'74 K5 build: Smurf

[82355]

I know, I was just giving you a hard time. I actually really like most aspects of this build.

Martin

 

[dremu]

I know, I was just giving you a hard time. I actually really like most aspects of this build.

Martin

Except the slushbox, huh?

Thanks!

-- A

 

[82355]

Except the slushbox, huh?

Thanks!

-- A

That's the main thing. I have a few nitpicks, but not many, and everyone will have a few things they would do differently when they look at someone else's rig.

Martin

 

[dremu]

That's the main thing. I have a few nitpicks, but not many, and everyone will have a few things they would do differently when they look at someone else's rig.

Martin

Hell, there's a bunch of things *I* would do differently ... and I'm gonna end up re-doing some of those.

-- A

 

[imiceman44]

I don't know, of all the things I would be trying to relocate, the lever wouldn't be my first.
How do you get to the brake pedal to engage the Ebrake to begin with?
You must have rubber legs.

Found a coupla extra pix from the cage work on the camera card.

The driver's side front leg blocks the parking brake pull rather annoyingly -- it'll still pull, but you have to curve your arm the wrong way:

So I pulled the lever rod out, discovering the plastic handle was cracked, and so welded on an extension / new handle. Remembering that my press brake is my vise, the bends for the triangle are not wildly inaccurate and mismatched, they "give it character"

Old rod on left, rusty, shiny new stuff is ... well, shiny and new

And there it is test-fit (It was later painted one of the contrasting and loud shades of blue, as appropriate for the truck )

Note the handle is rotated 90* so as to fit with the cage leg better, and it sticks out just enough that you can grab it without really looking. I find that ergonomics become more important as I get older and more inflexible

I was contemplating putting a bushing onto the cage leg somehow, but so far it seems to pull straight on its own. The rod is like 7/32" or some weird size slightly smaller than 1/4", which is surprisingly stiff even with the extension.

-- A

 

[dremu]

I don't know, of all the things I would be trying to relocate, the lever wouldn't be my first.
How do you get to the brake pedal to engage the Ebrake to begin with?
You must have rubber legs.

There's this thing called an ankle, you may have heard of them

I just rotate my foot out to the left and push. I suspect it's a funny camera angle cuz it's not as bad as it looks.

I see why Smittybilt didn't sell too many of these cages, though. The fitment in the interior is suspect at best.

-- A

 

[imiceman44]

So your ankle is more flexible than your wrist ?

There's this thing called an ankle, you may have heard of them

I just rotate my foot out to the left and push. I suspect it's a funny camera angle cuz it's not as bad as it looks.

I see why Smittybilt didn't sell too many of these cages, though. The fitment in the interior is suspect at best.

-- A

 

[dremu]

So your ankle is more flexible than your wrist ?

Well, my foot is, surprisingly, down by the pedals, and my arm isn't.

Maybe you drive upside down?

-- A

 

[colbystephens]

Also, the pedal pushes forward away from the cage, where as the handle pulls back toward the cage.

 

[mpio13]

i did a 14 bolt swap recently and didnt take the time to even try connecting my ebrake cables, i actually cut them off like an asshole, both under the truck and at the back of the drum. if i get the cables that are for my truck, should they work for the 14b? i'd also like to do the disc brake conversion at some point, they make them compatible for cadilac calipers that work as an ebrake right? i know alot of wheeling clubs require a working ebrake, and id like to have it work properly. maybe even convert it to a handle style by the driver seat instead of a pedal.

 

[colbystephens]

I also was a dummy and cut my e-brake cables off my 14 bolt at the drum when I swapped mine in. You can't just buy Blazer e-brake cables because they'll be different for the 14 bolt you have. As I understand it, different years have different cables because the drum diameter is different. Mine is from a '76 Suburban, so I'm hoping I can just buy based on knowing that.

 

[dremu]

i did a 14 bolt swap recently and didnt take the time to even try connecting my ebrake cables, i actually cut them off like an asshole, both under the truck and at the back of the drum. if i get the cables that are for my truck, should they work for the 14b? i'd also like to do the disc brake conversion at some point, they make them compatible for cadilac calipers that work as an ebrake right? i know alot of wheeling clubs require a working ebrake, and id like to have it work properly. maybe even convert it to a handle style by the driver seat instead of a pedal.

Thread hijack!

Short answer for both you and Colby: the parking brake cables are different across years; they have different lengths and routings on my '74's than on the '85 I had. Might look at the LMC catalog for the year breakdown. Also, the ends are different. I don't know whether that's the case for the 14b vs the 10/12b.

You would therefore want to get parking brake cables for a truck with a 14B of the same year as yours. The back halves are sleeved and have complicated ends, but at least on my '74's, the front half is just your basic aircraft cable with crimped-on ends, so you can make your own to length and get the parts at a good hardware store.

Now, any more issues, go post 'em in the garage where they belong, not in my build thread

-- A

 

[mpio13]

My bad, I dont even know why I posted that in your thread, again, the a$$hole things, that I do.
Thanks though.

 

[dremu]

My bad, I dont even know why I posted that in your thread, again, the a$$hole things, that I do.
Thanks though.

No worries; I just suspect it could turn into a more complicated discussion that should be separate.

-- A

 

[dremu]

Some other little stuff I've done lately:

Welded a coupla nuts to the light bar on the front bumper to hang the Hi-Lift:

Donno that it'll live there forever, but it can't go on the back any more now that I'm running a tailgate. I might move it into the bed as I shuffle things back there. I'm also concerned that getting to it might be tricky -- the last thing I want when I'm in a pickle is to have to work to get out the Hi-Lift. We'll see how it all works with the Master Plan (which is more a general idea than an actual plan... )

-- A

 

[dremu]

And again with the "I have a welder, I may as well use it" theme...

I put full doors back on the truck, and hanging them, particularly on a lifted truck, takes work. Harbor Freight sells or used to sell a roll-around thing for this, but I'm too cheap/poor to buy a limited-purpose tool these days. OTOH, it occurred to me that an engine stand is similar, so a little angle iron and more of that predrilled square tube and voila! It bolts up to the (faded red) engine stand and rolls around!

Just scoot it up to the truck, and bolt up the hinges. (Okay, it's not quite that easy, but close )

I also got something new and unusual that I haven't had on the truck in FOREVER, namely door panels! For reasons lost in the sands of time my original doors were missing one, and my donor doors were also lacking one, and were not only mismatched but missing the same side to boot. I got a matched pair at the PickNPull, basic ones without all the trim and door pockets, which I hate cuz they retain water and mold more than hold loose change or anything else useful

You can see they're physically intact, no cracks, but are UV-damaged and uggggly. I sanded off all the UV-crusted dried bits, which was kinda creepy when it turned to dust, like. After scrubbing them with soap and water, I went wild with the plastic primer. This stuff is more like engine paint than regular paint or primer, it's less viscous and you gotta kinda float a coat on, let it dry, then do another light coat. If you heavy coat it like you would the Rustoleum primer, say, it gobs up and is a bloody mess. This is like four coats:

And then a one of the first coats of color -- all rattlecan, mind you, as I'm cheap and lazy =))

After a coupla coats of color, I also hit them with a matte clear coat to drop the glare -- the gloss was brutal! -- and hopefully to protect them a bit. Obviously on this truck abuse is to be expected, but this will reduce damage and extend their life so I don't have to do this again.

The lower panels are 1/8" foam PVC from my local plastic place. It's like foam-core cardboard, in that it's light but stiff, but it's all plastic so it's waterproof, and comes in colors so it didn't require painting. it's also thin enough that you can cut the corners with scissors. The two square pieces cut to size were like $7 for the pair; I think I paid more for the screws and finish washers than for the plastic!

-- A

 

[dremu]

The devil is in the details, like using stainless screws to help avoid rust. I find that the doors are always wet. And some of it is purely cosmetic; the door lock knobs had lost most of their plastic "chrome":

Several coats of plastic primer, and then some color:

Under the paper is my trusty vise, and they're hung on a coupla zip-ties -- that's not threaded rod, it just looks like it.

Again, notice the crazy gloss, so these were also matte-coated -- that's the clear-topped rattle can in the background. I love me my rattlecans

The end result is pictured in my previous post.

-- A

 

[82355]

It stuff like this that makes me chuckle and enjoy your work log.

Martin

 

[dremu]

So, for the disbelievers among you, Tankie and I went shopping the other day. Here we are at the plastic place getting the lower panels:

Then we went to the Harbor Freight for some little stuff:

And finally the Kragen, err, O'reilly for solid state blinkers for the hazards and turn signals:

Proof that not only does she move under her own power, but occasionally leaves the property!

These are prolly the best shots I have of the new doors' exterior. You will note that while they were a dark blue, which I left on the interior, the exterior has been painted to match the truck. I find it important to have a Common Unifying Artistic Theme. (Well, Aaron, If by "Theme" you mean "Ugly Ass Giant Smurf Turd" then you're dead on! )

That and the passenger one particularly was banged up, so I did a bit of dent pulling (and pushing, since the door panel was off) and welded up a coupla holes. Not like the rest of the body is in great shape, but it made me feel better. And I got to weld...

-- A

 

[dremu]

It stuff like this that makes me chuckle and enjoy your work log.

Martin

Thanks, though you best not be sneering at my door locks! I mean, it's not like I have keys to the locks, but it's not like I'll need them either

Anyway, I like to think that if we can't have fun, it ain't worth doing!

-- A