New member, new project...remember?

[A1971Blazer]

First post:
http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=311408


OK so here's where it begins. "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" (that could be the theme for this one!)

K5 was about ½ mile from my house. Winched it onto my trailer( sorry no pics of that ordeal!) backed it into the barn and lifted it off.

Not a lot of great deatil yet but this truck came from LA (lower Alabama) and was undercoated from the factory or dealer, so it appears.
Still got some rust in the usual places but overall, really solid.

Sprayed a lot of PB blaster today and cleaned 2 huge bags of trash out (I hate people who use their vehicle for trash!

On the lift, underside has mostly just long term nomal wear, u-joints etc.
all four wheels rolled free with rusty brakes of course.

Enough words for now: you like'm pics....here are some.

 

[A1971Blazer]

Some more:
HEI...was this on '71s?








Real 70's style double tube roll bar!

 

[A1971Blazer]

Best thing is that everything is there, it was parked as a running truck. I turned the motor with a breaker bar at the balancer, seemed to turn fine.
Probably check oil, fog cylinders and try to start it about Tuesday.

Got to get a couple of tires to get it to "roller" and maybe "yard driver" first of all. Gonna have to hot wire at the coil...no keys but a new switch/keys is on the way!
Wish me luck! It may be a long road, with several forks?

 

[ashman]

gratz on the new money pit! lol These blazers are a blast but it's an expensive hobby for sure.

On your HEI question, no, they came with points. Someone swapped it to HEI. Around here the swap is so common that I don't think I've ever even seen one with points, but that was the way they came from the factory.

 

[A1971Blazer]

Thanks!

I was looking at maybe just putting on a 2" or 4" lift kit with new springs, front and rear and wondering what brand you guys preferred?
I'm not new to suspension chassis etc but I am new to old Blazers!

I normally use BDS stuff pretty much exclusively because I had a buddy of mine that owned "Jim's Off Road" shop and I could get some really good deals on it. He died a couple of years ago.

I won't say that money is no object, but I'm not on a limited budget either. So I don't want it to end up looking as if I was.

 

[ekajkrats]

This is what I keep hearing:

Stay away from rough country, unless you like a harsh ride.

If you are looking cheap, but decent many guys roll with Tuff Country for our rigs.

If you want uber-nice, custom built, go with Off Road Design's custom built Springs...which I think are Alcan Springs (could be wrong about manufacturer), but they get them setup specifically to what you will be running.

-Jacob

 

[Senorx470]

Nice start. Welcome to the madness.

 

[AJs72K5]

This is what I keep hearing:

Stay away from rough country, unless you like a harsh ride.

If you are looking cheap, but decent many guys roll with Tuff Country for our rigs.

If you want uber-nice, custom built, go with Off Road Design's custom built Springs...which I think are Alcan Springs (could be wrong about manufacturer), but they get them setup specifically to what you will be running.

-Jacob

Correct on the Alcans. When Charles used to own Alcan, you could call them up with all your specs and he'd engineer you a set. The better bet now is to probably go the ORD route and let Stephen engineer them. He then sources the manufacture to Alcan.

 

[RANDAL]

Looks like a good start.

 

[campfire]

Nice find. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

 

[y5mgisi]

Yes, aside from the Ord alcan springs, the best riding springs out there are the tuff country ez ride springs.

 

[A1971Blazer]

OK, progress report.

I pulled the fuel line at the pump, put on a piece of hose and stuck it in a jug of gasoline. Ran a hot wire to the distributor, hooked up my remote start switch, turned the motor over a few times then poured some gas down the carb. About 5-6 revolutions and it fired up after sitting for 4 years. Bad news.....it's got a hellacious knock.

Oh well, crate motor....here we come!

So after that fiasco, I just set in to gutting out the inside in preparation to pull the body off.

Here's what I found after removing 3 huge trash bags of old carpet, rubber mat and what looked like the start of a fairly large landfill.
Bad shape in some areas but not nearly as rusty as some I've seen on this forum. All the bed supports, etc..... seem to be in good shape.

Passenger side




Bed...looks pretty solid overall


Driver side




Who has the best patch panels?

 

[Greg72]

Yup.

Another 1st Gen heartbreaker.


For sheetmetal, GMCPauls seems to be one of the go-to guys these days, as does Wes at ClassicHeartbeat...... LMC is pretty much the worst, use them as a last resort. We are fortunate that some of the oddball stuff that we desperately need is finally being reproduced (rocker boxes, b-pillar extensions, etc).

These trucks are like big, rusty onions.... the more you peel away, the worse it gets. Go all the way in there, and then start building your way back out with fresh metal and it will be good for another 45 years!

-G

 

[NorCal69]

Dude, you have one of those cool 1st gens with the floor vents.





Unfortunately, they really are not that rare now a days...



Trust me, a lot of us feel your pain. Do as Greg posted and get your stuff from Paul or Wes. It will save you a ton of time, money and frustration.


Keep postin' up the pics and welcome aboard.

 

[A1971Blazer]

Thanks!
I actually just talked to Wes a few minutes ago. I was concerned about the shipping cost on larger, truck-freight items. So I will be getting a "Christmas" list together of stuff to get shipped, all on the same coin.

BTW, why on earth does this thing have a travel limiter/stop on the front spring shackle? No wonder they ride like a goat wagon!

 

[Greg72]

That was a "recall" type item...... believe it or not.

The fear was that if the shackle (or mainleaf) ever broke the leafspring could move enough to prevent the truck from steering safely.

I can't remember which year it was specifically added, but I don't think any of the 1969 model year trucks had them. (though I suppose they could have been retrofitted by the dealer if requested).

It took me a while to figure out why my truck handled to poorly under braking with my new soft front springs..... it would dive pretty violently to the right every time. Turns out the spring stop (drivers side only) was causing the spring to bottom out, while still allowing the passenger side to flex. The axle steer pulled the truck to the right every time.

The shiny spots on the springeye was the giveaway. I unbolted that bracket and threw it in my discard pile.... problem solved! Most aftermarket springs now come with a military wrap (2 leaves wrap around the bushing) so even if the main leaf breaks you still have control.

At the very least, you could just grind it back a little to insure that it only came into play in an actual emergency....not simply when the truck flexed.


-G

 

[NorCal69]

That's just on the drivers side, correct?

IIRC the drivers side has a small cage around the front eye and the stop on the back eye. Just in case the spring broke, you wouldn't go flying into oncoming traffic.

I thought these were only on 69-70, though??


Edit: Damn, too late. I thought my 69 had it? I'll check some old pics. I now it had the front cage though.


Edit-Edit:: Found a pic and mine is on the drivers side.

 

[A1971Blazer]

This Blazer has one on both sides.....anyway no big deal about that piece, it's gonna come off.

Now here's another mystery piece. This could be something that someone added......IDK?

It's behind the driver seat, some kind of spring and hook device....early NASCAR HANS device??

 

[ekajkrats]

It came factory and was used to hold the jack.

 

[diesel4me]

The '71 and '72 K5 I had that leaf spring "stop" bracket too...I still have one in my parts heap somewhere I think...
I read somewhere it was supposed to help keep the axle from moving back enough to cause a kickback in the steering...maybe an old Chiltons book I have?..I never understood why they didn't put one on both sides?...
I left mine on one truck,maybe thats why it never stopped in a straight line?..--the other truck I took it off because it only had one bolt that was loose holding it on...

Your engine might have a rats nest or a pile of nut shells in a cylinder,if it sat that long...we started up some engines at the junkyard that sat a long time and some sounded like a bearing was pounding BAD--tearing the heads off revealed a rats nest,nut shells or chunks of carbon that broke off that were getting smashed against the piston & head...some ran fine after removing the offending material!..