got a new truck, well new to me. now what?

[1BEATK5]

well i bought a dead stock 88' crew cab. it has a tbi 350 that runs great, 155k on the ticker. trans shifts ok. little sloppy. 205 of course works fine.
engine does not leak at all. i love 1 piece rear main seals.
trans and t-case leak enuf to make up for it
fuel injection!
it was originally a goverment truck. it has a tag riveted to the dash that says " department of defense geological survey". kinda neat. the only other owner never drove the truck. hadn't even put plates on it.
anyways. couple questions
how hard is it to make an 80' and older bumper fit the 88'. i would like to put the warn off my 78' on it? easy mod or do i need to redo the brackets completely?
i would like to put intermittant wipers on. is there a factory delay "box" or is it in the switch. im thinking with factory parts only
has anybody actually seen a tilt manual trans column?
this is my first 80' and newer chebbie. did i mention fuel injection?
got home late.pics tomorrow

 

[K5Nate]

My '73 Blazer w/ 465 has a tilt column. Don't know if it was factory or something someone did down the line?

 

[lectric80]

How does the bumper mount to the 78? If it mounts on the side of the frame rails it should work with only a couple holes possibly needing to be drilled. I have a Warn winch bumper on Krusty that came off a newer Suburban and that was the whole operation, line up the brackets and drill some new holes. Now, if the bumper mounts to the front of the frame horns, the way the stock bumper on pre-81 bumpers mount, then it will require new brackets to work with the newer frame that doesn't have the closed frame horns.

 

[1BEATK5]

Finally took some pics. bed is straighter than the rest of the truck. inside and out. door hinges are tight, and no real rust. just surface rust from the crappy factory paint.
paint is first, might just spray bomb it the same color. it going to need alot of sanding. just got a d/a for that.
what do you think about white bumpers, grill, mirrors and such.
i got new tires thursday. 38" michelins. i think they will be a great do it all tire. specially for towing the tj.
i will thinking about a build thread after the k5 is gone and i have some cash

 

[plumber mike]

Sweet truck and a manny tranny to boot

Where did you get your Michelins?

 

[1BEATK5]

valkman. 5 of them too. on wheels. about 90% tread
traded him a cherokee rear dana 44 and a 60k mile 231 t-case for them.
i paid $114 for the axle and got the t-case for free. it was a good deal to say the least.
they look good on the k5. actually looks taller than it did on 42s

 

[rob h]

Dont paint the mirrors and grill white...maybe black but if their in good shape dont paint them at all. I see the grills smashed so maybe find a good one and leave it go.

The color is up2 u...i see alot of drab green and black here. The 465, i was shocked to see that in there. The injected 350 sounds good too but i bet it neede low gears to get it moving if you went with taller tires.

 

[Recon!]

That has to be the best trim job I have ever seen on the K5! Do you have more pics? A write up? A full template kit? LOL, vicodin makes me crazy, stupid broken hand...

 

[1BEATK5]

im putting the 4.88s out of my k5 in it. so gearing will be there. i'm going to be towing my wrangler on a sorta heavy trailer. i think after some engine mods, the 38s and 4.88s will work well.
i'm going to keep it the same color, just spray bomb instead of out of my price range paint.
just need to sell the k5 with the nice trim up job to get started on this
actually valkman did the finish trim/hack on that for me. i have an air hacksaw that cuts fenders really well
i think i will change my name from BEATk5 to DESCENTK30