I've got this problem. I want everything to be top knotch, perfect, badass. I want forged beadlocks with 40's, links, coilovers with an injected 500 horse motor fed to a triple stick gear box, cage & 5 points. I ain't got none of those things. But, I have a plan. In the past I have had cool stuff that sat for years without moving because I'd be dambed if I was going to drive it till everything was "just right". Now that I am feeling my mortality I have a new plan. Get some junk running & upgrade as time & funds allow. DaBurb is nearly drivable, & driveable is all is going to be for a while. Next winter it may get a couple items on the list but the key is to keep it driving. It's too easy to loose interest in something if it's tore down for too long. I think it would be cool to have a picture thread that shows a photo progression of people's rigs. Where they started to where they are. Kind of like a 1 post build thread.
CK5
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What is your goal? How to get there?
- Thread starter nedceifus
- Start date
My goal now is to get my K5 drive-able again and then step back and leave it alone! I have a tendency to be A.D.D. with my build going all over the place with it, along with getting caught up in the wanting to wait until it was "just right". After 14 years I finally (lightly) wheeled my truck last year and then... SQUIRREL! ... and I tore it down again. So much regret now. After Christmas I just want it back together so I can just drive it for a (long) while.
With any project I do, I almost always try to keep it usable and driveable. From my K5 to my SAS diesel, all have been drive able through almost every upgrade. I have seen first hand someone build for too long, and forget the original plan.
I'll throw some pictures up for comparison. And plus, I'm a picture whore.
Before
After/Current State
Before
After/Current State
I try to stay with streetable mild builds. When you start going with wildly exotic ideas then there ends up not being enough time and money in one single persons life time to accomplish it. When ever you see an exotic build completed there is always a crew of people and corporate money behind it. The build I am doing right now on my crew cab is a boring mild build, which nobody is interested in because it is so stock and mildly built (no LS swaps). My 1991 crew cab was worn out from one end to the other, so I had to replace everything at one time from engine to trans, body mounts, fuel tanks, etc, etc, etc in order to get back on the road.
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I have a great shop to work on my truck but I can't leave it in there for long periods of time. That plus money means I end up doing it one piece at time. Which I think works out well because it does give you feedback on what REALLY needs done to progress the build. I'm just always doing some sort of project on it. Sometimes I don't have money for it and I just work on stuff that is more fabrication orientated which usually doesn't cost more than a bit of steel.
I've been through those builds that take years, lost interest in some and learned not to do that again.
I'm balls deep in a frame up build however I've tried to keep it simple enough so the completion late this winter is a realistic goal both from a funds and time perspective.
Blazer Bash 2017
I'm balls deep in a frame up build however I've tried to keep it simple enough so the completion late this winter is a realistic goal both from a funds and time perspective.
Blazer Bash 2017
I have a few projects ( see sig line )
when I get board with one I jump to another and so on .
I am so close on the 2wheel it should be done to enjoy come summer weather next year I hope. this will be a huge motivation point for me as 1 done and few left that will be close to done.
next thing I know it will be pick a ride to drive day as they will all be done.
also long builds have helped me build them the way I want cheeper . . . as I find smoking deals on parts and don't have to pay full price .
when I get board with one I jump to another and so on .
I am so close on the 2wheel it should be done to enjoy come summer weather next year I hope. this will be a huge motivation point for me as 1 done and few left that will be close to done.
next thing I know it will be pick a ride to drive day as they will all be done.
also long builds have helped me build them the way I want cheeper . . . as I find smoking deals on parts and don't have to pay full price .
The longest down time I try for is 3 - 4 months during the winter. I like driving to much to let it sit much longer. If I waited till everything was perfect....I would have given up on this along time ago.
I like to work in stages. Just did the rear links last winter. A bunch of small things this winter. Front links next year. Saves you burning out and burning all your money at one time.
Before...1998ish
Now...
I like to work in stages. Just did the rear links last winter. A bunch of small things this winter. Front links next year. Saves you burning out and burning all your money at one time.
Before...1998ish
Now...
That is bad ass looking there MUD!
Truck 1. An Iowan barn find. Drove it home in 2010 for $1, with a failing 700R4 and a whole lot of hastily-sprayed rust. Rust. Rust bucket.
1/2-way through the bodywork phase. I redid a bunch of body work and painted it, and that was the largest "build" phase of the project. A whole bunch of little things have also been done, one at a time. I redid most of the fuel delivery system. Rebuilt the rear axle. Water pump. Rear main seal. Rear shocks. Lots of little stuff, the nickels and dimes that make these trucks completely impractical for non-gearheads.
After bodywork it looked like this (2012):
And current pictures from this summer.
Goal? Well, I originally wanted a camping truck. But the step side bed has consistently made that an impractical application, and the ever-morphing dream has left it behind. So it has spent a bunch of time sitting idle. I have used it for all sorts of hauling, but only the occasional camping trip. I don't have any future mods planned out at this point.
So there's a build thread in one single post!
1/2-way through the bodywork phase. I redid a bunch of body work and painted it, and that was the largest "build" phase of the project. A whole bunch of little things have also been done, one at a time. I redid most of the fuel delivery system. Rebuilt the rear axle. Water pump. Rear main seal. Rear shocks. Lots of little stuff, the nickels and dimes that make these trucks completely impractical for non-gearheads.
After bodywork it looked like this (2012):
And current pictures from this summer.
Goal? Well, I originally wanted a camping truck. But the step side bed has consistently made that an impractical application, and the ever-morphing dream has left it behind. So it has spent a bunch of time sitting idle. I have used it for all sorts of hauling, but only the occasional camping trip. I don't have any future mods planned out at this point.
So there's a build thread in one single post!
Lower your standards some.
My k5 is built and ready to wheel with the strongest parts and in the layout I dreamed of. took ten years of building and getting burnt out and coming back to it. last straw was when I did the nv4500 swap. I installed the clutch disc backwards . yes the one that says this side out. I didn't notice until a test drive.
Ultimately I sent it to a buddy's house and have someone else finish it. I knew it would not be perfect like I would do it and I'd pick it apart, but it would be done. he actually did a great job and I can wheel it.
In the beginning it was to stroke my ego. build the baddest rig I could. now I remember what the truck does for me. Not having it streetable and having gone full retard reminded me how it makes me feel. I miss the truck when it wasn't a rock crawler but I would think trade any of my wheeling time for anything else.
The only thing that makes me keep the Blazer with the bent frame, broken cage, and wrinkled body, is the love for the trucks. I dont give a shit about paint on the slave cylinder bracket. Or the vent windows whistling. Just enjoy it. the trucks make me happy.
I'll show some pics. what the hell.
My solution was to buy a cucv and just enjoy driving a square again. got tons? check. locked? check. square? check. ego stroker? CHECK
Standards lowered, still satisfied .
My k5 is built and ready to wheel with the strongest parts and in the layout I dreamed of. took ten years of building and getting burnt out and coming back to it. last straw was when I did the nv4500 swap. I installed the clutch disc backwards . yes the one that says this side out. I didn't notice until a test drive.
Ultimately I sent it to a buddy's house and have someone else finish it. I knew it would not be perfect like I would do it and I'd pick it apart, but it would be done. he actually did a great job and I can wheel it.
In the beginning it was to stroke my ego. build the baddest rig I could. now I remember what the truck does for me. Not having it streetable and having gone full retard reminded me how it makes me feel. I miss the truck when it wasn't a rock crawler but I would think trade any of my wheeling time for anything else.
The only thing that makes me keep the Blazer with the bent frame, broken cage, and wrinkled body, is the love for the trucks. I dont give a shit about paint on the slave cylinder bracket. Or the vent windows whistling. Just enjoy it. the trucks make me happy.
I'll show some pics. what the hell.
My solution was to buy a cucv and just enjoy driving a square again. got tons? check. locked? check. square? check. ego stroker? CHECK
Standards lowered, still satisfied .
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Rig #2. I wanted a back seat. I didn't like how big and bulky Suburbans are. I wanted something with the same 6.2 drivetrain that Big Blue had. So I wound up with this.
I quickly figured out that it wasn't actually a rig that I wanted to own. But I bought it in pieces, and never was eager to sell it in that condition. So it sat around for years. I finally pieced it together a few weeks ago (NV4500 and 3/4-ton axle swap), I'm gonna try using it as a winter beater. But I'm still not sure what to do with this thing, the K5 is just a weird animal. In the jungle of automobile options, it is the platypus.
Current pic (from yesterday):
I quickly figured out that it wasn't actually a rig that I wanted to own. But I bought it in pieces, and never was eager to sell it in that condition. So it sat around for years. I finally pieced it together a few weeks ago (NV4500 and 3/4-ton axle swap), I'm gonna try using it as a winter beater. But I'm still not sure what to do with this thing, the K5 is just a weird animal. In the jungle of automobile options, it is the platypus.
Current pic (from yesterday):
Rig #3. Finally nailed down the type of camping rig I wanted. A self-contained Suburban. Again diesel, because I still like this architecture.
The rear axle pinion seal was leaking, so I 3/4-ton swapped it. Because I like the maintainability of the full floater. Otherwise, not much has happened beyond simply getting the stubborn mule to run (when I first got it).
Here it is hauling the Blazer up North.
Where do I want it to be? Manual transmission, platform bed in the back. 2-4" of soft-riding lift on 33" tires. Expedition rig. Some camping extras like a pop-up roof would be sweet. Will all that happen? Not sure, but it does need some TLC when the spring thaw comes. It's been sitting all year.
The rear axle pinion seal was leaking, so I 3/4-ton swapped it. Because I like the maintainability of the full floater. Otherwise, not much has happened beyond simply getting the stubborn mule to run (when I first got it).
Here it is hauling the Blazer up North.
Where do I want it to be? Manual transmission, platform bed in the back. 2-4" of soft-riding lift on 33" tires. Expedition rig. Some camping extras like a pop-up roof would be sweet. Will all that happen? Not sure, but it does need some TLC when the spring thaw comes. It's been sitting all year.
Get it on the road and drive it. You'll find out what you need and what you don't.
You have to keep it driveable. My 75 was a bucket of rust, but I could drive it just about anywhere. Last time it got wheeled the end of the trail spit us out a few miles outside of Aspen CO. Want to talk about a fish out of water. Anyway... Once I broke the rear diff in that one, the plan got going on the 91 I have now. It took a year for the most part to get the 91 rolling but now it's not getting any major downtime in the foreseeable future. Any upgrades will be completed in a weekend or two. The darn thing is just too fun to drive now.
The Before shot..When Larry brought it home from a couple of hilljacks out in the county.
On the last wheeling trip.
We've since thrown on a Warn Classic Bumper, Warn xd9000i winch and a dual battery setup. I drive it on the weekends and a day or two to work. I sorely missed driving my 75 when it was broken and we were building the 91. I won't be left without one again. Hanging out with Larry puts some high standards in one's head. It's not hard to want to go balls out and go over the top. But Life and a budget will muddy up the waters some. I've had to scrimp, save, swap and sell my way into this. So in order to keep the ball rolling sacrifices were made. I had a 8.1 Big block squirrelled away for the 75, but ended up trading it to Larry for the ECM and harness for the EFI system. I had a 5.3 freebie high mileage core from a customer's truck so I ran it and used the harness and ECM from Larry. Is it the powerhouse the 8.1 would be? No. The 5.3 is running though and it's got more HP than the stock TBI 350 would have had if it was in there.
Heck, if the TBI 350 was still in the truck when Larry found it, the 91 would probably still be in the truck now. That being said the 91 isn't perfect yet. It still needs rear shock mounts redone and better shocks all the way around. It needs to be painted decently. It needs a rear bumper and spar tire carrier. The interior needs fitted out for long range runs too. These are all workable projects that won't shut the truck down any great length of time.
Even if you just get it operational and not quite off road ready, drive it. Work at achievable projects on the weekends. Pretty soon you'll have something close to what you want. Besides, they are never done. You'll just find something else to upgrade later.
The Before shot..When Larry brought it home from a couple of hilljacks out in the county.
On the last wheeling trip.
We've since thrown on a Warn Classic Bumper, Warn xd9000i winch and a dual battery setup. I drive it on the weekends and a day or two to work. I sorely missed driving my 75 when it was broken and we were building the 91. I won't be left without one again. Hanging out with Larry puts some high standards in one's head. It's not hard to want to go balls out and go over the top. But Life and a budget will muddy up the waters some. I've had to scrimp, save, swap and sell my way into this. So in order to keep the ball rolling sacrifices were made. I had a 8.1 Big block squirrelled away for the 75, but ended up trading it to Larry for the ECM and harness for the EFI system. I had a 5.3 freebie high mileage core from a customer's truck so I ran it and used the harness and ECM from Larry. Is it the powerhouse the 8.1 would be? No. The 5.3 is running though and it's got more HP than the stock TBI 350 would have had if it was in there.
Heck, if the TBI 350 was still in the truck when Larry found it, the 91 would probably still be in the truck now. That being said the 91 isn't perfect yet. It still needs rear shock mounts redone and better shocks all the way around. It needs to be painted decently. It needs a rear bumper and spar tire carrier. The interior needs fitted out for long range runs too. These are all workable projects that won't shut the truck down any great length of time.
Even if you just get it operational and not quite off road ready, drive it. Work at achievable projects on the weekends. Pretty soon you'll have something close to what you want. Besides, they are never done. You'll just find something else to upgrade later.
wetoolowdingbangow
1/2 ton status
My goal is to burn up all my free change.
Im doing very well so far.
That whole one thing at a time, just the tip thing is a crock of shit lol. I tried but it didnt work. I think once I blew through my first rig I realized what I really wanted in a rig. Couple that with a trail breakdown and I started with 2 framerails and a cab. This time I know every single detail of the truck. Thats more important than having an all out truck. Dont get burned out. im a year into my build and im burnt on building lol. I just want to use it!
I guess if I had to pick upgrades id do it the same way I did my blazer...safety first. put a cage in it. 5 points with some decent summit seats....all cheap things for the return.
Im doing very well so far.
That whole one thing at a time, just the tip thing is a crock of shit lol. I tried but it didnt work. I think once I blew through my first rig I realized what I really wanted in a rig. Couple that with a trail breakdown and I started with 2 framerails and a cab. This time I know every single detail of the truck. Thats more important than having an all out truck. Dont get burned out. im a year into my build and im burnt on building lol. I just want to use it!
I guess if I had to pick upgrades id do it the same way I did my blazer...safety first. put a cage in it. 5 points with some decent summit seats....all cheap things for the return.
It's took me 9 years to get my K5 where I felt it was as built as I could get it without having to making big money upgrades. That point I was bored with it and that's when the crew cab build started and I'm on year 4 with this build. Luckily the K5 donated a lot of good parts.
I have a bunch of these
