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So I just drove my 1988 K5 from CA to AK.

5

5akman

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My son and I have spent the last few months working on a 88 K5. We're going to use it as a skiff launch vehicle on the beach in AK so I wanted all the electronics removed, lockers installed etc.

The mods to the rig were Summit 1787 cam and springs, Weiand Stealth intake with new Edelbrock Thunder 650cfm carb along with a Skip White Hei. I also intalled a new Y pipe, shorty cat converter and Dynomax Turbo exhaust. We put a PowerTrax Lockrite locker in the rear and a Spartan in the front. All new bearings/u joints/ball joints/etc. Since I had removed so much of the electrical, I added a 700r4 4th gear manual lock up to the trans.

I was pulling a 26' tandem axle empty boat trailer that had 4 - 31 x 15.5 x 15 tires strapped on it.

I was surprised at the poor fuel economy as I was hoping for something in the 13 - 15 mpg range but instead got 8.5 at 65 mph and 11 at 60 mph. I was running stock tires with 3.73 gears and ran the lock up whenever the road conditions permitted. Couple that with the 6.00+ per gal fuel cost in Canada and you've got a spendy trip!

Although I reworked the distributor and adjusted the new carb with both tach and vac gauge prior to taking off, I think I was running too much with the secondary air flap open somewhat hence the poor mileage.

All in all, it was a great trip with beautiful weather for this time of year (only ran the wipers for about 2 hrs of the 60 hr trip and that was in Seattle) and saw lots of wildlife. Even my wife said that she was surprised how comfortable the seats/ride was and that she'd consider doing it again.

We rebuilt a 1984 K20 a few years ago for hauling fish off the beach in Alaska and now the Blazer rounds out our fleet.

Long live the Squarbody's!!
 
Ok, you guys got me confused here, what pics were you expecting? And Canada? Yes, the fuel prices in Canada were right around $6.00 per gallon if that is what you were referring to.
 
5akman said:
Ok, you guys got me confused here, what pics were you expecting? And Canada? Yes, the fuel prices in Canada were right around $6.00 per gallon if that is what you were referring to.
Click to expand...

Now I’m even more confused. Did you start in Canada or California? If California, I expect way more pictures!;)
 
Ok, I get the confusion now. I started in Chico Calif and ended up in Kenai AK. My wife took some nice pics, I'll get them posted later.

I flew home last night and thought, "wow, 60 hrs to drive up there and less than 6 hrs in a plane to fly home, who's the fool!"
 
I don't mind flying, but love road trips. That's a bucket list run for sure.

Is it still cheaper than taking a ferry from Seattle?

There's a guy in our Nomad club from Fairbanks who ferry's the car down to Seattle to make the drive to our annual convention. Never looked into the cost.
 
Holy crap I was thinking Arkansas or something stupid. Like "he's gunna use it for a beach on a lake in Arkansas"?

BANANAS hahahahahahaha
 
I'm not sure on the price with the ferry but I shippped a Dodge W250 from Seattle to Anchorage two years ago and that trip costs me $2200.00. I figured I burned about 300 gals on the trip and paid around 6.00 gal (Canadian price) in most of BC. Fuel was a bit cheaper in YT and then MUCH cheaper in Alaska. I had not drive the Alcan since 1984 so it was nice to have all paved roads instead of the numerous miles of gravel back then.

If its on your bucket list, pay the 24.00 and buy the most recent copy of the "MilePost" which is the mile by mile narrative of the trip up regardless of which town you choose to cross through into Canada. Roads were good and I ran my wipers more in the Seattle area than the rest of the trip. You will go upwards of 2-3 hrs without any services (including cell coverage) and most likely will see fewer than 10 vehicles during that time.
 
Cool trip. I’m from fairbanks originally. I’m surprised at your mileage as well. Running stock tires and overdrive you should have gotten at least around 15 or so. I get 8-12 depending on the way I drive on a sm465 and 35s. Hopefully you figure it out.
 
It was quite a project trying to get everything done prior to my fixed departure date. Not sure on the air flap adjustment as I just pulled the new carb out of the box, bolted it on and did a quick adj of the idle/mixture screws.
 
You can rejet it to get a better mix. There is a economy setting that keeps secondaries from opening until almost wide open throttle. Have to mess with the linkage in that one though. And you can jet it to run leaner as well. I set my timing with a vacuum guage instead of the timing mark. I seem to get better results that way. I also have a msd 6a ignition module. It did help some too. Sounds like you didn’t have time to really get it dialed in either way.
 
Thats correct, I needed a few more hours of tuning time to get it dialed in. I had even bought an AEM A/F gauge but just didn't get the time to dial it in. I know at the altitude we were traveling at, I could have rejetted a least 4% leaner to have been at the best A/F ratio.
 
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