1 ton K5 - now with even more mischief and bad decisions

1-tonmudder said:
I guess it comes down to personal preference but I didnt notice any difference w or w/o the sway bar.I have crossover w hi-steer,zero rates in the front and the axle is forward an inch.
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Same, been to atleast 100 in mine and it handled fine on the highway at 70-80. Front axle is a good bit forward with mine.
 
1-tonmudder said:
Plan on buying a converter.The snout on the diesel converter is too big in diameter for a gas crank,at least when I used one it was.
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@1-tonmudder I am, just researching what size/ stall I need.
 
I have a 241/205 doubler in mine and when I was putting it together I was warned to use a stall converter. I didn’t cause I didn’t wanna deal w heat issues.With both cases in low it will drive thru the brakes if your beatin on it.


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Made some more progress lately. Been a lot of small projects and new tools for the shop taking time away from the blazer. Went through the 203 and 205 and got them all cleaned, painted and re-sealed. Finally got all the old brackets out of the rear and new ones on. Currently set up for maximum droop so that will need to be addressed. Hoping to get it moved and leveled out in the next week. Ordering some shims for the front and will be pushing the axle another inch forward at the same time. Rear is already set 2 inches back between the DIY brackets and perches. Getting closer to moving on to the drivetrain swap.

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You need a longer shackle or move that hangers back, Or move the spring hanger forward. Promise you some funky handling characteristics from the rear like that include, unloading, spring wrap induced unloading, or the rear suspension jacking up.
 
iwaxmyjimmy said:
You need a longer shackle or move that hangers back, Or move the spring hanger forward. Promise you some funky handling characteristics from the rear like that include, unloading, spring wrap induced unloading, or the rear suspension jacking up.
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@iwaxmyjimmy I need to move the bracket back about 5-6 inches. You can see that there is a small bump in the frame rail that is in the way of doing this currently. I need to cut that out and plate it so the frame rail is flat on the bottom so I can move the hangers. The frame was previously being supported here by my stand (see picture below) so I had to get this in (even though its temporary) to be able to get to this and not worry about the blazer falling on me.

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I would see if you can temp mount it back 2-3” and see where your shackle angle is at. Going back 5-6” would put your shackle almost straight up and down I would think.
 
iwaxmyjimmy said:
I would see if you can temp mount it back 2-3” and see where your shackle angle is at. Going back 5-6” would put your shackle almost straight up and down I would think.
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@iwaxmyjimmy Definitely going to trial the location before I start drilling holes. I just had to put it somewhere to gain access to the rear and get it off the stand.

With the change from 52" to 63" springs both mounts needed to move about 5" to keep the axle in the same location. I used the rearward hole on the front spring hanger to mount the spring and move the axle back 1" over stock, hoping to keep the tire out of the front side of the fenderwell at stuff since the rear is much easier to trim. I also used the holes on the spring perch to move it back another inch to help with this. I am planning on putting the forward holes on the rear shackle hanger in the rear holes on the frame to move the bracket 5" back. With the 1" move in the front this would net me a move of 4" in the rear.
 
How close is that diff getting to the tank? Because you can only go back so far.
 
iwaxmyjimmy said:
How close is that diff getting to the tank? Because you can only go back so far.
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@iwaxmyjimmy Planning on the tank getting replaced with a fuel cell as part of the LS swap so I can size and position wherever it needs to go for clearance back there.
 
Gotcha, most folks just use an EFI tank and reuse the EFI fuel lines when swapping them.
 
iwaxmyjimmy said:
Gotcha, most folks just use an EFI tank and reuse the EFI fuel lines when swapping them.
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Yeah. That was the original plan but when I dropped the tank to gain access to everything it was pretty rusted on top, like almost through, and needed a new sending unit. Since it needs a new tank I figured I would just spend the extra on a decent cell.
 
Mojones915 said:
Yeah. That was the original plan but when I dropped the tank to gain access to everything it was pretty rusted on top, like almost through, and needed a new sending unit. Since it needs a new tank I figured I would just spend the extra on a decent cell.
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I’ve thought of building my own after I buy a AC/DC TIG rig, and cutting out the crossmember above the tank to suck it up tighter to the frame rails.
 
iwaxmyjimmy said:
I’ve thought of building my own after I buy a AC/DC TIG rig, and cutting out the crossmember above the tank to suck it up tighter to the frame rails.
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I just picked up a Vulcan ProTig 205 about a month ago. Been really impressed with it so far

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XJsavage said:
Is there a pedal input for that machine or is it lift/scratch? That thing looks pretty Cadillac.
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It is a pedal start. Will do AC/DC and run off 110 or 220.

Haven't pushed it too hard yet so not sure about duty cycle, and it is an air cooled torch, but overall what you get for the price its been great.
 
I think I’ve finally outgrown my welder, 7 amperage settings and wire speed adjustments just aren’t enough. I’ve been looking hard at multiprocess machines but would suck if anything were to happen to any of the features.
 
iwaxmyjimmy said:
I think I’ve finally outgrown my welder, 7 amperage settings and wire speed adjustments just aren’t enough. I’ve been looking hard at multiprocess machines but would suck if anything were to happen to any of the features.
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Yeah. I have a Millermatic 250 that I have had for like 15 years now as well. I was looking at all the new multi-process machines and thinking about getting rid of it and replacing with an all in one but just couldn't justify the price difference between the Vulcan. Plus I am not running a shop, and the reviews I all saw on it were positive, so for the use it will see it just made sense.
 
Thought I would drop a small update. Haven't made much progress on the K5, been busy around the house and making some shop updates when the weather has been nice. Picked up a Swag V3 table, porta band, drill press and built a new welding table.

I did manage to give both the 203 and 205 a look over and clean them up. Leaving them split for now since they are so much easier to move this way.

Been ordering some more parts and researching to get the engine swap underway. Should be able to get a lot of time out there this week and weekend so expect more productive updates soon.

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Got the rear shackle hangers moved back. I had to modify the frame a bit so it was flat. They are a little steep at the moment but by the time I add a rear bumper, 20-30 gallons of fuel and whatever else is packed it should end up pretty close (I should probably verify before I start drilling any more holes though.

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Also had some time so I got started on the front bumper until I ran out of argon. Still need to add the skid on the front and do some tube work to wrap around the sides, and debating if I want to cut up the old CUCV grill guard from the donor truck to add as well. Going to wait and see how it looks with the tube first though.

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Found some time this weekend to throw some tube at the front end. Still needs the front skid, a little trimming and some time under the welding hood to finish it all up. Still undecided on if I want to cut up the CUCV grill guard and add it.

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Another small update, got the rear spring hangers bolted in place, now to take it all apart again and paint the frame and brackets. Also got the front bumper finished up (for now, still might get a winch/ grill guard later), painted and installed. Going to dads on Monday to load up the Yukon and get it here to start the LS swap.

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The donor and all of its 5.3l of ls goodness finally came home this weekend. It fired right up and drove itself off the trailer and to its new spot, still doesn't leak a drop of anything. If anyone needs anything from it I will be posting it up in the parts classified (hopefully soon) before I scrap it. It definitely needs to get out of here quick, its only been in the driveway for 2 days and I'm already thinking I should chop it off at the B pillar and turn it into a small pull behind camper. I may have a problem....

Right now the plan is to pull the 700r and 241 from the k5 and bolt the th400 and doubler set up on the 350 currently in there. This would allow me to set the pinion angle on the 14b to finish the rear suspension, and build my new trans/ tcase crossmember (and most likely cut half of the passenger tunnel and floor out for clocking the 205 and a flat-ish belly). Then I would pull it all and swap in the ls, th400 and doubler. The thought her is that this means I would only have to locate and fab the engine mounts instead of the whole drivetrain at once. I am going to use poly mounts, ruffstuff engine brackets and the ORD engine crossmember for all of this. I also plan to fab a rear support for the 205 and tie it to the trans adapter somehow, then poly mount this whole thing to the new crossmember/ belly skid.

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Nice!!
May as well make something useful out of the XL shell. Scrap prices are so petty you would essentially be paying to scrap it unless there's a scrapyard 1/4 mile down the road, and downhill.
My 03 XL used to sleep two people in the back comfortably. They're also fully boxed frames.
Keep up the good work. That's a solid rig you got going!!
 
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