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Newbie with a few questions..

Dabba

Dabba

1/2 ton status
Joined
Jul 27, 2007
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Location
Long Island, New York
Hello, i just purchased an '86 K5 as my toy and i have a few questions for it. I remember when i was younger my dad had an '85 k5. He had the automatic back window and locking hubs, i have the manual window and manual hubs. Are the manual hubs a bitch to lock and unlock in the winter? do they freeze? Also, while i believe i got the truck for a steal because the interior is mint and the exterior shows very little surface rust, under the doors is whats rotted most. Im wondering what it takes to replace that small panal under the door? Also how should i treat the other surface rust? How do i remove it/stop it from spreading? As i said, beside from under the doors its just chips in the paint with rust underneath. Also, i got the truck with "original 94k miles" Upon looking under the hood, the block and heads look relativly new., as does most of the front end. A mechanic i knew told me to tell the differnce between the 305 and the 350, you look at the exhaust, and that the one big pipe as opposed to the 2 small ones means a 350. So my exhaust would indicate a 350 if he was correct, the sticker under the hood says 5L so thats the 305. Any way else i could tell the difference between the 305 and 350?

Other than cleaning it up, i was thinking of putting a 4 inch lift in it with bigger tires and exhaust. Im wondering how much i can expect to spend on a lift? whats good to get? LEt me know. Thanks for any advice you have.

Also: anyone know any good off roading near long island or on long island thats not too advanced? Thanks!
 
Dabba said:
Hello, i just purchased an '86 K5 as my toy and i have a few questions for it. I remember when i was younger my dad had an '85 k5. He had the automatic back window and locking hubs, i have the manual window and manual hubs. Are the manual hubs a bitch to lock and unlock in the winter? do they freeze? Also, while i believe i got the truck for a steal because the interior is mint and the exterior shows very little surface rust, under the doors is whats rotted most. Im wondering what it takes to replace that small panal under the door? Also how should i treat the other surface rust? How do i remove it/stop it from spreading? As i said, beside from under the doors its just chips in the paint with rust underneath. Also, i got the truck with "original 94k miles" Upon looking under the hood, the block and heads look relativly new., as does most of the front end. A mechanic i knew told me to tell the differnce between the 305 and the 350, you look at the exhaust, and that the one big pipe as opposed to the 2 small ones means a 350. So my exhaust would indicate a 350 if he was correct, the sticker under the hood says 5L so thats the 305. Any way else i could tell the difference between the 305 and 350?

Other than cleaning it up, i was thinking of putting a 4 inch lift in it with bigger tires and exhaust. Im wondering how much i can expect to spend on a lift? whats good to get? LEt me know. Thanks for any advice you have.

Also: anyone know any good off roading near long island or on long island thats not too advanced? Thanks!
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Unless the motor has been swapped, it's a 305...I've never heard of using the exhaust pipe as a means to determine which motor GM installed.

Concerning the rust...well, I've just found rust on my own. The area at the bottom of the doors you're refering to are the rocker panels. If you do a little searching, you'll find lots of threads on here with pictures of people replacing rusty sheet metal. As soon as I get a Mig welder and learn to use it, I'll be replacing some metal myself.

Pay attention to the area directly below the tailgate. Where the rear floor meets the piece underneath (called the tail pan) it's pretty prone to rusting. That's where a lot of mine is. Water and other stuff can get caught up in there. It may be worth your time to tap around back there with a screwdriver and see if it's rusted out or solid. If you lay under the rear bumper, you can shine a flashlight up in there and get an idea of how solid the tailpan is.

If any sheet metal is rotted out completely, you can weld in home-made patches or get replacement panels from a few different sources, such as LMC Truck or Goodmark.

By the way, the fact that you're in New York makes me wonder how rusty your K5 *really* is. Most of the older Chevy truck I've seen from that area have significant cancer. When you replace it, don't be cheap and do it right the first time. When I replace my floor sections, I'll be applying a good amount of something under there to keep it sealed from the elements.

Good luck...
 
Im actually quite surprised too. Ill take another look at the tailpan but the major rust just seems to be the rocker panels. Floors are fine, some surface rust on them. The wells are mint. Most of the exterior body just has surface rust from what it seems, some of which was painted over so i have those nice bubbles. Im also surprised to see how relativley little rust it has, i picked it up and nj and i dont know if it was originally from there or somewhere else, the dealship i got it from had it as a trade in and obviously knew little to nothing about it. I just really want to try to restore the truck to what it was, replace the rotted sections and maybe i can salvage the rest with the surface rust, though im not sure how to do it. MY friends bro is learning how to use a mid welder because he is also restoring his 79 camaro, so i could probably ask him to do it. I never really did any body work and im wondering how hard it is to get new rocker panels and throw em on, and how to contain/get rid of the current sufface rust.
 
Dabba said:
Oh yeah, anyone know a good portable compressor that wont take 5 years to fill my tires to 50psi?
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Why are you filling your tires to 50psi?:eek1:
 
Because thats what it says on the side of them. Never seen tires with that pressure before. They're larmine stealth A/P ? haha
 
Here's a sure way of telling its a 305: get under the truck with a flashlight and look at the block between the oil pan and heads up and down on both sides, there will be a cast number that will probably say 305...

Also bubbles are a lot of times the result of bondo. Or that means the metal under the bubbling spot is no good. Sometimes it can be saved if its not too bad...

As far as rust treatment goes, you can do the POR 15, Rustbullet, Eastwood's chassi coat system, or any other coating that floats your boat...
 
What does the coating do? It sounds like it covers over the rust and prevents it from spreading? The only thing i need to replace is the rocker panels i think, and other than that i have some light to moderate surface rust.. and as for pictures...

She looks pretty good from this distance but up close its not so great, but then again, its a 21 year old truck known to rot so i guess not bad eh? I still think i got it for a steal..

These are it on the lot, i have since scratched up the paint a bit and i need to wax/buff it out. Damn trees haha.

4.jpg

3-1.jpg

2.jpg

1.jpg
 
Nice Looking Truck:waytogo:.

as far as POR15(Paint Over Rust) or simular product. basicaly you paint it over rust and it stopes the rust from getting worse.(to the best of my knowlage)
 
Thank you! I took it on the beach the other day with really soft sand and man did it handle it like a champ. I also took it through some trails (hence the tree scratches) and its just beatiful. Let me know more about those rust treatments and where they're availble. I think i might have to get it repainted because of the rust/chips in the paint. Unless the treatments act as the paint too or do you need to paint over them? Also, im looking eventually to get an exhaust system (like flowmasters) and a 4 inch lift, though im not experienced with lifts at all so im wondering what type a should get and how much im gonna end up spending? I also heard with 4 inch you dont need to mess with anything but the suspension so it shouldnt be as much as the bigger lifts?
 
Dabba said:
Let me know more about those rust treatments and where they're availble. I think i might have to get it repainted because of the rust/chips in the paint. Unless the treatments act as the paint too or do you need to paint over them? Also, im looking eventually to get an exhaust system (like flowmasters) and a 4 inch lift, though im not experienced with lifts at all so im wondering what type a should get and how much im gonna end up spending? I also heard with 4 inch you dont need to mess with anything but the suspension so it shouldnt be as much as the bigger lifts?
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Well, POR15 is really expensive and you still have to paint over(not UV proteced),but it really works well.
i am not sure on Rustbullet
They are not an accual Automotive Paint,so basicaly if you wanted to have a nice paint job problay something you wouldnt wanna use this stuff.(could be wrong though)

Well for the lift what type of wheelin' are you gonna be doing and what tire size? and with a 4 inch you shouldnt have to mess with the t-case or anything like that.
 
Dabba said:
Because thats what it says on the side of them. Never seen tires with that pressure before. They're larmine stealth A/P ? haha
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Thats the maximum psi, you should have about 35psi in those tires. I can tell from those pics that they are over inflated.
 
Dabba said:
What does the coating do? It sounds like it covers over the rust and prevents it from spreading? The only thing i need to replace is the rocker panels i think, and other than that i have some light to moderate surface rust.. and as for pictures...

She looks pretty good from this distance but up close its not so great, but then again, its a 21 year old truck known to rot so i guess not bad eh? I still think i got it for a steal..

These are it on the lot, i have since scratched up the paint a bit and i need to wax/buff it out. Damn trees haha.
Click to expand...

Damn nice looking truck...and one of my favorite paint schemes (reminds me of the black and silver '78 Vettes). I'd thought of painting mine the same way :D
 
Thanks, i guess ill go for the sanding down/applying the anti rust treatments. As far as what type of wheelin, mostly beach and trails. Nothing too extream such as rock climbing or anything like that. I was thinking if i got a 4 inch id put 35's on it, i think the ones on it are 33s. And does anybody know a good compressor that is portable?
 
Thanks, any other advice on the compressor or lift kit? Someone told me something about a jump pack or something simular, Just a bottle of compressed air you can use to fill tires several times over before refilling the tank? anyone have any idea?
 
Dabba said:
. He had the automatic back window and locking hubs, i have the manual window and manual hubs. Are the manual hubs a bitch to lock and unlock in the winter? do they freeze?
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My auto hubs went out not to long after I purchase my K5. I opted to go with some warn manuals. They were really easy to install and I have never had a problem locking them in the winter, although you probably have harsher winters there so I couldn't tell you for sure.

Other than cleaning it up, i was thinking of putting a 4 inch lift in it with bigger tires and exhaust. Im wondering how much i can expect to spend on a lift? whats good to get? LEt me know.
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4 inch lifts are relatively cheap. There are a bunch of different options to go with, however. Do a quick search on here and you should be able to get all the info that you need. It is brought up a lot and there are always different opinions. Kind of like "what kind of oil should I use?". Everyone has there say in the matter.

Nice lookin' rig, by the way. :wink1:
 
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