77K5. The IronMaiden...9/2 headed for Blazer Bash 20!

[AJMBLAZER]

The main problem is that everyone talks about "bolt on" and how easy it is...

...until you get under your 80's diesel K series and discover there's stuff sorta in the way and the frame and crossmember are slightly out of alignment and there's a big glob of mud in the way and blah blah blah. Couple hours later and you're done. I actually had to enlarge the hole in the crossmember so I could bolt mine on.

That area on both of my trucks has LOTS more stuff down there than the old 70's K5 or whatever ORD used for it's pictures and write up.

Your way is definitely the easiest.

 

[76zimmer]

I agree AJ, I think having everything stripped off, and then redoing the brake lines and not have to put all that back together down there will clean it up some too.
Less is more better in this case. I'm going to try to trial fit everything in place to figure what goes where, and what I need to change, before final boxing takes place too. I hope I wont have to re-do any of that.

 

[BGKYK5]

A tip for any of your readers who are attempting to install the bolt-on brace. Put the one bolt that doesn't go through the brace back in first. Otherwise you'll have to pull everything back apart to get it in and tighten it. I suppose you could just leave that bolt in, but I was swapping to a 2WD box at the same time.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Yeah...I was gonna say...don't think I touched that one.

 

[76zimmer]

Norm...(my ole man) helping me out today....he came over just to hang out with me, and see if we could get in each others way while working on the Iron Maiden. We tried to get a fuel line made, and was bending it in all the wrong directions, and tried to move the fuel tank up about 2", and forward 2", but that didn't work out so well either. So we decided to hang the rear springs and make it look like we got something done today.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Cool. What's on his hat?

 

[76zimmer]

I think its from his local conservation club. He's one of the firearm safety trainers.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Ah, kinda looked like a USMC hat for a moment there.

 

[76zimmer]

Nope, he was an Air Force E4 I think when he retired from active..."graduated" with E8 from Army reserves.
Get this...he was in for 2 weeks, and got assigned to Roswell for 2-1/2 years in 1951, then did a few months in Japan.

He's a pretty cool ole dude. He'll be 79 this year.........an April fool.

 

[76zimmer]

This is working better now, I just re-upped my subscription for another year to this $$$$$ addiction.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Tell your dad thanks. Bet he's got some stories.

Yep, now you can further watch your money pile dwindle and blame it on us.

 

[76zimmer]

Well, the pile of money is pretty much spent considering the engine will be next to pay for.
I'm considering a home equity line of credit....hmmm.

Anyhow, got the gas tank mounts modified....I moved the tank up in the frame about 2-1/2 inches and forward about the same. I had to shorten the tank straps, and move the front tank mounting crossmember forward, and welded that in, and had to remove about 1/2 inch from the rear crossmember, as now the tank sits in front of it.
I will put some heater hose on the edge of it for protection against the tank. I still need to modify the top of the tank, and the pickup, and fill spout to adapt to the new location. I'm considering raising the floor in the back portion behind the rear seat mounting. That way it would keep a flat floor back there.

Removing 1/2" from rear crossmember.

Shortened the tank straps by 2". This worked really good. Shortened just enough to secure the tank tightly into the new mounting location.

The tank in the new location:

View from underside:

New bracket for rear of tank to pull up against, and New 1/2" hard stainless line front to rear, one piece....yep that took some patience.

Line secured with 1/2" rubber insulated straps.

 

[BGKYK5]

Lookin' good!


I've been thinking of moving my tank up as well. Do you think there will be any issues with rear diff clearance at full stuff with it moved forward? Are you gonna keep the skidplate?

 

[76zimmer]

Well if I measured right, the rear diff cover will be 6" back from the center of the axle. I moved the crossmember up to the mounting pads for the body mounts. I cut a slit in the crossmember to straddle the frame, and welded the crossmember to the frame, and bodymount pads. In the center where the diff will come up I measure about 7.5". So clearance should be OK there. If a person wanted to cut an access panel the size of the tank, it could probably be raised another 2 inches and still use the front tank crossmember welded on top of the frame. I wanted to try to keep a full floor in it, so about 2.5" is what I ended up with. I don't have a factory skid plate, but plan on building one to go from side to side of the frame rails.

Here is a couple more pics of the fuel line installed.

I routed the line around obstacles such as the old indentation for the shock mount, and the front shackle hanger, and any frame rivets. I will take it back out before final assy. that is why the front outlet isn't finish bent as it will be when installed. I needed to leave that part somewhat straight for now, so I could still get it through the frame behind the motor mount pad.

 

[76zimmer]

Lookin' good!


I've been thinking of moving my tank up as well. Do you think there will be any issues with rear diff clearance at full stuff with it moved forward? Are you gonna keep the skidplate?

I also had to cut the shackle flip brackets to be flush with the frame to get the tank in. They stuck out about 3/8" on the inside of the framerails.

 

[crawdaddy]

Looking good. Are you planning on welding your sliders or cage to the outside of the frame. If so before the final install of the fuel lines and cage boxing one might use some kind of spacer on the rubber fuel line straps to give it a "gap" between the fuel line and frame, to keep from damaging the line during future welding.

 

[76zimmer]

Looking good. Are you planning on welding your sliders or cage to the outside of the frame. If so before the final install of the fuel lines and cage boxing one might use some kind of spacer on the rubber fuel line straps to give it a "gap" between the fuel line and frame, to keep from damaging the line during future welding.

Awesome tip....something I hadn't thought that far out about. I've given thought to the crossmembers I will need to add, but hadn't thought about the frame add-ons such as you mentioned.
So some good reference shots of the installed line will be taken, and some extra spacing will be added for a gap, thanks.

 

[76zimmer]

I modified the left frame rail some by removing the area in yellow to allow more clearance between the tank and the frame. This will allow about 1/2" between the boxed frame and the tank.

I also modified the tank flange with a torch, and a pair of pliers, and a hammer. After fitting the tank in the frame, it would have been better to fold the flange up, instead of down. It will still have good clearance, but would have had more if the flange was up.

Using the shortened stock straps, it pulls up snug into the repositioned front tank crossmember. The rear tank crossmember has a heater hose on it to prevent abrasion. It will be replaced with a hose long enough to go from rail to rail, and the underside of the crossmembers will have a cushion too.

This is the clearance made by cutting about 1/2" from the framerail in the first pic. You can see the lip folded down on the corner of the tank. It should be plenty of room.

I modified the middle crossmember (body mounting member) by removing the triangulated pieces from it, as they went inside the frame rails, thus preventing the boxing kit from laying flush to the rails. I will build a new triangulated piece from close to the center of this crossmember to the under side of the framerails. this should help with twist of the framerails also. The yellow edged piece has been removed, and is identical to the one sitting on top of the crossmember, I just put it in its original position for photo explanation.

 

[crawdaddy]

I hate to hijack your thread but have you decided on a bender yet?

 

[76zimmer]

No....I've had to put that on the back burner, cuz the front burner is fueled by money for this project.....

Seriously, I would probably go JD2, or ProTools, but have kinda dropped the idea for the immediate future.

My engine has required a full rebuild with a lot of machine work, and I figured I'll throw money getting the engine the way I want it, and not have to mess with it later for more power. So my $1500 engine budget will probably be close to $4000.