CK5
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88 K5 Build - Colonel Mustard
- Thread starter Taylormade
- Start date
A few updates to post.
- I moved to Utah last year and brought the K5 with me this time!! The trip hauling it from Texas to Utah was not very fun.
Upgrades to the tow vehicle have been added, still need a few more things. (2005 Dodge 3500 SRW)
- Both axles were replaced, another 60 and a 14B from a van for the width and 5.38 gears installed.
I kept the Lock-rite for the 60, upgraded to non-neckdown inners and spicer 35 spline outers with yukon lockouts.
The 14B was upgraded to a welded diff.
- I added a hydro assist PSC ram and have it all hooked up but having issues with it working correctly.
I need to put the A/C compressor back on so I can run the second belt, hopefully that will improve steering.
- I installed the DIY4X A-Bomb bumper center with my M12000 Warn. Great peice but getting it installed was a bear (HEAVY).
52s were moved to the front, 56s were installed in the back
Driving on the street is wild with this setup, much more body roll.
(Add ORD's new Xover sway bar to my list)
There are a few other smaller things done, nothing crazy.
Right now I am trying to get it ready/reliable/safe enough for Blazer Bash.
To do list before Blazer Bash:
1. Fix steering
2. Mount Fire Ext
3. New shocks
4. Anti-wrap bar
5. Rock sliders
6. Rear bumper
Any input to the list is appreciated!
- I moved to Utah last year and brought the K5 with me this time!! The trip hauling it from Texas to Utah was not very fun.
Upgrades to the tow vehicle have been added, still need a few more things. (2005 Dodge 3500 SRW)
- Both axles were replaced, another 60 and a 14B from a van for the width and 5.38 gears installed.
I kept the Lock-rite for the 60, upgraded to non-neckdown inners and spicer 35 spline outers with yukon lockouts.
The 14B was upgraded to a welded diff.
- I added a hydro assist PSC ram and have it all hooked up but having issues with it working correctly.
I need to put the A/C compressor back on so I can run the second belt, hopefully that will improve steering.
- I installed the DIY4X A-Bomb bumper center with my M12000 Warn. Great peice but getting it installed was a bear (HEAVY).
52s were moved to the front, 56s were installed in the back
Driving on the street is wild with this setup, much more body roll.
(Add ORD's new Xover sway bar to my list)
There are a few other smaller things done, nothing crazy.
Right now I am trying to get it ready/reliable/safe enough for Blazer Bash.
To do list before Blazer Bash:
1. Fix steering
2. Mount Fire Ext
3. New shocks
4. Anti-wrap bar
5. Rock sliders
6. Rear bumper
Any input to the list is appreciated!
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shot of the blazer taking up my wife’s parking spot
On my way from Texas to Utah, I had the truck bed loaded down with my entire garage. Heavy!
Shot of the fresh 60.
Picked this up a couple years ago. 1991 GMC V2500
I left it in Texas for now.
On my way from Texas to Utah, I had the truck bed loaded down with my entire garage. Heavy!
Shot of the fresh 60.
Picked this up a couple years ago. 1991 GMC V2500
I left it in Texas for now.
Have bender and welder and live not to far away.
ORD has a antiwrap bar on their cheaper deals page, maybe to long though. Mine was rather easy to build.
If you are on facebook we have a Utah group message thing if you want to join.
I’ll hit you up when I get back in town, we are stuck in UAE for hopefully not much longer. What’s the Facebook group name?
its just a group message so not really a group. We just bug each other and plan things and stuff.
The blazer looks great! Also a good score on that suburban, I’m jealous
I made it to Blazerbash!!! My leave was initially cancelled, but I sweet talked my boss into letting me take 2 days off. So I was very glad to have been able to make it. The first day running hells revenge was very intimidating (this was also the first time I had wheeled the blazer in about 8 years) my confidence level grew quickly once I found out I could point the blazer where I wanted to go, and it went, usually with ease. I did hells gate, ran over a helmet that was dropped while I was driving up
and later in the day I was peer pressured into going up escalator. Somehow I picked the perfect line and crawled through it with ease!!
The next day I ran Golden Spike. Now that trail is not for the faint of heart! Not that anything is really wild, but it’s such a long trail and the obstacles are not easy...the whole way! I was terrified something was going to break, but “Colonel Mustard” as it was named on that trail, held up just fine! Can’t wait for next year!
and later in the day I was peer pressured into going up escalator. Somehow I picked the perfect line and crawled through it with ease!! The next day I ran Golden Spike. Now that trail is not for the faint of heart! Not that anything is really wild, but it’s such a long trail and the obstacles are not easy...the whole way! I was terrified something was going to break, but “Colonel Mustard” as it was named on that trail, held up just fine! Can’t wait for next year!
Glad you had fun and everything went as well as it did.
Nice!
Looks like a great time!
Going through a few things since blazerbash was essentially my “shakedown” run. I know, who would run golden spike as a shakedown?!?!
Overall the blazer did great. I need to address my steering. Everything is new except for the 2wd box, which I rebuilt. So I am going to try to grab a new PSC box and hopefully my issues will go away.
Then there are the engine leaks.
The rear main seal has been leaking as long as I can remember, and there is another oil leak at the oil filter adapter housing. Obviously, to get to the rear main, everything has to come out. Small trans leak I tracked down to the small cover on the passenger side (bolts were loose)
I also need to address my front driveshaft, it rubs on the crossmember and the exhaust. I will trim (more) on the crossmember, but exhaust isn’t going to change right now.
Overall the blazer did great. I need to address my steering. Everything is new except for the 2wd box, which I rebuilt. So I am going to try to grab a new PSC box and hopefully my issues will go away.
Then there are the engine leaks.
The rear main seal has been leaking as long as I can remember, and there is another oil leak at the oil filter adapter housing. Obviously, to get to the rear main, everything has to come out. Small trans leak I tracked down to the small cover on the passenger side (bolts were loose) I also need to address my front driveshaft, it rubs on the crossmember and the exhaust. I will trim (more) on the crossmember, but exhaust isn’t going to change right now.
Been a slow process, but I have replaced the rear main, pan gasket, filter adapter o-rings and put in the ORD cross member that I’ve been lugging around for a few years. (I hate doing anything that requires removing rivets) But I’ve got a pretty slick system down now with an ingersol rand air hammer and a cutting wheel, makes quick work of them. I may try to throw the trans back in this weekend if I am feeling up to shoehorning that bad boy (the 400 is heavy)! While I have everything out I was thinking about clocking the 208, it should help with the driveshaft clearance issue. I just don’t know what I’ll run into with doing it. I don’t plan to go too high, I don’t want to get into the floor mods yet.
I had the NP208 clocked in my K5. I used a DIY4x ring and clocked it up halfway. I still had to clearance the floorboards some. I started out hammering it and it would still clunk occasionally. Ultimately I cut a small section out of the floor and welded in a patch piece. I did have a home-fab crossmember so that might have contributed as well.
A few small updates, I am getting ready to go back down to Moab for full size invasion and I had a list of about 9 things on my list that I wanted to get done before I went, as it stands, I should have 6 of 9 things done before I get down there. The 3 that will not be finished are 1. new shocks 2. rear bumper 3. traction bars. The 6 that will be finished are: bump stops, sliders, heater core, CB install, trim fenders, and fix oil leaks (as there were many).
Along the way somewhere I thought it was a good idea to pull the dash for a reason that I forget, but while I have it out I am fiberglassing it to fix the cracks (in progress)
While I have the dash out I replaced the speakers. I honestly didn't know there were speakers there to begin with. I knew that was an option, but I never had the dash off to verify.
Next up on the (might as well) list was the cluster. It didn't look too bad, but it could definitely use a refresh. While apart, I destroyed my speedo when trying to remove the needle, bummer, but I found one on ebay (without the trip meter unfortunately) as I like to go back as "original" as I can for things that don't improve performance/aesthetics/comfort/ect. but lets be honest, the speedo doesn't work well with 40" tires and re-geared axels.
The cluster turned out better than I expected, maybe it has to do with the upgraded LED lights???
Big update here!!! I can finally weld something without asking a favor from a buddy. I tried at all costs to avoid doing anything that required welding because I would rather not ask for favors. Although, through the lifetime of this build I have had to ask for buddies to hook me up with welds on several occasions, and I greatly appreciate all the help I have had to get the blazer to where it is today, without the help it would be a very different, and far less capable rig.
Working on getting the cut lines perfect before I cut out the rockers for the @the_blaze inspired rock sliders. Still need some tweaks before I cut. I did finally cut the rear fenders from the damage incurred at blazerbash.
Reference for the rear fenders...it happened on hells revenge at some point. Not exactly sure where??
Along the way somewhere I thought it was a good idea to pull the dash for a reason that I forget, but while I have it out I am fiberglassing it to fix the cracks (in progress)
While I have the dash out I replaced the speakers. I honestly didn't know there were speakers there to begin with. I knew that was an option, but I never had the dash off to verify.
Next up on the (might as well) list was the cluster. It didn't look too bad, but it could definitely use a refresh. While apart, I destroyed my speedo when trying to remove the needle, bummer, but I found one on ebay (without the trip meter unfortunately) as I like to go back as "original" as I can for things that don't improve performance/aesthetics/comfort/ect. but lets be honest, the speedo doesn't work well with 40" tires and re-geared axels.
The cluster turned out better than I expected, maybe it has to do with the upgraded LED lights???
Big update here!!! I can finally weld something without asking a favor from a buddy. I tried at all costs to avoid doing anything that required welding because I would rather not ask for favors. Although, through the lifetime of this build I have had to ask for buddies to hook me up with welds on several occasions, and I greatly appreciate all the help I have had to get the blazer to where it is today, without the help it would be a very different, and far less capable rig.
Working on getting the cut lines perfect before I cut out the rockers for the @the_blaze inspired rock sliders. Still need some tweaks before I cut. I did finally cut the rear fenders from the damage incurred at blazerbash.
Reference for the rear fenders...it happened on hells revenge at some point. Not exactly sure where??
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Ok, I need to try and catch up on updates from the past ~9 months or so. I’ll try to go in order as it was completed. I made a trip down to Moab for full size invasion and I had a huge list of things to finish but I only did a couple things. Biggest upgrade was starting the rear bumper build. Last time I went down there I landed on the frame in the back and it seemed to bend pretty easy. 
Full size was a great time, but I quickly realized that my crappy budget steering was not up to the task….yeah, turns out that my hydro lines were actually oil lines and they blew out twice on the first day and took out the pump in the process. My fault, pretty embarrassing, but I won’t make that mistake again. I spent the next day getting new lines built and replacing the pump. At that point, the steering worked….kind of. It didn’t have that “easy” hydro feel, but good enough to get me back on the trails. 
After waiting months for all the parts to come in, I finally had a working bender. My bro in law donated the jd2 style bender, then I bought the die, air/hydraulic setup by swag, and a compressor big enough to push it. 
My first project was adding some tubing to the DIY4X a-bomb. The welds are rough, but I will redo them eventually. Otherwise it turned out pretty good!
My first project was adding some tubing to the DIY4X a-bomb. The welds are rough, but I will redo them eventually. Otherwise it turned out pretty good!
Took a trip down to Moab for the 4th of July weekend. We ran fins n things since we didnt have any other trucks with us.
Took some baby reveal pictures. Taylor Tot is due 31 Jan. It’s a boy!!
A couple poser shots.
Took some baby reveal pictures. Taylor Tot is due 31 Jan. It’s a boy!!
A couple poser shots.
After the trip, I had a couple issues to take care of that had been on the back burner. The first one was the sketchy bushings on my front springs. One of the upper mounting bolts snapped on me one morning a few months back, so I opted to upgrade to the ORD FUSH kit and bushings. It made a huge difference.
Next upgrade was to finish the rear bumper. It turned out pretty good, but I busted it up a little at blazer bash. I will need to bend it back into place and reweld it plus add a horizontal support.
Next upgrade was to finish the rear bumper. It turned out pretty good, but I busted it up a little at blazer bash. I will need to bend it back into place and reweld it plus add a horizontal support.
