1990 K5 Duramax Blazer (BroDozer)

[Fancy]

I decided to just cut out a section and reinforce it. This way it would be fresh and a lot stronger. I know you can't really tell but i marked out a rectangular section that was large enough to go around the nut and retainer cage but also observed the two body lines in the door frame marked by red. I was not sure if these lines where supposed to be there but appeared to be identical on both sides and so I elected to work around them as not to change the geometry of the door striker.

This guy uses a similar method as to the one i went through if anyone is looking for more detail.

 

[Fancy]

Using the side that was in better condition i traced a new face plate, then mirrored it for the opposite side. I then attached the old retainer cage and nut to the back side after cutting it loose from the old pieces. Then used some Steel-it to coat the back side to help prevent corrosion and still have it weldable. I have always had decent results with this stuff.

POLYURETHANE AEROSOL

STEEL-IT Polyurethane Aerosol products feature custom-engineered, 316L stainless steel flake and provides superior protection against corrosion, abrasion, salt, alkalis and other chemicals. The coating provides the added benefit of being weldable, UV-resistant, and USDA compliant for incidental...

steel-it.com

 

[Fancy]

I then welded in a little backing frame by plug welding to help support, strengthen and keep everything aligned and flush. Then I welded everything in and ground it smooth. You can see those body lines I was talking about earlier a little bit better in the final picture. Wasn't to worried about making everything look perfect as at this point i think i am going to spray the door jams with some sort of bedliner for durability. I am leaning towards Raptor Liner if i can get it with a smooth enough or less aggressive texture.

 

[Fancy]

So I wanted to use something with some durability and semi smooth texture for the door frame so I could still wipe clean with a towel, but wasn’t sure. The Raptor Liner in the 2K aerosol can sounded interesting but having no experience with it I wanted to try it on some thing less important first. I decided to build a custom subwoofer box for my daily and coat that in the raptor liner.

As far as texture it came out perfect in my opinion but not sure how durable it is. Time will tell.

RAPTOR 2K Bedliner Aerosol - U-Pol

The convenient RAPTOR 2K Bedliner Aerosol offers a fast, easy way to apply RAPTOR without compromising performance, no spray equipment necessary.

u-pol.com

 

[Fancy]

I decided to move forward with using the Raptor Liner 2K by Upul. One thing I noticed when I applied it to the subwoofer box was it appeared to come out very uneven. However as it laid down and dried, it evened out. I strongly recommend practicing with a can of you are concerned about how it lays down. I sprayed the door jams and same thing however it had a harder time laying down. It was a much warmer day this time though by 10* and was in the high 80’s. Overall I’m happy with the results. One thing to note is you have to remove the tape while wet on any areas the are not seamed in some way. For me this meant along the bottom on the door jam. I waited to long and it was a pain as the liner wanted to peel up.

 

[Fancy]

I didn’t want to bore you guys with the painting and prepping as there is nothing exciting there but I did manage to get most the front half of the frame painted and back together.

 

[Fancy]

Like I mentioned before, I didn’t want to box in the frame in front of the engine crossmember as it is really not necessary and a potential safety concern. There is also to many areas that I need to access there. However I did want to stiffen it and clean it up a little. I decided to make these quick frame plates out of 1/8 steel plate. They go on the inside of the frame to achieve just that. They are ever so slightly different so i marked them Driver and Passenger.

 

[Fancy]

I also made a little bracket out of approximately 1/8” aluminum to hold my power steering cooler. I used nut certs to receive the fasteners and then sanded and clear coated it in matte clear to help with oxidation. Then mounted my cooler to it. I chose this spot as it is out of the way, should receive plenty of air flow and less clustering up my grill area which will have plenty of stuff as you see later.

 

[Fancy]

I also decided to modify the engine crossmember to have the center more easily removable just in case I need to access the upper oil pan cover. I used Trail Gears 180096-KIT, interlocking tube clamps for 1.25 OD DOM with .120 wall. It was kind of tricky as the two sections of tube are on different plans. After a little thought on how I would need to remove it I tacked everything up and tested it out. Got it first try! Lol

Chromoly Interlocking Tube Clamps

<h2>Chromoly Interlocking Tube Clamps</h2> <p>Need to place a support tube across your truggy or buggy, but need the flexibility to remove a motor, transmission, or even a seat? We have the perfect solution for you, Trail-Gear’s Interlocking Tube Clamps. They are machined from 100% 4130 Chromoly...

trail-gear.com

I will try to capture some more photos of this when I remove it to blend the welds and paint it.

 

[centexk5]

God bless America that is some great work.

 

[Fancy]

God bless America that is some great work.

Thanks! I truly appreciate the support.

 

[Babaganoosh]

I have thought of doing the same thing for the engine crossmember on my truck.

To pull the oil pan it has to come out! Really like the bracket you made, might have to steal that idea as well!

 

[Fancy]

@Babaganoosh, steal away! That's what this is all about. Sharing different approaches and ideas. I will warn you though, as simple as it looks that bracket was a pain in the a$$. I kept wanting to make it symmetrical and that front crossmember is not at all. Took some finesse and its still not my highest quality of craftsmanship which irritates me but it is good enough for the project and to serve its purpose. When its is mounted up you can't really tell where i cut corners and it looks close enough to evenly aligned that im sure you can't tell unless you sit an analysis shit like i do lol

 

[Fancy]

Haven't been able to get a whole lot done, been wrapped up in other projects. Did manage to finish welding up and painting the engine crossmember.

 

[Fancy]

Also picked up a new toy! No where near ready to use it but came across a deal on Facebook Marketplace that i could not pass up. JD2 Hydraulic tube bender. Plan on changing the set up a little but the gentleman did a nice job making a mobile platform for it too. More updates to come soon hopefully.

 

[Russell]

I thought I went over the top with making things like new haha! Awesome skills! I am definitely looking forward to following this build!

 

[imiceman44]

I work for the equipment department for a LARGE construction company and we spend millions on CAT equipment a year. I may have been around a piece or two

You might be on to something there.

Most the bolts on my cat engine were 13mm.
It was convenient

 

[Fancy]

I thought I went over the top with making things like new haha! Awesome skills! I am definitely looking forward to following this build!

It really is a curse lol. I spend far to much time trying to perfect things and have to remind myself its not a show truck.

 

[Fancy]

I wanted to get the power steering box off the floor/shelf and figured now was just as good a time to mount it to the frame. I ordered one from PSC years ago that was tapped for hydro-assist and loved it. My only complaint was it rusted and lost its coating or paint in no time at all. Like less than a month and with minimal to no use so something was defective with the coating, prep, or what ever they used. I was a little disappointed that after paying that much for a new box they would not replace it but wasn't to worried about it as they have always seemed to have decent customer service. The box basically looked like what you see pictured below in no time at all and so i wanted to take the time to clean it up and paint it before i put it back on.

 

[Fancy]

After I analyzed my approach, I felt it would just be easier to tear it down. Since I was going that far I figure I would just rebuild it as well even though I knew it didn't need it. I ordered an Edelman 8524 rebuild kit which basically came with everything and began the tear down process.