Holy Sheetmetal screws, Batman!!! 
That guy is nuts. And I thought MY method was slow going....
That guy is nuts. And I thought MY method was slow going....
CK5
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'72 K5 - Greg's @MightAsWellK5 Build
- Thread starter Greg72
- Start date
This is the build description. I will improve this later. (GB)
Yukon Jack
1/2 ton status
Chinese Proverb: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
CK5 Proverb applicable to Greg: Give a man some tools and a driveway and he'll make his K5 off-road worthy. Give a man some man-space and he'll totally rebuild his K5!
CK5 Proverb applicable to Greg: Give a man some tools and a driveway and he'll make his K5 off-road worthy. Give a man some man-space and he'll totally rebuild his K5!
BUDDY
1/2 ton status
Somebody needs to send that guy some Cleco's...
I think Greg's method is perfect, and mimics factory construction much better. Not that Greg is doing a concours resto...but you get the point.
Rene
I think Greg's method is perfect, and mimics factory construction much better. Not that Greg is doing a concours resto...but you get the point.
Rene
Clecos don't do you any good unless you're overlapping the pieces of steel OR you have a crossmember or other material behind what you want to hold. I have about 100 Clecos with the gun sitting in my tool box if you want to borrow them.
2008.04.08 - UPDATE!...IT'S ABOUT WHAT'S "LEFT" NOW...
I won't bore you with mirror images of what's already been posted for the passenger side, here are just a few update photos to show that in fact things are moving along on the driver's side now.
A-Pillar complete, inner rocker fitted and ready for final welding....and the original cab support removed for replacement.
As expected, the "generic" cab supports once again created a LOT of extra fabrication work. They don't have the factory angles to fit right, and they end up too short. Here's my recreation of a new end piece to lengthen the part and make it fit the way it should.
I didn't take a final picture of the cab support 100% completed (but I will). At this point, I'm ready to weld the cab support back into place and then decide how much of the original floor I want to remove for patching. Honestly, I think I could get away with a lot less than I did on the opposite side. Ideally, I'd like to do patches that require the least amount of cutting of factory spotwelds along the longitudinal supports. We'll see....
I won't bore you with mirror images of what's already been posted for the passenger side, here are just a few update photos to show that in fact things are moving along on the driver's side now.
A-Pillar complete, inner rocker fitted and ready for final welding....and the original cab support removed for replacement.
As expected, the "generic" cab supports once again created a LOT of extra fabrication work. They don't have the factory angles to fit right, and they end up too short. Here's my recreation of a new end piece to lengthen the part and make it fit the way it should.
I didn't take a final picture of the cab support 100% completed (but I will). At this point, I'm ready to weld the cab support back into place and then decide how much of the original floor I want to remove for patching. Honestly, I think I could get away with a lot less than I did on the opposite side. Ideally, I'd like to do patches that require the least amount of cutting of factory spotwelds along the longitudinal supports. We'll see....
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The replacement cab supports are horrible, I found it's easier to make my own.
Looking good though.
Looking good though.
blazin_blazer
1/2 ton status
you do some awesome work....30 hrs down to 10 hrs...thats pretty good,..experience pays off, so when your thru with yours, you can do my 69 like this, so you won't get rusty...*no pun intended* :-) looks good,
i think i'm going to sell my 69 k5, it needs the rocker boxes and watching your build, i don't think i'm that good at metal work, i can weld quite well, but i'm not sure about going as far into it as you...looks really good,..maybe i'll have someone de-rust my tub ..then i'll take over...are you still pondering selling that rust free 69 tub you have?
i think i'm going to sell my 69 k5, it needs the rocker boxes and watching your build, i don't think i'm that good at metal work, i can weld quite well, but i'm not sure about going as far into it as you...looks really good,..maybe i'll have someone de-rust my tub ..then i'll take over...are you still pondering selling that rust free 69 tub you have?
Yep. I'm putting it up for sale. It would certainly be a much more solid basis for a Blazer than what I used, but at this point the '72 is looking great and I got to learn something new (rust repair!)
The tub is actually a complete shell (front fenders, hood, grille, core support) as well as the desireable factory single-wall hardtop. There is also a complete frame that's already been sandblasted and stripped bare of all lines and electrical....ready for powdercoat and re-assembly. It's also got a valid CA registration and was "Non-Op'ed" correctly so putting it back on the road won't be a DMV nightmare.
The only major parts missing are the doors and tailgate, but those are easy enough to find.
Bring an empty trailer and a thick wad of cash.....and go home happy.
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Looking good Greg, watching you do this rebuild makes it look so easy.
blazin_blazer
1/2 ton status
how thick of a wad of cash?
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That looks awesome. So how or what did you do to protect the inside of the a-pillar and up wards towards the door hinges & windshield frame.
If you are serious about it and are willing to make the drive up here to collect it, PM me.
We can discuss the specific details...
At this point, I just sprayed a bit of zinc (cold galvanizing compound) into the areas that I knew I'd be closing up permanently (like the inside of the new cab supports). Almost everything else will still be exposed and I am planning to have the entire tub media blasted once the rust repair is complete.
After that, I suspect those crevices will get a shot of etching primer, and/or zinc....basically whatever makes sense to cover the metal and prevent rust in the future.
I'm hoping to get the driver's side repairs done by this weekend, which means that I will FINALLY be ready to start mocking up the driveline (502BBC / TH400 / ATLAS4)!!
I need to get those all bolted together and then into position to check my firewall clearances, and the clearances down the center tunnel. It's going to be a fun step.....with a LOT more cutting and fabricating.
- Joined
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Thanks I've recently started these same repairs and feel a lot overwhelmed. this helps. Does the zink stay after welding or is there just going to be spots with burnt inside those areas?
I'm not sure that spraying the zinc on BEFORE welding is a good idea.
I don't know if it's toxic, but it sure doesn't smell good when it burns.... you might be better off using a weldable primer in areas that you KNOW will get welded back together. That's what the weldable primer was designed for.
The zinc is more like a final topcoat for areas that are finished before they get closed up. I don't spray it on the flanges that actually get welded.
Eastwood has a TON of products....almost too many. It's sometimes hard to know exactly what the best anti-rust product is for a given application.
My best advice if you're tackling this type of repair is to only do one side at a time, and work slowly. The door bracing across the top hinge is critical, the diagonal I'm finding is less important if you don't cut EVERYTHING out at once. On the passenger side, I was glad to have the extra support but now on the driver's side I did each repair in sequence (first the a-pillar, then the cab support and inner rocker). I never had a problem using only the top door support bar, because I didn't have large amounts of the truck swinging in breeze....!!!
If you get stuck, just start a build thread on this forum and post pics and questions. I can definitely help you along now that I've been living this for so long. There are a few others here who have already been through this process also.
I don't know if it's toxic, but it sure doesn't smell good when it burns.... you might be better off using a weldable primer in areas that you KNOW will get welded back together. That's what the weldable primer was designed for.
The zinc is more like a final topcoat for areas that are finished before they get closed up. I don't spray it on the flanges that actually get welded.
Eastwood has a TON of products....almost too many. It's sometimes hard to know exactly what the best anti-rust product is for a given application.
My best advice if you're tackling this type of repair is to only do one side at a time, and work slowly. The door bracing across the top hinge is critical, the diagonal I'm finding is less important if you don't cut EVERYTHING out at once. On the passenger side, I was glad to have the extra support but now on the driver's side I did each repair in sequence (first the a-pillar, then the cab support and inner rocker). I never had a problem using only the top door support bar, because I didn't have large amounts of the truck swinging in breeze....!!!
If you get stuck, just start a build thread on this forum and post pics and questions. I can definitely help you along now that I've been living this for so long. There are a few others here who have already been through this process also.
Yukon Jack
1/2 ton status
I will FINALLY be ready to start mocking up the driveline (502BBC / TH400 / ATLAS4)!!
The rust repair stage is cool to watch but makes me feel overwhelmed just looking at how involved it can be - but I'm really eager for you to move on to the driveline step - so eager to see your approach.
My bbc is presently being held up by a jackstand and blocks as I've yanked the engine crossmember to make a modification to allow me to position the motor correctly and finally yank out a majority of the body lift I had to install when I initially dropped the body onto the frame and found considerable firewall issues.
I know your driveline mods will be more involved and I'm eager to grab some popcorn and continue enjoying your great build thread!
