Good natured? bwahahaha.Oh yeah, sorry I guess I'm to young for that saying (or to sheltered). I obviously thought it was meant differently. And I was slightly confused by it as your generally so good natured.
CK5
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There may be a reason that I have seen posts on a different forum from some guy called "Bad Larry"How's this for good natured poofter?
There may be a reason that I have seen posts on a different forum from some guy called "Bad Larry"
Don't forget DirtyLarry!
Right back at ya.How's this for good natured poofter?
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Its not meThere may be a reason that I have seen posts on a different forum from some guy called "Bad Larry"
..... Dirtylarry, maybe Yep, thats my handle on 67-72 page but I don't get there much these daysDon't forget DirtyLarry!
Well, I haven't been on there in a long time either, so my memory was incorrect of who that ornery dude's handle is over there...Its not me
Yep, thats my handle on 67-72 page but I don't get there much these days
I didn't consider you, or your work dirty, so I guess it didn't make sense.
What else can I say.
Keep up with the good work!
I don't know if you have decided on springs yet but if you would like another visual just take a look at my build thread for a 2" lifted K5. It has 1 tons but that shouldn't be too big of a difference as far as height goes. What size tires do you plan on running?
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Looks great! That is exactly the stance I’m looking for but with Cutout Fender Flares also. It will be running 315’s like my other two rigs
This is what I am envisioning it looking like
So those flares require cutting of the sheetmetal I am assuming since you said "cut out"? On 2" lift and 315 (35s) you will need to. My front axle is 1.5" forward with ORD offset plates is how I clear the 35s without cutting the rear of the front fender. I also obviously cut the fangs off but I likely would have done that whether I needed to or not. The tire will just barely touch my mud flap when flexed out. However if I had any flexier suspension I likely would have more problems.Looks great! That is exactly the stance I’m looking for but with Cutout Fender Flares also. It will be running 315’s like my other two rigs
This is what I am envisioning it looking like
How’s the Mutt coming along?
Treb
Treb
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HA!
Its not…… I’ve just wrapped up a 2 month 8.1L swap project in Zoomad’s K5. Now that project is pretty much done I pulled the Polar Bear Suburban in as it has some wounds that need licking too (hydrobooster sprouted a leak all over my damn driveway and needed to be swapped out with another Napa warrantied unit, needs some rework on the clutch situation along with a SYE install, new driveline, yada yada yada). Once that is done, I have an 85 K20 coming in for a L29 swap and after that I have to tear into my K10 to lick its wounds from last years desert trip. I wanted to get the Suburban ironed out before I tear into the K10 just in case the K10 isn’t ready to roll for Desert Trip 2021 I’ll take it instead…..or the Power Wagon if I decide to spend the dough for a topper to sleep in.My poor Stout Mutt K5 keeps getting pushed further out everyday it seems but not all time is completely lost. I’ve been building components for my Blazer in between other projects. Right now I’m build a steering column for it. I had a column already refreshed but one of my buddy’s needed it worse than I did so he could make the desert trip this past summer so I gave him mine and took his. I have a TBI 350 ready to fly for my K5 but I’m seriously thinking of skipping that and going straight to an L29 even if it adds more time as more play money will need to be saved. We’ll see
That’s all there is to say about my Blazer. Pretty much all the components are built and ready to be bolted in. All I need is time. When you’re young, you have tons of time and no money. When you’re middle age you have a tad more money but not a minute of the day that isn’t spoken for
Amen Brother!!!
bigred88
1/2 ton status
Thats a damn fact. I can't seem to find a minute to spare lately to do any voluntary wrenching. Working, keeping up the house and the other cars, taking care of the kids- not much time left for the projects. I've just had to accept things move at a slower pace, and that's ok.
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Wow! I knew it’s been a few minutes since I updated this thread but didn’t realize its been this long! The good news is a lot of progress has been happening for the past year. Actually, progress has been happening for the past several years building components, like axles, transfercase, transmission, steering column, etc. but it wasn’t until February of 2023 when I finally moved the actual rig in the garage and started the cleanup and assembly.
For those that may have missed the progress on Instagram here she goes… I’m going to try to do an update every day or so until this thread is caught up.
First up is the engine. The original plan was to use a 60’s 292 straight 6 with (EFI) with a 465/205 and use a 9.5” semi float rear axle in the spirit of keeping the entire rig light, unlike the fat pig my K10 is at 8,500 lbs. Well, that engine turned out to be complete turd when I opened it up and rebuilding it didn’t make sense when I had a good TBI 350 laying on the floor. So, I went through the motions to refresh the 350 and Rob bought a L29 454 then ended up with an 8.1L. Part of our arrangement for the installation and lifetime labor warranty () I ended up with his L29.
Of course, the L29 needed the treatment where it got resealed, all new components and a fresh coat of paint.
While it was torn down, I canned the 4x reluctor wheel and replaced it with a L21 24x reluctor in order to be able to use the 0411 ECM like our 8.1Ls use. Although, I do plan on using the L29 distributor and not do coil near plug like a L21 454. One of the things I absolutely hate about LS engines and 8.1L is the fact they are so gawd dam ugly with the coil packs on the valve covers. I totally get it that the dizzys in 96 and later GM V8s were trash, I still don’t want coil near plug. I’ll be happy to carry an extra dizzy or 2 with me.
The next thing that happened in the Spring of 2022 was once the decision was made to go with a Big Block, I felt more comfortable moving to a different rear axle besides the 9.5” semi floater that I had already built for it. As luck would have it, there was a guy in our Cars and Coffee club with a 72 C10 with a leaf spring Dana 60 in the rear with a horrible pinion seal leak. Someone talked him into a 14 BFF with 2.73 gears so he could get some fuel economy on the highway (Ya, don’t even get me started on that ordeal). Fortunately, this guys poor decision was a good score for me as I got his 4:10 full-floating Dana 60 for $50! Now some would say, why not a 14 BFF. Well, good question….when he first offered me this axle I didn’t think much about it then when I started looking at selectable lockers there are far more options for a Dana 60 over a 14 BFF all day long. I’ve already ran Detroit Lockers in 14 bolts and will never do that again, I already have an ARB in the 14 BFF in the K10 and love it, but its finicky and I want something different, which will be a cable operated OX locker for the D60. I’ve already built the axle but probably won’t add the OX locker until its roadworthy.
Typical backing plate wear marks
Typical backing plate repair
And it has slip-off drums! I didn’t realize D60 full-floaters were slip offs back then. And don’t even ask about rear disk brake swaps. I don’t participate in those
Then February 2023 rolled around and I finally brought the carcass inside to begin the building. At this point, is like a big model car kit with all the main bits ready to fly. Pretty much just clean up the tub and frame then start bolting it together.
This rig had the most cracked up floor of any K5 I’ve ever seen!
Funny things
Pretty clean machine
After busting my ass a few times on the frame horns, they got bumper pads!
For those that may have missed the progress on Instagram here she goes… I’m going to try to do an update every day or so until this thread is caught up.
First up is the engine. The original plan was to use a 60’s 292 straight 6 with (EFI) with a 465/205 and use a 9.5” semi float rear axle in the spirit of keeping the entire rig light, unlike the fat pig my K10 is at 8,500 lbs. Well, that engine turned out to be complete turd when I opened it up and rebuilding it didn’t make sense when I had a good TBI 350 laying on the floor. So, I went through the motions to refresh the 350 and Rob bought a L29 454 then ended up with an 8.1L. Part of our arrangement for the installation and lifetime labor warranty (
) I ended up with his L29.Of course, the L29 needed the treatment where it got resealed, all new components and a fresh coat of paint.
While it was torn down, I canned the 4x reluctor wheel and replaced it with a L21 24x reluctor in order to be able to use the 0411 ECM like our 8.1Ls use. Although, I do plan on using the L29 distributor and not do coil near plug like a L21 454. One of the things I absolutely hate about LS engines and 8.1L is the fact they are so gawd dam ugly with the coil packs on the valve covers. I totally get it that the dizzys in 96 and later GM V8s were trash, I still don’t want coil near plug. I’ll be happy to carry an extra dizzy or 2 with me.
The next thing that happened in the Spring of 2022 was once the decision was made to go with a Big Block, I felt more comfortable moving to a different rear axle besides the 9.5” semi floater that I had already built for it. As luck would have it, there was a guy in our Cars and Coffee club with a 72 C10 with a leaf spring Dana 60 in the rear with a horrible pinion seal leak. Someone talked him into a 14 BFF with 2.73 gears so he could get some fuel economy on the highway (Ya, don’t even get me started on that ordeal). Fortunately, this guys poor decision was a good score for me as I got his 4:10 full-floating Dana 60 for $50! Now some would say, why not a 14 BFF. Well, good question….when he first offered me this axle I didn’t think much about it then when I started looking at selectable lockers there are far more options for a Dana 60 over a 14 BFF all day long. I’ve already ran Detroit Lockers in 14 bolts and will never do that again, I already have an ARB in the 14 BFF in the K10 and love it, but its finicky and I want something different, which will be a cable operated OX locker for the D60. I’ve already built the axle but probably won’t add the OX locker until its roadworthy.
Typical backing plate wear marks
Typical backing plate repair
And it has slip-off drums! I didn’t realize D60 full-floaters were slip offs back then. And don’t even ask about rear disk brake swaps. I don’t participate in those
Then February 2023 rolled around and I finally brought the carcass inside to begin the building. At this point, is like a big model car kit with all the main bits ready to fly. Pretty much just clean up the tub and frame then start bolting it together.
This rig had the most cracked up floor of any K5 I’ve ever seen!
Funny things
Pretty clean machine
After busting my ass a few times on the frame horns, they got bumper pads!
I think I might still have a brand new Ox locker for a 60 stashed somewhere.
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Well, I want first dibs if you find it and don’t plan to use it. I bought a J & B Custom Fab triple stick shifter from Whtrhno and hoping to use the third lever to operate the OX locker. Jon from J&B isn’t so optimistic that will work so he sent me a spacer to use in place of the 3rd lever if I have to do a root canal on it
Back to the update……
Then it was time to start cleaning up the frame. The frame was very nice with no rust issues to deal with at all.
With the center and rear section of the frame all cleaned up and painted it was time to move to the front
With a rust free frame, it was all pretty easy work with paint stripper and driver powered wire brushes
Came out nice! As usual, I used my favorite Van Sickle oil based satin black for the frame
With the frame done the firewall got the treatment
Slathered some undercoating on the seams to look like a factory job. Even made sure to make a huge mess with drips and runs just like a UAW flunky would have done in the 1980s
This paint is awesome! You can’t beat oil-based paint! I rattle canned the firewall, windshield frame and door jabs but the rest of the truck will be shot through a HPLV gun. Van Sickle sells all their paint in rattle cans or by the Qt, Gallon or 5 gallons buckets if you need that much.
I’ve had great luck with these Energy Suspension inserts on all the other projects so it was a no brainer to go with them again.
Scored a new TBI K5 Spectra Premium tank and sending unit for it. Hanging on the sending unit is a EP381 fuel pump to feed the L29
The best part is they’re made in Canada, eh….not Ting Tang Taiwan like the LMC and everyone else's tanks. Sadly, Spectra Premium has hit a rough patch the past couple years and many of their staples are disappearing. If there is a Spectra Premium item you want.... buy it now while there is still NOS around on the shelves
Then the dash got some matching paint straight out of the same can
I have a new in box eaton e-locker . . .
and love the build
and love the build
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And the engine was set in place and hydrobooster and master installed
It took 3 squarebodies worth of trucks to come up with enough usable interior and underhood A/C box bits to put it back together. This thing sat behind my garage for at least 4 or 5 years and who knows how long at CaptRons place baking in the sun so the original A/C box was done
Don't forget to use Strip-Caulk when you reinstall these A/C boxes. Buy one of these boxes of caulk and have a lifetime supply
Pretty much every harness on this K5 was roached but between a 91 K5 and a 85 C20 parts rigs I bought gave me everything I needed to go back together. The nice thing is the A/C harness is a complete standalone harness so it made easy work of going through it and making sure it was in tip top shape before looming and mounting it
I forgot to mention it got all new brake lines too from Inline Tube. Several of the tube nuts were stripped throughout so it made sense just to do the entire thing. What a pain in the ass that was!
And this nifty clutch reservoir bracket concoction that I originally came up with on Rob’s build. Basically, it is a mid to late 80’s squarebody EVAP canister bracket that mounts at the radiator support on the driver side. This bracket works perfectly for hanging a Tilden reservoir. It mounts to one wiper motor bolt then drill two holes and use nutserts for the others. This tucks in well into the fender and you can still easily reach it if the reservoir had to come off. There are nutserts in the bracket where the reservoir bolts on also but they aren't pictured here. This was still in mockup and waiting on the little 1/4" nutserts to arrive
With the entire brake system being empty it took some doing to get the fluid to flow out to each wheel. I actually filled up the master cylinder and let it sit for several days with all of the brake bleeders open. Literally, nothing ever came out anywhere! I didn’t have any pedals in it at this point so that made it even more of a challenge. I started to use a power bleeder but didn’t want to go through the hassles of possibly tripping the proportioning valve so I concocted an old 6.5L diesel vacuum pump with brake bleeder bits and ran the pump with a DeWalt driver to suck it down to each wheel. It worked great and I never popped the prop valve!
Before I stabbed the NV4500 I had to deal with the floor cracks…and there were a lot of them! Everywhere! Each one got cut out, welded and reinforced
This is my first rodeo using a 92-94 passengers side mounted slave cylinder bellhousing
This rig came to me basically 100% rust free but sitting outside without doors or a top for several years turned out to be a carcinogen for the driver’s side rocker panel. We don’t get much moisture here but what little we do must have all collected in that one spot so the inner and outer rockers got replaced. What an absolute pain in the fking ass that was! Especially, the inner rocker. The BS the typical places sell for patch panels for a K5 are just a collection of oddly shaped puzzle pieces that nothing makes sense where it goes. I’d been so much better off making my own inner rocker. The outer was a piece of cake though.
These pieces of puzzle shit were so frustrating I stepped away from this job for almost 2 months (plus it was Desert Trip time and the K10 needed love) and moved on to stabbing the trans and dealing with crossmembers, which I’ll tell you about next time because they came out really cool!
It took 3 squarebodies worth of trucks to come up with enough usable interior and underhood A/C box bits to put it back together. This thing sat behind my garage for at least 4 or 5 years and who knows how long at CaptRons place baking in the sun so the original A/C box was done
Don't forget to use Strip-Caulk when you reinstall these A/C boxes. Buy one of these boxes of caulk and have a lifetime supply
Pretty much every harness on this K5 was roached but between a 91 K5 and a 85 C20 parts rigs I bought gave me everything I needed to go back together. The nice thing is the A/C harness is a complete standalone harness so it made easy work of going through it and making sure it was in tip top shape before looming and mounting it
I forgot to mention it got all new brake lines too from Inline Tube. Several of the tube nuts were stripped throughout so it made sense just to do the entire thing. What a pain in the ass that was!
And this nifty clutch reservoir bracket concoction that I originally came up with on Rob’s build. Basically, it is a mid to late 80’s squarebody EVAP canister bracket that mounts at the radiator support on the driver side. This bracket works perfectly for hanging a Tilden reservoir. It mounts to one wiper motor bolt then drill two holes and use nutserts for the others. This tucks in well into the fender and you can still easily reach it if the reservoir had to come off. There are nutserts in the bracket where the reservoir bolts on also but they aren't pictured here. This was still in mockup and waiting on the little 1/4" nutserts to arrive
With the entire brake system being empty it took some doing to get the fluid to flow out to each wheel. I actually filled up the master cylinder and let it sit for several days with all of the brake bleeders open. Literally, nothing ever came out anywhere! I didn’t have any pedals in it at this point so that made it even more of a challenge. I started to use a power bleeder but didn’t want to go through the hassles of possibly tripping the proportioning valve so I concocted an old 6.5L diesel vacuum pump with brake bleeder bits and ran the pump with a DeWalt driver to suck it down to each wheel. It worked great and I never popped the prop valve!
Before I stabbed the NV4500 I had to deal with the floor cracks…and there were a lot of them! Everywhere! Each one got cut out, welded and reinforced
This is my first rodeo using a 92-94 passengers side mounted slave cylinder bellhousing
This rig came to me basically 100% rust free but sitting outside without doors or a top for several years turned out to be a carcinogen for the driver’s side rocker panel. We don’t get much moisture here but what little we do must have all collected in that one spot so the inner and outer rockers got replaced. What an absolute pain in the fking ass that was! Especially, the inner rocker. The BS the typical places sell for patch panels for a K5 are just a collection of oddly shaped puzzle pieces that nothing makes sense where it goes. I’d been so much better off making my own inner rocker. The outer was a piece of cake though.
These pieces of puzzle shit were so frustrating I stepped away from this job for almost 2 months (plus it was Desert Trip time and the K10 needed love) and moved on to stabbing the trans and dealing with crossmembers, which I’ll tell you about next time because they came out really cool!
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