A rear sway bar would help a ton with a soft spring and air bag setup I bet.
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'89 R3500 Crew Cab 2wd to 4wd conversion & beyond
- Thread starter mrk5
- Start date
Started out with 2wd TBI350 with SM465 to current 4wd with 454, 700r4, NP241
Yep! But I'm cheating and doing the rivet style. Everything runs perfectly cool running down the road, it's just the slow crawl offroading stuff that starts to heat things up. Since I had this extra hood, I thought I would give the louvers a try.
The other thing I probably need to do is build a shroud for the Windstar fans. I just left them in their factory plastic shroud which is a couple inches shorter than my radiator core. So when the fans are the only thing pulling air through, that top part of the radiator isn't getting air flow. Now that I type this out it occurs to me hot water will sit on top and cold will fall to the bottom so if I'm going to leave some of the radiator unshrouded it would be better if it was the bottom rather than the top.
The other thought I've had is to by some aftermarket fans that are as tall as the radiator core.
I don't plan to tow anything more. We won't be getting a larger camper, and if somehow that did happen it would be something newer that was lighter (or same weight as we have now). I could see myself hauling a vehicle on the equipment trailer just to do it, but I doubt it would be a regular occurrence. It is still just a factory 80's truck 454.
Maybe 4 or 5 years in the future I may get a 2-seater buggy that I would want to haul with the crew cab. But if I do that, my goal would be something that was lightweight anyway so I don't think I'd be much over the weight we're hauling now.
Really the reason we did the 454 and 4l80e was so we could tow a camper.
I actually just watched that video.
Didn't take long to make big holes in my old hood.
Only 1 place that I cut through the flange of the under-bracing. It worked better than I expected. NO WAY I could do this to a nicer vehicle; I have even MORE respect for the louvers @AgDieseler did on his burb! Sometimes having a beater is nice.
Only 1 place that I cut through the flange of the under-bracing. It worked better than I expected. NO WAY I could do this to a nicer vehicle; I have even MORE respect for the louvers @AgDieseler did on his burb! Sometimes having a beater is nice.
And I just realized a step I completely forgot I was going to take. I had meant to drill 1/4" holes in each of the corners before cutting. 
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bp71k5
3/4 ton status
And I just realized a step I completely forgot I was going to take. I had meant to drill 1/4" holes in each of the corners.
A quick tack weld and a file will fix it.
Very cool. You’re going to have some fun over the next 80ish hours.
David
David
In case anyone is wondering about the faded stripes on the hood.
I peeled the printed stripes off last week.
I peeled the printed stripes off last week.
I'm doing the easy way with the rivet on style. Still lots of hole drilling in my future tho.
I'm excited to find out. Been thinking about it ever since you posted your install.
What are you using for loo-vers?
I had never connected the dots that the yellow k5 was yours.
Durrrrrrdedurrrr
Durrrrrrdedurrrr
Vombrown
Mountain Man
If you rivet it, do you plan to use some sort of adhesive between the louvre panel and the hood? Reason I ask is that I've seen a bunch of rivets loosen and rattle over time. It would drive me nuts.
And fun fact, the front and rear leaf springs that were in his yellow K5 are currently in my K5...just for some ck5 history for ya
RunCool http://hoodlouvers.com/ Somebody had referenced them in a thread here on CK5, that's how I picked them. Seem like a really good company, made in the USA and all that good stuff.
I actually got mine for a discounted price. They one had 1 pair of their largest size in stock and it was marked as being QA reject. The lady I talked to said they have a really selective QA guy and that I probably wouldn't have a problem with them. Since they are going on my beater, I was too concerned. The lady is right, I can't see a thing wrong with them.
Up until I put the 4l80 and Magnum in, all the running gear was originally in the K5. Seats and DIY4x dash were originally in the K5 too.
It doesn't mention doing anything with adhesive in the instructions. They do recommend putting a strip of electrical tape around the perimeter to help keep the vehicle paint from getting scratched up.
I will have to think about that because I do have lots of VHB tape that we use for our sign projects. I guess the only down side with that would be if I wanted to change hoods, it would make removing the louvers harder. Although not impossible with proper application of a heat gun.
I laid the louvers on and marked the holes with a sharpie then spring-punched them.
After I drilled the holes I hit them with white paint for good measure. Then I decided to try and paint the bracing black just to make sure it would show through the louvers. Note to self, you need to mask the hood with tape and paper, not just try to use a piece of cardboard to shield the overspray. So I have some black specs to cleanup.
After a bunch of rivets - I didn't county - it's all buttoned up.
After I drilled the holes I hit them with white paint for good measure. Then I decided to try and paint the bracing black just to make sure it would show through the louvers. Note to self, you need to mask the hood with tape and paper, not just try to use a piece of cardboard to shield the overspray. So I have some black specs to cleanup.
After a bunch of rivets - I didn't county - it's all buttoned up.
The hood is rattle-can flat white like the rest of the truck - previous owner deal. The louvers are gloss. I thought it might be neat to leave them different. Worst case, I scuff them up and spray em with the same flat white.
And FWIW I have the inside edges of the louvers 6" from the center body line point. And they are 6" in from what would be the back of the hood measured to the outside point of the louvers that is closest to the back edge.
Vombrown
Mountain Man
Looks good, got me to wondering how those would work in the winter here with a lot of snow.
