398HBX's Build Thread - Engine is IN!

[398HBX]

14 Bolt SF Rear Disk Brake Conversion

Oh man, the wife is NOT going to be happy. I started to work on my rear axle and finally made the decision to go ahead and do the rear disk brake swap. After much research, I went with the TSM rear disk brake conversion kit (www.tsmmfg.com). The kit with rotors, non-ebrake calipers, and braided flex lines was ~$800. So much for my tax return......

 

[magik235]

Oh man, the wife is NOT going to be happy.

I know that feeling. How are you going to break it to her?

 

[398HBX]

Ignorance is bliss, she never makes it to the shop so what she doesn't know......

 

[Teck]

Very nice work, looks great.

 

[398HBX]

Tranny In - High Driveline angle

Well it has been a long time but I finally got back to work on my truck. The chassis is pretty much complete, I still need to finish a few small items but otherwise, at least that part of the job is done.



I was able to use the break and fuel lines from the 86 Burb, that saved me a couple hundred. I was also able to use the 42 gallon gas tank from the burb. I had to move a frame supports to shoehorn it in there but it fits! Again, a huge $ savings instead of buying a new tank.

I replaced all of the external seals on the TH400 and NP208, cleaned them up, and got them installed into the truck. This is the first time in over 20 years the this chassis has seen an engine or a tranny!



I am a little concerned about the driveline angle. The rear driveshaft will need to be really short and there is not much room for the angle. I may have to take the rear blocks out and mill them an an angle to change the pinion angle. I am not sure that I have the transmission support installed correctly. The transmission and the NP208 came out of my 86 burb. I didn't take a picture before I pulled it. I think I got it installed the same way that it was in the burb but am not sure. If anyone has a 86 burb, please take a picture and send it to me. One thing that I have considered is dropping the transmission support another 1-2" to decrease the angle of the tranny in relation to the pinion. The standoffs on the top of the support might be moved to between the frame and the support? Any suggestions?

 

[398HBX]

Under body

I had to get the bottom of the truck body painted before the cool weather sets in, otherwise I'll be stuck until next spring. The truck had some rust, but not a lot. After cleaning the rust off, I used Eastwood Epoxy Primer and 2K Ceramic Chassis Black. Black doesn't show up very good in the pictures so there is only one decent shot of the completed underside. Here are some pics.

 

[supersize75k5]

Wow, nice work on the tub

 

[y5mgisi]

Looking good! About the trans suport/cross member, you seem to have it all in right. About flipping the spacers to between the frame and crossmember, most times people dont have good luck with that. Best way to get away with it is with a solid spacer like this,

And about the driveline, you could probably get away with just having the burb driveline shortened but you could then be fighting vibration issues or going through u-joints quickly, but i think you will be more or less ok. To get rid of the issue, it would certainly be best to do a slip yoke eliminator kit and a cv drive shaft slimiler to this,

 

[Chevy305]

I forgot about this build, good to see progress again

 

[Teck]

As far as dropping the the transfer caseit works great if you arent worried about it being hanging lower. Rancho use to make a lowering kit for that,it was basically 3 1/4"thick shims that went between the cross member and the frame with longer bolts.

I have 5 or 6 shimes in my and run it for years that waywith no problems. Just have to make sure your motor has good clearance at the firewall when you go to tilting the motor back doing this.

 

[398HBX]

Thanks for the advice. I might get the tub mounted to the frame this weekend. I'll wait to add any shims until I can see how much clearance I have at the firewall. Currently, I have about 18 degrees at the T-case and at the diff, . I think that I am going to have to move the spring perches to tilt the diff up and use a CV, either that or mill a few degrees of the rear blocks

 

[kgblazerfive]

I have the spacers in mine and it works fine. I have floor issues with the double being clocked and it hitting it so had to lower it a bit that is why I use them.

 

[398HBX]

How thick are your spacers?

 

[Teck]

1/4" each.
I will get you a pic of mine today when I go to the shop.

 

[kgblazerfive]

Look just like yours, I had the whole truck sitting on them at BB11 with no real issues just bent the cross-member.

 

[398HBX]

Body On!

Ok, I haven't been motivated a whole lot for the past several months. You know how it gets. I was getting depressed about not being able to do anything so I went out and took a look at the Blazer again. After looking at what still needed to be done, I decided that there was still a LOT that I could be doing, without spending much money. I got the tub bolted back on the frame last weekend. Had a scare, while lowering the tub, my rigging slipped and almost dropped the tub sideways onto the concrete. Unfortunantly for me, my fat ass was between the tub and the floor!. Thankfully, my buddy was there to make sure I wasn't maimed or killed. (Did have to change drawers ) For the first time in 15 years, the Blazer has a body!. I used the Energy Suspension body mounts and ORD 1" body lift pucks. I threw away the original body mounts years ago, along with the metal sleeve inserts. I checked out the local pull-a-part and was able to get some off of a 76 K5. $3 for all six. I also found the "correct" K5 fender emblems for a 73, for $3 (hell yeah!)

Body On


The next thing I wanted to get done while the weather was relatively decent was get the firewall prepped. I needed to get that done so that I could mount the brake booster and master cylinder. I don't want my calipers to sit too much longer without fluid in them.





Now that the firewall is prepped, I salvaged the brake booster and the master cylinder from the Burb and installed them after paint and rebuild.


Now on to the interior.....

 

[398HBX]

Interior Tear Down

Brakebooster and Master Cylinder


I took all of the dash stuff out so I can get ready to strip and paint the interior. I still haven't decided on exactly I am going to do. Do I soundproof, mat, and carpet? Or do I rhinoline? Maybe both? I like the idea of being able to hose it out but without sound proofing, they can be loud. I can always soundproof it, then install one of the molded rubber mats from LMC....Any suggestions? I was pretty carefull taking out the interior wire harness and instrument cluster. They both seem to be in excellent shape. This truck has sat, undrivable for 19 years. Do anyone need them?

 

[scottishdave]

As far as sound concerns....

Option A
http://www.lizardskin.com/sound-control-insulation.html

Option B
http://alsliner.com/alsHNR.php

CK5 Example
http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=261805

 

[y5mgisi]

Good job getting back with it!

 

[magik235]

Nice to see some progress.