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'72 K5 - Greg's @MightAsWellK5 Build

This is the build description. I will improve this later. (GB)
Overview Gallery Discussion
I know for sure that metal moves around when you weld it... sort of an inevitable reality.

What do you think of the HAZ on the welds? I'd say they're between 3/4" and 1" wide which seemed reasonable for material that is probably just over 1/8" thick?? :thinking:

Ultimately, there's a lot I can still do with crossmembers to get things back to square if there's an issue laterally. If there is a bow or crown down the length, I'll have to make adjustments with bodymount shims at the various locations to compensate.

Too bad you didn't chime in last week! :bow: :D



:usaflag:


ps. Oh yes, Welcome to Page 9!
 
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I think some of this may have come from me telling Greg "It's an adventure" but maybe he has taken it a little too far? I met Greg when he was pretty "green" and barely had any tools. I must say that i'm very impressed with the quality of work he's been doing and the skill level he is tackling lately. :thumb:
 
Greg72 said:
I know for sure that metal moves around when you weld it... sort of an inevitable reality.

What do you think of the HAZ on the welds? I'd say they're between 3/4" and 1" wide which seemed reasonable for material that is probably just over 1/8" thick?? :thinking:

Ultimately, there's a lot I can still do with crossmembers to get things back to square if there's an issue laterally. If there is a bow or crown down the length, I'll have to make adjustments with bodymount shims at the various locations to compensate.

Too bad you didn't chime in last week! :bow: :D



:usaflag:


ps. Oh yes, Welcome to Page 9!
Click to expand...

I doubt you'll see much lateral problems.

Crown or sag can be rectified using heat. If you do find an issue pm me and I'll gladly call you on my dime and explain how to 'fix' the problem. I'd definitely map it out and compare to one of the unwelded rails. You could just lay one of the unwelded rails on top of the welded one and use a square to check for problems.

Also, ideally you should marry both sides up. Sounds stupid, but it's basically ensuring each rail is the exact twin of the other. Again, heat is the weapon of choice to fine tune the end product.

It is safe to assume you want the truck to sit flat and true right?

Sorry I missed this before you started. :doah:

Rene
 
tRustyK5 said:
I doubt you'll see much lateral problems.

Crown or sag can be rectified using heat. If you do find an issue pm me and I'll gladly call you on my dime and explain how to 'fix' the problem. I'd definitely map it out and compare to one of the unwelded rails. You could just lay one of the unwelded rails on top of the welded one and use a square to check for problems.

Also, ideally you should marry both sides up. Sounds stupid, but it's basically ensuring each rail is the exact twin of the other. Again, heat is the weapon of choice to fine tune the end product.

It is safe to assume you want the truck to sit flat and true right?

Sorry I missed this before you started. :doah:

Rene
Click to expand...


X2

Sorry I missed this as well. :o:doah:I don't think it'll be anything to serious but you'll definitely want to compare your welded rail with a virgin. Odds are your welded rail will be off a bit but will be fairly easily fixed.

Once you get the first rail straightened back up then you will have a guide for the second rail so you can have good parts to build a straight, square and plum foundation for all of your hard work.


Looking good as always!!! I am always amazed at your inability to leave stuff well enough alone.:haha: FYI Blazer Bash '10 is only 10 months away.:eek1:
 
bigblock72 said:
Looking good as always!!! I am always amazed at your inability to leave stuff well enough alone.:haha: FYI Blazer Bash '10 is only 10 months away.:eek1:
Click to expand...


Ugh! Don't remind me.....I'm still a LONG way from finished in case you haven't noticed.

Thanks to you and Rene for the tips on the rails, I'll check the welded one against the originals to see where things are. I'm assuming by talking about correcting distortions with "heat" you mean an Oxy/Acetylene setup? :thinking: Don't have one (yet) but maybe it's time....

I ordered new axle housings yesterday, and they should be here next week. I'm going to have to scramble if I want to have the framerails finished and back under the truck for mock-ups. And, I guess this latest parts order means that I now have a set of 1-Tons for sale.... space is running out in my little shop. :yikes:


:usaflag:
 
Yup, oxy-fuel set-up. For a home shop like yours I'd lean towards Oxy-propane.

Rene
 
I only had 2 hours in the shop tonight.... but it was enough to trim up the final rail and prep it for media blasting:

DSC02191.jpg


Here's a shot of the first rail, mostly completed. I put the body mount hangers on just to remind me where they go, but they don't have the DOM sleeves welded in yet. The material showed up yesterday so I will get to that soon.

DSC02197.jpg


The final result looks awfully good to me, but when I have more time to spend I'll drag it out from under the tub and line it up with the unwelded rail to double-check all the dimensions and straightness...

DSC02199.jpg



:usaflag:
 
Header fitment is already tight on a first gen with BBC...what are your plans now in that regard? Gonna go fenderwell headers and hang it all outboard or?

Rene
 
If I can't squeeze them inside framerails then I'll have to consider doing small notches on the inside top rail of the frame to clear each tube (then plate them in to keep it smooth looking)...or go outside the rails like you mentioned and hopefully get them tucked back underneath towards a stock position as the frame makes the strong taper at the #1 body mount position.

From what I've read about header design, outboard headers produce much better power because of the very gentle radius as the exhaust first comes out of the heads...much less restrictive than a typical exhaust which basically puts a tight 90 immediately after the flange.

We'll see, but of course it's going to be custom no matter what.....it's just a question of "semi" custom....or "FULL" custom.

You're definitely seeing all the same issues I'm anticipating...impressive since you're doing it from only a handful of photos! :waytogo:


:usaflag:
 
I kinda like the idea of the fender well style of header and exhaust outside the rails for a few reasons. Power does come into play, but also there tends not to be much room inboard of the rails for exhaust once you start clocking cases, running burly high angle front shafts etc etc. Also, Most fuel lines get run on the inboard side of the frame, and I have a concern with the heat the fuel and lines are gonna see. Same deal for brake lines.

Add all the convoluted head-ache needed to route it through/around etc a linked rear...

i dunno, I'm heavily leaning towards outboard exhasut on my Crew Cab. Prolly the only reason I thought about it in regards to your new frame rails.

Rene
 
2009.12.06 - UPDATE! - I LOST MY SANDBLASTING SPOT...


I knew I'd have to scramble on Saturday morning. There was still one partially blasted frame rail to get finished and I was out of blasting media (again!). So I got up early, made a quick trip to the local parts store and loaded up with another 300Lbs and headed home.

After a couple of tedious hours, the blasting was finished....and I got a coat of Ryoken green on it. Moments later.....this started to happen.

DSC02201.jpg


I still had a few body mount brackets to finish blasting, but I'd run out of media (again) and the ceramic nozzles were all worn out (too large....not enough air pressure and wasting a ton of media) and the lower blast tank hose had yet another blowout that now needs repair.... I took that as a sign that my blasting time was over.

By the next morning (today), here's what that same area looked like:

DSC02229.jpg


It's only about 3 inches of fresh snow, but it sure is beautiful isn't it? :bow: It won't be as easy to get the final parts blasted now since I'll have to drag the machine through a little snow to finish up, but fortunately the lions share of the work had already been done.

So today was spent on the initial prepping of the 2nd framerail set, cutting a deep "V" for the weld, making relief cuts for the curve up near the engine crossmember, etc. I'm not quite ready to weld, but I think tomorrow night I'll start tacking and burning it into place.

I spent some time comparing the welded rail with the fresh unwelded parts side-by-side...I'll be honest, I'm having a hard time noticing any differences due to warping. I laid a straightedge across the two at a number of points and got 0.0* on the digital protractor. I'll take a few more measurements tomorrow before I weld, but my feeling at this point is that if there is any distortion in the part, it's probably too small to be of concern.

I didn't figure there was much value posting more pics of the frame rail work today, as it looks JUST like it did last time.... imagine that. :D

The other bit of good news is that I found a buyer for the 1-Ton axles I'd posted in the For Sale area, so I'll be able to clear those out of the garage and reclaim some much needed space, and put some extra $$$ back into the K5 account for future parts.


:usaflag:
 
Good news on the frame rail Greg! At this point then I'd be sure to do the second rail exactly like you did the first one...

Lord I hope we don't get any of that white sh!t this year. That'd make my job 100 times more difficult and dangerous!

So you haven't been trying to re-claim any media? A simple plastic lean-to should be enough that you'd be able to shovel up a good portion and send it through the gun again.

Rene
 
Funny you mention not wanting to sandblast in the snow. Rented one this weekend. Picked it up friday then finished striping my frame. Worked saturday till 3 started snowing and got dark. Woke up early today to like 5 inches of snow. Commited to sandblast it any way due to the rental. Got it done though
 
tRustyK5 said:
So you haven't been trying to re-claim any media? A simple plastic lean-to should be enough that you'd be able to shovel up a good portion and send it through the gun again.

Rene
Click to expand...


I finally got smart after about 800 Lbs and started collecting it, but it definitely loses it's "cut" on the second pass....plus the gathering, sifting and so on is really tedious. Wasn't working well with my tight schedule.

Next spring I'll get a better system dialed-in, and I won't be trying to blast off POR-15 anymore....that stuff is remarkably tough to remove.


:usaflag:
 
keep up the diligence young man! :D

it's a horrible job, but there is something exceptionally rewarding about seeing that clean, raw steel... :bow:

the 1000 lb'er I used to run at the resto shop on the mixers and dozers was awesome.. focker was like a firehose.. it'd cut a cement block in 1/2 in about 30 seconds... :eek1:


think I went thru about 2000 lbs on my frame, etc last year.. you guys should try doing it in a garage.... psycho.... :crazy::haha:


concerns me your getting these hose failures tho.... :confused:
 
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