CK5
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For your use. one may be as good as the other. Difference would be installation (bolt vs weld) and price
Thanks, makes sense. I won’t be taking this off road other than fields and dirt roads so I’m sure the bolt on will be perfect.
I am sorry but the weld on doesn't prevent cracking, it's a repair like a fishplate over a welded crack.
The bolt on brace actually triangulate and transfers the twist forces from the box to the crossmember. That prevents the twisting that cracks the frame.
If you don't have a crack yet, put the bolt on brace and you are good.
But yes, the bolt on brace does prevent torsion.
The weld on plate is mostly for a repair, but does also tie the factory cross member back to the frame with the second piece that is welded on underneath (spoke with ORD about this)
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No worries at all. I’m in the process of cleaning up and painting everything that I took off of the front of the frame. I’ll post more as I get that done.
if you can, post some pics of the frame repair. i haven't decided what im doing with mine yet
@imiceman44 and I had a good conversation on this
If the frame is cracked, use the weld on plate. Otherwise, the bolt on is what you want
I’ll post pictures of the brace, but my frame isn’t cracked so I didn’t repair it. The brace is a precaution.
Just ordered all new steering components (might as well right?) most everything else is painted, by the time those parts come in I should be ready to put the front back together assuming I can find some more hardware during this pandemic.
yeah, I guess i'm ordering the weld on plate from ord, your making a lot faster progress than me. i'll be definitely be watching. might save bent from having to answer the same question twice
Haha @Bent77 has saved me a few times. I’m able to work on it most days so I’m able to keep a pretty decent pace. I’m following your build as well.
I apologize for the lack of updates and progress, besides having extreme difficulty getting the right parts and nuts and bolts, I’ve been very busy with all kinds of other little stuff. The most major one being a Jeep YJ I picked up for the summer that needed some work. Anyway the frame is back together. The axle is painted with a new pinion seal and new gasket, I got new tie rod ends and new drag Link. i took the hubs apart after hunting for the right spindle nut socket (pita) I have new rotors on (pita) the only part of the brakes that aren’t new are the calipers because they look almost brand new. I have new pads front and back and new drums for the back as well as a rebuild kit for the drums. I’ll run the brake lines before I put the motor in and then I’ll be putting the motor back in and fitting up the transmission soon after (finally). Despite trying to keep it covered it still got a little dusty but overall it looks fantastic. After I get that done I can wire wheel the underside of the blazer, weld in new floor pans and rockers, get it painted, and put the frame back under it. Here’s what it looks like now:
A few quick notable updates. First, and most embarrassing, I realized my motor is not carbureted, it’s TBI. The previous owner said it was carbureted and I never actually looked into it. It’s very obvious but I’m inexperienced when it comes to motors and didn’t recognize what I had when I pulled it. I’ll be sticking with TBI for the time being but I’ll eventually rebuild this motor or find a sbc 400 for it and I’ll likely switch to a carb setup at that point. I know it makes more sense to rebuild now while it’s out already but I really don’t have the time or space to build it. With that out of the way, I bought and installed stainless steel brake lines and I’ll be posting pictures of that shortly, I have one connection that I need a compression fitting for so I’ll pick that up tomorrow. For now, here’s a picture of the ORD steering box brace installed.
It’s nice peace of mind even though my frame might have been fine without it. I’ll be doing the fuel lines shortly and then I can put the motor and transmission back in after that.
It’s nice peace of mind even though my frame might have been fine without it. I’ll be doing the fuel lines shortly and then I can put the motor and transmission back in after that.
nice! where did you get your brake lines? i'll be doing mine hopefully in the next couple of months
LMC truck sells prebent stainless steel lines. I wanted to go stainless steel and planned on doing it all myself but I saw their kit and I figured it was worth the extra cash. The only drawback is it looks like they make it long enough so that it will work in a pickup. so where two lines would normally meet up in the middle of the frame they overlap a good bit so I cut them and re-spliced them. Not really a big deal.
Thanks. I've already got a parts list together for them to finish drivetrain and suspension so I'll add it to the list, good timing
