'72 K5 - AJ's Gray Matter Build

[bigblock72]

Glad to see you got to drive it. I'm shocked (and happy) you actually found some "rocks" and scratched it up a little.

Congrats on the trophy.

Keep us posted on the t-case shifter.

 

[ChefBear]

Just driving

You know, just driving it is such a reward after a major mod . Topless in the fall, nothing like it, feels like your steeling something...

Nice rig!

 

[AJs72K5]

UPDATE 02/01/09: Been a while since I did an update. Just been driving it this fall and doing "tweaks" here and there. Nothing noteworthy. Some of my b-day stuff showed up from UPS and had some time to put it on yesterday.

Wire looms, poly tranny mount, shifter labels (so I can tell when I'm in 1st gear), and prop valve (more on that later)

When I jacked up the tranny, the tcase hit the floor of the body. Barely enough room to wedge them in.

Been doing a little cleaning up of the engine compartment here and there. The looms were a nice touch, and functional. They get my plug wires off of the headers.

Didn't have time to do the prop valve. But here's what's going on. Even with the Inline tube (4 wheel disc) prop valve, the rear tires are locking up before the fronts. So, I'm not sure how good of an investment that was. That's next weekend's project...

 

[Yukon Jack]

Glad you were able to get the t/c mounts in place - it's all lookin' good!

 

[70jimmy]

Yep had to adjust to almost nothing going to rears to get them to not lock up before the fronts. Nothing like doing skid tests in front of a building with somebody watching when the rears lock up compared to the fronts.

 

[jimbug]

What master cylinder are you using? I have a vette master and a wilwood residual pressure valve plumbed inline. and I have no problems with lockup issues. Dunno if it matters that I drive a Suburban, but it stops great.

Good luck and the build is looking great!

 

[AJs72K5]

What master cylinder are you using? I have a vette master and a wilwood residual pressure valve plumbed inline. and I have no problems with lockup issues. Dunno if it matters that I drive a Suburban, but it stops great.

Good luck and the build is looking great!

Master and booster are from a 72 K30.

 

[jimbug]

you have 4 wheel discs right? the vette master is for 4 wheel discs. Mine would not stop at all b4 swithching over

 

[AJs72K5]

you have 4 wheel discs right? the vette master is for 4 wheel discs. Mine would not stop at all b4 swithching over

Yep, 4 wheel disc. The Inline Tube prop valve was supposed to take care of the pressure issues. There really isn't a one size fits all fix. Don't get me wrong though...since going to the 1 ton booster and master, it stops waaaaayyyy better than before. Even with the fishtailing

 

[makovai]

im also using a M/C from a 77 vette. but mine doesn't stop too well. Im looking to go to the 1 ton booster also.

 

[AJs72K5]

UPDATE 02/07/09: The rest of my bday parts showed up. A friend with access to a waterjet cut some tow hooks for me. There is a serious cool factor about cutting metal with water. He did a killer job on them...no issues with fitment. 3/4" steel .

Didn't get anything done on the brakes today cuz I was sick all week. The engine is having some fuel delivery issues too. More updates soon, I hope.

 

[bp71k5]

Pretty cool. Are the holes at the bottom to allow a d-ring bolt to fit through?

 

[AJs72K5]

Pretty cool. Are the holes at the bottom to allow a d-ring bolt to fit through?

You got it.

 

[obijuan]

damn, those are classy fo sho.

 

[makovai]

those look fantastic

 

[Yukon Jack]

Major beefy!

 

[AJs72K5]

UPDATE 02/28/09: Been kinda quiet the past month after the engine fire on 2/08. Most of the damage was to the hood, the firewall, the distributor cap, and a whole bunch of wiring. Huge thanks to everyone that offered support, help, and parts after the fire. You guys are great!

Here's the pics of the carnage.

The good news is that insurance covered most of the damage. So, I've spent the past couple of weeks deciding what direction to take with the truck. To fix the firewall properly, the engine would need to come out. As long as the firewall was getting worked on and the engine was out, "might as well" get the hacked up firewall patched correctly. So, I started tearing the front clip off to prep for pulling the engine. Here's how far I've gotten as of this afternoon.

If you look close under the dash, right above the tranny hump, you can see the sheet metal that is just screwed in to cover up the hole they cut.

A whole big mess of parts that came off

And well, I figured as long as the engine was out I "might as well" do a little upgrade. I picked this up used from a member from a fellow board member.

More to come...

 

[bp71k5]

upgrades... that's the way to handle these sorts of problem. Nice!

 

[Yukon Jack]

I'm drooling over that manifold!

 

[AJs72K5]

I'm drooling over that manifold!

Edelbrock Pro-Flo MPFI