Story of two '72 K5's build

[scottishdave]

The following is the quick tear down of a rusted 72" K5, the quick purchase of all the cool kid parts, an attempted resto, followed by admited defeat and the purchase of a much much nicer and running 72' k5 which will now be the lucky recipient of the cool kid parts. Enjoy

 

[scottishdave]

Here is what i am starting with, parked next to my 96' tahoe

 

[scottishdave]

I got the first batch of parts in today from Jegs...Thank god for ReEnlistment bonus's

Also "found" 2 brand new 37x12.50r16.5 goodyear mt's on HMMV rims. Thanks USMC.

 

[scottishdave]

Still waiting on new long block to come in. I start leave on monday and will hopefuly start the process of getting all the body panels off to take to a body shop and see what can be fixed and what replacement pieces i should buy. There is some pretty bad rust on this truck, the passenger side rockers are non-existant now. I plan on getting the body off the frame and getting the rust off the frame, boxing the frame and coating it.

I know i have posted this all in one night, but this has happened over a few days...

Axles also came in today..this has been a good Saturday. I got a Corp 14bolt FF with 4.56 and Detroit and this Dana 60f with 4.56 for $1850 dropped off at my house. They came out of a running Military 1-ton chevy.

 

[y5mgisi]

Subscribed! Should be good!

 

[scottishdave]

Hope so, think the wife is sick of it already, and i havent even started working. Have spent alot of time try to research things and figure out what parts i want and stuff like that...

 

[Greg72]

Welcome aboard!

1st post on CK5 and he's already a paid member........nice.


Looks like you've been doing quite a bit of reading (lurking) already, and have a good sense of what needs to be done.... if you get stuck, just post up a question and we'll help you out.

 

[bp71k5]

subscribed

 

[scottishdave]

Almost zero progress today. First i had to replace the u-joint on my tahoe and then dump a few tahoe loads of lumber. I had just got that piece between the hood and windshield and had started on the bumper when rain started pouring on me. Also managed to shear 3 bolt heads right off. But in the end progress is progress i guess, hopefuly no rain tommorow.

 

[y5mgisi]

Bum deal. Good luck on tomorrow!

 

[scottishdave]

Well a huge rainstorm is rolling through as we speak and i dont think i am getting anything done today. Some good news though...the GM crate 350 will be dropped off tomorow and driving around today i saw a private residence with a small shop and a bunch of old 50's and 60's trucks and cars, some restored very nice. I stoped to talk to the guy who is a retired Marine with nothing to do so he builds rat-rods and after a while of BSing he told me to bring my body pieces by as i pull them off and he will school me up on body work as we go. He has a buddy who does commercial AC who supplies him with endless sheetmetal, and he has tools galore and a paint booth.

 

[ChefBear]

Nice

Subscrided

 

[scottishdave]

Few questions after reading through some of the build threads involving major rust repair like gregg72's.

1. Where were you getting the replacement panels that were not fitting correctly. Does anyone know how good the quality and fitment of LMC panels are. Especialy Rocker pieces as my passenger side is almost gone now.

2. Does anyone know about any issues with pop-riveting? The guy i have been talking to uses alot of pop-riveting v.s. welding on his metal work. I have looked at alot of his cars and they look very good, but they are rat-rods and not trucks that will be getting banged around.

Also, its still dumping buckets outside. The last 3 days now were supposed to be spent working on stripping the body down to the tub. So far...nothing.

 

[scottishdave]

Managed to squeeze in a few hours today. Got the Fenders and inner fenders off along with grill and bumper. Used ALOT of PB blaster but didnt break or shear any bolts this time. Also picked up a hood from a local junk yard which is in real nice shape. Here you can see alot of the rust on the old hood, and rockers, and doors.

 

[bp71k5]

1. Where were you getting the replacement panels that were not fitting correctly. Does anyone know how good the quality and fitment of LMC panels are.

In most cases, most all of the replacement panels are all made by the same place in Taiwan. None of them fit perfectly and as long as you expect that, it's not so bad to deal with. The rocker panels are still available from GM and they fit much better than the repro's but are expensive.

2. Does anyone know about any issues with pop-riveting?

I suppose it depends on what it is. If you're trying to patch a hole in a "visible" portion of some body work, riveting in a section of metal below the finished surface and then using filler on top of it (below the finished paint) isn't a bad way to go and is fairly economical if you can live with it.

If you're trying to replace entire panels (like the rocker panel) steel rivets might be ok as long as you have enough of them and they are installed with both layers of metal clamped tightly. Many of those hardware store rivet guns don't do a good enough job of squeezing the layers of metal together before the pin breaks and you are left with a sqeeky joint that loosens up over time.

That was just a long way of saying to weld the big stuff in.

 

[scottishdave]

Thanks for the help, thats actually some pretty nice news. My fenders are actualy in decent shape, i can get by with just a small piece of metel work. The main issue is the rocker box and everything around it, but i think i will fork out the cash for the GM parts. Also think the radiator support is going to need some work, its looking pretty eaten up.

2. I think i remember reading that truck doors can be modified to become blazer doors, anyone got any insight on that? Truck doors are pretty easy to get ahold of, blazers doors are a little harder.

 

[bp71k5]

I think i remember reading that truck doors can be modified to become blazer doors, anyone got any insight on that?

Blazer doors are actually cut down truck doors from the factory. The Factory assembly manual has the required cuts needed. I've done one for mine and it's not difficult. I'm sure someone can post up the manual page and I've seen them online before as well.

 

[chevyuser74]

subscribed

 

[bp71k5]

but i think i will fork out the cash for the GM parts.

Make sure you find out what they cost before tearing into it. The repro's are a lot less money and are not THAT bad ($20-$30 compared with $190+ each for GM stuff).

You have a lot of other parts to replace that I can see: rocker box, inner rocker, outer rocker, a-pillar, a-pillar support, and no doubt more. I see an easy $500 in patch panels there and that's only if you get the reproduction stuff. I don't want to discourage anyone from repairing these trucks, but just prevent someone from giving up half-way through and having to scrap it.

 

[scottishdave]

yep, looks like a long road ahead, just need to find someone with the metal working know-how to help out or just strip the tub and drop it off at a body shop. I hate the latter idea but i might have to swallow some DIY pride and let a shop handle the metal work on the tub. Thanks alot for the help so far.