Hammer K5 Resto project

[wags86]

Rust Bullet top coat

I wanted to let U know that I had ordered a can of the gloss black rust bullet to use on my inner fenders, I put 2 coats of the silver and one coat of the black gloss. the black gloss seemed to be less "thick" than the silver, still went on the same way. Not sure if U are planning on using it or not but in MHO it would spray on better than the silver.

 

[hammermachine]

Final paint

I wanted to let U know that I had ordered a can of the gloss black rust bullet to use on my inner fenders, I put 2 coats of the silver and one coat of the black gloss. the black gloss seemed to be less "thick" than the silver, still went on the same way. Not sure if U are planning on using it or not but in MHO it would spray on better than the silver.

As of right now I don't plan on using the Rust Bullet Black Paint. I think it's cool and a great choice, but I have to cut back on the cost somewhere. Plus I'm going to try something radical....

 

[hammermachine]

Friday afternoon

I had off this past Friday, and what did i do to relax??? Had my mechanic work on my DD ABS problem ( yes it was still going on 3 months). Once Mike fixed it I decided to load up my gear and work on the K5. The one major drawback was that it was 88 degrees, without any overhead cover. (The damn landlord decided to repave the parking lot)
I was determined to get the new cargo floor panels installed. I've had them for months and I truly was tired of looking at them. I had bought them from Goodmark and they were pretty solid. However they would not line up with the existing original floor. Since I was only patching them in instead of totally removing the originals( most of the originals were fine) I had to trim the new ones down to fit. I first had to jack up the floor to clear the exposed body mounts that had worn thru the original floor. I never did figure out a way to fit a piece od metal over the mounts to strenghten the floor. Once trimmed I tack welded the floor into place and then the second side. This all took my novice ass nearly 3 hours ( in the fu*k'n sun). By the time I had them in I was cooked. They are not pretty, there's some additional patches needed, (like the cover to the fuel tank). But they are in. I'm sure the smaller rust holes near the seats and the front floor panels will be easier, I bought some 16 gage steel for those. They should be finished the next time I rent the generator.

 

[chevy wrangler]

awesome work

 

[Izzy]

Looking Good

 

[BlazerFarm]

Good thread. I'm going to be starting this soon as well on one of mine.

 

[hammermachine]

All smiles

Thanks for the support and ideas guys, this site is awesome for help. I'm pretty jazzed about the floors, even though I'm just halfway finished.

 

[phillynitro]

keep up the work im getting ready to do some serious patches also.....

 

[hammermachine]

Sunday Bundy Fun Day

Early Sunday was a planned work day on the K5, beautiful Northeast morning, low 50's to mid 60's. Everything I had hope to do pretty much came off without much fuss. There were several gopher holes in the floor bed near the seats that I had been waiting to patch. The supplies I got from work and Home Depot, .030 Mig wire ( a change from the .035 that came with the welder) and six pieces of 16 gage steel from HD. The grinding, and cutting the misshapened existing steel was alittle time consuming, but the fun part was the welding. The fabracating and the welding is the seriously fun part of this project. But for some reason I really don't like grinding, the 4 inch machine really bothers me. But most of the work went good, the damage was way more extensive than I really thought. The driver's side goes up the support post. I didn't have enogh time to patch everything, but I tried to do the largest and most obvious. I'm sure if I had just bought the stock replacement parts like I did the cargo bed, it might have been simplier,but not cheaper.

 

[hammermachine]

Oh yeah..

I almost forgot, it's offical...I AM THE KING OF UGLY WELDS!

 

[BLIDVL]

Man I thought I had it rough working on my truck in my backyard, you are quite determined ! Did you ever get the tailgate figured out ? Looks good keep it up!

 

[hammermachine]

It's about commitment....or I'm just stupid!

Man I thought I had it rough working on my truck in my backyard, you are quite determined ! Did you ever get the tailgate figured out ? Looks good keep it up!

Thanks, no I never did figure out the issue, the entire bed from the seats to the tail is off, just by a 1/2 to an inch. Nothing looks twisted or bent but it is just enough to make the tailgate door fit high and tight. That's off and the two body mounts are about 3/4 of a inch up into the bed. Which might not be a problem once I finish welding the cargo bed down. I 'm using a juck and a piece of wood to lift the old bed into place next to the new one. I'll have to look harder maybe something is broken or bent underneath. This is all big time novice **** here. I'm also trying to get as much done before it gets too cold to work on it.

 

[dinkster]

Hey, just found this thread. I'm definitely going to keep watching your progress. Looks like you're doing good, and you're a n00b at it like me.

n00bs unite! lol

 

[hammermachine]

For the love of

I had Friday off so besides going to the DMV I was able to work on the K5. All i was planning on doing was welding some seems in the floor bed, nothing major. But Like I showed you guys the two mid body mounts had worn thru the sheet metal. I was not convinced that the sheet metal alone would keep the mounts in check. So I came up with a idea, if I welded some stock steel over the holes( after I jacked up the bed) and made it strong enough, it should hold. Or something like that. Check the photos before and after. It took me about two hours to measure, cut, and weld, and it's not pretty. I am also convinced that I am the king of the ugly welds. But I enjoy welding. The other improvement I did was to replace the old worn out rubber guard/sealer for the tailgate. Hopefully that will keep alot of the rain from wrecking the tailgate more.

 

[hammermachine]

Future plans

The next steps, in no seemingly order;

- Chevy Blazer





Cages: Jimmy/Blazer

Description:
The fullsize K-5 Blazer offers one of the easiest platforms to modify. This coupled with its removable roof and its shorter wheelbase has turned the K-5 into a desirable 4wd. EOR has 2 cages to add to the list of availible modifications,both cages offer superior passenger compartment protection and style and allow the use of all tops both hard and soft. The 6 point cage offers basic protection for front passengers. The 8 point kit extends protection for rear seat passengers. All kits allow normal interior function and minimal intrusion. All kits are made with 2" DOM tube. 6point kit includes mid hoop, 2 front side legs, overhead cross bar, 2 over head spreaders, and rear kickers, 6 foot plates. 8 point includes all of the above parts and adds a rear hoop and 4 spreaders

6 Point Cage Kit

Price: $395.95 8 Point Cage Kit

Price: $595.95

I'll do this next...

At this point I'm already committed to making this truck a DD alternative so I might as well invest alittle more( mostly for safety) and have the truck I want.​

 

[BKinzey]

That's a primo steering shaft. Have you looked at using a Heep XJ or Comanche shaft? $15 - $20 at the junkyard and high praise from the Riff-Raff around here It's what I'm looking into Several threads and a tech article on the swap here.

 

[hammermachine]

Steering

I've thought about that, and for me I'll spend the extra on the deisgned replacement, just for piece of mind. Plus I think it'll be easier to install.

 

[BKinzey]

Any progress?

 

[hammermachine]

Hammer...

Any progress?

In a word, NO, NADA, NOTHING, see here on the right coast it's too frigging cold or dark, or it's flaming raining! The best day we had was a day that was 55 to 60 out and sunny, and where was I??? Stuck at work, by the time I got out it was pitch black like midnight. Yeah I'm alittle frustrated, there is alot of things I want to do but because of the weather, and Xmas bills, I have to wait. The good thing is that it's already half way thru winter and soon the enviorments will ease up enough to continue. Trust me I will post any progress as soon as I can.

 

[hammermachine]

6 months later

It's been about six months since I was able to work on the K5. In that time I have decided to make her more of a trail rig than DD (gas$$$$). I have scrapped alot of plans, such as a roll cage, and steering shaft, at this point both are not needed. The harsh ice salt east coast winter has set me back alittle.

The past two days it's been warm and light enough after work to work on the truck. I hooked up with a off road crew two weeks ago and I started to plan out the install of a locker. Based on advice form on e of the members that will be the first upgrade to the truck. Thursday I openned the 10 bolt to try to figure out what kind of gears I had in her. Unfortunatly I didn't have a jack to lift the wheel up, so I couldn't turn it and get a accurate count of teeth. Another delay.

I was able to wire brush some of the rust from underneath the body and spray it down with Rust Reformer. I did some of the frame and shackle mounts.

During the winter hibernation I also have been tossing around paint options. I personally hate it painted white, ( I owned a white Bronco once). So since it's going to be a mud/trail truck I decided to paint it OD green or possibly camo. I tested it out on part of the tailgate yesterday. A real rattle can job, but I like how it looks. The Flat paint looks pretty good.