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'90 K5 - Project Betty - LS3 Swap for a DD/Offroad/Utility Build

Miller Welder

Either my other welder was out of whack or this new miller is really an upgrade.

Did some side by side comparisons of dirty, clean, and beveled with and without autoset. Welds look much closer to pro quality. In the 1/4 test, I could not really say that autoset did any better than the recommended settings.

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Got the tcase clocked this morning. A little over an inch from a flat belly, which is fine bc the tube for the skid plate is 1.25" anyways.

Cut the hole way larger than needed. Kept thinking I was hitting the floor, but I really had the studs staggered wrong but couldn't tell bc i was stuck holding the case up. Oh well, just another weld on this franken-truck.

Started working on the cable shifter. The universal bracket they provided is worthless, going to have to fab one up.

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Progress.

I feel like this thread has sputtered a bit w/ the baby, work, etc, but I want you to know that I am still putting time in even though I havent made a ton of progress.

This cable shifter issue has really been a boondoggle. I do not think the NWFab setup will ever work, and I am going to just have to eat it (if anybody needs a cable shifter, let me know). I working with JBFab.net. They believe their shifter will work, and have an example of somebody who has done it. Their shifter as three inches of travel vs the 1" that NWFab has, so it has a much greater chance of success in theory at least.

A couple of pics of the shifter and the homemade bracket somebody else made.

JBFab Shifter.jpg

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Side projects

I got sidetrack for a couple of my free days trying to save $700 buy building my own pottery barn mirror.

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Evolution Steel Saw2

So I bought this several months ago, but just opened it yesterday.

Comes with a decent case, it is nice that no assembly was required, built in laser is actually a much nicer feature than I would have thought.

Cut a square out of 1/4" steel plate. It wasnt like butter, but the saw definitely did not have a hard time at all with it. My initial impression was this is exactly what I was looking for. Much cleaner cut than a torch, a lot cheaper than a plasma cutter, and 90% of my cuts are in straight lines.

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Evolution Steel Saw2 continued

Clean edge, cool to the touch, the only problem is that there are a lot of cuttings/shards to deal with, probably should not be wearing flipflops.

The edge is very clean, sorry the pics are terrible, but no burrs on either side, no grinding required.

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Interesting stuff about the shifter not working out. And I would really like to try one of those saws!
 
Yeah hopefully I will get this cable shifter ordeal figured out for the K5 community. I have yet to find anybody that has completed one. I cant believe how rare the concept is (for full size chevys at least, tons for jeeps, etc).

Initially the short through (1") made it near impossible to shift and when I got it going it would slam from 2wd to N, but then didnt have enough length to make it into 4LO. I made a hole further up the arm to take advantage of leverage, but only had enough through to shift one gear. Even if I changed the cable, the shifter itself can only move 2" or so.
 
Modular Welding Table

So I have been wanting one of these fancy build pro tables, but they have a base price of like $4k.

So I when to a scrap yard in an attempt to build my own.

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Modular Welding Table Continued

I used a solid plate instead of multiple 5 inch pieces, and added a grid line to make things easier to line up.

Just gotta weld some legs on and slap on some casters.

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While I wish I was that bad ass. I sent it off to a local machine shop Stallion machine to have the holes precision drilled.
 
Welding Table

Between being out of town and baby, I'll I have been able to do is get the welding table top on a frame and wheels. I did get the other cable shifter in though.

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Good work. Subscribed!! Having the right tool for the job really helps. Thats what I learned with my last build. Can't wait to start a new one similar to yours :thumb:
 

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