'88 K5 - Running Down A Dream

[jimmyleetn]

I'm still working on this thing at a painstakingly slow pace. That being said I got the kick panel rust patched. About a week's worth of work to get that done. I've also decided whoever designed the patch panels for these trucks was either on drugs or really lazy and deserves a swift kick in the shin. I had to cut out a section of the cab mount to fix that footwell rust. Decided I'd just put a panel off a new cab mount in there. Never could get it to fit wound up having to weld up the OE cab Mount I removed. I had cut it into three pieces so I got to do a lot of welding to get it back in there. Should have been a one-hour job became a one day job.

 

[jimmyleetn]

Maybe a little overkill but it definitely should strengthen the weak factory seat area. I decided to cut this one out since it was all bent up and of course stress cracked. It's sandwiched in there with some 1/8in steel plates and several plug welds. Turns out my MIG135 can weld 1/8in if you crank the dials to the max. Should finish the other three holes tomorrow.

 

[jimmyleetn]

I'm pretty happy with these seat braces on I made. Way stronger than OE. All I lack is the other back one. Should get it done tomorrow.

 

[jimmyleetn]

Been on vacation, finally back in the shop. Finished up the seat attachment area today. Had to get pretty creative fabbing up the plates. They started out like little meat cleavers and then I bent over the cutoff piece and welded it back on so I can fit over that strange hump. That hump is only on the passenger side I have no clue why they made that part of the floor. I was afraid since the seat bolt would be so close to the edge of that plate a lot of that wouldn't do much if I didn't spread it over that hump somehow. Anyways, I'm pretty proud of how it turned out. My welds turned out pretty good too I think... And once the truck's back together no one will ever see them.

 

[jimmyleetn]

I actually patched this piece and that flange a couple of weeks back in between working on the floor. I'm getting quite a bit of mileage out of that piece I got. I wish I was a little better at blending welds but it's hard on these pieces that aren't flat to begin with, plus no one will ever see them. The flange probably didn't need to be completely replaced but I know that little corner did. My thought is might as well do it now while I can get in there and do it.

 

[jimmyleetn]

Got started on the passenger rocker box this week. Getting in there to cut out the cab mounts was tricky, I actually did have to use the hacksaw for the rear one. It was a pain. I also got mad cause I didn't have a 6-in ruler so I made one and a three incher lol. Let me say now, this rocker box design is not my own. I got this idea from smokeum99ta and coontail. The difference in the way I'm doing it is I'm doing a lot of spot welds, A LOT. My thought process is this will keep me from having to lay down under the truck and weld so much because I truly do not enjoy overhead welding. I will still weld the tubing to the cab mounts though. I used weld through primer again so that once I'm done I can seam seal to keep moisture from getting between the floor and the tubing. Once I've got this installed I will put some plates over the floor pans where they angle up to the toe board. Should be way overbuilt, which I'm fine with.

 

[stockk5]

all your hard work is really going to pay off and is giving me ptsd with all my rust from back in the day on the blazer. The 2nd time around I had to do mine I said **** it, cut it all out, welded off my rock sliders and used thick 1/8th plate atleast for the entire floor, framed it out with some box tubing as well. Was almost easier than trying to make it look factory or upgraded like you have done. I also did the same thing first time around. Props for you doing all this work!

 

[jimmyleetn]

all your hard work is really going to pay off and is giving me ptsd with all my rust from back in the day on the blazer. The 2nd time around I had to do mine I said **** it, cut it all out, welded off my rock sliders and used thick 1/8th plate atleast for the entire floor, framed it out with some box tubing as well. Was almost easier than trying to make it look factory or upgraded like you have done. I also did the same thing first time around. Props for you doing all this work!

Thanks, it's been a lot harder and more time consuming than I ever thought it would be. I think when I get to the driver side I'm going to do a lot more larger pieces instead of trying to piece it all together like I've been doing. Since you used a lot of thick metal flooring do you feel like it makes it ride stiffer or can you really even tell? I'm always afraid after I add another piece I'm going to go to close the door and something's going to be out of alignment too lol. Been doing a lot of the big stuff with the door closed because I'm paranoid.

 

[imiceman44]

Thanks, it's been a lot harder and more time consuming than I ever thought it would be. I think when I get to the driver side I'm going to do a lot more larger pieces instead of trying to piece it all together like I've been doing. Since you used a lot of thick metal flooring do you feel like it makes it ride stiffer or can you really even tell? I'm always afraid after I add another piece I'm going to go to close the door and something's going to be out of alignment too lol. Been doing a lot of the big stuff with the door closed because I'm paranoid.

As you should.
Or weld bracing on and then open the door

 

[jimmyleetn]

Finished welding the rear cross piece for the passenger rocker box today. Almost finished the whole thing yesterday. The welds are not pretty and I really had to contain my OCD. It was so difficult to stitch in a good bead underneath. You just can't get in there or see. Started on the floor plates and disaster struck. I shattered two cutoff wheels I got on sale at HF. I normally use Warrior with zero issues but these Bauer's are absolutely dangerous. I never shattered one until today and I have cut a bunch this summer. Cut my index finger on my dominant hand right on the knuckle and I was wearing welding gloves. I'm more annoyed/angry because I don't have many days left on my break and this will really slow me down.

 

[imiceman44]

Finished welding the rear cross piece for the passenger rocker box today. Almost finished the whole thing yesterday. The welds are not pretty and I really had to contain my OCD. It was so difficult to stitch in a good bead underneath. You just can't get in there or see. Started on the floor plates and disaster struck. I shattered two cutoff wheels I got on sale at HF. I normally use Warrior with zero issues but these Bauer's are absolutely dangerous. I never shattered one until today and I have cut a bunch this summer. Cut my index finger on my dominant hand right on the knuckle and I was wearing welding gloves. I'm more annoyed/angry because I don't have many days left on my break and this will really slow me down.

View attachment 421367

View attachment 421368

View attachment 421369

View attachment 421370

View attachment 421371

View attachment 421372

View attachment 421373

View attachment 421374

View attachment 421375

View attachment 421376

Ouch.
I have yet to have a problem with the cutting disks.
I noticed a difference in performance between different brands but not breaking like that.

 

[83ChevyK5Blazer]

Ouch, I've had good luck with the bulk pack ones at home depot. I had a disc come apart on me at work one day, nearly went thru 2 layers of leather on my boot.

 

[jimmyleetn]

Ouch.
I have yet to have a problem with the cutting disks.
I noticed a difference in performance between different brands but not breaking like that.

Ouch, I've had good luck with the bulk pack ones at home depot. I had a disc come apart on me at work one day, nearly went thru 2 layers of leather on my boot.

I noticed the difference in the way those new ones and the way the ones I normally use operated immediately. I'm not saying I didn't run the disc a little deep but the fact that I could tell which disc was on the grinder should have told me something. I'll have to see what Home Depot has. I've got a couple of metal cut off wheels They just don't cut as fast. They are definitely safer though.

 

[jimmyleetn]

The work on the passenger side floor is done other than a little paint to keep the rust away. Over the past couple of months I've had several design ideas for this last piece in my head. This was probably the simplest version. This piece is more or less for insurance purposes in the fight against body flex once the convertible conversion is underway. After talking to smokeum99ta he said his one wish was that he had put something on this angle to make it stronger. I assume what little body flex he said he had originated from this part of the floor. This piece may not do much but it definitely doesn't hurt it being there and it wasn't terribly complicated to make. Getting the angle was the hard part, I had to do a relief cut and then whoop on it with a hammer pretty good. It's not perfect but it'll do. I would have had that one hole centered out for where the cab mount nut is but I changed the location after I drilled. Oh well, I hope I never have to worry about that. Anyways, I think the floor on this side is plenty strong enough to handle further modifications.

 

[jimmyleetn]

Well I know it's been a bit but school started and I was afraid my wife would kill me if I didn't start working on our deck so I haven't got to work on the truck in a couple of weeks, but don't take that as I'm not busy. As you'll see from the pictures below, I like to make poor financial decisions. I've been buying parts all along and whisking them away and I don't usually show you pictures of all the cool stuff I've been sucking away, but these are pretty neat. NOS 73 to 80 fenders. 6 and 1/2 hour one way to get them. I got in in about 1: 00am in the morning. I feel like it was worth it. I know they'll fit better than any repops that are out there and as always with parts runs, I bought them from a super cool dude.

 

[jimmyleetn]

I'm making some moves while my wife and daughter are out of town. I have been working on the deck though. I don't want her to be mad when she gets back. She will have a hard time parking though since the fenders are now in her parking spot. Doing a lot of odds and end type stuff. Replaced my bent ashtray, also picked up a 73-80 driver inner fender. Finished my rust patch on the right rear quarter Saturday. I've been in the middle of it for 3 weeks just haven't had time to go send a few more welds. I finally tried the knock-off evaporust I got on eBay. It works great. I have enough to make 20 gallons. So far I've only made 10. Also one of several emblems I restored before I ever owned my Blazer. I couldn't resist putting it on the fender.

 

[82355]

Did you see the thread where they flipped the NP208 shifter lever?

Martin

 

[jimmyleetn]

Did you see the thread where they flipped the NP208 shifter lever?

Martin

I sure didn't. Where's it at?

 

[82355]

I sure didn't. Where's it at?

NP 241 shifter...

Taking a quick look at a 241 shifter, it looks like it could be flipped 180 degrees at the base so the bend in the shifter is pointing backwards instead of forward? Is that the case, has anyone done this?

ck5.com

It was actually an NP241, but the shifters are exactly the same.

Martin

 

[jimmyleetn]

NP 241 shifter...

Taking a quick look at a 241 shifter, it looks like it could be flipped 180 degrees at the base so the bend in the shifter is pointing backwards instead of forward? Is that the case, has anyone done this?

ck5.com

It was actually an NP241, but the shifters are exactly the same.

Martin

Well crap Martin. I kind of like that. The awkward thing is I have pretty much restored an old bezel I got from New Boyz Square Rescue, but that does make it look a lot more the NP203/205 which goes with theme I'm working on by making the truck look older.