steve, great stuff man. Keep at it.
 
thanks.

its not going to be the most tech filled build in the world. but it should be (i'm hoping) fairly reliable & simple and not too much coinage.
 
Thats why i keep my batteries in the engine bay. The added resistance from longer cable, increased risk of fire because close to the fuel tank and added hassle of relocating the battery isn't worth it. If i'm that concerned about it i will put a shut off switch near the front of the truck so if there is an issue i can kill the power.
 
Reason I moved it was just I wanted a place I could mount it firmly without using the inner fender bcuz idont know how much longer they'll be around. I have a kill switch that will be wired to the dash as well as a distribution block under hood to keep all the power wires relatively short.

I'm gonna work on removing the AC box and maybe throwing the battery up on the firewall but we will see how that goes.
 
That cage looks pretty cool so far. I have never seen where the A pillar bars cross over to the center of the truck. Good idea.
 
Yeah it's similar to how his scout is but it leaves enough room so I don't crack my head to much.

Tonight I got 1/4 of the bilsteins mounted up. Need to go get a 15/16 socket to finish the job tomoro. Also installed new calipers an pads on the 10b just Roger me thru this next trip in Sunday since I'll have to drive the blazer instead of tow it. Atleast I'll be able to just swap them onto the disk 14b when I put in the d60. I'll get pics tomoro
 
Thanks boss.

While taking off the old shocks I found out that they were only allowing me 1/2" of down travel. Lol at static they were pretty mch bottomed out. Now wonder the poor bastards were blown lol. Got that covered now
 
Took it out wheeling to hollister today. My buddy in his half k5 half k10 and anotherbuddy with an 84 yota went out. It was the " pop the cherry" run for the yota And it was the baseline run for me. Stock/lift springs with no sway bar bs when I am finished. Plus I wanted to drain the fuel tank so it'll be easier to drop. Pulled into the driveway with between E and 1/16. Perfect.

Oh yeah. The same trail that left me stranded last time withthe dizzy, this tim left me with a PSycho starter. Earlier it was not stating engagedwhile turning over. Then inmiddle of thetrail it decided to stArt startering the truck as I'm driving. Spend two hours under the truck Dickin with that before we cave and run to town to buy a new one. $35 with 1 year warranty. shwing. Lol. Anyways other than the starter and having trouble keeping the t case in 4 hi, truck did great. I'm falling in love the more I drive it.
 
H yeah. Soooo happy I redid the front brakes. Truck actually doesn't drive halfbad lol. Might start puttin around town with it.
 
so due to a recent change in pay (50% cut, ouch ) i'm now trying to get my dana 60 and spare 14 bolt under the truck asafp, before my wife makes me sell them!! actually theres also been talk of selling the whole blazer but i'll delay that as much as possible.

anyway, i ordered the Simple swap from ruff stuff today for the 14b, basically the PO took all the mounting brackets off before i bought it so i'm gonna weld on the spring pads and shock mounts, and throw it under the truck when i do my shackle flip.

from here on i'm gonna spend time doing free work and installing all the parts i've already paid for. think i've talked my self out of installing 63s for now and just putting the 56s in the rear, that way i dont have to drill a bunch of frame holes, or dick with body mounts, just bolt it in and go.
 
Well you tell that lady of yours to get a job to pay for your truck!! (Den make you a samich:whistle:)
Just messin with ya man, but seriously that blows, hopefully you can keep if even if it means not working on it till you can get back on your feet again.
 
Deuling said:
Well you tell that lady of yours to get a job to pay for your truck!! (Den make you a samich:whistle:)
Just messin with ya man, but seriously that blows, hopefully you can keep if even if it means not working on it till you can get back on your feet again.
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BWHAHAH.
she is the one that buys all of the truck parts anyway, and cooks!
she made double what i did when i made double what i make now.

so 4 times my current pay. yeah i'm just gonna focus on doing the cheap stuff or installing parts i've already paid for. maybe stick to cleaning and painting the frame and undercarriage. swapping my axles around and retrimming my fenders to get better lines. maybe install the rock sliders outta the tube i have?
 
Sounds like a good way to stay busy on it with spending no more money:thumb: Those are my favorite kinds of work on them.. "FREE". :bow:
 
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