Bling bling!
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.
'72 K5 - Greg's @MightAsWellK5 Build
- Thread starter Greg72
- Start date
This is the build description. I will improve this later. (GB)
congrats on the baby....... Any updates?
The update is they had a baby, and until you experience that first hand you will never understand how all consuming that is for the first year. They don't call it "Baby jail" for nothing.
I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a build update for another 6 months or so...
Rene
I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a build update for another 6 months or so...
Rene
True Dat. 
I'm locking this thread until I feel like posting updates again...
I know some people are excited to see progress, but at the end of the day it's still just a hobby. Right now I have more interesting and important things going on in my life so this one is going to have to wait.
I'm locking this thread until I feel like posting updates again...
I know some people are excited to see progress, but at the end of the day it's still just a hobby. Right now I have more interesting and important things going on in my life so this one is going to have to wait.
Ok, this has been a long time coming but here are the last pieces for Greg's Mog axle build. Don't expect any immediate updates in here as he'll be busy in the "man space" next week trying to get more progress done and THEN he'll post further pics and updates. I'm sure Greg will lock this thread again shortly after some people have a chance to comment on this update. He specifically unlocked the thread so I can post these couple pics.
Wow, those are all sorts of sexy!
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
Those are steel I assume? They look super nice Scott.
-Brian
-Brian
Yes Brian they are steel, cold rolled steel plate to be exact. Yes they do look nice but there's no way i'm taking credit for them as my buddy Jim made them. I'm just the middle man in this project for the CNC stuff.
Are you kidding? A machinist is a great friend to have in this hobby.
I just went back in this thread to figure out were these are going because I'm a Mog Moron (MM). It's kinda ridiculous, how much craftsmanship and thought have went into these axles, or entire build for that matter.
Pretty insane Greg. Keep up the awesome work.
Pretty insane Greg. Keep up the awesome work.
Thanks everyone! It's good to be back!! 
..... hopefully next week when I'm on vacation there will be a chance to get back into the manspace, blow off the cobwebs and crank up the iPod with some "Into the Void" in Ryoken's honor!!!
I've been busy with a few really important things lately....
Showing Charlie how to play "Missile Command"...
Watching our first Indy 500 together....
These are chances you only get once, so I'm taking full advantage of each opportunity. The "Dads" on this forum will understand what I'm talking about......
They really do grow fast and it's amazing how much he has changed since I snapped that original photo back in the hospital.
..... hopefully next week when I'm on vacation there will be a chance to get back into the manspace, blow off the cobwebs and crank up the iPod with some "Into the Void" in Ryoken's honor!!!I've been busy with a few really important things lately....
Showing Charlie how to play "Missile Command"...
Watching our first Indy 500 together....
These are chances you only get once, so I'm taking full advantage of each opportunity. The "Dads" on this forum will understand what I'm talking about......
They really do grow fast and it's amazing how much he has changed since I snapped that original photo back in the hospital.
Wow Greg, he's a handsome guy. And your so right about the one shot thing...
An old saying comes to mind...spend more time with people under 10 and over 70....its very limited.
Congrats again my friend!
An old saying comes to mind...spend more time with people under 10 and over 70....its very limited.
Congrats again my friend!
What 76zimmer said.
Just seeing those pics brought back a lot of memories of my little boy. He's only 4 now, but it seems like eons since he was that small. No doubt the best years of your life right there, and you are definitely spending them the right way Can't wait to see the next phase of your project, but that little guy will be grown and headed out to conquer the world before you know it. Enjoy his company every minute you can.
---Parts kick @$$ as always.---
Just seeing those pics brought back a lot of memories of my little boy. He's only 4 now, but it seems like eons since he was that small. No doubt the best years of your life right there, and you are definitely spending them the right way
Can't wait to see the next phase of your project, but that little guy will be grown and headed out to conquer the world before you know it. Enjoy his company every minute you can.---Parts kick @$$ as always.---
I missed most of my sons younger years (1.5-5) due to living 2 states away and visiting every 2 weeks. It took that long for me to get my head out of my azz, give up the best job I've had to date, and move home. Now he's about to turn 16!! and were building him a truck (happens to be a 72 K5) and having a blast. 2 or 3 years and he'll be out on his own,,
Man time flies. Enjoy every moment you can. The truck will be the exact same when you come back to it no matter how long it sits.
) and having a blast. 2 or 3 years and he'll be out on his own,, Man time flies. Enjoy every moment you can. The truck will be the exact same when you come back to it no matter how long it sits.
lectric80
3/4 ton status
Great looking kid you have there, and boy do I ever understand how fast they grow. Doesn't seem that long ago I had my first, now he is 13 and my youngest is 7, and none of the 3 will slow down for anything. I will admit though, my youngest loves to watch Dad work on the Blazer. 
The "Dads" on this forum will understand what I'm talking about......
Just spending time with them, no matter what it may be is the key in my experience. Both my girls will talk about the times they remember the most and at the time they were just 'nothing' days. You don't know what they will cherish forever, but mostly they cherish time spent with them. Homework, ball in the backyard, even a richly deserved scolding.
The first year is 'baby jail' as they require so much of every waking moment of your time...but I don't begrudge that time. It is special, and even though they don't recall much of the first few years it is a time for building a strong bond. My wife had terrible post partum depression after our first was born. I had to step up for a lot of the early times and even though I know my eldest doesn't remember much farther back than 3 years old she and I have a very strong bond because of it.
A K5 will keep just fine, and hold no grudges for collecting a bit of dust. You cannot say the same for a child.
Keep up the good work Greg!
Rene
brandoneh
1/2 ton status
Great pics Greg! Love the old school missile command! Nothing better than race cars and video games for a little guy!
Your words of wisdom come to mind...
"The Blazer is a patient mistress.....she'll always wait until you've got time.
" -Greg72
Good stuff!
Your words of wisdom come to mind...
"The Blazer is a patient mistress.....she'll always wait until you've got time.
" -Greg72Good stuff!
2011.06.21 - UPDATE! - FIRST DAY OF SUMMER & SOME PROGRESS...
It's been so long since I've posted some actual progress photos, that I almost forgot where I left off on this project.
As a refresher, here's where the truck sits now:
With the arrival of the long-awaited Mog-404 rear axle adapter plates, it was finally time to set the rear axle track width permanently and cut those Spidertrax housings down to their final dimensions.
Since I knew that I wanted no more than 2" of tread "stickout" beyond the rear fenders, the first step was to accurately determine what that dimension was. I dropped a couple of plumblines off the outer fenderlips to get an actual measurement to start from...
That turned out to be 78.625".... adding in the tire stickout, my overall track width target was set at 82.625"
The next step was to get some accurate measurements of the complete wheel/portal/tire combinations. Here's where those new plates fit into the overall portal assembly...
From the front face of the tire (outward facing side) to the end of the new adapter plates was 15.875". This measurement was confirmed by measuring in this photo from the shop floor to the underside of that 4' level...
To make sure that I didn't screw up (and I came close a couple of times!) I took detailed notes....
More.....
I checked, and double-checked everything until I was SURE that the measurements were correct. There was nothing left to do but cut the axletubes down to size.
After getting both sides cut down, I spend some time CAREFULLY dressing-down the axletube diameters to get them to fit nice and snugly into the new adapters.
My final target based on my calculations was in inside-to-inside plate dimension of 50.875"....as you can see, I missed the mark by quite a bit!
(I will shorten each side by 1/16" later on to make it perfect)
It felt good to get back out into the shop and especially to make such a large step forward on the axle build. I'm a little concerned about how tight the packaging of the shock/strut is going to be now that I can really see how much space exists on the axle housing, but I'll make it work somehow.
The Exaxt 8-Lug conversion kit included 1" thick wheel spacers to help with caliper clearance. With the H2 wheels, I only really need a .375" spacer so I will probably have a new set made to keep the wheels tucked-in as far as possible. This will ultimately help the scrub radius up front, so it's worth fighting for those extra fractions of an inch.
I spoke to a few different people and vendors about centering the pumpkin vs. shifting it 0.94" to account for the offset pinion of the Ford 9". Everyone I spoke with said that there was no valid reason to bother, and driveline vibrations would not be an issue. I like the "symmetrical" look for the rear pumpkin anyway.
It's been so long since I've posted some actual progress photos, that I almost forgot where I left off on this project.
As a refresher, here's where the truck sits now:
With the arrival of the long-awaited Mog-404 rear axle adapter plates, it was finally time to set the rear axle track width permanently and cut those Spidertrax housings down to their final dimensions.
Since I knew that I wanted no more than 2" of tread "stickout" beyond the rear fenders, the first step was to accurately determine what that dimension was. I dropped a couple of plumblines off the outer fenderlips to get an actual measurement to start from...
That turned out to be 78.625".... adding in the tire stickout, my overall track width target was set at 82.625"
The next step was to get some accurate measurements of the complete wheel/portal/tire combinations. Here's where those new plates fit into the overall portal assembly...
From the front face of the tire (outward facing side) to the end of the new adapter plates was 15.875". This measurement was confirmed by measuring in this photo from the shop floor to the underside of that 4' level...
To make sure that I didn't screw up (and I came close a couple of times!) I took detailed notes....
More.....
I checked, and double-checked everything until I was SURE that the measurements were correct. There was nothing left to do but cut the axletubes down to size.
After getting both sides cut down, I spend some time CAREFULLY dressing-down the axletube diameters to get them to fit nice and snugly into the new adapters.
My final target based on my calculations was in inside-to-inside plate dimension of 50.875"....as you can see, I missed the mark by quite a bit!
(I will shorten each side by 1/16" later on to make it perfect)
It felt good to get back out into the shop and especially to make such a large step forward on the axle build. I'm a little concerned about how tight the packaging of the shock/strut is going to be now that I can really see how much space exists on the axle housing, but I'll make it work somehow.
The Exaxt 8-Lug conversion kit included 1" thick wheel spacers to help with caliper clearance. With the H2 wheels, I only really need a .375" spacer so I will probably have a new set made to keep the wheels tucked-in as far as possible. This will ultimately help the scrub radius up front, so it's worth fighting for those extra fractions of an inch.
I spoke to a few different people and vendors about centering the pumpkin vs. shifting it 0.94" to account for the offset pinion of the Ford 9". Everyone I spoke with said that there was no valid reason to bother, and driveline vibrations would not be an issue. I like the "symmetrical" look for the rear pumpkin anyway.
why does the saying "I'm not a rocket scientist" stick in my head
