So ya wanna daily drive your K5/10/20/30. What would be your ideal setup?

[DK5]

Just looking for ideas.. I'm building my K5 to be a daily driver because I like to drive it. I want it to be capable offroad for those times that you need it, but it will be primarily used on the street. My goal is to have the ultimate utility vehicle for life's everyday journey wherever that may be.

So, post up your ideas. Pics are welcome as well. I already have a lot of ideas, just want to see what yours are.

 

[K5dreamer]

4in lift (either all spring, or spring front, shackle flip rear, depending on budget), 35in radial tires (BFGoodrich All Terrain K/O's), 6.5TD engine out of a 93 doner vehicle (offroad torque, great fuel economy), NV3550 trans (4.01 1st gear, 0.78 5th gear), NP208 TC (chain is plenty strong for 35in tires and mild off roading, and has a 2.6:1 reduction ratio), 3.73 gears combined with the tires and .78:1 overdrive would give a 65mph cruising rpm of 1815rpm. right in the sweet spot for fuel economy.

With this setup, and trimming the fenders, you might even be able to cram some 37in tires under the rig with the 4in lift. flex wouldnt be all that impressive, but for a daily driver with offroad potential, flex shouldnt be a primary goal.

 

[DK5]

Cool! Never thought of that. Keep 'em comin!

Here are some of my ideas:
-Bedliner with removable carpet on the floor.
-sound control mat of some sort
-Pickup conversion kit (or bolt-on half-cab conversion)
-definitely a diesel motor (i have a 6.2, but it needs rebuilding)
-some sort of manual tranny or an auto 4L80E
-soft springs with street performance shocks (road ride quality matters) or coil-over conversion
-black leather 40/20/40 seats out of a newer silverado
-not sure if I would stick with the 10 bolts, I have 3.42s now
-marine speakers

thats all I can think of right now..

 

[79bonanza]

i would do the same thing but maybe run a automatic if it was a DD. dont get me wrong i love standards but for driving everyday a auto is just easier. unless you dont mind shifting then a 5 speed it would be lol. i would deffintly go with some type of fuel injection or diesel, better fuel milage and reliable

 

[thatK30guy]

My DD dream would be a solid rust/dent free K30/3500 with a new 502 Ram Jet, 4L80E, and a mild lift with mild tires like the 315 metrics.

 

[scrappyk5]

This was my 1984 k5 that I would drive up to 400 miles a week to go to work.(atleast till gas shot up to $4.00 a gal. ). It had 14bff with locker/ 3/4 converted 10 bolt front. 350cid/qjet/th400. 4" rancho lift. 35/12.50/15 mtz's
And on the weekends I would drive to the trails then drive home. Exactly what I wanted.

 

[scrappyk5]

Had to sell either the k5 or my stepside, so owning a house and needing the truck, the k5 had to go.
Now I am doing the same with my stepside. Using it as a daily driver and being able to wheel it when I want. 4" springs up front with zerorates, echoflip in the rear. 14bff/dana60 axles. 350cid/th350. still need a locker for the rear and A few other things. But it will serve both purposes, daily driver and wheeler.

 

[ccarley]

My daily driver right now:

1989 V1500 Suburban, stock drivetrain (350 TBI, TH700R4, NP241, 10 bolts w/ 3.73's). 4" spring lift from Explorer Pro-Comp, Bilstein 5100s, 35" BFG A/T KO's.

The gearing is nice with the auto overdrive. The vehicle is faster on the street & hills than my old Jeep Grand Wagoneer, which had 3.31's and 31" tires. The BFG tires are nice on & off road, and have kept their balance quite well (keeping round too).

I would not mind a Diesel for everyday use though, and had almost bought one. The interior was shot though and, it had over 300k miles!

I've also installed step bars; both myself & my wife are "short" people (5'4" or so). It's difficult to get in the tailgate with our bikes right now... still working on that issue... but a small step that we carry works

My Thoughts on this setup:

It's too tall. I can't park at the airport, or any parking garage really. Tires are pricey, they cost a bit more than stock size up to 31" even. Like $100 more per tire almost...

TBI is very nice though. I love it. Mileage is better than my old Jeep, and it has more power.

The interior is nice & quiet. It gets a lot of looks too; more than my old Jeep did (which I think is odd).

The ride is very nice, on & off the road.

It's easy to work on! And cheap to work on! You can't beat a Chevy small block for ease of finding parts.

Clay

 

[K5dreamer]

Cool! Never thought of that. Keep 'em comin!

Here are some of my ideas:
-Bedliner with removable carpet on the floor.
-sound control mat of some sort
-Pickup conversion kit (or bolt-on half-cab conversion)
-definitely a diesel motor (i have a 6.2, but it needs rebuilding)
-some sort of manual tranny or an auto 4L80E
-soft springs with street performance shocks (road ride quality matters) or coil-over conversion
-black leather 40/20/40 seats out of a newer silverado
-not sure if I would stick with the 10 bolts, I have 3.42s now
-marine speakers

thats all I can think of right now..

Ill spout the party line here, despite the fact that ive never had any issues with my 10 bolts, the minimal cost to huge gain by going with 3/4 ton axles is a no brainer. Or at the very least a 6 lug 14bolt semi floater.

 

[COCHEV]

The best riding rigs I've owned (73-87) where the ones with the 2.5" lift. Seems 4" and up just gets too stiff and harsh. Aside frome that- overdrive and fuel injection. Also- and what most of us upgrade the least- I'd spend a lot of time on the interior comforts- like making sure all the heater and defrost stuff works, wipers and delays, interior lights, Headlight upgrades etc.

 

[K5dreamer]

oh... and maybe a winch... falls into the category of rope... you never know what youre gonna need it for, you just always need it.

 

[Greg72]

35" tires (or less) and 1/2-Ton axles.....


If you are DD'ing the truck, larger tires are only wasting fuel. Larger tires will only tempt you to go places where you shouldn't be going with a nice, clean painted truck anyway.

Big tires = big axles = big expense = lousy fuel mileage = lousy road manners


Your question is probably going to confuse a lot of people here, since it sure seems like everyone is in a big hurry to trade street manners and driveability for offroad capability.

 

[lak2004]

I would want a pickup (dont need the extra seating of a K5 and easier to heat up in the winter). With a 5.3 or 6.0 swap and 4l80e, coil conversion up front, small lift with 33-35s and a good stereo

edit: I just described a silverado minus the solid front

 

[4xcrazy]

Daily driver.

4" lift, 315/75/17 (35" ish) BFG AT's 14bff rear, 3/4 ton front locker'd 10 bolt, 350tbi/700r4/NP241

gets about a whopping 12mpg in town

glad i don't live in a city now where everything is a minimum half hour drive away

 

[nvrenuf]

For me...

The must haves would be;

* fuel injection
* cold a/c
* minimal lift
* 33's
* 4.10's (maybe 4.56, if o/d)
* rust free w/ nice paint (not show, just clean & good looking)

It'd have a nice lifted stance but still be very comfortable to drive. I've loved all my big tire'd wheeling trucks but always hated the tired feeling I had after a day of traveling and wheeling.

 

[84CUCV]

been my DD for a good while now. great truck. 91 k5. never a problem. like most of what i have its for sale too. soon as my m1008 is done that will be a DD for now on

 

[supersize75k5]

Hmm


Silverado packaged 88-91


5.3 swap/4l60/241... for the axes 3.73 gears and a disk brake semi floater 6 lug swap in the rear. 50 series dual flow master exhaust. A slip yoke eliminator rear shaft and all shafts built out of 120 wall chromo and 1350 joints. E-locker in the rear and detroit up front with aftermarket shafts and wfo cross over with a reinforced front frame boxed and plated. A factory clutch fan with an auxiliary fan for the motor and one for the trans as well with a gauge. Upgraded headlight wiring is a must with a nice set of auxiliary, back up, rock lights and fogs.

Fuel tank would be large as possible with a decent skid protecting my arse.


I would upgrade the seats to the 99-06 style, power drivers seat combo "to hell with my passenger" Decent tinted windows, a hidden winch mount set up behind a factory front bumper. Sport cage in the rear only, with a decent sound system and false floor in the rear with nice storage compartments under it with the required spare parts, fluids, extra set of clothes, some maps, emergency food and basic. Id also have this rear storage set up double as a basic sleeping platform. Add a cb/ham set up, with a pa, tuffy console and a gun compartment or two.

4 inch tuff country easy rides or a custom pack by Alcan or deaver. 7100 series bistein shocks valved correctly .


For tires, nothing less than the new BGF km2 or the goodyear kevlars on some classic polished mickey Thompson wheels.



To me that would be a great street cruiser, while setup as a bug out, light duty camping/exploring rig as well.

Paint would be a hunter green and tan combo

 

[4xcrazy]

but Shawn, we all already KNOW,,,,your daily drivers don't last but about 4 months....IF they are lucky...

 

[supersize75k5]

but Shawn, we all already KNOW,,,,your daily drivers don't last but about 4 months....IF they are lucky...

For work reasons I would never dd a k5..and it cant function as a tow rig for me..so its a non issue as we are simply dreaming

 

[496truck]

I've always tried to build my vehicles to perform on the street as well as off-road. And this goes back to when I was building cars too. I never understood owning a purpose built race car or 4x4 buggy that could not be driven and enjoyed on the street. I think alot of people are downsizing these days and building multipurpose rigs, something that can be driven daily comfortably and still have fun out in the dirt.

My plan was to stay with the TBI and 700R4 but upgrade to 4" lift and 3/4 ton axles with 4:10s (eventually regear to 4:56 or 4:88 later) and 35" tires, most likely the new MTR or KM2. The 02 Silverado seats went a LONG way toward making the interior more comfy. The Hurc on the floor is easy to clean and has held up well thus far although I don't know how well it would quiet down a diesel. A carpet that was cut around the seat mounts and could be pulled out easy would help. I maybe have driven my 2500HD less than 20 times in the last 6 months cause I enjoy driving the K5 so much, even with no radio in it.

For your plan, you've already got the powerplant figured out. Now just decide on the trans. I like the auto for simplicity and ease of use. But you can't beat the manual for durability and longevity.