'82 K5 Blazer aka Death Trap Dixie

[vaporlock]

I'm angry and this is not much of an update, I've been struggling with massive back pains for the past 3-4 weeks but it got a lot worse at the end of last week. I haven't done anything on the K5 or anything at all for that matter other than work and been in pain.
Friday morning someone decided that threatening to jump of a bridge along one of the 2 biggest roads in the country was a great idea, of course that is my way home from work. It was shut down from 8:30AM to 6PM so millions of people couldn't get home, to work or do their jobs while the cops tried to talk this one guy down. On top of that there was an accident on the other road so it was shut down too for +3h in the afternoon. What normally takes 35 minutes took 4.5 hours going every direction but the right one, a 1/4 tank of gas and is gonna cost me a good chunk of money in chiropractor visits... I hate this hell hole, we moved to the countryside to get away from this but work is forcing me back every-damn-day, since I'm still in a lot of pain, I'm also still pissed... the guy didn't jump but the cops handled it like poo anyway.
Rant over.

I do have an actual small update, I got a text that my small but heavy purchase of the Evilbay arrived today so hopefully I can get something done this coming weekend.

Fancy photo because text is boring.

 

[6872xtc]

Like for the inbound purchase and the picture!

 

[Big Ray]

I think if I get divorced again I'm going to Sweden! Lol

I have a Suburban diesel. The low coolant light means just that. Low coolant. Mine comes on way before the engine gets hot. Let's you know it's coming.

About the tiny, looks like you have the factory privacy glass. That's the good stuff. Won't scuff up or tear like film tint.

I have back problems from a motorcycle wreck in 91. I finally got a steriod epidural last week, amazing relief. The pain is creeping back in, but nothing like it was.

Do ya'll have pain management centers there?

Oh, I am from the South, so I talk funny!


And yes, text sucks so here's a pic of my K5...

 

[vaporlock]

I think if I get divorced again I'm going to Sweden! Lol

I have a Suburban diesel. The low coolant light means just that. Low coolant. Mine comes on way before the engine gets hot. Let's you know it's coming.

About the tiny, looks like you have the factory privacy glass. That's the good stuff. Won't scuff up or tear like film tint.

I have back problems from a motorcycle wreck in 91. I finally got a steriod epidural last week, amazing relief. The pain is creeping back in, but nothing like it was.

Do ya'll have pain management centers there?

Oh, I am from the South, so I talk funny!


And yes, text sucks so here's a pic of my K5...

Hehe because our amazing traffic planing?

Thanks, I thought that was it. Will check the level next time I drive it.
Exactly, I will take great care of those windows, they and the tracks need a good cleaning but work great.

Damn, that sucks! I've had RA since my mid teens, I didn't get any meds until I was in my mid 20's so for 8-10 years I was in chronic pain, never had any pain relief. Then I got cortisone injections in my hand and feet joints and while that was probably the most painful thing I've ever experienced it was so worth it because after a few days the pain was gone, now I have meds that I'll be taking for the rest of my life unless they find a cure.
I honestly don't know if we have pain relief centers. All I know is if I go to a medical care center they will give me pills, I don't need them, I need correction from a chiropractor because nerves and muscles are messed up.

Well, I'm from Sweden, I'm sure I talk funnier than you. I know my English definitely have a southern accent.

That is a nice K5!

 

[Big Ray]

The factory grease dries up and gets hard over the years. Take them apart, take the regulators out, clean them good and put fresh lithium grease on the tracks, they'll work like new.

Get help with the back glass, it's heavy and awkward to handle


If you need new rollers or tracks you can get them from LMC truck.com

I have a Suburban 4x4 I bought in 2015. The back glass was broken. Finally ordered one last week lol!

 

[vaporlock]

@Big Ray Yeah I def need to do that, there's a lot of dirt in the tracks too.
Rear glass works great going down, to get it up I need to push the button in and run back and help the glass up... plus all the rubber is dyed up.

I have a list of things I need to order both for the K5 and the Impala... with the economy being what it is, let's just say I'm procrastinating.
I'm glad all my glass is in good shape.

 

[Big Ray]

Yeah, we're all in the same boat economically.

It has always amazed me how the power of a few can make it so hard for everybody else.

Good luck!

 

[vaporlock]

Well this sucks... friday afternoon Dixie decided to have a shitbox moment and die on me. I turned of the pavement onto our dirt road and while going up hill on the very bumpy road it just died, deceased, finito, done, dead... tried starting it but all it did was cranking. I put it in neutral and let it roll backwards to a flat surface and tried again, thinking maybe it's a little low on fuel, still a big fat NO. There was power, it was cranking, no warning lights, it just wouldn't start. I thought I broke it... grabbed my bag and keys and walked the last 5-600 yards home wondering how I was gonna fix this one... local time was 5-ish pm on a beautiful warm friday afternoon, everyone with a working vehicle is on the way into town going cruising, BBQing or otherwise occupied so I was worried.

I made a post here on ck5 hoping I'd at least get a few suggestions by the morning (We're about 6-12h ahead of the US) but still thinking of Plan B, it could be anything from a stupid wire to complete and utter failure... but I got lucky, within a few minutes you guys came to the rescue! Here's the thread: My 6.2 just died, won’t start again!

So again, @Fastereddie @Big Ray @TJ1978 @Chickntrk and @joshuak THANK Y'ALL SO MUCH!! Sending y'all a virtual hug and a couple of cold beers, or whiskey, or shine or whatever cold snack/wobble pop you prefer!

It turned out the wires to the injector pump had come off, the way it was laying I couldn't tell it wasn't hooked up. It's the second time the PO's POS wiring has given me problems, but I learned some new things so thanks for sharing your knowledge guys!
(At least I'm not completely blocking the road... I tried to move it to the side but apparently I can't push 2 tons of dead weight... so weak!)

 

[Big Ray]

Hope you enjoyed your weekend!
Btw, I give the best hugs in town!

((((((((((Vaporlock))))))))))

 

[AJMBLAZER]

2 tons? Hah. Add another half ton or so.

Make sure the wiring up there isn’t brittle. I had an issue on my ‘89 where the plastic outside looked ok but some of the wires at the main plug were broken and only made contact at certain times. Frustrating. Redid the plug and wiring and it went away completely.

 

[vaporlock]

Hope you enjoyed your weekend!
Btw, I give the best hugs in town!

((((((((((Vaporlock))))))))))

I did, hope yours was great too!
Aw, thanks!
(((((((((((Big Ray))))))))))

2 tons? Hah. Add another half ton or so.

Make sure the wiring up there isn’t brittle. I had an issue on my ‘89 where the plastic outside looked ok but some of the wires at the main plug were broken and only made contact at certain times. Frustrating. Redid the plug and wiring and it went away completely.

Haha I looked, according to our DWM my K5 weights 2420kg unloaded so a little over 2.4 tons... so basically what you're saying is, if it had been 2 tons I might have been able to push it!

Yeah, I need to look over the whole wire system... PO has done some less than great "upgrades" and wires/connectors have a tendency to fall off.

 

[vaporlock]

On a more funner note, because you can't have a crap weekend when the weather is perfect, even when your back hurts. Look what finally showed up! 100 sq ft of KilMat 50mil straight of Evilbay, paid $188 shipped n taxed from UK to Sweden, about 25% less than the Jungle website. Since I paid for it with my FitBit recall money it was technically free. According to the interwebs this should be enough for the whole floor, sides and hopefully the cab roof.

May the silence be with me!


Obligatory cold snack


I wanted to start in the rear but my back won't allow it so I switched to cab roof and front floors. Under the Confederate flag was that thick insulation glued on with who knows what, I got most of it but the glue is just right there in my teeth! Took some work but Label Off and some spray cleaner handled it, I don't know what's in it but it worked, probably super healthy too. The spray cleaner left an oily residue so I sprayed enough Brakeleen to get vapor drunk and wiped it off (hey, it's the weekend after all!).

Insulation removed, glue not so much, what a pita!


(Almost) All cleaned up, found out it did come with sunvisors, don't know why anyone would remove them... I'll remove the last of the glue when I remove the trim to install the headliner that I'll eventually order. (No more Confederate flag...)


And most of the drinker side floor, next weekend I'll do the captain side, trans hump and clean up.


I found this material "'glued" to the floor pan, it's a membrane-like material or like black PVC tape but as a sheet, is this something PO came up with or did GM put this in? Up front there is a round hole right above the body mount in the floor pan that I can feel thru the "membrane". It's only inside the red outline, blue is were I removed a piece. It's broken in some places too.
The PO welded in new floors everywhere else so if he put this in I guess it's to protect the new floor? Honestly I don't even think this side is replaced.


And a bonus, courtesy of Dixie: Wall art!

 

[6872xtc]

My '90 had a membrane on the floor that I know was factory because of the paint around it. I tested to see about removing it before putting insulation down, and it was stuck incredibly well, so I left it.

 

[vaporlock]

@6872xtc Yeah, I was just reading the install instructions from Stock Interiors: "Some late model Automobiles are equipped with a catalytic converter shield on the floor." Maybe that's it? I don't have the original exhaust and I haven't even looked if I still have the cc.

 

[6872xtc]

I don't think that was the purpose, it was on both side and not under the seat, which would be closer to the catalytic convertor. And you won't have one, since yours is an old 80's diesel.

 

[vaporlock]

@6872xtc Yeah you're right, also I was thinking "late model" as older when it's the opposite, haha

 

[vaporlock]

This weekend was Midsummer which is usually 3 days of cold, rain and misery. But not this year, we had 35°C/95°F, sun, clear skies and a tiny bit of wind. It’s been so bad we had a fire warning, heat warning and a low ground water warning at the same time, it was the warmest Midsummer in 50 years!
Anyways, it's a 3-day weekend so I had hoped to get a lot done but...

Friday we took the doggos and the boat out on the lake, had a nice lunch and since I wasn’t driving I had some wobble pops. Way to cold in the water for a swim tho, like 22°C/35°F but the doggos liked it.

She's my whole world <3


Saturday and still boiling hot, I did manage to put in some hours working on what I've named the "K5 Dash Project" and also removed the captain side seat and the insulation on the floor, now it's just the trans hump left then it's time to remove all the seats, clean, paint, clean again and then finally the KilMat can be put in. The captain side floor has the same membrane material as the drinker side so must be a factory thing. Then I basically died of heat exhaustion.. (not really, but almost)

Sunday I put in a couple more hours on the K5 Dash Project, you know, in between dying from the heat. It’s been a very unproductive weekend… Hopefully next weekend isn’t this hot.

Somewhat cleaned up floor, found a pin sized hole and some rust I have to deal with before paint and KilMat.

 

[Big Ray]

Captain side, drinker side...I like the way you think.

 

[vaporlock]

Yesterday was my first day back at work after 4 weeks of vacation, I'm not happy about that... anyways I did get a little done so here we go.

First is I’m 1/2 done with my “K5 Dash Project”, I actually test fitted it the other day and it’s gonna look so good when it’s done. With a little trimming in one corner, adding some material in others to create the shapes then slap some paint on it, it’ll be perfect.

First test fit and I'm loving it! (Picture the dash in the same color as the door panels)


Second is I’ve ripped out almost all the interior in the K5 and found the perfect chemical to easily get rid of all the dry nasty glue, wire wheel works but why work hard when you can work smart..? Hopefully this weekend the floor will be painted and I can finally install the Kilmat and the "new" front seats.
The floor on both sides looks good and both have that membrane thing, that rust colored area is rust proventing primer but it's exactly the same color as rust... not confusing at all. I removed the broken bits of the membrane and will leave the rest because it's really on there and doing it's job.

Apparently I didn't take a proper photo of this... but at least the seat is out which was a lot easier than I thought it be. Captian side is held on with 2 bolts currently and I have no seatbelts, not that I use them anyways. Isn't there a mod where you turn the t-case shifter 180°? Is that easy?


Third is I took my CE drivers license (C = Semitruck, E = Heavy trailer, no weight limit on either), so now I can drive everything except motorcycles and buses. While my license doesn’t have a weight limit the majority of our roads are limited to 64 tons/140.000 lbs depending on vehicle combo.
The one with the orange 20ft container has rearsteer (last axle) which makes it so easy to drive. Unlike a car trailer with one "break point" (on the hitch), these have two, so there is the "hitch" or VBG-coupling as we call it and then the front axle on the trailer also turns, reversing is definitely a thing... whatever you know about reversing with a car trailer or tractortrailer, forget it... all of it.
Story time: End of last year I got so fed up with the new boss after he told me "you want a raise? get a new job!". I said fine and started working on these license so I can become a truck driver. Today he asked how it was going and I told him I was done, the look on his face was fvcking priceless! He has know for a while now but he didn't think it'd go so fast, he is so desperate. I'll be the third of 6 to quit in the last couple of months... us 3 people have a combined experience and knowledge of 95 years! To top it of, one of my co-workers/friends is in the hospital and probably not coming back this side of new years, if at all (get well, bud!). Another one is also most likely quiting within the next 6 months, that's another total of 40-50 years of experience.
The people he is replacing us with? 2 have literally 0 years, ZERO and one about 15 years, I feel sorry for her! I'm dying of petty happiness! Karma, bud... she's such a BITCH!

My toys for the summer, 20 meters/66 ft long, 17 meter/56 ft wheelbase, 16 wheels and 34 tons/75.000 lbs.


I did that!!


Fourth is I got a tattoo to celebrate the 15th anniversary of owning my Impala. We didn’t quite finish it, about 30 minutes before my artist called it I was dying from pain, I can take a lot of pain but even I have a limit. It's located on the inside of my upper left arm, pretty near the armpit, it's spicy!
That was thursday, by monday almost all pain and swelling had gone down and now we're in the itchy, flaky, nasty phase. We’ll finish it in about 3 weeks so it looks a little too weird right now to post a photo.

 

[joshuak]

K5 is looking good.

Congrats on your CE license, way to go!