'72 K5 - Greg's @MightAsWellK5 Build

[folkenheath]

That's because you showed up so fast and posted your 1st reply before the new posts were all completed and uploaded!!

Silicon Bronze has a much lower melting point so you can use it to fill areas without introducing as much heat into the base metal. It's almost like a soldering process the way it melts and "flows" but it still has really high strength. A lot of Trophy Trucks are completely welded with silicon-bronze for the attachment of interior panels to the cagework (dash, center console, floors, firewall, rear bulkhead, etc).


-G

Nice work Greg!

Why didn't you want to use old school "lead filler"?

I seriously knew a guy in MI around 2010 that would go to the shooting range after hours and dig up the bullets so he could melt them into lead filler for his old cars. Then he would sand the lead filler down, nothing like lead dust to get your creative juices flowing. The guy was in his 70s, I thought it was crazy.

 

[Greg72]

Nice work Greg!

Why didn't you want to use old school "lead filler"?

I seriously knew a guy in MI around 2010 that would go to the shooting range after hours and dig up the bullets so he could melt them into lead filler for his old cars. Then he would sand the lead filler down, nothing like lead dust to get your creative juices flowing. The guy was in his 70s, I thought it was crazy.

Hard to believe a guy that messed with lead and those lead fumes would live to be 70 years old...

Glad you are still keeping an eye on progress here.... it will be fun to get one of your Volcano manifolds bolted up to this project soon along with all the EFI and DIS componentry that you've already sent my way...




-G

 

[shady]

My buddies 79 Cordova has factory lead filler in the top to B pillar seam. Did t even know they used it that late.

Great to see the progress on this. One of the most detail driven builds I've ever seen.

 

[82355]

Don't take this the wrong way, the Blazer is cool, but I think I enjoy your shop and shop tool updates more than the Blazer.

Martin

 

[Greg72]

Don't take this the wrong way, the Blazer is cool, but I think I enjoy your shop and shop tool updates more than the Blazer.

Martin

No offense taken. The shop and tools are a big part of this whole experience for me as well.

It doesn't happen as much as it used to in my younger days due to my crazy schedule, but one of my favorite moments is just walking out into the shop on a Sunday morning when everything is competely organized, the tools are put away and all the workbenches have been cleared of prior work and debris. The simple act of turning on the lights, rolling up the garage doors and sipping on a cup of coffee while the iTunes music plays in the background is a very zen moment.

This is a short work-week for me, and as of today the garage is already cleaned up and waiting for next Sunday morning.


-G

 

[jaros44sr]

Thanks for the information about MCD1, just started to watch them.....

Great update, and nice work, I too enjoy just walking into my shop with Sirius on, looking at my success.

My most recent success is the BBWM, thanks Igor

 

[Greg72]

Thanks for the information about MCD1, just started to watch them.....

Great update, and nice work, I too enjoy just walking into my shop with Sirius on, looking at my success.

My most recent success is the BBWM, thanks Igor

Morgan Clarke (MCD1) is the real deal and he really explains things well in his videos. Not just the assembly of the parts, but the entire thought-process and aesthetic that drive his designs.

He is also really generous with his time, and answers questions regularly... he seems genuinely interested in "paying it forward" and helping people to improve their fabrication skills.


-G

 

[jaros44sr]

Yeah agree, yesterday watched a vent intake being designed and made

Don't know anything about Instagram, still working on high fidelity, you know you're a redneck, if you have a TV on top of a TV

 

[CK5]

MIGHT AS WELL: 2022 RENDERING...


After being referred to Chad Canning over at Rendered Rides on Instagram, a brief discussion and collaboration began.

Over the course of a few days, Chad put together some nicely detailed renderings of the MAW K5 showing how it would look in final color (Hugger Orange) as well as some of the more important design elements, like the portal axles and enlarged and flared fenders. We even played around with a 67-68 hood with a small cowl just to see if that would add a bit of extra muscularity and balance-out the large tires and flares. A white interior with a Highlander-type seat insert was incorporated.

The factory CST woodgrain trim was added along with the tailgate banding... and the white rollcage added a really nice old-school vibe to the truck as well.

Really quite blown away by the quality of the renderings themselves, especially things like reflective surfaces and all of the small K5-specific details that were all visible on these images.



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-G

Good lord Greg!

 

[Greg72]

2022.07.11 - UPDATE! - HEAT AFFECTED ZONE....


WHEW!!!!

This year has been unusual in Texas. We normally spend May and June in a slow warming trend into the 80s and low 90s that eventually takes us to a steady 100-degrees for basically the entire month of July and August. For some reason, Mother Nature decided to just skip that whole "warming trend" thing this year and has basically been hammering us with steady 100+ degree weather every day since late May.

For a "Behind the Scenes" look.... this is how a typical Sunday usually starts...

However, with the temps climbing so fast... the whole "doors up, enjoy the sunshine" thing doesn't really work in real-life. Within a few minutes it was obvious that the shop was going to be too hot so the doors were rolled right back down!!

The project was straightforward. TIG weld the driver's side engine support cradle together.




The only catch is that the TIG experience so far is mostly just tacking things together.... no real continuous passes of any kind. So with a fresh new bottle of Argon cracked open, the first couple of hours were spent figuring out proper machine settings and techniques for doing 1/8 corner-to-corner welds. The amperage ran the gamut from 130A all the way down to 60A looking for something that would work consistently. It turns out that the biggest inconsistency was the arc length (distance from puddle of the tungsten) which is all user-induced. This little practice cube provided lots of corner welding opportunities to get things figured out.



Add to that some good remote diagnostic analysis from @AgDieseler the welds were sharpening up well enough to attempt TIG'ing the actual part.

Not bad:




Spent the rest of the afternoon welding the brace with a nice aluminum chunk behind the welds as a heatsink. Got a lot of experience with awkward angles and curves and learned a lot.




One step closer.... and a huge confidence builder for TIG welding more parts in the future!!!


-G

 

[bp71k5]

2022.07.11 - UPDATE! - HEAT AFFECTED ZONE....


WHEW!!!!

This year has been unusual in Texas. We normally spend May and June in a slow warming trend into the 80s and low 90s that eventually takes us to a stead 100-degrees for basically the entire month of July and August. For some reason, Mother Nature decided to just skip that whole "warming trend" thing this year and has basically been hammering us with steady 100+ degree weather every day since late May.

For a "Behind the Scenes" look.... this is how a typical Sunday usually starts...

However, with the temps climbing so fast... the whole "doors up, enjoy the sunshine" thing doesn't really work in real-life. Within a few minutes it was obvious that the shop was going to be too hot so the doors were rolled right back down!!

The project was straightforward. TIG weld the driver's side engine support cradle together.

View attachment 418615


The only catch is that the TIG experience so far is mostly just tacking things together.... no real continuous passes of any kind. So with a fresh new bottle of Argon cracked open, the first couple of hours were spent figuring out proper machine settings and techniques for doing 1/8 corner-to-corner welds. The amperage ran the gamut from 130A all the way down to 60A looking for something that would work consistently. It turns out that the biggest inconsistency was the arc length (distance from puddle of the tungsten) which is all user-induced. This little practice cube provided lots of corner welding opportunities to get things figured out.

View attachment 418616

Add to that some good remote diagnostic analysis from @AgDieseler the welds were sharpening up well enough to attempt TIG'ing the actual part.

Not bad:

View attachment 418617


Spent the rest of the afternoon welding the brace with a nice aluminum chunk behind the welds as a heatsink. Got a lot of experience with awkward angles and curves and learned a lot.

View attachment 418618


One step closer.... and a huge confidence builder for TIG welding more parts in the future!!!


-G

Can I vote for keeping your hood up in the attic where it is? Kinda looks like it’s placed there as a trophy.

 

[Greg72]

Can I vote for keeping your hood up in the attic where it is? Kinda looks like it’s placed there as a trophy.

SURE! It's right next the my rare 1967 Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots boxing game... so that whole area is like a weird trophy spot anyway.


-G

 

[AgDieseler]

One step closer.... and a huge confidence builder for TIG welding more parts in the future!!!

Parts like these are good teachers. Glad you're sticking with the TIG welding and putting in the hours. There's nothing quite like the first time you lay down a steady stack of filler exactly how you wanted to in a single pass. It's full on addiction after that.

David

 

[ZooMad75]

New skill achieved!

Looks good. I really need to buy a welder for some ideas I have floating in my brain. Been a solid 25 years since I’ve done anything.

 

[dbcorvairracer]

MIGHT AS WELL: 2022 RENDERING...


After being referred to Chad Canning over at Rendered Rides on Instagram, a brief discussion and collaboration began.

Over the course of a few days, Chad put together some nicely detailed renderings of the MAW K5 showing how it would look in final color (Hugger Orange) as well as some of the more important design elements, like the portal axles and enlarged and flared fenders. We even played around with a 67-68 hood with a small cowl just to see if that would add a bit of extra muscularity and balance-out the large tires and flares. A white interior with a Highlander-type seat insert was incorporated.

The factory CST woodgrain trim was added along with the tailgate banding... and the white rollcage added a really nice old-school vibe to the truck as well.

Really quite blown away by the quality of the renderings themselves, especially things like reflective surfaces and all of the small K5-specific details that were all visible on these images.



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-G

Great updates! You should have asked if they could do a homer bucket/soda can rendering

 

[RGV72BLAZER]

Amazing to see your dedication and continuation of your build! You’re in the Austin area correct? Have you considered some insulation and a mini split for the garage? The heat has been ridiculous this year…add the instant swamp ass humidity and it’s a disaster for wrenching. I had to put my projects on the back burner until it starts to cool down.

 

[Greg72]

Amazing to see your dedication and continuation of your build! You’re in the Austin area correct? Have you considered some insulation and a mini split for the garage? The heat has been ridiculous this year…add the instant swamp ass humidity and it’s a disaster for wrenching. I had to put my projects on the back burner until it starts to cool down.

Thanks Bud!

Can't blame anyone for missing some of the details in a thread this long. Actually DID deal with insulation and air conditioning about 4 years ago when we first got to Texas..... from that very first summer it was obvious that working in a TX garage was going to be a LOT different from working in a garage in NH.

Link:

'72 K5 - Greg's @MightAsWellK5 Build

Glad it was 12-2 The 220 it's just easier to fuse em separate. And according to what I have read as far as code you cannot have more than 1 220 on a single breaker. I'm doing 4 220 outlets in my shop all fused separate. Well 6 actually but one is for the compressor and one for an RV plug...

ck5.com

The shop has a 2-Ton Mistubishi Mini-Split. Does a really nice job keeping the space cool but can't keep up (obviously) when the doors are both rolled up.


-G

 

[Greg72]

2022.07.18 - UPDATE! - GUESS THE WEIGHT...!!!


It's been a LONG time coming but finally added a set of 4-Corner Race Scales to the MAW Shop!

The idea of having access to accurate vehicle weights during a build was really tempting... especially when there are still relatively heavy items left to install like batteries, air compressors and tanks. Knowing where the truck is already heavy, gives insights about the smartest places to add new weight and improves the chances of getting a more balanced overall vehicle.



This setup came from ProForm. It's a 7000Lb wireless system and came in a nice rolling case.. the pads are all machined aluminum and powdercoated and the overall quality seemed good... especially at this price point. Most other manufacturers (Intercomp / Tanner Racing / LongAcre) are at least twice as expensive and honestly there really aren't THAT many choices when you need something in excess of the commonly available 6000Lb sets.

So yesterday morning, the garage doors went up... the front ORI struts and wheels were reinstalled and the wooden blocking was removed from the frame to allow the truck to apply weight to each of the 4 scales....




.....and here was the result.


DRUMROLL PLEASE......!!!!





Pretty cool!


The disclaimer at this point is not to take the specific corner values TOO seriously yet for a couple of reasons.
1. Floor is sloped in the garage so the pads were not leveled relative to each other. This will come later
2. Did not have a convenient way to roll the truck onto the scales to release any loading of the suspension... just jacked up the corners, slid the pad underneath and lowered the tire back down.


However, the fact that the truck currently sits with a F/R weight bias of roughly 55%/45% was a pleasant surprise. The engine setback probably helped with that a bit... swapping out the iron cylinder heads for aluminum will improve the balance... but the addition of a front WARN winch will probably cancel it out. The 30 gallon fuel tank when filled adds about 200Lbs beyond the rear axle which will pull the balance rearward, as will the addition of the spare tire in the rear bed area....


At this point, not sure how to extrapolate this into a "final" weight... there is still a lot of sheetmetal to hang, and parts to add.... but it would sure be nice to keep this thing around 6000Lbs total if possible.


-G

 

[ZooMad75]

It’s less than I thought but probably still more than stocker at this point.

I won’t be surprised if the final is in the high 5k range.

 

[Blue85]

How long will it be until those renderings show up in fake ads that GM is bringing back the K5? Long waiting lists could form.