Difficulty of replacing head gaskets 350.

[diesel4me]

I'd plate the frame with 1/4" steel after welding up the crack...drill a hole at each end of the crack,to avoid having it spread as its being welded..then grind the weld flush and plate over the cracked area,at least a few inches if possible..

I think you chose the right way to go--no sense in putting a rebuilt or even good used engine in it until you have a solid chassis..
I bet you'll stumble across a good used engine for a decent price if you ask around and keep your eyes open...

 

[76k5blazerr]

Ok, yah the motor I got in the truck right now was a killer deal, if it runs till the end of this coming summer I'll be happy, end of this year I'll be really happy. But I'm definetly gonna start me a fund for my next k5, donations anyone? Haha. Thanks for the advice on the frame cracks man. It's worth repairing the frame right? This 76 has a whole lot of sentimental value to me so I'd really like to keep it. Is the frame repair, if done right, something solid that will last? I'm gonna try to restore this rig when I get me another k5 to DD cause this ones my DD currently

 

[diesel4me]

There are probably more square body trucks up here with patched up frames than without!...done properly there is nothing wrong with fixing a cracked frame--thin pitted rusted ones are liable to fail suddenly though,and some states wont allow a frame to be patched or spliced,but few inspection places ever look closely at them..

I regret selling a few trucks I had that were in excellent mechanical shape,but the frames were getting too thin to trust for road use any more--they could have been saved,if I had the ambition to either buy a frame from out west and swap it,or plated it myself..

I'm sentimental too,I kept more old trucks running when most others would have junked them long ago..I've owned my '81 G-10 van since 1990,and my '82 GMC since 2003,I keep many vehicles well over ten years..when I'm done with them,they usually are "done",and the only good thing left is mechanical parts..rust reclaims the rest..

 

[rampage]

Or you could wait for Kert to start selling his new frames.

 

[76k5blazerr]

What's this about new frames?

 

[rampage]

http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=316840

 

[76k5blazerr]

Well fixing the frame is defiantly gonna be one of my first projects when I get to tear this rig down and fix her up. I've only got one small section on the top rail of the frame on the drivers side in the back that's kinda thin, and cracked, the side and bottom of that section is strong though so I think it'll be fine for the time being. Definetly want to hold on to this one though. Till they quit producing gasoline. Geuss I'll have to drop in a cummins then cause I don't see any way diesel is going away with 18 wheeler transportation being what it is in America. Haha.