Operation HOLY RUST!!!

[Ck1500]

well after leaving my K5 sitting for about 4 years i decided to go pick it up from the storage lot. i parked it, and had other pending issues that came up so i had to put it on the back burner "before anyone asks" seeing it ran when i parked it, i thought i would grab a battery and some fresh gas. and just as all chevy's do. It fired up after i primed the fuel pump a couple times. " CHEVY TOUGH BABY" so the next objective was get it home. and re-start the project i had left before. removed tail gate which was surprisingly light "from all the metal missing i suppose. and decided i would start checking it out i lifted the carpet only to be able to see outside. well one thing lead to another and i am removing all the carpet in the truck and the front seats, center console, rear seats. and needless to say there is lots of rust holes. so after contimplating finding a clean tub in Michigan "LOL" i decided to order some floor parts from LMC. I ordered all the floor parts, with the exception of the wheel wells, which were amazingly in good shape.
1 . Tail pan
1 . Right Rear Floor Panel
1 . Left Rear Floor Panel
1 . Center Cargo Floor Panel
1 . Right Rear Cab Floor Panel
1 . Left Rear Cab Floor Panel
1 . Right Front Cab Floor Panel
1 . Left Front Cab Floor Panel
2 . Front Cab Supports
2 . Rear Cab Supports
1 . Right Inner Rocker Panel
1 . Left Inner Rocker Panel
1 . Right Outer Rocker Panel "extended"
1 . Left Outer Rocker Panel "extended"
2 . Tailgate Post
1 . Gas Filler Neck Cover / with gasket

I must say the parts are pretty good looking, i have heard good and bad. about LMC


there is more parts i will be ordering but i have enough on my plate right now


I will be pulling out the cutoff tool, grinder,sawzall tommarow, and will be posting pics as i go.

if anyone can think of any tricks or tips i should be aware of . please share, afterall i am just a average guy with a welder and lots of tools

Ck1500

 

[Ck1500]

looks like some FAB work ahead of me here

well i couldnt wait and i decided to start cutting some stuff out, and noticed the area where the seat belt mounted was non existant.. "not to safe for the seatbelt options. and have looked around online and it seems like i need to fab of some metal there to fill the void and actually have something for the seatbelt to mount back to, not to mention the cab support etc.. has anyone ever tried to box this in? and is it a bad idea to box it into the bottom of the quarter panel? just looking for some other ideas to hopefully slow the decay of the rest of the truck. as for looks its not going to ever be a show truck. FUNCTION and SAFETY is what i am after. here some pics of the carnage so far. and the pics show the repair panel in it. "just sitting there not tied in yet" so dont flame me yet lol

and yes the person i bought this from had put a piece of 3" x 3" angle iron in there for reinforcement for the drivers seat. so my plans are after i get some more of the pieces in place, i planned on reinforcing the whole seating area with some 3/16 steel. do you guys think this is wise? or is this considered overkill? thanks for the input

 

[DK5]

'scribed. Nice to see another one being resurrected

 

[BUDDY]

1985 Chevy K-5 Diesel Army Blazer 4x4 Arkansas Rust Free Truck - $1600 (Dorr)

1986 chevy blazer - $500 (Big Rapids)


85 Chevy k5 blazer M1009 - $2000 (Lansing)

Chevy Blazer 4x4 - 78-79 - $700 (Warren, MI)

84 Fullsize Blazer/No drivetrain - $800 (Joliet)lifted K5 blazer 91 - $2000

1989 Chevy K5 Blazer - $1500 (Minooka)

Just sayin'.

Took me about 10 minutes to find all of these & post them up for you.

Download Firefox, then go to www.crazedlist.org

HOLY RUST is right.

I'd be starting with something else, but that's just me.

Good luck!!

BTW - it looks like there are several nice candidates in Flint, in case you are close to there.

Buddy

 

[Ck1500]

1985 Chevy K-5 Diesel Army Blazer 4x4 Arkansas Rust Free Truck - $1600 (Dorr)

1986 chevy blazer - $500 (Big Rapids)


85 Chevy k5 blazer M1009 - $2000 (Lansing)

Chevy Blazer 4x4 - 78-79 - $700 (Warren, MI)

84 Fullsize Blazer/No drivetrain - $800 (Joliet)lifted K5 blazer 91 - $2000

1989 Chevy K5 Blazer - $1500 (Minooka)

Just sayin'.

Took me about 10 minutes to find all of these & post them up for you.

Download Firefox, then go to www.crazedlist.org

HOLY RUST is right.

I'd be starting with something else, but that's just me.

Good luck!!

BTW - it looks like there are several nice candidates in Flint, in case you are close to there.

Buddy

i am Very close to flint, and everything i have looked at in this area has the same areas rusted out. i actually searched Tempest from craigslist which gave me the ability to search up to 1500 miles away. im sure there is always going to be a gem in the mix, that i have missed looking at. but i know this trucks drivetrain, and it feels like the right thing for me to do.

 

[tRustyK5]

It appears as though you got a floor section meant for the older flip forward seat, rather than the fold and slide style your 87 should have. It also appears that the pan has the slot for the older seat latch in the drivers side floor pan...which was never factory. Weird.

You have some serious issues there. I know the temptation is to start hacking it all out in one ugly session...but resist if possible. Compare very closely the existing good steel in the truck to the repair panels you got. Look at how things are supposed to overlap, or fit and then cut conservatively to begin with.

Your list didn't include the mid section body support assemblies. This is right at the area where the front seat belt anchor points are. You'll save time and aggravation having those. You could probably rebuild or patch what you have too...but they appear to be in poor shape at best.

For the seat belt anchor area I got some sheared 16 guage plate from a retail steel place. I'm going to weld a nut to the backside, or weld a piece of 3/8" plate and drill and tap the whole works for the seat belt anchor bolt.

I wouldn't box that area, you want good drainage anywhere you can get it. What you may consider is a mud/debris/salt deflector to keep the crud from collecting in that area. In factory form it's an open path from the front of the rear tire to the seat belt anchor area. The gravel and debris "sandblast" the coating, paint etc off the steel, then the accumulation of salt and guck does it's work.

It's amazing how those two small areas of the truck lead to such horribly time consuming repairs! If people would only make that area a regular part of the vehicle washing process it would have made the rust issue there so much less!

Rene

 

[BUDDY]

i am Very close to flint, and everything i have looked at in this area has the same areas rusted out. i actually searched Tempest from craigslist which gave me the ability to search up to 1500 miles away. im sure there is always going to be a gem in the mix, that i have missed looking at. but i know this trucks drivetrain, and it feels like the right thing for me to do.

Oh, I wasn't posting those up for a replacement project, I was posting them up for a replacement body.

Even if they aren't great, I'm SURE that you could find one in better shape than the one you have. Then it's a "simple" body swap.

Again, that's just me.

Later,
Buddy

 

[Ck1500]

okay i got a little work done.

well its been raining like cats and dogs around here, and the problem is when my wife convinced me to buy this house she walked me into the garage, and i fell in love with the 11' ceilings. i instantly thought about the K5 but after getting the house i noticed the garage door was much lower, actually 7' so i am doing all the work outside because my K5 wont fit in the garage, unless i wheel it in on some spare rims of mine.. no rubber though hehe. i bought some 16' steel and started to fab up the area where the seatbelt mounts on the inner pillar area, and go that into place, and decided with as much metal as i have missing i would throw a strap on it, "thats the yellow thing in the picture" so i would keep some allignment together. my question is seeing i didnt have any metal to compare on my Rocker Panels, i was putting them together on my bench, and it just didnt seem right to me, i know the inner rocker is made for trucks also with the raised floorpan, so i planned on flattening out the lip sticking straight up. and i clamped it together, figuring i would weld it up first and then install it on the truck. please help.. point this newbie in the right direction...

Marc

 

[K85 Octane]

ahh, good ol' west coast, prolly the only good thing about my '85 blazer lol
gezz, it's even attacked your workbench! Hybrid wood rust!

keep us informed, big project...

 

[Ck1500]

lol that was my wife with a hammer... needless to say she missed her target

 

[Ck1500]

help

seeing i didnt have any metal left is the way i have the inner/outer rocker clamped. is that correct? would like to know before i go welding it up today. the lip on the top seems to be quite high... but if i drop the inner so the lip isnt sticking so far up the boxed part doesnt seem to be reinforcing it. any help would be greatly appreciated

i tried looking at what i had before.. but "no metal was left" so its hard to go off the misleading rust.

 

[tRustyK5]

I think you're best to leave the inner part off for now. Get the outer tacked/clamped where it needs to go first. Then you need to align the formed section of the inner with the front floor area so it all fits the way it should. It's also a bad idea to weld a couple of sheet tin pieces like that together on a bench. You could very easily end up with a completed part that is twisted, warped and will no longer fit the truck decently.

Rene

 

[Ck1500]

very good

thats very good advice!!!!!

lets just hope that my drivers side works out seeing i already had it welded, and if not oh well im out about 30 bucks lol. got my kick panel welded in on the drivers side and both cab mounts replaced, and front floor section under the pedals is temped in. been kinda slow going with work averaging me 60-80 hours a week so maybe this sunday if i am not to tired from Saturdays Motocross i might get some more work done!! i will post pics of progress once i get a little further ahead. i have them of the progress so far, but will group them up some!

and as for the welder i am using a MillerMatic 130, so its not as fancy as your guys's 135 but its doing the trick for me, but i think its time to invest in a auto darkening mask, getting tired of the flip up and down!

 

[tRustyK5]

My floor, didn't get a before pic on the pass side...looked about the same as the drivers side though.

Kept slowly cutting chunks of ugly until I started finding solid parts. Fabbed all my own patches from the leftover box side I had. Seems thicker than the aftermarket panels you get. Also bought a couple of pieces of 16 guage for the seat belt anchor area.

Started with the body mount under the seat belt area, and worked out from there. Made my own inner rocker.

Damn flash wouldn't work...I tried to lighten it up as best I could.

Got the rocker fit up and tacked/clamped. Pretty happy with it...but my welder is out of shield gas now. Hopefully I can get that refilled on Wednesday.

Then all i need on this side is the lower corner behind the door.

Rene

 

[Ck1500]

wow

very impressive there tRusty!!! i havent gotten a chance to work on mine today. had some family things going on. but your work is looking VERY nice!!!!!!!!

if mine turns out 1/2 as good as that i will be happy!!

keep the pics comming tRusty!!!!!! your inspiring me to work on my project more and more!!!

 

[tRustyK5]

I figure another three or four hours on the passenger side...then I tackle the drivers for the home stretch. I think I have about 12-14 hours into the passenger floor so far. Gas on Wednesday...then hopefully the motivation to finish the pass side up. Weekend will be drivers side.

Gotta find a good paint supplier here and make a final decision on paint color.

Rene

 

[Ck1500]

a little progress

got the drivers side in place, and decided to tackle the rear... next.. before moving to passenger side.

gotta love the Fred Flinstone look.... i got tailpan, tailgate post, and some flooring parts comming tommarow so i have to wait... grrr i hate waiting...
well i decided to throw a little undercoat on the areas that will be covered over, so i guess its not a complete waste lol.
and yes this truck is finally inside the garage. on my old junk rims is the only way it would fit.

i think instead of operation holy rust i should of named it operation No Metal left!! lol

 

[Ck1500]

got a little more done

welp i know its going slow guys but, i am actually making some progress...not alot, but getting there, it would go alot faster if job wasnt in the way lol... well it beats being unemployed!

i ran outta gas for the welder, and decided i would tack the metal in with the old roll of fluxcore i had.. grrr i cant wait to get some gas lol. and yes the front piece has not been tacked down yet! and the inspection plate on the tailgate will be replaced. i was just using the old one for me to crawl around on.

here is how the rear floor and tailgate and tailgate post looks with some tacks on it. now bear with me, i am just a heating and cooling guy pretending to know what i am doing!.. so be nice on the flames lol

Ck1500

 

[tRustyK5]

Looking good!

I hope to get some time in on mine this weekend too.

Rene

 

[sierra896]

Looks good to me! Hope mine turns out this good, when I have to try it for the first time.