Good deal!
Martin
Martin
CK5
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'91 K5 Four Wheel Camper
This is the build for my 1991 V1500 Blazer, AKA the K5.3. It started out life being sold to the U.S. Government with a 350 TBI/700r4/241 combo. 4 years with a 5.3/700r4 Combo and now moving to an 8.1L Vortec and NV4500 5-speed.
Nice! Bet you're looking forward to getting out on the dirt again soon.
That’s for sure. Missed it bad. But all the life turmoil would have prevented its use short of driving it to work periodically. Plus there was a period of time where my head was squarely in the sand in denial of the problem. I couldn’t look at it without being pissed it was broke.
Happy to be on the downhill side now.
The Crawlabago is back at my house. Between Larry’s monumental help and Bill’s it’s back on the road.
Bill came and picked me up this morning and we got to Larry’s house to put the driveshaft in and boogied to his his shop to do bumpers. Bill had built a new can rack to put on a swing like the spare tire side.
I had the same guy that cut out Larry’s can rack cut out two more versions for me and Bill. I bought Bills as payment for the fabrication. I had already given him another spindle, hub and stub axle to prep for it.
I had also brought down my fresh @Engineered Vintage Goat front winch bumper. I’ve only been sitting on that for over a year now. I painted it last weekend.
Priner
Paint. Or I should say paint with a side of dirt. I painted on the absolutely windiest day possible and dirt was flying.
So while Bill was finishing up some little bits on the can rack I put the front bumper in place.
Beyond this point the phone decided it didn’t want to take pics.
I did spring for the HD triangulation upgrade parts and since I’m going to run a Warn 8274 I got the extra gussets that tie the face of the bumper down to the base. The whole thing goes together pretty easy but my air tank did pose a few hiccups as the airline fitting and blow off valve was right in the way of the triangulation brackets.
Bill got the rear bumper set in place and then set the swing arms on. We got done fairly early so I decided to head north and come on back home. The truck drove great. Zero driveline vibration, plenty of power and ate up miles with ease.
Super happy to have it back home. Lots left to do but at least it’s home to do it.
Bill came and picked me up this morning and we got to Larry’s house to put the driveshaft in and boogied to his his shop to do bumpers. Bill had built a new can rack to put on a swing like the spare tire side.
I had the same guy that cut out Larry’s can rack cut out two more versions for me and Bill. I bought Bills as payment for the fabrication. I had already given him another spindle, hub and stub axle to prep for it.
I had also brought down my fresh @Engineered Vintage Goat front winch bumper. I’ve only been sitting on that for over a year now. I painted it last weekend.
Priner
Paint. Or I should say paint with a side of dirt. I painted on the absolutely windiest day possible and dirt was flying.
So while Bill was finishing up some little bits on the can rack I put the front bumper in place.
Beyond this point the phone decided it didn’t want to take pics.
I did spring for the HD triangulation upgrade parts and since I’m going to run a Warn 8274 I got the extra gussets that tie the face of the bumper down to the base. The whole thing goes together pretty easy but my air tank did pose a few hiccups as the airline fitting and blow off valve was right in the way of the triangulation brackets.
Bill got the rear bumper set in place and then set the swing arms on. We got done fairly early so I decided to head north and come on back home. The truck drove great. Zero driveline vibration, plenty of power and ate up miles with ease.
Super happy to have it back home. Lots left to do but at least it’s home to do it.
That’s great news!
Woohoo that has got to be a good feeling.
Thanks!
Very good feeling. It was like slipping back into a comfy pair of shoes. The new 8.1 runs great and dare I say it has a smidge more power than the last one. However, my frame of reference on driving the truck is skewed by a bunch of time. On the way up the engine ran cool, held good oil pressure, and just ran flawlessly. It's a testament to how everything is set up to just drop in a fresh engine and drive it a hundred miles like it always has.
Rain held me up today on getting some paint on stuff. I got stuff done around the house and then hit it once the clouds cleared and it dried up a bit.
This is the new jerry can rack. It's built off of the same basic design as Larry's but set up to work with the 10b/D44 hub/spindle/lockout. I did have to buff off some surface rust from the ride up in the rain.
I masked up the lockout hubs and latches and got to shoot some paint on the fresh parts.
The floor is flat expanded metal so it won't itch the bottom of the cans like the other style.
I did take and use my die grinder with a scotch brite pad to feather out the edges where the paint had been chipped or gound off for working being done to it.
The can rack can swing open a full 180 degrees and the hub locks it just before the rack can touch the quarter panel.
The front bumper needs a little adjustment to level it better. But it looks good on there. I picked up some rattle can Raptor liner to spray on the top plates for it so it has a little more durable surface than paint.
With both swing arms closed it shows how the can rack hangs out less than the previous fixed rack did. Plus it holds a 4th can that I couldn't in the other one.
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Nice to hear she is moving under her own power again!
I am glad I hung onto that engine for so long. I feel like I am part of your wheeling stories now.
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janky Nissan's....... Mr. Juan and Mr. Wong to you sir!
Just close your eyes as you drive by. I am sure nothing bad will happen.
Looking good!
For sure. It’s going to get put to good use.
It was pretty visible there for sure. I’m surprised my ex never messed with it. But between my attitude that she knows that was a line not to cross, she’d have to deal with Larry too. Happy it’s back with me.
Thanks man! I meant to put pics up of the GOAT bumper with yesterday’s post. I really like how it’s turned out. Super beefy in the right spots. I’m glad I sprung for the hd triangulation setup too. Man does that add a ton of support down the frame.
Though I noticed something when I was going through the instructions and parts in the two boxes. The instructions show reusing the outer bumper support brackets from the oem bumper with a small bracket that goes in the corner of the goat unit. Was that a later addition to the setup? I know I bought mine as soon as you opened up ordering and then promptly sat on it with the truck being broke. But I wasn’t sure if it came later or not. Is there a way I could get them now?
The little holes on the top of each wing are where the top plate bolts on to close that area off.
For sure. It’s going to get put to good use.
It was pretty visible there for sure. I’m surprised my ex never messed with it. But between my attitude that she knows that was a line not to cross, she’d have to deal with Larry too. Happy it’s back with me.
Thanks man! I meant to put pics up of the GOAT bumper with yesterday’s post. I really like how it’s turned out. Super beefy in the right spots. I’m glad I sprung for the hd triangulation setup too. Man does that add a ton of support down the frame.
Though I noticed something when I was going through the instructions and parts in the two boxes. The instructions show reusing the outer bumper support brackets from the oem bumper with a small bracket that goes in the corner of the goat unit. Was that a later addition to the setup? I know I bought mine as soon as you opened up ordering and then promptly sat on it with the truck being broke. But I wasn’t sure if it came later or not. Is there a way I could get them now?
I need to do a final adjustment to level it up but it’s at least on.
Send me your address and I will send you those brackets
Taking care of little things as paint dries. Ever since the first 8.1 went in and we changed out the core support for the single headlight setup the headlights have been aimed horribly. I’ve got a set of Hoppy headlight aiming tools. They work slicker than hell.
I added the 8274 specific brackets for the bumper. I needed a spot for my bracket for the air chuck. So I moved the bracket I had on the old bumper and put in on the 8274 bracket.
Paint is not done since I managed to hang a couple of runs in it.
I added the 8274 specific brackets for the bumper. I needed a spot for my bracket for the air chuck. So I moved the bracket I had on the old bumper and put in on the 8274 bracket.
Paint is not done since I managed to hang a couple of runs in it.
