1983 K5 "Gonna Build it Someday" Thread!

[kimb82]

I signed up back in 06", and have been lurking. I have owned my 1983 K5 going on 7 years. I am hoping to finally get around to working on it.
First a little background.
I bought my K5 in San Antonio TX, the summer of 2003. for a sum of $700 dollars.
Here is what she looked like when I picked her up.

The previous owner had been in a collision, and damaged the drivers side quarter, fender, door, and bent the steering wheel. It was a little tough to drive, but I managed to make it the 25 miles home. I made it home and immediately starting puking coolant everywhere. A new water pump and she was good.

No frame damage it would run and drive no problem, except for the steering wheel being off to the right a bit!
Drove it for a little while doing minor things to it. The interior is shot, needs everything! The rear bumper that was on it, was damaged so I removed it.
Picked up a drivers door with all the electricals in it, replaced the door and threw a coat of primer on it. I also tuned it up a little.


I was then transferred to Washington, and she sat for a year until I had time to go back to Texas and get her. I towed her back to my parents house in Montana, and there she sat for the last 5 years.
After deploying to Iraq, and Afghanistan, I finally decide it was time to move forward. At least I needed to make a little progress.

 

[shovelbill80]

i' new too..welcome and thanks for serving..........what else do you plan on doing to her?

 

[kimb82]

Never really decided on a plan.
First was to do a resto.
Now that I have been lookin at some of the build threads, it has been gettin the wheels turnin.

 

[bronc3buster842001]

Never really decided on a plan.
First was to do a resto.
Now that I have been lookin at some of the build threads, it has been gettin the wheels turnin.

Say good bye to all your extra cash.

 

[K85 Octane]

x2
build threads do more harm than good

 

[bronc3buster842001]

stay away from Greg72 and Ryoken's builds.

 

[K85 Octane]

ahahahahaha

get those couple more posts so you can throw up some pictures
when you can, whip out that membership and enjoy the endless self arguments over what mod comes first!!

 

[kimb82]

stay away from Greg72 and Ryoken's builds.

HA, HA!

I looked at those threads, and I don't believe my mechanical ability is that great!

I would like to throw a new engine in it, throw some larger tires on her, build some tube bumpers, and redo the interior.

 

[76zimmer]

HA, HA!

I looked at those threads, and I don't believe my mechanical ability is that great!

I would like to throw a new engine in it, throw some larger tires on her, build some tube bumpers, and redo the interior.

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'
the wallet is a swollen'
but the snowball is a rollin'
Rawhide.

Its just a matter of time
before he spends his last dime
waiting on the parts
to come for his ride

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin' Rawhide

All his friends are on line
the rest have left him
cause he's intwined
with his latest creation
by his side.....

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'



Yep its an addiction, but its still cheaper than being married and getting a divorce

 

[dirtygoat]

Right on...

Better late than never... Do you still live in Parkland???

Whatever you do, don't jump in head first and start taking it apart... It's a lot more fun if you can drive it while building rather than work on it for a year(s) in the garage in pieces...

When I first started on mine I was driving it and enjoyed taking it out after each mod... Then I tore it completely apart after a few years and did the year long build... It's great now that it's finished, but it took a lot out of me and the family...

 

[kimb82]

Ya, still live in Parkland. Looks like your not far from me.

Plannin on doin some small things first. Need to replace a small section of the pass side floor, and throw some paint on it. Just to make it one color.

Ill throw some photos up tomorrow, now that I made the post count.

 

[kimb82]

How it looks 7 years later!

So I finally had time to work on here.
The first thing I did was to see if she would run.
Needed to buy a new battery. The batt that was in it, ended up walking away.
I could get her to crank over, but she would not fire. according to the gas gauge, it said that I had 1/2 tank of gas.
Crap!
I ended up dropping the skid plate, then the tank, and finding out that it had about 15 gallons of varnish in the tank.
I drained it (tough job when your doing it by yourself)! Then replaced the tank after ensuring all the lines were blown out and free of any debris.
I threw some good gas in it and she fired right up and ran surprisingly well except for the god awful scream of the power steering pump!

 

[max 02]

I like the brown paint, I hope you will keep it.

 

[kimb82]

I like the brown paint, I hope you will keep it.

I also like the brown, my major concern right now is to get it one color!

Some more progress.
I replaced the drivers fender, with a decent fender that my brother had laying around. I just can't seem to get rid of blue body panels!

I also replaced the entire steering column with one my brother had picked up a few years back. It was my first time really messing around with a steering column. I got it in, then removed the steering wheel and all associated parts to replace the lock cylinder.

I don't know what all the parts are called, but when putting everything back together, I could not get the snap ring or locking ring back onto the column.
I messed with it for a while then got frustrated.
I then found out there is a tool to push down the plate far enough to get the ring on. So I picked up the tool, and I still can't get that damn ring on.

It seems like the entire column moves when I try and push the plate back on.
Are there any tricks to gettin the steering column back together?

 

[kimb82]

Does anyone know where I could find a wiring diagram for my 83. The Po did a job on the previous wiring, and I would like to fix the mistakes.

 

[andyblack]

Are there any tricks to gettin the steering column back together?

This guy made some videos about his steering column. Maybe one of them will help you. Check out the link in post #17.

http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=277324&page=2

I replaced mine about four years ago, but I can't remember how I got the thing back on.

 

[andyblack]

Maybe the link will work if I post it like this:

http://www.stolenandrecovered.com/howto/index.php

 

[kimb82]

So it's been a while since I last posted. Finally got around to gettin some work done on the Blazer. I've had the steering column rebuilt, gas tank dropped, new fuel lines, sending unit, new plugs and wires and new rear bumper. Startin work on the electrical now that she runs good!

 

[andyblack]

Man I forgot all about this build. Welcome back!

 

[kimb82]

So, this year I decided to spend my summer vacation in Montana!

I was able to do a little bit with the K5. Sadly it is still up there, I am pending a reassignment at my job and do not want the hassle of relocating with a project.
I was able to drive it about 60 miles (I believe that is the most miles I have put on it since I have owned it).

I had the steering column rebuilt, but the wrong column was rebuilt. My K5 has the tilt column with the cruise control. The mechanic rebuilt a non cruise column. I don't believe it will be to much of a hassle to put the cruise mechanism in. What do you think?