Another lame build thread

[skark_burmer]

I have a K5 that i want to make reliable, burly, and driveable for long adventures over any kind of terrain that i care to tackle. The stock 10 bolt, 208 and D44 are going out and taking their place will be a 14bolt, 205 and D60, cause i hear those are kinda hard to break.
This will also be a semi daily driver so i dont want to loose too much driveability and will be used for weekend adventures and wont be trailered. Baja, Moab, Tahoe, stuff like that. I'll also be using it for my main transport to go snowboarding in the winter and hunting in the summer so it will see a lot of pavement use too.
I already got the K5 interior to a point that is good enough for now, welded up all the rust spots and had the entire inside sprayed with bed liner.
http://www.coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=160682
I'll update that post with pics of the inside. the project has been on hold for longer than i care to admit, but now it time to get busy.

Im going to 4 link the front and rear, full hydro steering, high steer, and would like to use air bags but havent figured out that part yet. for the short term i might take the easy way out and use coil springs.

I looked long and hard for a good donor vehicle and came across a suitable vehicle. Im im the process of building up the K30 to wheel the snot out of, then im going to swap the running gear over to my K5 once i get everything figured out. Its going to be about a year before the swap to the K5 takes place. Maybe this summer if im feeling frisky, but i dont think it will happen that soon cause i have too many other projects and hobbies that like to get in the way.
Donor vehicle is a 87 K30 with a 6.2 that used to be a PG&E truck.

Here is the K5 that the axles and xfer case will be going in once im done with the K30

So far i have added some H2 wheels with 35's, Blazenoffroad front bumper and 8724 winch to the front. I yanked the bench seat and installed some El Cheapo "look at me, im a street racer" seats that i got for a song along with 5 point harnesses. So far only the lap belt is installed, the shoulder straps will go in after i build the inside hoop.

The Bumper is super stout but unfortunately it didnt line up too well with the winch and the upper housing of the winch contacts the top bar. I have let them know about the problem so hopefully in the future they will move the winch over to the drivers side a little to avoid contact. I'll have to weld up the holes and cable slot and move it over a little, that project will be added to the thread in the coming weeks.

I took it wheeling a few times and had great fun.
Keep in mind im a total newb to this so my idea of wheeling is prolly a little watered down from some of you guys so go easy on me. The only other wheeling i have done was in a M1 Abrams and HMMWV so this is a learning experience.

This pic is of the truck trying to roll over. Its hard to tell from the pic but the only thing keeping the truck from rolling is the door up against the ground as i drive down a riverbed with 2 wheels in the rut and 2 wheels on the side of the hill.

The truck is stock with a D60 front and 14bff rear. Its got a gov bomb the back and after a few times out the rear end is sounding like a Detriot locker as i maneuver around in the neighborhood. I pulled the diff cover and sure enough, there are some rather large chunks at the bottom which dont look like they should be there.
I thought long and hard about what diff to put in it and decided on a Eaton limited slip. I know some of you out there will think its a dumb choice but the design for the drivetrain is to be under my K5 which is a daily driver and i wanted a limited slip. I realize this will reduce my traction at times but im willing to live with it to get the benefit the rest of the time. Besides the blazer isnt going to be a rock crawler.
I got a ARB for the front and CTM joints that are going in when i rebuild it. I also got the crane diff covers and a set of their high steer arms to use when i tackle the hydraulic steering.

So for the last few trips the rear driveshaft has started to come apart and there is so much slack in the front shaft that i think i could almost pull it apart with a swift kick of a Doc Marten. So i put a call into High Angle Driveline and spoke to Jesse for a good 45 minutes. He coached me through all the measurements i needed to take and we spoke about my design paramaters for the K30 and then the K5 in the future. I decided to get shafts for the K30 now and then re-use/modify them as best we can for the K5 when the swap time comes.
A week later my UPS man is all sorts of pissed off as he makes a delivery. These things are heavier then they look. Pics to come.

the next day he deilvered the PSC steering setup, and from the pained look on his face that was kinda heavy too.

The day after that he delivers the Eaton and ARB and i think he is secretly planning how best to have me killed.

A few days after that he delivers the Evolution medium body heim joints. 16 of them. He is not pleased.

I offer him a beer but i dont think it helped that much.

The last time i went wheeling i got it stuck in a ditch. Front end first and its deep, steep and slimy. Im not getting out of this one. Luckily i could still get to my winch but the cable wasnt long enough to reach anything behind me so i was screwed. It was right then that i thought to myself;
"If im going to go wheeling alone, i need to be more prepared"
I had the standard stuff like jack, spare, hand tools, shovel and that kind of thing but i didnt bring a tree saver or any other winch accessories.
So as i sat there waiting for someone to come along i thought how nice it would be to have a winch on the back. Maybe something that could plug into the reciever and i could just pull myself out.

Well someone finally came along and got me out so when i got home i started on the rear winch.

First thing, order a nice heavy box to annoy the UPS man.
Second thing, decide how to mount it.

Well this has a flat bed on it and the reciever is cheesy to say the least so i decided to change my idea a little. I decided to mount it under the bed to a 1/2" steel plate welded directly to the frame and have the cable come out the back.

I used 1x1" solid steel bar to brace it and the plate is braced on the underside by 2x3" .250 rectangle. Should be plenty stout.
Then i finished off the winch well with stainless steel sheet i had laying around to try to keep the water and mud from splashing all over it.

I need to go to the local metals place and get some aluminum diamond sheet to make a hatch for it but otherwise its done.

Next step, rear diff.

 

[NorCalKid]

Sweet another nor cal build, looks like you are off to a great start

 

[y5mgisi]

Ya man that looks like its going to be cool. Cant wait to see more.

 

[smalltowncowboy]

nice donor rig and no you cant wheel that like a abrams lol (i was a 63A)

 

[BulldogK5]

Nice donor rig. I like the bedsides that fold down and the way you are mounting the winch.

 

[skark_burmer]

Now that the snow is mostly melted its time to go wheelin again, so the thread gets revived.

I ordered a bumper from Blazen Off Road and really like the build quality. Good welds, strong, and a good fit on the truck. Plus it looks sweet.
The only negative is my 8274 was contacting the upper bar slightly. I didnt think anything of it, but when i used my winch the first time the front plate it bolts to flexes slightly forward causing the body of the winch to contact the bar and push against it. Well, the body of the winch is aluminum and it broke. I was pretty pissed after i sent the winch off to be repaired and got to pay $580 for the work.
I let the guys at Blazen know to move the mounting holes over by half an inch and they said they would on future bumpers.
Here is a shot of the contact.

So what i did was mill out a .5" thick plate that mounts between the winch and bumper, moving the winch back and allowing more room between the bar and winch housing. It also increases the footprint of the winch mount so a side benefit is the plate does not flex at all. Not like the small amount of movement before was an issue.

After wheeling at night a few times i wanted more candlepower.
I was going to drop the cash for some HID's but thought i would try out the new generation of LED lights that seem to be all the rage.
I like the fact they dont use much power, dont create much heat and have a much longer life span, so i ordered up 3 of the Vision-X light bars. Two 12" bars for the front, and one 8" for the rear.

The lights are made pretty well and look very well sealed. Just by the looks of them id say there will be no lifespan issues but only time will tell.
The connectors (which i wont use) are high quality and well built, they use stainless hardware which i like as well and the black anno coating is well done.

The one thing i dont like about them is the mounting method. There is no adjustment you can make using the supplied mounts and you better have something level to bolt them to. Although the mount has a curve to it, the bolt head is recessed into the slot about 3/4" and the slot is about as wide as the bolt shaft. So although you can swivel the mount on the light, once you put the bolt through them there is no movement at all.

For my application i was going to drill holes in the top of the bumper and mount them there. I figure they would have good protection from mud splashing, rocks, tree branches and anything else that would come their way plus it was a flat surface so hopefully they would be aimed correctly. Measure once, drill twice!

So i got them mounted and liked their fit, plus they look high class.

I went driving around once the sun set and they were not adjusted where i wanted them so i was going to have to drill new holes to be able to move them. I quickly decided this sucked, so i yanked them off and will be making some sort of adjustable mounting contraption so i can have them pointing wherever i like.
Also i want to make my mount quick release because with a 10mm socket it only takes a few moments to unbolt them and i dont want my lights to walk away some night when im not looking.

 

[skark_burmer]

I also ordered up some new driveshafts from High Angle Driveline.
I phoned Jesse and told him about what i had and what i was using it for and he quickly sent me the driveshafts to allow me to wheel to my hearts delight and not worry about getting stranded.
1350's u bolt kit and a 1350 conversion kit for the 205.
The UPS guy showed up about a week later and dropped off some pretty large boxes.
I'll post pics when i install them.

I also started ordering other goodies like Evo heim joints (holy $$ BatMan!!!) full hydro steering kit, diff covers, rear disc conversion kit, high steer kit and crap like that.

Of course when the goodies come in i have to look at them and drool. Unfortunately when i opened the 2.5" double ended ram i noticed a nick in the tube.

After careful examination i realized it needed to be sent back because this size nick would cause rapid seal failure. So i called PSC and they sent me a return tag and i sent it back to get repaired/replaced.
Meanwhile i am still dealing with the failing stock steering setup which is getting worse by the day. Oh well, it could be worse... atleast i have a truck!

I still havent installed the Eaton limited slip in the back. I was all set to do it and when i went to press on the new carrier bearings i noticed the Eaton housing is about 1/8" smaller diameter from stock and nobody has any idea what bearings to use. My local parts guys couldnt find a measurement that fit, Summit (who got the diff for me) had no idea, i even put a call to Eaton and they could not offer me any solution either. So what the hell? C-mon, it cant be that hard... can it? Ugh, if anyone has a suggestion, im all ears.

I got my CTM joints for the front knuckles in and will be installing those when i do the ARB. One of the joints is missing one of the bearing cups so i need to do it soon.

I'll post pics in a few days, cause we all like pretty pictures.

 

[skark_burmer]

I finally got around to pulling the donor parts off the flatbed, it is gone now.
In its place i am building up a Crew Cab

, so you will see this thread covering both builds. For now im focusing on the crewcab, i want to get it running before i focus much on the K5.

The axles from the donor flatbed are going to get rebuilt and put under the crewcab. Then im gonna take the crewcab axles, rebuild them and put them under the K5 at a later date. I already have them on my axle cart, so it just makes sense to reduce the axle swapping fun. These are kinda heavy...

I pulled apart the Gov-Bomb in the 14b and looky what i found.

I dont think thats how it looked when it went together.

Then i got busy cutting off the tabs and whatnot and finished stripping the axles.
Here is the yummy looking D60 lube.

More to follow, im waiting on some parts to come in so i can rebuild the kingpins and install the gears. Im going to leave the spring perches on the rear for 2 reasons.
1: They are symmetrical. It will help me keep everything aligned.
2: I'll use them to reinforce the lower link mount.

The crewcab is going to be my practice vehicle and my first build. I'll 4 link it and do a lot of learning before i aim the torch at the K5. And hopefully when im done the crewcab will be fun to wheel.

Im still trying to decide if i want to shorten it like 2livecrew (on pirate) or leave it full length and remove the bed like Jason Payne had his.

 

[skark_burmer]

Here they are all cleaned up. i got carried away with the wire wheel and just cleaned the whole thing. Fancy rattlecan paintjob to follow.

I stopped by the welding store and got some Nickel rods to weld to the D60 housing to my truss. Wow, thats expensive stuff.

I preheated the housing my own special way (pics to follow) and my welds look horrible. I must have totally forgot how to stick weld. They are so bad i didnt even take pictures. I think i'll grind it off and start over.
So i was never able to find what temperature i need to heat the housing to. Everyone says "preheat and postheat" but i cant find anything more specific than that.
Well, i figure the best way to heat up a big ol casting is to fill it with charcoal and light it on fire. (anyone with me on this?)

So i run off to the store and grab 4 big bags of coals, sit the housing on its end with the diff cover loosely on and start filling it up. After about an hour of it emitting some really choice fumes the entire casting is at 650-665 degrees and its not getting any hotter, so i start welding.

As far as letting it cool slowly;
i got done welding around 9pm and the coals were still glowing a nice soft orange. the casting was down about 50 degrees by this point so i just left it be. This morning around 8am the casting was about 110*, so i think its cooled pretty slowly.

Maybe i'll swallow my pride and display what a horrible stick welder i have become. I feel like i need to go back to high school metals class.

 

[skark_burmer]

I got home today and re-inspected my weld on the truss upright i did last night.
Not being happy with the weld quality i decide some destructive testing is in order to see how easily it will break off.
Mr 5lb sledge hammer and about 40 or 50 solid 2 handed overhead blows later its off. As it turns out the weld was better than i though, but i was still happy i decided to re-do it. It was reassuring how difficult it was to get off so im pleased with my results.

I re heated the casting and welded it again and this time the weld quality is much better. no gaps or lumps, although the Ni99 rod is much harder to weld with than standard rod. Still not exactly pretty.

I also welded the tubes on the 14 bolt, i figured while i had a good process lined up and both housings in front of me on the Asshole Cart now is the time. Welds went ok, im pleased enough but i am going to smooth them out with the grinder tomorrow once they cool off so people dont make fun of me.


I had ordered 2 sets of axles, lockers, compressor, gears and install kits a few weeks ago from 4WS cause they had really good prices on stuff. Actually they had killer prices on stuff, easily saved me a few hundred bucks. I got everything in 3 days except for the gears and install kits and i didnt hear anything from them as far as tracking numbers or ETA. Now that i am ready to start re assembling stuff i sent Aaron an e-mail asking if he knew when i could expect the last 2 items.
He called superior and came up with both tracking numbers and called me back in about 30 minutes.
It seems that the 2 boxes i got from superior were not 2 sets of axles. Come to find out (and i hadn't opened the boxes cause i figured it was just 2 sets of the axles, one set in each box) one box had both sets of axles, and the other box was stuffed full or the gears and install kits.
Talk about prompt customer service!
He let me know the contents of the boxes and i felt like a jerk for making him do the legwork when this whole time i was sitting on the parts i was asking him about. We both had a good laugh but i still felt like an ass. Sorry Aaron, but thanks for the prompt attention to my order. And the killer prices. Sure enough when i got home i tore into them and found exactly what i expected.

I also just got my kingpin rebuild kits from Parts Mike (everything in stock baby!!!) and most of the wheel bearings i ordered from Rock Auto, the rest are due to be delivered tomorrow.
Looks like i have a big day infront of me.

Now the next hurdle is figuring out which wheel studs to go with. I am going to replace the rusty stockers i pressed out and want to go with something stronger than the OEM doorman ones, and longer. Moroso or ARP dont make an exact fit for the D60 or 14bolt, so i will have to make some comprimises. Likely i'll have to go up to the 5/8 stud and drill out the hub a smidgen. Same thing i did with my D44 so im not too adverse to this solution.

 

[skark_burmer]

I was checking out the inner seal surface of the 14bolt i noticed that the drivers side had a ridge built up on the leading edge.

Here you can see the face of the surface (after i filed down the ridge) and the damage to the front side. It looks like the bearing was spinning on the axle, and not rolling like it should.

I cleaned it up nice and pretty like and it came out ok, has anyone else seen this happen to their axle? Was it just run dry, or overtightened, or...?

 

[blazinzuk]

the whole bbq briquettes thing to preheat the housing was Awesome

 

[BulldogK5]

I like the fact you used the higher end "Mesquite" coals.

 

[skark_burmer]

I like the fact you used the higher end "Mesquite" coals.

Nothing but the best for my builds!

Last night i committed to replacing the kingpins. I was going to throw the rebuild kit at them and re-use the pins that are there but i think they are too worn to not replace while i am at this stage.
I have a 3/4 IR impact wrench with a claimed rating of 900 ft/lb of torque and thought that was plenty. I used the socket over a lug nut method... nothing.
Then i heated up the C, dropped an ice cube in the pin and tried again... nothing.
Then i got out the cheater bar, 4' extension and 5lb hammer and woke up the dead with the noise... nothing.

I thought about it overnight and came up with a solution i think will work. If i grind away the portion of the pin that acts as the head of the bolt the torque should be reduced to almost nothing. Right? The pin doesn't bottom out in the C, so it should come right out. I just have to be careful to not grind on the C. Anyone tried this?

 

[skark_burmer]

As a side note for anyone wanting to weld to their axle housing, here is what i found after speaking to 2 guys who weld for a living. I searched all over the place and all i could find was a lot of speculation and "My buddy knew this guy that said..." well they might be right but i had the chance to ask 2 local welders and here is what i got.
One guy works for a local boiler works welding repair service and the other guy is our district Miller sales Guru. Both had similar advise, and were asked about a week apart so they were not feeding off each other.

Step 1: Collect underpants.
No... wait a minute.

Step 1: Preheat the ENTIRE casting to 450 degrees. Both warned not to spot preheat it with a rosebud torch because of hot spots on the surface and the rest of the casting would suck the heat away in short order. Funny thing is both came up with the idea to just put it over my BBQ grill for a few hours. When i told them my solution they laughed their asses off gave their approval.

Step 2: Ni99 rod or weld wire. Both suggested Arc welding based primarily on the cost of Ni99 mig wire. A 250 amp mig welder would be fine, but the wire is too expensive and hard to find. A 200 amp Arc welder is also sufficient.

Step 3: Weld in small sections then peen that section. Then weld some more and peen. I told them i didnt peen but did weld in short sections. Boiler works guy shrugged and said "well, you're done so just run it like it is. probably wont fail if your design is ok", the Miller guy said breakage was likely. Also the Miller guy suggested using thinner rod and making multiple layers and peen between each. Boiler works guy said that layers and peening would produce a stronger weld if done by a pro, but as a backyard hack the chance for voids in the weld was "about 100%".

Step 4: Postheat. Both suggested it should take atleast 4 hours to cool a piece this large (i estimated 150 lbs) and the slower it cools the better.

If you do all that, you'll be good to go.

 

[skark_burmer]

Hmm thats odd, all my pictures are gone. either im having browser issues or someone didnt like my pics.

Either way, time for another update. I'll post pics tomorrow, my home confuser is slower than snot.

Kingpins.
I tried to remove mine. I have a 900 Ft Lb Ingersol Rand impact wrench that can snap off lug nuts before you can say 'broken wrist' and figured that would remove them with ease. I dropped in a 1 ton lug nut (7/8") and used my impact socket over that. I tried and tried on the drivers side. I heated it, i used a cheater bar and beat on it but i couldnt get it to budge.
A few days later i had the idea to more or less grind the head off the bolt, hopefully reducing the torque on the pin and allowing it to turn more freely. I thought if i reduced the OD of the pin down to the diameter of the threads then it would come right out. Right?
Well when i sat down to initiate project 'Kingpin Punishment' i had a better idea. Instead of grinding the OD of the entire pin down, i'll just use a cut off wheel to grind a slot at the base of the pin all the way around. Same effect, a lot less work.

It worked fantastically. Once i cut the slot in the pin i could have taken them out with my 3/8 impact wrench, they were that easy and as you can see i didnt need to go very far in.
for anyone else getting ready to do a kingpin job, do yourself a favor and do it this way. You dont need heat, excessive force, some hard to find 7/8" hex rod, or a large hammer.
If you want to thank me i accept cash, checks, or Visa/Mastercard.

 

[skark_burmer]

Lug Studs.

Oh and if anyone is wondering why im making smaller updates its because i had this wonderful long all encompassing update i had worked on for 3 hours today and my browser crashed. JUST AS I WAS HITTING THE SUBMIT BUTTON. ARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!

But anyways.
I wanted stronger lug studs that are longer than stock. With my set of aluminum wheels i have 4 threads of engagement on the back, 6 on the front. Thats not enough for me to feel all warm and cozy about, but when i do the math it comes up as safe. I still want more thread engagement though.
Hopefully something made by Moroso cause i have used them in the past and really liked them, and the prices are reasonable. Unfortunately they dont make anything that will work unless you want to go up to 5/8 studs, and even then they are the same length as stock.
ARP dosent have a good solution either. They make some long enough but are not fat enough at the knurl, and they are the "Nascar" studs which retail for $200 for 5. Umm, yeah.... NO.
So back to Dorman i go. Hmmph.

Starting at the back:
I am doing a disc conversion and the K20 rotor is designed to be hub centered. The drum on the 14bff is designed to be lug centered. The hub on the 14bff is about an inch smaller the the hole in the K20 rotor and the lug holes in the K20 rotor are larger than the studs on the 14bff. Im sure you can see the problem if you were able to follow me through that.
Here is a pic of 4 of the studs im dealing with.

From left to right.
OEM front. OEM SRW rear #610189. OEM dually rear #610194. Ford front #610301
I could go on and on about what i have learned in the past few days, but i'll spare you. Here are the munbers of importance.
the hole in your hub is designed for a knurl diameter of around .620". This is also roughly the size of the OEM lug stud, Captian Obvious to the rescue, you are welcome. The Lug hole in the K20 rotor is around .650" meaning when you mount the rotor on the hub and press in all 8 studs, the rotor wont be centered. From here you have a few options;

1: Deal with it. The rotor wont be THAT off center and in all reality you'll prolly never notice. Besides, its not a Aston Martin we're building here.
2: Use the 610301 studs. The 301 necks up right before the head to about .640 and is as long as the OEM SRW stud. They wont be a press fit in the rotor, but will center it pretty good. Unfortunately they wont be much of a press fit anywhere else. The smooth portion above the threads measures .590 on the ones infront of me and the knurl portion measures .6265". So with the rust and junk in the hub you might be ok, but im reading posts where people have the stud spinning in the hub and they have to tack weld them to the rotor. Combine this with the fact that they are as long as what i already have and i need to find something else.
Oh, on a side note, some folks mention they are going to pull through because of the small head. Id argue that point based on two points.
A: It is an OEM stud designed for this type of use. (Ford front, same hat/hub arrangement) There is going to be a level of safety build into them as well.
B: Upon closer inspection of my rear stud, you can see the small ring around the base of the stud that was making contact. Much smaller than the head on the 301. the rest of the head was just floating there, not touching anything.

3: Use 4 301 studs and 4 189 or 194 studs. While this would center the hub and give me longer studs i dont want to deal with the spinning stud issue. If you have ever had this happen to you you'd understand my desire to avoid it.

4: Use 189 or 194 studs and make spacers like this smart guy. Thats what i did and it worked like a charm.

I got a set of the 194 studs and installed them and it came out ok. Rotor is centered and i have longer studs and i think they are stronger than what i had.
Thats one nice thing about the 194 dually stud is they dont neck down behind the threads like the OEM 189 studs do, and they are cheap. I called around to 3 places that had them in stock and found 3 different prices. $1.99, $2.49 and $4.99 each.

Next update will cover gears. Unfortunately i got a set of thick cut gears for my D60 and they wont fit with a ARB.
Check the thickness on the ring gear compared to the shaft for the spider gear.
Correct:

Mine

And to annoy me even more i have a 2nd gen 14bolt (1st gen dont have the ribs. im learning more everyday) and the install kit i got is for a 1st gen. They use different pinion bearing race sizes. Its not Aarons fault, i was too dumb to know there was a difference and that it mattered. By the numbers my '86 should have a 1st gen in it, but somehow its got a 2nd. Oh Well. Its not like im running out of things to do. Tomorrow my L18 will be here and i still need to weld up the trusses on both axles and get cracking on the full hydro steering.

Oh yeah, and my day job.

 

[y5mgisi]

Dude nice tech!

 

[skark_burmer]

Ok so i lied, this update isnt about gears as im still waiting for the correct ring/pinion for the front and the proper bearings for the rear pinion.

Today i got busy on the truss arrangement on both axles.
Before i could do that i had to drill and tap the holes in the housing for the ARB's.
The instructions say "drill and tap a hole in the location shown" but the picture is kinda vague, so you are left to figure out where to drill the hole.
Someplace flat, not in the ring gear, and not on the internal (for the front) or external (for the rear) ribs.
The back is easy, there is lots of real estate to choose from, the front is a little more tight. Luckily for me the axles are out, im not sure how you would be able to do this while they are installed, but it would be a pain. Here is the spot on the D60 i chose to use for the front air line.

This spot narrowly misses the internal rib

and is nice and snug against the housing away from the ring gear. The install instructions show the hole in the thick portion that the diff cover bolts to but i dont know why you would want to put it there. Well, the surface is nice and flat, but its also about an inch thick. No thanks.

I welded up the other two vertical supports for the front axle

and then turned my attention to the rear.
Like Grandpa used to say "Measure once, cut twice" and "if its too short you can always cut it again" i sketched up a drawing of how i wanted it to look.
Again i used the stock spring perches because they are spaced equally, level, and sturdy. Plus it gave me additional surface area to weld to.
Yeah, i know, it dosent look as fancy as a lot of other peoples trusses but i dont really care. Strength and ease of assembly are more important to me for this build. Besides, cut me some slack, its my first attempt at this kind of thing and im going it alone.

I also had some 1/2" AR500 steel plate laying around so i thought that would be a dandy material for boxing it in. Yes i realize this is wayyyy overkill, but how many people do you know that have bulletproof rear trusses? I'll be the first on my block thats for sure.
Plates on the front and rear of both sides, welded front and back, 3 passes each and its solid as can be.

I still need to work on the top before i weld on the heim tabs, currently all it has is straight 2x4" 3/16 wall rectangle mild steel. Im thinking of tying it in to the pinion guard, but im not sure yet. I'll figure it out after my morning beer tomorrow.

Speaking of morning beers; I already spotted a problem with my front truss outer supports. I think they are too tall and close to the ends of the axle to allow for shock clearance at full articulation. I'll take a closer look tomorrow but think i'll lop off the top corner at an angle and box them in just to make more room.

Tomorrow i should be able to get done with the trusses so i can tack on some heim mounts and start mocking things up under the truck.
That is figuring my fruity friends show up and help me remove the bed so i can cut the frame and start working on the back half.

I got the L18 all unwrapped and spent a few hours looking at it. Unfortunately i didnt think to take any pics when it was daylight so here is one in the dark.

I didnt get around to making an engine stand for it today but will get around to that tomorrow.
Also currently im thinking i will run the 350 for the time being till my transfer case shows up in a month or two. Then when the case gets here i'll slap it on 8.1 of fun and drop it in but for now the 350 will get the wheels rolling. And if i get bored with it theres always N2O.

 

[skark_burmer]

Got a fair amount done this weekend.
first i got a cradle made for 8.1 of fun. It didnt take too long but small projects add up and the weekend was gone before i knew it.
By the time i got it out of my truck (which was tempting fate and kinda sketchy on my hoist), built the cradle and got the motor situated about 3 or 4 hours had gone by.

Then it was time to work on the crewcab again.
The sheetmetal that was on the truck when i bought it was shiny and looked really good. I planed to take all the crewcab sheetmetal off and keep it for the K5, and use the already dented Flatbed sheetmetal for the crewcab. Both doors and the entire front clip from the Flatbed are getting bolted on the crewcab. But the deeper i get into the project the more damage i am finding. The metal isnt as cherry as it looks on the outside.

the drivers side wheelwell is nothing but 3" of bondo. the underside of the bed has significant rust. Not East coast style rust, but this aint no california truck. The front clip has lots of cracks in the sheetmetal and a lot of the threaded holes are blown out. Any hole that has a nut/bolt going through it is the shape of a watermelon. I could go on, but by this point i should have just kept the sheetmetal that was on the crewcab, and thrown the dented Flatbed panels away. Oh well, no use crying over spilled milk.

Before:

After:

Most of the bolts holding the bed on were rounded off and a pain to remove and both fuel tanks had fuel soaked lines. I guess its a good thing they are getting some attention before they burn the truck down.

Oh, and how is it that this 1991 has a 1st gen 14bolt housing and my 1986 Flatbed had a 2nd gen?

I tried to sell the bed and frame for $200, which i thought was a fair price and figured id be talked down to $100. Would have made for a sweet trailer if they had an axle. Well i couldnt do that so i tried to give it away. I even put an ad on Craigslist and only one guy came to look at it. He wasnt interested because he was looking for a factory white long-bed with no dents and this one used to be red. Im like, its free!!! WTF do you expect?
Whatever. Well i never got around to taking it to the scrap yard so i changed my plan a little bit and im going to use it. Im going to shorten the bed infront of the wheels (and maybe behind them too) and run it for as long as it stays bolted to the frame. Im going to take about 24" out of the frame and weld it back on to give the bed something to sit on, then tie it all in to the exo cage. This way will save me a little bit of time building my own rear frame section and will work fine for the time being.

and that about sums up the weekend.