Project Chump (88 K5) - ORD front 4 link install

[westn11]

I think its a cycle that a lot of us have experienced. My first love was hot rods. I have owned a few Novas and a 68 Camaro. My first 66 Nova was a blast to drive. It had a built SBC, nitrous, nice body, Moly cage and ran mid 6's in the 1/8 mile. In the mid 90's that was moving pretty fast on pump gas and M&H tires. I figured that since I was having so much fun with that car, I would have more fun with a faster one. I then built a 69 Nova which was full moly from the firewall back, 4 Link, 632 inch motor, funny car cage, 40 spline axles, spool,... all the trimmings to be cool. Except that it was a nightmare to drive!! The turning radius sucked, i'm 6'3" 230 pds, so the seat and roll cage was a royal PITA after a little time, $15 a gallon... you get the idea. It was basically a trailered race car.

Now I'm coming full circle and driving on the street is a big requirement. I still own a trailer and still love race cars, but when your only toy is a race car, its not as much fun IMHO. Trailer queens are cool when you have other toys to drive on the street :-)

 

[NTXJIMMY]

I like it!

 

[nvrenuf]

I like the plates on the frame rails, are they a pat of the ORD kit?

 

[k5ryder]

Subd

 

[westn11]

The frame plates came from a company called Binks Fabrication. They have a Blazer build that one of the cleanest that I have seen. I think they have a Facebook page that's worth checking out.

I was searching for a way to mount the LS ECM and stumbled on a link that was on Pirate to an ECM bracket that Binks made. It was very nice, and on sale! Anyway, I think I talked to the owner when I called, and we got to talking shop and he told me that he has a few products for my Blazer that I may be interested in. I ended up purchasing the frame plates from him for pretty cheap.... I can't remember the exact price, but it wasn't much more than the cost of the raw materials.

Its worth checking out the Blazer build on his Facebook page. I dig it!

 

[nvrenuf]

Great info thanks!

 

[Babaganoosh]

What headers do you have on yours? My Dough Thorley's are a hot mess.

 

[westn11]

I'm running a set of Thorley's... what issues are you having? Mine fit without a problem.

 

[Babaganoosh]

I thought they looked like they were...


I'm running into problems with them hitting the cab and the panhard bar hitting the truck oil pan. How much up travel do you have in your setup? I'm limited by 4 inches trying to keep it low slung.

 

[westn11]

Hoping to wrench this Saturday

For the first time in almost a year, I'm hoping to turn some wrenches and start getting back at it.

Here's whats happened since last Summers updates.
I bought a 2200 sqft warehouse in July
Fiance and I bought a new house in Oakton, VA in August
We got married in September
We moved into the new Oakton house in October (after doing a BUNCH of work before move in)
November started me working on my old house to put it up for sale
December started me working on putting an office in the warehouse so I can do some IT work there

Now, with it being May, the office is almost done and I have a lift installed in the shop. The few bullets that I put above don't cover anything close to the actual work that was involved, but trust me when I say that we have both been busy as hell.

This weekend I hope to find the transmission/transfer case leak and possible charge the coilovers. I can't wait to drive this thing!!

A pic of the office in the warehouse and the Blazer on the new lift.

 

[Deuling]

you shall now wonder how you ever did without a lift

Everything is looking great!

 

[y5mgisi]

Sexy shop! Glad things are starting to simmer down for you.

 

[munepit]

I'm probably going to piss a lot of people off with my next statement. Since this is my deceased brother old "project/toy" truck, I will NOT be beating the hell out of it against rocks. I plan on driving this to/on the beach, easy wheeling trips, camping, etc. The only reason that I'm putting in a built LS motor, front 4 link, full vert, is because i'm an idiot that can't leave things alone. I have to play with anything I own.

This truck will be full on Poser!

I don't think you're going to piss off anybody! Great job on the rig. Love it. Also love the shop! And congrats on getting married and the house and everything else.

 

[andyblack]

That warehouse/shop looks awesome! Wish I had something like that. You da man.

I'm willing to bet that the input seal on the transfer case is bad and letting fluid leak out. Should be easy to replace with that awesome lift.

 

[westn11]

I drove it!!

After over a year off the road (not that kind), I finally drove it. I didn't go far as I still need to get the brakes working a bit better and do more tuning on the LS motor.

The front end felt great! Now, I stuck to the commercial parking lots and roads close by (no traffic), so I can't give a long explanation of the before and after. But I can say that the front end feels much "tighter". With the old leaf spring setup, I would hear a lot of noises when turning (cross member moving around) and a general unpleasant road feel. I'll never expect this to handle like a performance car, but for whatever reason, I just hated the way it used to drive. Last night, I could immediately feel a difference. General steering response, ride, handling pot holes, etc, etc, are much improved.

I can't wait to get a few more other issues tied up and start putting some real miles on this thing.

With that said, does anyone have a wiring schematic for the wiper motor? I cut out my factory harness (butchered) and replaced it with a GM harness that’s built for a generic hot rod. It wasn’t Blazer specific, so it wasn’t plug and play. I have everything else wired and done, I just need to know how to wire the wiper motor.

thanks!
-Nigel

pic is of nothing specific, i was happy that I drove it again and celebrated with a picture!!

 

[Greg72]

I can only imagine what driving a truck after so long must feel like.....

Got to be a great feeling of accomplishment too.


-G

 

[westn11]

yes, it was strange being back in the seat. I forgot how much fun it was to drive. I need to get better at keeping my mods more short term and space them out a bit.

 

[Deuling]

I need to get better at keeping my mods more short term and space them out a bit.

I think that's the best thing for most any of these projects.

 

[andyblack]

Man that Blazer looks good and now it drives good too. Way to go.

 

[westn11]

HAD driveline e-brake install

Just a quick update on the project Chump. I have been driving it around the area close to my shop, working out some of the kinks, and fixing small issues. The last two things I need before I go through inspection, is an e-brake, and working wipers.

I purchased a driveline e-brake from HAD as I didn't want to fight with the Cadillac calipers having heard that they are a paing to get working correctly. To be honest, I have heard that the driveline e-brake is a pain too, but it was on of those pick-your-poison decisions. The caliper has to be installed at the 12 oclock position, because any other would hit the exhause, or generally cause other issues. The top position had its share of roadblocks, the first being that it would hit the floor. So, I decided that I would cut a relief in the floor to give the caliper some room. The second part was getting a handle and figuring out how to mount it. When talking with HAD, he suggested on NOT getting a Lokar or other "generic" handle as they won't have the correct geometry, and therefore not have enough leverage to generate the pressure needed to function properly?? He said that the handles on the military trailers work great, so I grabbed one... we'll see how it all works. I did a rough install so that I could make some measurements and get Control Cables to make me a cable that I couldn't be happier with. Best $40 I have spent in a while!!

The handle is bolted to my center console "box" and the cable runs through a bracket that was built into the floor. I'm hoping to get it out for a spin this weekend and will report back how well it works. I'm not expecting it to stop super quick in any emergency situation, but I would like it to bring the vehicle to a controlled stop if I ever lost a brake line. I have lost a line in the past and the e-brake was the only thing stopping my F-350 from plowing into the cars ahead of me. Once that happened, I try and make sure that any hot rod or truck I own has one.