y5mgisi
1 ton status
That's bad ass! I really like it!
CK5
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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
I need to do about the same thing, not sure how mine is going to fit. I have the triple stick in there also and need to mount the floor shifter.
Thanks!
If you were running cable shifters it would be fun to leave the cup holders off and mount the triple stick on the front of the console. If it were me tho I'd still have to come up with something for cup holders.
I've even toyed around with mounting the tcase shifter vertical on the dash. That's the fun of the cable shifter, you can get creative with the mounting.
I noticed after the 1000 miles we traveled for Blazer Bash the front tires were showing some wear. I checked the toe-in and it was 1/2" toed OUT. I took quite a bit of time and care to make sure it was set right when I started but it stands to reason I should have rechecked the toe-in after some driving.
Unfortunately I made the tie rod too long and there wan't enough adjustment left to bring the toe-in back. I cut one of the tube adapters off and welded on a new one. Best picture of the type I used.
I read about a DIY alignment technique that involved lining up 2 parallel strings down each side to measure off of for alignment.
However, I just couldn't get it to work out right. I rechecked that the strings were parallel several times and that the steering was centered, but the toe-in measurements from side to side kept coming up whacked. I don't think I fully understood the method.
So I reverted back to my old standby method, tape on the tires. It involves putting a piece of tape on the center of each tire and drawing a cross hair roughly centered in the width of the tread and at hub height. On both front tires. Measure the width between both sides. Then roll the truck forward so the tape is on the other side of the tires again at hub height and measuring the width again. The difference is the toe-in. Rolling the truck forward puts the some "load" on the front linkage like it was driving down the road.
While I was at it I made some adjustments to the clamp for the steering ram. I posted earlier about it slipping while we were in Moab. I had been wanting to double check it was in the correct location for full ram travel. I also added a set screw.
I also discovered the brakeline on one side got caught up on the tire. Good thing they are braided stainless. You can see in the pic how the inside of the tire was getting worn. I bent up a piece of .090 aluminum to push the line over. Used zipties to hold it on the line. Yes, I did snip the excess zipties off.
Not sure if it'll stay in place long term but I thought it was worth trying for now. I didn't have anything else handy and I wanted to make sure it didn't happen again right away.
Despite all the trials and tribulations, I'm still happy with how the steering angles turned out. I don't know if the picture really shows much, but I'm impressed every time I see the tires turned full out.
The backside of the tire on the inside of the turn is just shy of 3" from the spring. That seems pretty good to me, but I don't really have a reference.
Unfortunately I made the tie rod too long and there wan't enough adjustment left to bring the toe-in back. I cut one of the tube adapters off and welded on a new one. Best picture of the type I used.
I read about a DIY alignment technique that involved lining up 2 parallel strings down each side to measure off of for alignment.
However, I just couldn't get it to work out right. I rechecked that the strings were parallel several times and that the steering was centered, but the toe-in measurements from side to side kept coming up whacked. I don't think I fully understood the method.
So I reverted back to my old standby method, tape on the tires. It involves putting a piece of tape on the center of each tire and drawing a cross hair roughly centered in the width of the tread and at hub height. On both front tires. Measure the width between both sides. Then roll the truck forward so the tape is on the other side of the tires again at hub height and measuring the width again. The difference is the toe-in. Rolling the truck forward puts the some "load" on the front linkage like it was driving down the road.
While I was at it I made some adjustments to the clamp for the steering ram. I posted earlier about it slipping while we were in Moab. I had been wanting to double check it was in the correct location for full ram travel. I also added a set screw.
I also discovered the brakeline on one side got caught up on the tire. Good thing they are braided stainless. You can see in the pic how the inside of the tire was getting worn. I bent up a piece of .090 aluminum to push the line over. Used zipties to hold it on the line. Yes, I did snip the excess zipties off.
Not sure if it'll stay in place long term but I thought it was worth trying for now. I didn't have anything else handy and I wanted to make sure it didn't happen again right away.
Despite all the trials and tribulations, I'm still happy with how the steering angles turned out. I don't know if the picture really shows much, but I'm impressed every time I see the tires turned full out.
The backside of the tire on the inside of the turn is just shy of 3" from the spring. That seems pretty good to me, but I don't really have a reference.
I've had good luck diy aligning by clamping a piece of 2'-3' long angle to each rotor then measure front to back of those. Maybe something else to try.
That's actually how I set it to begin with. And I figure it's a good sign that the steering wheel went from 45° off to being straight level again.
It occurred to me today I think that parallel string method is for IFS. I read the technique in Hot Rod magazine article.
It occurred to me today I think that parallel string method is for IFS. I read the technique in Hot Rod magazine article.
With winter upon us, it was time to address some comfort issues.
Replaced the window seals on the rear doors. The channel seal that runs up the back channel was complete gone on both rear doors. Driving on cold days meant getting a blast of cold air on the back of your head.
Got a full set from 1A Auto that included the run channel and window sweeps for inside and out. The run channel seal was one that runs up both the front and rear channels and across the top all in 1 piece. Wasn't much to the install. 1A Auto has a couple of videos showing how to do to the install on front doors but it still helped with the rears.
Had to remove the door panels, but left the windows in. There was a bolt I removed that holds the rear channel.
That gave me enough room to be able to slip the channel run seals out and back in.
The other thing to watch for is a snap in plastic piece in the top of the run channel. Gotta make sure you remove the old one completely so the new one will go in. This is a picture of the piece left behind after pulling out the old seal.
The window sweeps pop out and back in like the video on 1A Auto shows.
Here's the outside of the window all sealed up, FWIW.
The other thing needing attention was the heater control. The only things available were hot and defrost. The levers all moved freely. I had to pull the controls out to see what was going on.
What I found was that the cable for the heater/defrost selector was bent up so that it wouldn't move anything.
And the cable for the hot/cold selector wasn't anchored.
Luckily I was able to use the cables in the General to replace these. Hat the replace the blue because it was bent up and the red one had to be replaced because it wouldn't stay in place anymore. Here's where the red cable should be anchored.
I swapped the entire control unit in from the General. The down side was that the chrome tip had been broken off the fan control. It was easy to just swap that over from the other controller. The chrome tip just pulls off, remove 1 screw from the back side, and pull the switch out. Here's the screw:
The other wonderful thing I discovered was more wonderful wiring by a previous owner. Apparently they had cut the heater fan control wiring at some point. And also had to splice in a length of green wire into the power supply wire.
They had also cut one of the wires on the light for the heater controls. There are 3 other cut wires that I'm not sure what they are for. They are small gauge wires, 22ga probably, so I'm thinking they may have been for other lights. The only dash lights I have is half illuminate the speedo and fuel level and now the heater controls. Another wire that was spliced in at one point and now it's cut.
Who knows what the hell that was for.
With all the wiring BS I keep finding it gives me piece of mind to know I have my fire extinguisher stashed in easy reach.
Replaced the window seals on the rear doors. The channel seal that runs up the back channel was complete gone on both rear doors. Driving on cold days meant getting a blast of cold air on the back of your head.
Got a full set from 1A Auto that included the run channel and window sweeps for inside and out. The run channel seal was one that runs up both the front and rear channels and across the top all in 1 piece. Wasn't much to the install. 1A Auto has a couple of videos showing how to do to the install on front doors but it still helped with the rears.
Had to remove the door panels, but left the windows in. There was a bolt I removed that holds the rear channel.
That gave me enough room to be able to slip the channel run seals out and back in.
The other thing to watch for is a snap in plastic piece in the top of the run channel. Gotta make sure you remove the old one completely so the new one will go in. This is a picture of the piece left behind after pulling out the old seal.
The window sweeps pop out and back in like the video on 1A Auto shows.
Here's the outside of the window all sealed up, FWIW.
The other thing needing attention was the heater control. The only things available were hot and defrost. The levers all moved freely. I had to pull the controls out to see what was going on.
What I found was that the cable for the heater/defrost selector was bent up so that it wouldn't move anything.
And the cable for the hot/cold selector wasn't anchored.
Luckily I was able to use the cables in the General to replace these. Hat the replace the blue because it was bent up and the red one had to be replaced because it wouldn't stay in place anymore. Here's where the red cable should be anchored.
I swapped the entire control unit in from the General. The down side was that the chrome tip had been broken off the fan control. It was easy to just swap that over from the other controller. The chrome tip just pulls off, remove 1 screw from the back side, and pull the switch out. Here's the screw:
The other wonderful thing I discovered was more wonderful wiring by a previous owner. Apparently they had cut the heater fan control wiring at some point. And also had to splice in a length of green wire into the power supply wire.
They had also cut one of the wires on the light for the heater controls. There are 3 other cut wires that I'm not sure what they are for. They are small gauge wires, 22ga probably, so I'm thinking they may have been for other lights. The only dash lights I have is half illuminate the speedo and fuel level and now the heater controls. Another wire that was spliced in at one point and now it's cut.
Who knows what the hell that was for.
With all the wiring BS I keep finding it gives me piece of mind to know I have my fire extinguisher stashed in easy reach.
Another customer for my Previous Owner Seeking Missile!
Yeah, I was thinking about what I'd say to him if I ever saw him. But I don't technically know if it was the guy I bought it from or someone before.
Any plans for any type of insulation/sound deadening? How was it with the bare floor on the trip to Moab, as far as sound inside goes?
I see the benefits of the bare floor, but my experience with it and extended road time were pretty miserable.
I see the benefits of the bare floor, but my experience with it and extended road time were pretty miserable.
I ran bare floors in the K5 because it came that way (military truck). It's never really bothered me but I do want this truck to be a little more comfortable. We are planning to use this to cover the floors in some manner or another: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/bed-bmx00d/overview/
I just picked up the full interior trim kit from a junkyard crewcab that we will install. I'm hoping maybe I can get some knockoff Dynomat type material on the back side of those interior trim pieces.
Instead of a typical headliner I found some 1/2" thick adhesive backed sound deadener on McMaster.com that I'd like to use on the roof.
I will be curious to see how the ride feels on a long trip like Moab when I have all of the interior done.
I just picked up the full interior trim kit from a junkyard crewcab that we will install. I'm hoping maybe I can get some knockoff Dynomat type material on the back side of those interior trim pieces.
Instead of a typical headliner I found some 1/2" thick adhesive backed sound deadener on McMaster.com that I'd like to use on the roof.
I will be curious to see how the ride feels on a long trip like Moab when I have all of the interior done.
DickeysK5
1/2 ton status
Going back a little in the history of your build, what type, diameter, and wall thickness tubing did you use for your shock hoops and spare tire carrier? Planning on the same things for Poco Loco.
y5mgisi
1 ton status
Stupid PO... Thanks for the pics tho!
I used 1-1/4" sch40 pipe. ERW A500 Grade B structural pipe. It has an OD of 1.66", wall thickness is 0.14".
We use ERW for our sign work so it's a lot easier for me to get. JD2 makes bender dies for it.
If I were to do it with DOM I would use 1.5" with 1/8" wall.
Took the truck up for its first Christmas tree hunting expedition last weekend.
This weekend I did some "cleanup" work on the transfercase. While we were in Moab, something was clunking under the floorboards when in 4wd. I thought it was the bracket for the cable shifter. When we were Christmas tree hunting it was doing it again. I got to thinking about it more and a suspicion started to grow.
Turned out my suspicions were well founded.
That's a picture of the crossmember I built. The yoke for the front output was hitting. Luckily it didn't do too much damage to the yoke, just rounded some corners.
I knew the clearance was tight but I thought the torque of the motor would help pull it away. Which was fine in 2wd, but in 4wd the torque from the driveshaft output was pulling it back down.
What I did to fix it was to add 3/8" plate to the mounting plate for the trans mount. I had that much room on the mounting studs easy enough. I also added about 1/8" of spacer between the mount and tcase adapter. I think that will be enough extra space since it was only just hitting enough to scrape the crossmember and not hitting all the time.
I also mounted the tcase shifter in its final resting spot.
Used a step-bit to drill a 5/8" hole in the floorboards. Then used a large diameter punch to line up the hole with the shifter by pushing down on the punch towards the shifter
Ultimately I hope to build some sort of base cover around the bottom of the shifter and include some sort of indicator to help tell which gear it is in.
This weekend I did some "cleanup" work on the transfercase. While we were in Moab, something was clunking under the floorboards when in 4wd. I thought it was the bracket for the cable shifter. When we were Christmas tree hunting it was doing it again. I got to thinking about it more and a suspicion started to grow.
Turned out my suspicions were well founded.
That's a picture of the crossmember I built. The yoke for the front output was hitting. Luckily it didn't do too much damage to the yoke, just rounded some corners.
I knew the clearance was tight but I thought the torque of the motor would help pull it away. Which was fine in 2wd, but in 4wd the torque from the driveshaft output was pulling it back down.
What I did to fix it was to add 3/8" plate to the mounting plate for the trans mount. I had that much room on the mounting studs easy enough. I also added about 1/8" of spacer between the mount and tcase adapter. I think that will be enough extra space since it was only just hitting enough to scrape the crossmember and not hitting all the time.
I also mounted the tcase shifter in its final resting spot.
Used a step-bit to drill a 5/8" hole in the floorboards. Then used a large diameter punch to line up the hole with the shifter by pushing down on the punch towards the shifter
Ultimately I hope to build some sort of base cover around the bottom of the shifter and include some sort of indicator to help tell which gear it is in.
magik235
Still Alive
I hope that isn't a battle scar from cutting the tree on your right foot.Took the truck up for its first Christmas tree hunting expedition last weekend.
No, I think it's just the liner from my insulated boots. Can't get them off without pulling out the liner.
thearborbarber
1/2 ton status
Scott, that is a killer rear bumper. Left me know if and when you want to sell it! 
Thanks! But based on the K5, you'll have to wait 10yrs for this one. LOL!
Don't know if you have seen this thread before, but thought it could be some motivation for ya 
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/chevy/719434-lets-see-your-built-crewcabs.html
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/chevy/719434-lets-see-your-built-crewcabs.html
