'72 K5 - Greg's @MightAsWellK5 Build

[Greg72]

A few progress pics from today.....

Built some more cage plates for the front frame horns to hold the down bars. Also built a small bracket to locate the lower part of the radiator. Still need to come up with a clever rubber - isolation mount to clamp the radiator in place at the top.

-G




...oh, and welcome to Page 20. This is getting rediculous.

 

[NorCal69]

Your top radiator mount looks a lot like mine so far, nice work...


Are you just going to weld the core support mounts to the sides of the new front tube plates? I remember you were doing something funky with cutting up the core support a long time ago, maybe there will be no need for the mounts?

 

[Greg72]

Core support won't be making a comeback...

The headlights will be integrated into the 1-piece front end, so there won't be anything sticking out beyond the structure you see there. I want to keep that front end as clean and tapered as possible when the sheetmetal comes off.

-G

 

[rdn2blazer]

Core support won't be making a comeback...

The headlights will be integrated into the 1-piece front end, so there won't be anything sticking out beyond the structure you see there. I want to keep that front end as clean and tapered as possible when the sheetmetal comes off.

-G

I've been thinking of ditching my core support as well. Possibly tapering the front of my rig too, but that kills the street driving and not getting tickets. Exposed front tires are a ticket big time here. Not sure how I'm going to go about a taper job and be able to cover the tires. Don't want gawd awful home made looking fender flares just to keep from getting tickets. I guess if they're quick release and easily storable thay may work. Will you have ticket issues where your at Greg?

 

[Greg72]

Rob,

Not sure what the specific laws are here in NH for bodywork, though I'm sure they would not allow me to run completely uncovered tires. I wouldn't want to do that anyway, since they would sling rain, slop and rocks in every direction.

The idea I had was to build the inner fender wells as part of the tube buggy structure, and have the 1-piece front end just be the three basic parts (fenders, hood and grill/bumper assy). That would help keep the weight down on the 1-piece front end, so when I needed to take it off it would be manageable with only 2 people.

My thought is to build-out some kind of smaller tubular structure (maybe with 1" tubing) to create the basic perimeter shape of the wheelwells that would seal up to the existing fender arches, and then build either fiberglass or sheetmetal inserts to enclose all the space on each side.

Cosmetically, it might look terrible to have the entire wheel tub built onto my "transformer" setup (too large and bulky), so maybe what I end up doing is building an aesthetically pleasing smaller fenderlip on each side and then build the remainder of the lip permanently on the inside of the fender, so that it is removed when the clip comes off.

I'm sure it will be one of those things that I'll just have to mess around with to see what "looks good" and let the creative process decide for me....


-G

 

[ashman]

Greg, have you ditched the idea of having your fenders swing in in favor of just being easily removed?

 

[Greg72]

Yeah, I gave up on that idea a while ago. Way too complicated with all those moving parts... it was just begging for trouble on the trail and in the "real world".

The "transformer" process will probably take about 30 minutes to perform. Remove bedsides, remove front clip, remove tailgate. I think the only way to insure that sheetmetal doesn't get damaged on the trail is to avoid bringing it there in the first place!!!

-G

 

[NorCal69]

I think that you should just drop the coin for another set of the same axles and build a buggy.





Whats another couple of bucks, Right???

 

[Greg72]

It's not just about the money. The most destructive part of "multiple projects" is the way it waters-down all the free time, so that nothing gets finished. I already have enough trouble finding time as it is.

That, and the Fred Sanford "look" of extra vehicles strewn all over the yard on cinderblocks.... not sexy.




-G

 

[NorCal69]

That, and the Fred Sanford "look" of extra vehicles strewn all over the yard on cinderblocks.... not sexy.




-G

Did you just Google street view my house???

 

[ashman]

Yeah, I gave up on that idea a while ago. Way too complicated with all those moving parts... it was just begging for trouble on the trail and in the "real world".

The "transformer" process will probably take about 30 minutes to perform. Remove bedsides, remove front clip, remove tailgate. I think the only way to insure that sheetmetal doesn't get damaged on the trail is to avoid bringing it there in the first place!!!

-G

gotcha. I remember you deciding to go with removable bedsides, but for some reason I missed where you changed your mind on the front fenders.

any ideas on where you'll store the body parts at the trailhead? trailer maybe?

any thoughts on maybe making some sort of collapsible fenders or and such that could be stored in the back while on the trail? what I'm thinking of is just something that is there enough to let you be on the road a bit to get to the trail so that you don't have to leave the body panels some place you don't want.

obviously I'm getting way ahead here, but I'm curious.

 

[Greg72]

There would be a few options, I suppose.

1. Go transformer before leaving home - leave all panels in nice warm garage. Either drive or trailer to event.

2. Transform at hotel near event - store panels in hotel room!!

3. Transform at trailhead - Padlock panels to tree or onto an available trailer.

Depending on the event, it might not be critical that I do the whole "transformer thing" every time my tires leave the pavement. I've been to Moab a few times and doubt I'd bother removing the panels for the kind of trails I've run there... I'm sure there are trails there where sheetmetal would get ruined, but until I'm a much better driver (and much braver than I am now ) I don't see myself running those trails anyway.


-G

 

[76zimmer]

Dave,

That would be the most depressing thing ever..... It would be longer than Santa's "naughty & nice" list.

Generally, I know the order that things need to happen but when I only get a few hours it feels more urgent to do something "big" with my time... Not sure what that will translate to this morning, but I'm sure once I get in the shop and get into "the zone" the project will reveal itself.


-G

I know that routine well Greg...cept I usually find myself zero'ing in on "one thing", then get sidetracked by something that needs to be done before that "one thing", then sidetracked again by something else that needs to be done, and before long I stand back and ask myself, how the hell did I get here when I was just working on that "one thing"

I'm sure the lumber scraps are all numbered, with the dimensional information listed and cross referenced in the Oracle notebook...

Nailed It!



Greg an assembly manual should help with identifying those holes in the firewall....my assy manual for the Vette was a huge help.

Perhaps this would help:
http://www.faxonautoliterature.com/...rint-Pickup-Suburban-Blazer-Jimmy-P10796.aspx

 

[Greg72]

Zim,

Oh yes! That downward spiral of "little sub-tasks" is the very essence of the Might-As-Well syndrome.... The more you dig to fix something the harder it is to stop; each repair reveals more items needing attention.

I already have that Factory Assembly Manual... I'm not sure how the Corvette ones are, but the 1st Gen one is kind of a running joke among the guys here. It's as if someone took the 600 perfectly-organized pages, tossed them into the air and let them scatter all over the floor... Then swept them up into a disorganized mess and quickly glued it into the binder!


-G

 

[ashman]

There would be a few options, I suppose.

1. Go transformer before leaving home - leave all panels in nice warm garage. Either drive or trailer to event.

2. Transform at hotel near event - store panels in hotel room!!

3. Transform at trailhead - Padlock panels to tree or onto an available trailer.

Depending on the event, it might not be critical that I do the whole "transformer thing" every time my tires leave the pavement. I've been to Moab a few times and doubt I'd bother removing the panels for the kind of trails I've run there... I'm sure there are trails there where sheetmetal would get ruined, but until I'm a much better driver (and much braver than I am now ) I don't see myself running those trails anyway.


-G

coolio. just wondering if you'd put any thought into "wtf do I do with these?!?" yet.

 

[76zimmer]

Zim,

Oh yes! That downward spiral of "little sub-tasks" is the very essence of the Might-As-Well syndrome.... The more you dig to fix something the harder it is to stop; each repair reveals more items needing attention.

I already have that Factory Assembly Manual... I'm not sure how the Corvette ones are, but the 1st Gen one is kind of a running joke among the guys here. It's as if someone took the 600 perfectly-organized pages, tossed them into the air and let them scatter all over the floor... Then swept them up into a disorganized mess and quickly glued it into the binder!


-G

oof, the Vette ones are copies of originals, and worked good for me, not as detailed as a wiring diagram or a blowup of say a trans parts assembly, but helped me a lot with the assembly of my apart for 15 years rebuild on the Vette.

 

[Greg72]

The things I'll do for you guys....

I climbed up into the dusty attic to get a cool "straight down" shot of the front engine cradle / engine bay area.

I will get a few hours tonight to work on "something" in the manspace. It might be related to exhaust. I was lying awake this AM thinking about my "outboard headers" idea (running the collector outside the boxed framerails) and realized that if I run the exhaust that way it will probably block the framerails in the exact spot where I would want to put the vertical bars to support my front struts???

Guess I'd better do a few tests and get this sorted out before I design/build myself into a corner.



-G

 

[munepit]

Damm!!! Awesome picture!!!!

 

[shady]

sweet pic You could design the headers the way your saying and just leave room for your verticles to go THROUGH them. the headers would be a permanent installation but would still be seperate enough to pull then an inch or a few away from the motor for future swaps/repairs. its not like if you get a hole in a header youd be able to just swap it any way, they'll have to be remade. so cutting it out wouldnt be a issue. Probly be a LONG time before ya had to anyway. Just a thought.

 

[Greg72]

2012.12.04 - UPDATE! - HEADERS ARE IN !!!

Well that turned out to be a whole lot of worrying about nothing....

Turns out all I really needed to do was load the headers from underneath like some of the musclecar guys do. I started at the transmission bell housing and gently lifted them up & forward diagonally...then slowly rotated them clockwise until the ports were level and the bolt holes lined up...

Right Side:

It wasn't a 100% slam dunk. My reworked engine crossmember bracing was just a touch too tall so it was REALLY close to hitting the forwardmost tubes. If the engine rocks at all, or if the motor mounts settle any lower, there would be rubbing. I removed the crossmember and trimmed about 5/8" off the top of each side. That did the trick.

The drivers side was a bit more feisty. Even on the stock framerail, I remember dealing with interference issues with my old headers. So it wasn't much of a surprise that with a larger boxed frame the issue would be even worse.

I ended up trimming a diagonal section off the inner side of the frame... Test fitting many times as I went so that I wouldn't overdo it.

Close up:

Eventually, I got the headers to drop into place....

I'm really happy with these results. This turned out to be VERY easy compared to completely reworking the headers into an outboarded solution... And now I can build my front shock mounts in a simple, traditional layout.

-G