TnA's 86 Jimmy Shop Build / Product Development Thread - (Trailing Arms?!?!)

[CFMi]

TnA submitted a new Build:

TnA's 86 Jimmy Shop Build / Product Development Thread - (Trailing Arms?!?!)

Hey All!!!!
Well, I've been looking for a while now, and finally found the right K5 for the shop! She is an '86, the body is pretty darn straight, and the frame is completely virgin. ZERO rust on the frame anywhere, and minimal rust anywhere on the body too! All the factory brackets are in tact and it doesn't appear to have been in any accidents at all. And there are NO, that's right, NO, cracks anywhere near the steering box yet! That's all the Super Good news.
The small amount of bad news is that the PO tried to do an engine swap (was originally a 305ci small block) and completely went in over their head. We are talking about things like wiring cut apart, valve covers on the wrong sides, the wrong radiator in there, bolts missing or loose, and the best part - the windshield washer was plumbed from the washer pump directly to engine vacuum!!! I came very close to falling on the floor in tears over that one, lol! Needless to say, after two days of her being at the shop, she is up and running and moving under her own power. Still plenty to fix in the engine bay though, but at least I know that the motor they had sitting in there is good! WooHoo!! Just an added bonus though, really would have still been worth it even if the motor was junk. What do you all think??

Okay, now she needs a name!! Names already taken by my own rigs and close friends (in other words, not available) are...
Truckie
Beastly
Husky
Dominus
Tripod
The Sheep

I'm sure something will eventually stick, but I'm open to ideas... Maybe nothing having to do with the Silver color, because I'm thinking she'll probably go a dark candy red or maroon of some sort. But not 100% sure on that either.

-Darren


P.S. - The bumpers are on there with only 2 bolts each, that's why they are hanging funny, not because of bent brackets or anything

View attachment 230365

Read more about this build here...

 

[Mark1968]

Nice truck. Tripod is an unusual name for a vehicle. More appropriate for a midget IMO.

 

[CFMi]

Nice truck. Tripod is an unusual name for a vehicle. More appropriate for a midget IMO.

Lol, it's an old Toyota on stiff leaf springs but locked all around. It spends more time on three wheels than four, hence the name, kind of a joke that stuck... I think I might even be responsible for the name originally, sorry Nick... It's still impressive what it goes over though, even being so stiff!

 

[magik235]

Nice looking K5

 

[mrk5]

Looks like a good starting point.

 

[Smokinthehippies]

Does that mean potentially more products for us.

 

[Jester1]

With those hot 80's enkei directional rims and bolt on nerf bars it is a Lund moonvisor and a fire stick antenna attached to the mirror away from being called the mullet.

Nice looking body and great starting rig though. It's still nice to know there are still mid 80's virgins out there.

 

[CFMi]

Does that mean potentially more products for us.

YES!!! That is the main purpose of getting this one I'll be working on a bunch of new stuff over time on this one.

With those hot 80's enkei directional rims and bolt on nerf bars it is a Lund moonvisor and a fire stick antenna attached to the mirror away from being called the mullet.

Nice looking body and great starting rig though. It's still nice to know there are still mid 80's virgins out there.

Lol, you know I thought the same thing... I was even going to unbolt the nerf bars before I took a picture of it, but it turns out that someone welded them on. So they will definitely come off when I have the chance. Oh, and there are two small circles with a hole in the middle and a bolt pattern around them on the roof - so I'm pretty sure it had two whip antennas mounted up there at some point in time. Yep, it was probably even called the "Mullet" some time ago... Lol.

-Darren

 

[Deuling]

Please don't destroy that pretty sheet metal....


Great looking k5, What's the plans for it?

 

[nvrenuf]

Do you want product suggestions here or in the vendor forum?

 

[CFMi]

Please don't destroy that pretty sheet metal....


Great looking k5, What's the plans for it?

Well, the sheet metal isn't the greatest... it looks good from a distance, but it has quite a few dings and dents. And there are always replacement panels. BUT... She will definitely get some serious rocker protection (Probably 2"x4" rectangular tube to replace the rocker panels), and she might end up with some DOM steel tube fenders in case we rub a tree or rock. I'll try to preserve the body as best as I can before she goes and does anything too hardcore

Plans include a fuel injection swap, probably first, then some of my bolt-ons that I currently produce. A winch cradle, engine crossmember, rear shackle flip to get rid of the 4" blocks to start with. I plan on re-designing the winch cradle center section to create a "modular bumper" sort of thing. With that, there will be two different (maybe more?) side bolt-ons, so that we can make a bumper for you if you want to keep the factory fenders in-tact, or a high-clearance setup if you want to trim the fender "fangs" off. After that, I'm not sure where I'll go next, but I have a ton of ideas so we'll just have to see where it leads. Eventually, my goal is to get a full under-belly crossmember/skidplate/link mount so that a reverse-triangulated 4-link will be feasible in the front and the rear, with coilovers.

Do you want product suggestions here or in the vendor forum?

You can blast away at ideas here if you'd like. If you have something specific to a product that already has a thread in the vendor forum though, you could always post it there too Either way, I'm listening and trying to devote 2 days a week (or more if I can) to K5 stuff now!

-Darren

 

[Richcz28]

subscribed

 

[nvrenuf]

alrighty then....

Transfer case crossmember(s).

Nobody makes anything for a doubler set up but there's high demand. Look at all the ideas and replies in he "Mother of all crossmembers" thread. I realize you'd need a doubler to do it though. Even an unfinished do it yourself kit would be better than nothing.

Something I've always thought would be a hit is a flat belly skid / crossmember like those available for jeeps.

 

[CFMi]

alrighty then....

Transfer case crossmember(s).

Nobody makes anything for a doubler set up but there's high demand. Look at all the ideas and replies in he "Mother of all crossmembers" thread. I realize you'd need a doubler to do it though. Even an unfinished do it yourself kit would be better than nothing.

Something I've always thought would be a hit is a flat belly skid / crossmember like those available for jeeps.

Stock replacement crossmember is on the list already, and since I already make a badass Jeep replacement that includes link mounts for a reverse triangulated 4-link on a Cherokee, that thought has already crossed my mind for the GM's too. It will be a ways down the list, but plan on it!!

-Darren

 

[Deuling]

Complete frame boxing kit for an 80s blazer.

 

[CFMi]

Complete frame boxing kit for an 80s blazer.

That's a suggestion that I haven't had yet - it would take a lot of steel, and a TON of time to get all the curves and angles close enough to weld in. I'll def. keep it in mind, it sounds like a good idea, especially for these older trucks with the flexy frames! But hey, at least they aren't Fords with swiss cheese frames from the factory, right?!??!

-Darren

 

[Deuling]

That's a suggestion that I haven't had yet - it would take a lot of steel, and a TON of time to get all the curves and angles close enough to weld in. I'll def. keep it in mind, it sounds like a good idea, especially for these older trucks with the flexy frames! But hey, at least they aren't Fords with swiss cheese frames from the factory, right?!??!

-Darren

If you have cardboard and a way to transfer drawings to a computer it wouldn't be that bad. I've seen shops and had a flange cut that I drew that the guy scanned it directly into the plasma table.


Cardboard---> trace to paper----> scan to a cad file---> burn--->SEND TO DEULING FOR TEST RUN

 

[Smokinthehippies]

I think a flatbelly kit would be better than 4 tits.
figure a tcase clocking ring with a better xmember and skid setup. bammo.

 

[CFMi]

Well, if you were watching the winch cradle thread, you've already seen these, but I should post them in here too, since it was done to this K5...

I pulled off the front factory bumper and bolted on one of my winch cradles so that I could take some measurements for the other thread. I was planning on making up some new design "side wings" that would bolt on and make a complete front bumper and form around the factory fenders without trimming them. BUT........ I'm not sure it's the best route to go down. The winch cradle fits up in there so tight (designed that way, for the crawlers out there) that I would almost have to bring the new side "wings" forward just to get around the fender "fang". I'm not sure that will look very good. Also, the winch cradle design requires a non-integrated winch be installed because the solenoid box needs to be able to be mounted somewhere NOT on top of the winch. Here are some pics:

As you can see, it barely sticks out past the end of the frame rail. So, I think I am going to design a new center section that bolts to the frame and holds a winch, but sticks out further, so that an integrated style winch can be mounted. I think I'll design it around dimensions of the Warn that has the air compressor in it - I think then most anything will fit in there other than maybe an old 8274. I still like the idea of bolt-on sides though, for easier shipping and for those that might want to build tube off of it.

I'll keep you posted.

-Darren

 

[Deuling]

I think a flatbelly kit would be better than 4 tits.
figure a tcase clocking ring with a better xmember and skid setup. bammo.

Hey then maybe I could just float over the sand instead of....