attitude is perfect for loving a 1st gen. 
CK5
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'72 K5 - Where do I go from here?
- Thread starter Dirsuper
- Start date
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- Tags
- #onionclub
Pull the body off the frame - again!
Not much has happened lately - was in St. Simons Island, GA last weekend for my 93 year old WWII vet buddy Ernie's cross-country run completion (damn I miss the South). Had to help a buddy build a block wall yesterday (36) 90lb bags of concrete......that was fun. Stopped by a buddy's house today. He builds early 70s trucks (his specialty) and other things by request and sells them for a living. Ships his shit all over the world, so he knows what he is doing. I don't bug him much because I understand he is a very busy man. Anyway, his son is a really good painter and is going to 'help' me get my Blazer painted (I am very stoked about that BTW). Anyway, he is telling me to get the body media blasted.......meaning I have to pull it, put it on a trailer, etc.
Just for the hell of it I grabbed a piece of sandpaper and spent 30 minutes sanding.....uhm.......extrapolating from that, my estimate of sanding completion is sometime in 2019. So, here we go again.......sometime in the next month or so, it's coming back off..........I think. Still kicking it around, but I think (big picture) it is the smartest way to go.
As always, appreciate any counter points/things I am missing.
Not much has happened lately - was in St. Simons Island, GA last weekend for my 93 year old WWII vet buddy Ernie's cross-country run completion (damn I miss the South). Had to help a buddy build a block wall yesterday (36) 90lb bags of concrete......that was fun. Stopped by a buddy's house today. He builds early 70s trucks (his specialty) and other things by request and sells them for a living. Ships his shit all over the world, so he knows what he is doing. I don't bug him much because I understand he is a very busy man. Anyway, his son is a really good painter and is going to 'help' me get my Blazer painted (I am very stoked about that BTW). Anyway, he is telling me to get the body media blasted.......meaning I have to pull it, put it on a trailer, etc.
Just for the hell of it I grabbed a piece of sandpaper and spent 30 minutes sanding.....uhm.......extrapolating from that, my estimate of sanding completion is sometime in 2019. So, here we go again.......sometime in the next month or so, it's coming back off..........I think. Still kicking it around, but I think (big picture) it is the smartest way to go.
As always, appreciate any counter points/things I am missing.
PlaguedDevil
Registered Member
I just read this entire forum in the last hour......I have been batting around the idea of a full restore, frame off, every nook and cranny redone because my 4 year old daughter will someday be driving the K5........ You convinced me to do it. Great forum, glad your getting the knowledge, and I am grateful for all tips! I'll be starting mine soon!
Plagued - glad to hear it. I am having a lot of fun, and thanks to all of the great people on here, learning a TON. One of my end goals is to not fear anything on my Blazer. I want no hesitation to fix/change/whatever on the entire thing, and I see no better way to get there than to just tear into it. Speaking of which..........
Anyone know how the hell these covers come off? I see no screw, nut, pin - nothing, but neither of them will come off. I tapped them with a mallet, tried prying, vice, etc. No movement. Any ideas are appreciated.
Anyone know how the hell these covers come off? I see no screw, nut, pin - nothing, but neither of them will come off. I tapped them with a mallet, tried prying, vice, etc. No movement. Any ideas are appreciated.
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
I used to know because I did mine a long time ago to fill in the hole where I removed the auto trans shift indicator. I remember it being really difficult.
That's encouraging! 
twisted boost
Registered Member
Great build.... look forward to keep lurking
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
Check for a big nut on the end of the splined part of the column. All the pot metal guts in there have to come out before the covers come off. You have an assembly manual? I think I've seen an exploded view diagram of it somewhere, maybe in there.
I appreciate it bp. I removed the nut and outer bearing. I found this (below) in the manual, but I tried that with a steering wheel puller and just bent the lip on the edge, cover did not budge. Also in the manual it says you have to get out some pins to remove the guts, and you can't remove the pins with the cover on (you drive them out). I'm ready to take a die grinder to it at this point......I asked for help on 67-72 as well, so hopefully somebody knows how this thing comes apart.
Paragraph 9.c and photo at bottom:
Paragraph 9.c and photo at bottom:
I was searching for that tool and came across this thread (should anyone else run into the same issue in the future):
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=558375
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=558375
About 6 hours over this weekend, but that damn cover is off! Lots of penetrating oil, heat, rubber mallet, dead blow hammer......lots of choice words.......what a PITA!
I think I am realizing why most people don't rebuild their steering column.......Anyone have any tips for getting out the Shift Tube Retaining Ring? The manual says, remove with screwdriver and has a 'picture' of a screw driver stuck into a splotch of ink.
I admit defeat. I really jacked up the shift tube trying to get that piece out......so I thought about trying to get a new shift tube from a junk yard.......and then I thought some more.......I am about $220 for all parts for rebuild, add powder coating to that, as well as whatever I end up paying or a new shift tube......did some quick searching - Brother's Trucks has an entire column (complete) on sale for $329. Done. If anyone needs a donor column (with a jacked up shift tube), let me know, you can have it. For now, the column, with the ziploc bags containing all of the little pieces parts duct taped to it, resides on the junk pile behind the shop.
It's all good - live to fight another day!
Next weekend it's final prep for sandblasting, then I am trailering this thing (body on frame.....I like to be 'unconventional') to get media blasted......then on to that 'body work Summer.......or was it Fall'......
I hear the Silver Bullet calling my name........
It's all good - live to fight another day!
Next weekend it's final prep for sandblasting, then I am trailering this thing (body on frame.....I like to be 'unconventional') to get media blasted......then on to that 'body work Summer.......or was it Fall'......
I hear the Silver Bullet calling my name........
I have a similar opinion about steering columns.... Too much going on inside that I'm not interested in dealing with... I will let someone else do all the hard work, and am happy to pay them ~$300 for their expertise!
-G
Well, after wasting a month or so kicking around a million options regarding paint, I finally said screw it - dropped it off at a local body shop on Tuesday morning. Anything else and a year would have passed before I got this thing painted. Time to start tearing apart the engine in prep for machine shop work.
PPG 506 - the same green as my '72 K20. My K20 is the green with the wide white stripe in the middle, the Blazer will be all green. I just thought that since they are both '72 Cheyennes, who not. I'm going to do the factory 'wood grain/black/chrome' molding down the sides and the tailgate. As much as I wanted to hear old school Metallica when I looked at it, I decided against most of the colors which would accomplish that objective. I looked at hundreds of pictures of First Gen K5s (4x4, lifted) and I kept coming back to the green with the stock molding. I hope to end up with a nice 'classic/stockish' look, with a few touches to make it a bit more......I don't know, aggressive? It'll be kinda cool on cruise night (every Thursday during the Summer here in Ramona) to have the wife drive one and me drive the other.......All this predicated on the assumption I ever get this thing back together........as I gathered all the little pieces parts that need to be painted the same color I came across a lot of stuff that left me wondering.......'what is this thing?'
Allright, if there are any engine gurus out there willing to help out I appreciate it. To make a very long story short, I have a 350 block (it's the original) with 3927185 heads. Somewhere along the way I picked up a set of 14102193 "swirl" or "TBI" heads. I know neither of them are 'performance' heads, but don't care, I am not building a hot rod, I am building a Blazer that I will cruise around town with, do cruise night, etc. I have read for hours about both heads and generally, for both, see "throw them away", which leads me to believe it's a toss up as to which set I use, but I wonder if I am missing something. All I want is a solid engine with a little bit of a rumble, nothing crazy, just enough to not sound stock, so I will be putting some kind of 'RV Cam' or whatever in it, as well as a 4 barrel carb. Anyone have any insight/recommendations?
Stopped by the body shop today......
Outside?!? sacrilege !
