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 photos of the Hybrid Thumper added!
- Thread starter Thumper
- Start date
readymix
3/4 ton status
Sweet, Get us some action shots
85mudblazin
1/2 ton status
looks awesome except you need to trim off the edges of that front bumper
beater_k20
Banned
i predict cab corner to tire issues. 
marv_springer
1/2 ton status
smaller cab.... smaller weight...?!
Hey Mike....
Looking good! My vote is to ditch the 1/4 bed and tube it!...
What's your guess of the weight of that Blazer tub/cab...? Pretty heavy, huh?!
Now you see why I go w/out one...
Marv
Hey Mike....
Looking good! My vote is to ditch the 1/4 bed and tube it!...
What's your guess of the weight of that Blazer tub/cab...? Pretty heavy, huh?!
Now you see why I go w/out one...
Marv
bigburban383
1/2 ton status
Very cool truck
How did you extend the hood?
How did you extend the hood?
ntaj*ep
1/2 ton status
I like it! Take it on a few trails and get it weathered a bit and I would like it alot better!
Thumper
1/2 ton status
Thanks for the comments guys!
Ya, I need to get it on a trail. That is the farthest its been out of the garage for a while now. I still have a few little finishing touches left before its trail ready. Action shots will follow soon!
The front bumper will be cut down this week, and tucked a little tighter to the corners. I have visions !
The cab corners are getting cut also. I was thinking about tubbing the whole back into a wheel well that fits with the box, but Id lose too much of the rear seating (not that theres much to begin with). Im prolly going to just trim the bottom corner. The diff will push the tire back under compression, so it shouldnt be too bad.
Marv... ya know. I knew the weight of that K5 tub was a lot before, but I had no idea really. We needed two jackalls to lift the tub off the frame, then used buddys winch to pull it off. It would have taken 6 guys to hand bomb it off, and even then it woulda been tough. The entire K5 with no top, half doors weighed in at 5500 lbs. This cab was lifted on by myself and another guy -minus the front clip- I did that myself, and the box was lifted on by myself and my 14 yr old son. I am very much looking forward to weighing it now!
I didnt really extend the hood. I took two sets of S-10 hood hinges, and cut one set apart and welded them together with the other set making the whole assembly 7" longer. Then I mounted the stock hood on the front set, in a semi stock location so the latch would work. Then I cut the second hood about 7" from the back edge, and bolted it into the second set of holes in the hinge I made. Its sorta two hoods together, only they arent really attached. There is a gap where they meet, but its liveable to me. Its not a show truck hehe.
Again, thanks for the replies. I cant wait till its totally mobile! I figure another week or so. Then hopefully I can get some wheeling in before my trip down to Phoenix in January!!!!
Later
Mike
Ya, I need to get it on a trail. That is the farthest its been out of the garage for a while now. I still have a few little finishing touches left before its trail ready. Action shots will follow soon!
The front bumper will be cut down this week, and tucked a little tighter to the corners. I have visions !
The cab corners are getting cut also. I was thinking about tubbing the whole back into a wheel well that fits with the box, but Id lose too much of the rear seating (not that theres much to begin with). Im prolly going to just trim the bottom corner. The diff will push the tire back under compression, so it shouldnt be too bad.
Marv... ya know. I knew the weight of that K5 tub was a lot before, but I had no idea really. We needed two jackalls to lift the tub off the frame, then used buddys winch to pull it off. It would have taken 6 guys to hand bomb it off, and even then it woulda been tough. The entire K5 with no top, half doors weighed in at 5500 lbs. This cab was lifted on by myself and another guy -minus the front clip- I did that myself, and the box was lifted on by myself and my 14 yr old son. I am very much looking forward to weighing it now!
I didnt really extend the hood. I took two sets of S-10 hood hinges, and cut one set apart and welded them together with the other set making the whole assembly 7" longer. Then I mounted the stock hood on the front set, in a semi stock location so the latch would work. Then I cut the second hood about 7" from the back edge, and bolted it into the second set of holes in the hinge I made. Its sorta two hoods together, only they arent really attached. There is a gap where they meet, but its liveable to me. Its not a show truck hehe.
Again, thanks for the replies. I cant wait till its totally mobile! I figure another week or so. Then hopefully I can get some wheeling in before my trip down to Phoenix in January!!!!
Later
Mike
I am at a standstill on my S-TON project until it gets back into the Garage. I am installing my cab on a '78 Short Bed 4x4 frame. I have mounted a set of 56" rear springs backwards to gain another 4" of wheelbase so that I do not have to trim the cab at all. Mine is 122" wb!!! I am looking into 2 issues when installing an S-10 Cab on a fullsize frame. The cab mounts are a given - custom mounts.
1. Steering shaft fabrication
2. Wiring
I pretty much have a handle on the steering shaft mod - but if you have pics and ideas from your swap, let us know.
Since my '95 Extended Cab has all of the factory wiring intact inside the Cab, I am thinking I should retain this wiring and splice the harness outside to work for my setup. Unfortunately, I did not keep the wiring from the bulkhead out. We unplugged it and left it on the donor truck. I can easily get the wiring harness I need from a Junkyard - I am curious if you ran into any problems hooking up the wiring to your K5 chassis.
My truck will have tubing in the rear of the cab, but will have bedsides narrowed like Dustin Websters rigs.
Looks good man!
1. Steering shaft fabrication
2. Wiring
I pretty much have a handle on the steering shaft mod - but if you have pics and ideas from your swap, let us know.
Since my '95 Extended Cab has all of the factory wiring intact inside the Cab, I am thinking I should retain this wiring and splice the harness outside to work for my setup. Unfortunately, I did not keep the wiring from the bulkhead out. We unplugged it and left it on the donor truck. I can easily get the wiring harness I need from a Junkyard - I am curious if you ran into any problems hooking up the wiring to your K5 chassis.
My truck will have tubing in the rear of the cab, but will have bedsides narrowed like Dustin Websters rigs.
Looks good man!
Thumper
1/2 ton status
Well, for starters, my steering shaft was only about 4" short. I first looked at it from a 'difficulty' standpoint. I wanted to extend it as easy as I could. I took the shaft off the S-10. I left my K5 shaft stock, then used the other shaft and made a fitting that would bolt into the top of the K5 shaft, and bolt into the column (from the S-10). You have to visualize this now: What I ended up with was a stock steering shaft, the upper stock joint thingy, a small extender shaft between there and the bottom of the column. The problem I get is this: because I extended it up at the top straight down, then the stock shaft takes over, the angle where it peels off to reach the steering box is very sharp. so steering it is very... not scary, but not smooth. It binds at that upper joint thing every turn. So, im not leaving it like this. There are two plans now. Either find a van shaft (double u-joint) or extend the stock shaft in the center. Lots of guys dont like welding on a steering component, but my welder buddy looked at it and is very confident we can extend the stock shaft and make it very safe. So, I think thats the plan for now. Easier and a lot less yelling than going to one of the useless junkyards around here.
As for the wiring, I kept all the K5 internal and external wiring, so it was a matter of fitting it back together the way it was into a new body. I did eliminate about 20lbs of wire that was just useless from the K5. I am not sure how much of the wiring is compatible between your projects, but I am thinking that there prolly isnt much. A lot of the wire colors might be the same... but Im not sure. I know I had to rewire the front and rear lighting, and the colors were semi compatible... not totally different, so you may get lucky.
Good luck! Do you have any pics up yet?
I made some good progress yesterday:
The body mounts are welded on and intact, the gas tank is installed and I have a K5 skidplate on top and underneath it in the center of the frame, The roll bar is installed, and the tailgate is on.
Todays list:
build the spare tire mount onto the roll bar,
bolt down my console (new one I got for Xmas from my kids!)
take it for a drive around the property!!
I do have a bunch of little things left, but the list is getting much smaller every day!
Later
Mike
As for the wiring, I kept all the K5 internal and external wiring, so it was a matter of fitting it back together the way it was into a new body. I did eliminate about 20lbs of wire that was just useless from the K5. I am not sure how much of the wiring is compatible between your projects, but I am thinking that there prolly isnt much. A lot of the wire colors might be the same... but Im not sure. I know I had to rewire the front and rear lighting, and the colors were semi compatible... not totally different, so you may get lucky.
Good luck! Do you have any pics up yet?
I made some good progress yesterday:
The body mounts are welded on and intact, the gas tank is installed and I have a K5 skidplate on top and underneath it in the center of the frame, The roll bar is installed, and the tailgate is on.
Todays list:
build the spare tire mount onto the roll bar,
bolt down my console (new one I got for Xmas from my kids!)
take it for a drive around the property!!
I do have a bunch of little things left, but the list is getting much smaller every day!
Later
Mike
