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Expedition overland blazer. Please help

J

Jcash_k5

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Glenwood, GA
I am a new member. I have a 1990 k5 and I want to make it an expedition vehicle. Im not looking to make a rock crawler or a mud bogger. I want the ultimate off-road rig.
This is my wish list (you can laugh if you want to, I do at myself plenty).
Snorkel
D60 up front 14bff rear (with disc) lockers on both
Roof rack
Auxiliary light
Dual batteries
On board air
New bumpers
New tire
:haha:
That's enough for now. The engine is a pretty much stock 350 that was tbi, but that got changed due to an irregular idle. Its got a carb, no problems there. It has a mds ignition box and 6000 stall chip. I can't remember all the stuff we did to it, 700r4 transmission was rebuilt about 2000 miles ago. I pretty much killed it with 35s, and didnt regear the axles:doah:. I was dumb. Anyway the transfer case np241 is leaking now going to get a seal kit for that and redo that or maybe upgrade to a 208, or 205. Not sure what would be best for me. I am planning running 35s to 40s tires on it and no wider than a 12.50 on it. I am guessing about a 4.56 ratio would be good for up to a 37? Anyway I would love to have ARB front and rear lockers, but that will be another time$$$$:dunno:Im thinking about just a 4 inch lift, should be fine for any of the sized tires I would use, I had 35x12.50 on it stock and it had the perfect look, to me.

In October there is going to be an overland expo in Asheville, NC. I want to drive the blazer up there and have it show nuff ready to show them dudes what a k5 can do. I want to take some classes and of course get new toys for the blazer.
I am NOT mechanically inclined at all, thank God for my brother and my dad.

Please help me out and drop some knowledge on my head.
 
First- Get fuel injection back on your truck. Carbs are extremely unreliable off road. I joke with the guys I wheel with that I'll never wheel with someone who has a carb again. Somehow it keeps happening and it never fails that the carburetor will cause at least an hour delay over the course of wheeling or the person with a carb will be unable to conquer one of the obstacles.

Second- The 241 is imo the best transfer case out of the three you listed. It has the best low range. Yes, 205s are cast iron, but I see no draw to them without a doubler setup.

Third- You do not need ARB lockers. Some spartans will do just fine if you are on a budget. An arb rear would be a nice luxury, but the front end is unlocked when you open the hubs so you won't get any ill affects of the locker in 2wd.

I consider my truck to be moving in the direction of an expo rig. Make sure you pick a tire that is also very street friendly to travel long distances. I just switched to Kevlar mtrs from TSLs and I love them. Also consider, beadlocks,rock sliders, hydro assist crossover steering, and if you do make a transfer case change, try to run a Slip yoke eliminator.
 
Thanks. I was planning on doing something with the fuel system, not sure exactly what yet. I had BF Goodrich MT, loved them. Now ive got procomp Xterrain they ride great. Im looking at getting some 37x12.50 hummer Goodyear MT tires. Any thought on them?
 
Jcash_k5 said:
Thanks. I was planning on doing something with the fuel system, not sure exactly what yet. I had BF Goodrich MT, loved them. Now ive got procomp Xterrain they ride great. Im looking at getting some 37x12.50 hummer Goodyear MT tires. Any thought on them?
Click to expand...

Some folks have real good luck with h1 stuff. It's definitely an affordable option to move into larger tires with beadlocks. Trail worthy fab is one site to check out if you haven't already. I like the newest bfg style tread the most in appearance. These wheels and tires do weigh a lot.

http://www.trailworthyfab.com
 
Keep the 241 do an sye on it ( slip yoke eliminator) . With one ton axles I would run 37s. I think your 4" lift idea is good.

Suspension is key in my mind on an expo rig. Its all about travel. On the road off the road etc. So I would seriously consider some custom springs. You have to build everything with reliability in mind. Also helps to use common parts.

241 and the 700 is a great combo though I would probably gear to 4.56 for 35s 4.88s for 37s and 5.13s for anything bigger than 37s. Selectable would certainly be the best locker.

I have said this before the key to having a great rig is making a plan and sticking to it and keeping your rig. Plans change somewhat as your experience grows but if you like expo wheeling don't build it like a crawler
 
I do some expedition stuff with my rig, so I'll share.

I agree with suspension upgrades. If you're going to spend the day running trails, a stiff rig gets old. Getting soft leaves and monotubes has made my rig more useable than almost any other modification I've done. The softest "lift kit" you can get is the Tuff Country EZ ride and when I ran those I couldn't keep up with some more stock-ish IFS on the fire roads and such. With the ORD springs and Bilsteins I have people asking me to wait up. Plus the highway sections are much more tolerable.

On the same note, be sure to run tires that are smooth on the road. I don't think you have to go so far as running All-Terrains, although that's what most "real" expo people run. Most of us don't have mountain trails in our back yard and will cover 100's or 1000's of highway miles on our adventures. You need something reasonable quiet that comes round and will balance. H1 OZ radials are hit and miss in this regard. I've heard better reports on the BFGs, but there are lots of good options now for 35's and 37's if you have budget. Don't even try bias plys...

Dual batteries is the direction I went, with the aux battery powering the interior lights, computer, GPS and refrigerator. It also runs the winch. The only other thing I sometimes wish I had switched over is the power windows - both side and tailgate. So I could run the windows up and down as much as needed at camp with no worries. I've never had a problem, though, so probably won't bother. I also converted the interior lights to LED just for power consumption.

Speaking of refrigerators, they are much nicer than coolers. No melting ice to wreck stuff and no need to keep hitting up stores for ice. I love being able to pack warm beverages and feed them to the fridge throughout the trip and they get cold quickly. Battery draw is really low, too. DON'T bother with the thermoelectric ones, like Koolatron and Coleman. They draw lots of battery power all the time and are take forever to cool stuff down. I would sooner run a cooler. You want a compressor fridge like Engel, ARB, Dometic or the like. But be prepared for sticker shock, then keep an eye on Craigslist and stuff.

4.56 is pushing it with 37's, but is a good ratio with 35's. 4" lift will require a good bit of cutting for 37's, but only moderate trimming for 35's.

I have 37's, 4.88 gears, TPI350, NP208 and 3/4 tons which is much bigger than the average expo rig, but most of the Land Cruisers, Range Rovers and the like have so much stuff mounted to the bumpers and roof that they take up just as much space on the trail. Now when I go 4-wheeling with others I usually have the smallest rig, but this setup hasn't really limited me from doing what I want to do.

You should probably add a winch to your wish list, especially if you will be out alone. At minimum, have the bumper set up for it now, so you can add it later. A used winch is an option if you need to save money - they are expensive, especially when you have to buy some wiring parts, snatch block, tree saver, fairlead, etc. etc. at the same time.

Then don't forget the electronics. You definitely need a back-country GPS setup and probably a CB radio. The GPS setups I like best inside are tablet setups because you get so much more screen space. And a tiny GPS sucks when you're trying to climb some tough terrain and figure out where you're going. Real serious back-country guys will have some kind of satellite communicator. Some GPS units offer an add-on for this so you can get a message out when you're really in trouble. LEDs and HID lighting are really popular now, but I haven't seen the big advantage yet, unless you wheel a lot at night. Mostly they just annoy anybody else traveling with you. Heavy wiring to the stock lights with relays and keeping the low beams on with the highs does make a big difference. Some rear lighting for backing up would be helpful, though.

Roof rack is a mixed bag with a lifted K5. I did build one, but there were some places I wouldn't have needed to cut a fallen tree if the rack wasn't there. And the #1 thing I built the rack for was to carry the chainsaw and gas :doah:. One of the big projects for an expo rig is designing the interior storage. I sleep in the rig and could fit everything inside, but things like chairs and table would ride on our bed during the day, and we've traveled that way before. I just didn't want to deal with chainsaw gas and oil inside, although it might work to just put them under the truck at night.
 
Thanks for all this information. I really appreciate y'all taking time to help me out. I wouldn't think I would need to trim any on the fenders. I had 35s stock and did very little trimming. So with the lift hopefully it will work. What would be the difference in rpm/power in 4.56 and 4.88 running the 37s? Please teach me. Lol thanks
 
It's nice to also have a good power inverter. Charge phones and other 110V stuff.
 
Too be honest, if you are not mechanically inclined, buy one that is not a project.
Buy one that's basically ready to go, and just needs your personal touch added.
 
Jcash_k5 said:
Thanks for all this information. I really appreciate y'all taking time to help me out. I wouldn't think I would need to trim any on the fenders. I had 35s stock and did very little trimming. So with the lift hopefully it will work. What would be the difference in rpm/power in 4.56 and 4.88 running the 37s? Please teach me. Lol thanks
Click to expand...


If you have 35s and they didn't rub you were not using your truck to it's full potential :pimp:
 
I really didn't all the time. But I had a few times that I felt like the tire was gonna rip the fender off. I see your point.
 
Jcash_k5 said:
Where's a good place to look for bumpers and a good winch?
Click to expand...

Build them. Or call DIY4x4 or ORD.

Here's some videos from last years main expedition. The youtube one is really cool, but my rig isn't in it much. In the second one you'll see the setup I'm running.

[YOUTUBE]Eh988Q-7KM8[/YOUTUBE]

http://vimeo.com/72079880
 
I'm doing a similar build on my 91 K5

But I went 5.3L 4l60e np241

I'm running a 10 bolt front and semi float rear to kinda save on weight and I'm only gonna run a 35" tire

I'm running 4.56 gears so I have a decent low gear for trails still.
Oh and I'm running a trutrac limited slip and a loc right up front

Also I put a lot of money into the suspension to get it about as good as you can for a leaf sprung truck. Custom springs from ORD and a bunch of diy4x brackets and shackles, shackle flip as well. I kinda focused on the suspension and drive train not letting me down on mine.

Plus I figured if I ever want to make it out to blazer bash my truck better ride smooth down the road and have a good engine to make it over the Rockies lol

In the future I'm gonna install on board air, auxiliary power source and a winch up front.
 
Metrodps said:
:whistle:
10169219_688460514545862_3720313380841871004_n.jpg


Snorkel information http://coloradok5.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3267572&postcount=4

I love these Mickey Thompson Baja Claws TTC tires almost no road noise and they handle well on the muddy/snow run off as well as rocks here in Colorado.
rcfzt0048.jpg
Click to expand...
I'm jealous of that snorkel. I like the fact that you've got a very classy set-up. Thanks for the link to your sweet build.
 
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