What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

New member, new rig, what am I getting myself into?

J

josh0237

Registered Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2010
Posts
21
Reaction score
0
Location
Johnstown, CO
Hello all,

I've been lurking for a month or so, and am about to purchase a 72 K5 from a friend. I should have some pics tomorrow, but here's what I know so far:

Mechanically solid, rebuild 350 bored .030 over, 350 tranny, 3.73 gears. Starts perfect in the freezing cold.

Body is rough--was hit behind the driver's door so big dent there, and rust on both rockers and rear quarters. Paint (aside from dents and rust) is ok.

Interior is okay, PO used wooly sheep-looking seat covers that did their jobs well.

Eventually I'd like to make this a daily driver that can tow a small two horse trailer (pushing 3,000 pounds with both horses) and do some rock crawling when I want to get up into the mountains. Oh, and something to cruise around in with the top off when it's 50 or above! :D

I'm thinking a cheap paint job after I take care of what I assume will be major body work, and I'll probably add some creature comforts like power windows/locks and a stereo.

My question (and the main point of my post) is this:

What do I need to pay attention to in starting my initial exam of this rig? I'm sure there's a hundred guys on here who know these vehicles and can tell me trouble spots and tendencies to watch out for.

I'll get some pics posted tomorrow.

Thanks in advance!

~Josh
 
Oh,yeah, and it's got dual side-output exhaust with glass packs. No lift, 31" tires. Thinking a 2-3" lift, what impact will that have on towing?
 
Where to start, Where to start. I guess Pictures would help but i think we all have a pretty good idea what your rockers and rocker box's probably look like since they all are usualy in the same condition.

Replacement panels for quarters and the rockers, floor pan sections, etc...are relatively cheap. The fitment is so-so, but if you look around some build threads here you will see that some welding skills and possibly some fabbing will be needed to repair the rusted areas. Lots of people here have tackled this by themselfs without (at the time) much experiance and came out on the other side with a good looking truck and some new skills. I had a "guy" do almost all of it for me and it turned out garbage and will be doing the rockers, floors, boxes again myself this time.

Lift...Most here favor shackle flips for the rear, They let you retain your factory springs which helps retain your ride quality. Plus they flex good and will get you about 3-4" of lift. Throw some Tuff Country 2" EZ-Ride lift springs in front and the truck will sit about level and ride real nice. Remember, a 4" shackle flip and 4" front springs will sit the truck with the ass end sagging. 2" springs up front and 4" shackle flip in the rear seem to work great. And there are always Zero-rates to even things out if needed.

Websites like www.OffRoadDesign.com, www.diy4x.com are good places for your mechanical needs. Both sell a great Shackle flip, Zero-Rates and cool things like greasable Poly-Urethane suspension bushings. ORD can also send you the TC springs and sell very nice extended brake lines. DIY4x makes some pretty awsome items a nice disk brake conversion and can do custom items for you. Both places have great phone support also. Replacement panels i bought from Tri-Pro and LMC Truck and found out they both ship the exact same products.

But to answer your direct question the Rocker Panels and Rocker Box's are almost always the biggest issue. Windshield frames are also common trouble spots for rust. With the Rocker rust usualy comes some floor pan rot also, so peek under the carpet and check out the floor pans also.

Goog Luck, Have fun, Take it slow and POST PICS.
 
Will your horse trailer have brakes? K5's are awfully short and would make me nervous pulling a trailer with a couple horses.
 
Yukon Jack said:
Will your horse trailer have brakes? K5's are awfully short and would make me nervous pulling a trailer with a couple horses.
Click to expand...

The horse trailer has old-school hydraulic brakes (it's from 1968), although towing with a Trailblazer, a 2-door S-10 Blazer and a Mazda pickup over the years I've never actually had to use them while driving. It's only a 5x12 trailer and it's a front-facing trailer so there's no side-to-side movement from the cargo. Brakes work great, though, and some sort of brake controller is far, far down on my list of projects!
 
Yep floors by the front seat occupants feet, rear floor around the fenders and back near the tailgate.

Make sure steering box is tight and look for frame cracks around the bolts.

Windshield frame as mentioned.

Some peeps don't like shackle flip for towing. I have never towed anything heavier than my 6 x12 trailer with a light load and worked fine mine has about 8 inches lift with the flip. Definitely plan on a couple extra inches of lift in back if you go with a flip and even more if you go to a heavy bumper or tire carrier.

ORD and DIY have been great, also bought stuff from LMC and Brothers, Classic Industries.
 
Josh's New 72 - PICS

So major rust in rockers, quarter panels, some on the driver's side floor. Otherwise doesn't look too bad. It has some brackets in each corner of the top, used to be a boat rack up there.

Tomorrow she goes up on jack stands so I can crawl around underneath.

Oh, and the horn plays Dixie. :doah:

IMG_1156.JPG

IMG_1158.JPG

IMG_1166.JPG

IMG_1175.JPG

IMG_1179.JPG
 
Sweet looking truck you got there. Take some better close up pics of those rockers and the rocker boxes. From what i can see in those pics your quarter is deff. rotted and the rockers look like they have the typical amount of rust.

Wish my horn played Dixie, i would rock that for sure.
 
More rust pics

So far, first thoughts upon driving:

I LOVE the sound from the dual glass packs. Always kinda wanted a truck that sounded badass. :D

Brakes are terrible--push the brake pedal to the floor, then push some more, then it starts to stop. Hoping maybe some air in the lines and an easy fix, but not holdiing my breath.

The speedo bounces. I usually know within 5-10 mph how fast I'm going.

Half the gauges don't work, wipers don't work right, backlight for the gauges is intermittent. Can we say wiring harness?

Attaching a few more shots of rust.

IMG_1159.JPG

IMG_1163.JPG

IMG_1161.JPG

IMG_1162.JPG
 
Good looking K5 with as expected rust issues. I would get the brakes in working order and enjoy it before you tear into it too much. Before you pop the top would be wise to go ahead and replace your body mount bushings. Enjoy it for sure!
 
Yukon Jack said:
Good looking K5 with as expected rust issues. I would get the brakes in working order and enjoy it before you tear into it too much. Before you pop the top would be wise to go ahead and replace your body mount bushings. Enjoy it for sure!
Click to expand...

Good advice there on all parts!!!
 
Thanks for all the advice so far!! I have the brakes somewhat functional, so drove to work and around on some errands today. 68 degrees in northern Colorado, made me wish I was cruising around topless! (The truck, of course.)

I discovered three separate seat covers underneath the shag/wooly beast covers you can see in the pics, each one holding parts of the seat foam together. Think I'll be looking for some used seats, are there other seats (say from other vehicles) that especially do or don't fit well? Rear bench is in great shape--couple of tears in the vinyl but cushion, springs, etc all good. Just the fronts leaving a little to be desired.

Man, I love this truck!
 
Welcome. My rust issues looked similar. Id drive it a bit too before tearing I apart.

Also sent you a PM about the seats.
 
Welcome to our nightmares. HA HA HA. Yea drive it for a bit so you have the bug in you to complete the rust repairs. I swear I was looking at a picture of my truck a few years back and it looked the same way. Yes I love mine too!
 
Please Please drive it before you tear into it for anything other than the basic fixes it needs and small mods such as lift and maybe body mounts, etc... Mine had a shot motor and tranny and the rear end was iffy when i bought mine, But ive been thinking about it alot and i wish i would have held off on the frame-off resto i have been doing and just done the engine, suspension and drivetrain. That way i could have been enjoying a rusted to hell, paint faded truck that was lifted, tonned and sporting a new engine and tranny.

Oh well, one day i will be done.
 
Cleaning out layers of carpet

Posting more pics later tonight--I pulled the back seat, CST side panels and a couple layers of carpet/bed liner out of the back. Figured on the off chance there was rust in the bed:haha: I'd better see what I was dealing with. Major rust on the rear of the driver's side fender, Fred Flintstone style hole in the bed there. Other side is rock solid. Now to clean out years and years worth of grime, and eventually do the same up front. I figure I can cruise around with no back seat, but I'd better leave the front seats in if I'm gonna drive it!

On a side note, I'm trying to pull the top to see if the bed rails/top of the rear fender was affected by the damage to the side, and apparently I'm not smart enough to. I removed everything I could see that was holding the top on, but it seems to still be firmly attached. Two brackets above the windshield, (one on each side of the rearview mirror), several bolts through the underside of the bed rails, a bracket on either side of the hatch on the back... What am I missing? :confused:

~Josh
 
The top bolts are all where you mentioned. Check under the bedrails to make sure you didn't miss one. The gasket between the top and the bedrails also might just be sticking.
 
Drive the hell out of it

Aren't there a couple bolts in the corners up front on the windshield frame?

Get that top off and enjoy the hell out of that truck and that'll get you through the build. If the rust isn't too bad just leave it till winter comes and have fun with it this summer.

I still haven't done the rust repairs and I wash the truck at least once a year.
 
Yup, got those too. Seems like it's stuck like crazy in the back. The sides have a little give to them, I can tell that gasket underneath likes being right where it is, but it just feels like there's something I'm missing back there. Don't want to go too crazy and break something.

I just ran over to the car wash and sprayed the heck out of the back. Underneath all the layers of carpet/rubber bed liners back there was about a quarter inch of grease and dirt. Now it's mostly orange back there!

I have to get moving on the rust and paint, one of my wife's conditions for letting me get the K5 in the first place was that I had to make it look nice enough for her to be seen in. That means no shaggy seat covers, no giant dents and no rust holes.

Good news is I found a friend of a friend who is a laid off welder who's going to help me with some body panels to get ready for paint.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom