My K5 Blazer Story.

[LT7A]

This is a good read, just went through it all -- along for the ride now. Sorry about the 'shaft. You caught it before before it dropped and that counts for a lot in my book. At highway speeds if it dropped out, your trans loses it's juice at speed, you have no power, and that thing could be going end-over-end toward whoever is behind you. Nice catch.

I'm now trying not to want a K5. So feel free to stop making this one look so good.

[Zoomad75]

Thanks guys. It was a really dumb mistake to overlook it. Even more so since Larry saw daylight under the rear tires on it's maiden voyage home when it was hitting bumps. Could be the inverted shocks causing the ride, the driveshaft might be a touch too long and most certainly incorrect angles.

Just spent my one whole day off today getting my furnace running again, so nothing got done on the K5 today. Going to sleep with the temp being higher than the 54 degrees it was inside last night was worth it. As the way things go, it will be 80 here tomorrow so getting the furnace going has some of the best timing I've seen in a while.

A little mini update though. Late last week Eric in our body shop told me to bring the tuffy console back in as they were going to spray some more bedliner. So I did and our new painter did spray everything but the back panel. When I asked why and he told me he didn't paint the bottom. Huh? I showed him how it will sit and I saw the light bulb went off. Lesson everybody, paint fumes make you do dumb stuff. Use your respirator! Still what he got done looks good.

[Zoomad75]

Ok, it's been a while. I haven't been sitting on my tail end the whole time. I've gone almost insane overthinking the driveline issue. Measured and remeasured and then did it again. Thought about getting a replacement shaft with a CV added to it. Larry and I talked it out and figured we may not have to go to that extreme, yet. So I measured again. Using both the GM inclineometers and an app on my phone. Here's a look at the GM tools measuring.



Here's how this stuff works. The basic statement is you set the yokes so they are vertical at the diff and t-case. Put one at each u-joint cap and slide the indicator until the bubble is level. Read the scale where the indicator lines up. In this case it's 25.5 Degrees.



Then you take the second gauge at the t-case and take another reading. The reading here is 18 degrees. Yes the bubble is level, just didn't take the shot direct on to show it.


By using this form of driveline measurement, ideally we should have similar angles at each end. Subtract the smaller from the larger and it's off 7.5 degrees. I then remeasured using an inclineometer app on my phone as a double check. I got 3 at the t-case, 18 on the shaft and 11 at the pinion. Again subtracting the smaller from the larger between the t-case and the shaft and then the pinion to the shaft I ended up with a 15 degree working angle for the front and then a 7 degree working angle for the rear. Then subtracting the smaller from the larger and it's 8 degrees

Either way I do it the measurments it's within .5 of each other. The target is 8 degrees. After discussing with Larry the findings we plan on dropping the t-case crossmember to relax that front angle even if it's just a degree or two. I went ahead and ordered up a set of 8 degree shims from DIY4X as a kit with new center pins. The shims are steel and well built.


The Blazer will need to spend some time back in it's birthplace for the shim-ectomy. Then we can address the driveshaft itself.

[MTCK]

Cool. Good plan. Science, I like it.

[ERASER5]

Drive shaft angles. So Geometry class wasn't a total waste after all...But I like this better.

If you use your mathmagician skills you'll find that roughly 117% of that is equal to 9/7th of the Canadian populous multiplexted by the amount of fiber contained in a giraffe fart. In laidmans turds that means flockulation of the specular moleculii. It's all pretty straight forward actualistically.

[Big Tex]

Originally Posted by ERASER5

Drive shaft angles. So Geometry class wasn't a total waste after all...But I like this better.

If you use your mathmagician skills you'll find that roughly 117% of that is equal to 9/7th of the Canadian populous multiplexted by the amount of fiber contained in a giraffe fart. In laidmans turds that means flockulation of the specular moleculii. It's all pretty straight forward actualistically.

...clearly Happy Hour has started in Indiana this fine Friday!

[Zoomad75]

No kidding...Where the heck did that comment come from?

[Zoomad75]

Since the wifey was too exhausted to do anything today I got a pass to go play outside today. Got one thing done on the list. Seats are mounted finally. Had to modify the plates I made for these seats from the 75 as the floor pan differs to the 91. Plus using the stock holes had the seat too far to the right. It was horribly obnoxious to drive sitting off center to the steering wheel. I ended up moving the seat just about an inch to the left. I made a run to the farm store for some grade 8 hardware and some flat stock for making backing plates under the floor. On to the pics..

Drivers side floor prior to drilling.






Front drivers side brackets. I managed to still use the stock holes on the front side to double up the top bracket mount with the seat. I'm a big boy and figured tying into the stock mount with it's reinforcement should help beef it up.


The rear mount on the drivers side. All the brackets top side and bottom side will get removed and painted prior to the final install after the flooring is put down.



Front mount on the passenger side. I was able to reuse the inside front hole so I didn't have to drill one hole at least.



Passenger side rear mount.



Passenger side egress to back seat shot. Not a lot of room, but still usable.


Drivers side final position. Mounting is very solid. I would say better than the '75 when I installed them in there.



I must have climbed in and out a dozen times checking and double checking the position to make sure I was lined up and had enough room to operate. I cheated to the rear for legroom as the Silverado tracks have a ton of movement. Where I mounted them, the seat goes far enough forward somebody a foot shorter could fit nicely. Also as others have noted doing this swap the Silverado buckets sit slightly lower than stock. For me being 6'1" and a bit on the large size, the lower position is perfect for me. Plus it makes hiking my butt inside a little bit easier. Still I think a grab handle on the a-pillar or roof might be needed or I see the tilt column getting loose from using it as a grab point to get in.

Still, it's a little bit of progress. The Tuffy console is going to need some more substantial fabrication for it's mounting. Still got to install the shims to the rear axle and get the driveshaft sorted out. Larry's got the plan, but is getting the burb ready for expo coming up and I don't want it to be in his way. We'll see about getting it back to the Bigassgas Garage once he gets back. Plus in the meantime I've got to get a 64 Impala ready to sell to add some cash back to the K5 coffers. It's an 1 owner survivor 4dr hardtop in excellent shape. Not as desirable as a 2dr, but a very nice stock cruiser that could take 6 to the drive-in and 6 more hiding in the trunk!

[MTCK]

Nice work. They look like they came in there. Sort out your driveline ?

[Zoomad75]

Originally Posted by MTCK

Nice work. They look like they came in there. Sort out your driveline ?

Thanks. Following Larry's lead to make it look like they could have came there. Plus the seat belts being integrated into the seat means the seat mounting is critical to safety. Larry's fixing of all the cracks in the floor that made it safe, plus I added backing support plates under the floor to help distribute the load. Had I just drilled some holes and not sandwiched the factory floor between the top/bottom plates the floor could just tear out if I wreck it.

Driveline is in a holding pattern. Waiting for my turn in the Bigassgas garage when Larry gets back from expo. We'll install the shims then remeasure the angles and then figure out what the shaft will need done.

[Zoomad75]

I've been lax in updating this thread. Been busy, but got a lot done so far in the last couple of months. Without further delay, here's the pics..

Starting the mockup to fab the mount for the Tuffy console.


Installed the Trail gear covers on the seats to be more color coordinated and comfort.


Other side:


I got tired of dealing with the stupid power glass in the gate. My tech I traded my old gate to (with the manual window) let me have it back to get the guts out of it. When I brought it back I ripped it apart and got it ready to swap.


Power stuff out. Put away so if I want to go back later.


Back to the console mount. Since I didn't get the brackets with the Tuffy it was up to me to sort it out. I enlisted the help of one of my techs at work as he's a crafty guy and likes fabricating stuff. He used an interesting composite material that is basically plastic with aluminum sheet on each side. Here is the second design. He's added a cupholder from a 2005 silverado jump seat I picked up. It's upside down in the pic.


Side view of the base:


With the box on top:


Mounting this combination is done by using riv-nuts. Awesome way to do things. Here's an example in my hand and a couple installed in the floor:


The tool to put the riv-nuts in with:


Base installed for further mock up:


Box set into place:


Going inside the console is some added goodies. Power is run into the box with a 6 circuit fuse panel. This panel has 2 USB ports, 1 12v outlet and a digital volt gauge.


Starting the wiring of the panel:


Added switches. Left switch operates a LED light to shine in the box so you can see in there at night. Right switch turns on power to a 300 watt AC inverter.:


The 6x9's are mounted.


I used a riv-nut to mount the body to secure the boxes to the inside panels. Very secure:


Oh, I switched out the stereo too. Found this gem at the Street Rod National swap meet for $15. Couldn't get the money out of my wallet fast enough. Full bluetooth capability for phone and music. This thing kicks ass.


After getting the electronics set up I had a Date over at Larry's place to have him shim the rear end. To prepare I had to fix the weeping seal at the governor cover. I drove it over without the rear shaft in and Larry called me back when he had it saying the trans was leaking again. Needless to say I was pissed thinking the governor was leaking again. Turns out it was worse. Puking right out from in between the trans and the t-case adapter.


Larry at work on the shims. He's got the process down to a science.



Shims in, rechecking angles. Still way too far off to run without a CV shaft. But the new pinion angle is perfect for running a CV shaft.


Guess I better find a place to build a shaft...

Back to the inside and the console. In my rush to get it ready to drive to Larry's I discovered a couple of issues. The console light didn't work and one of the 6x9's was not playing sound. What's not shown is a small Alpine amp mounted to the bottom side of the console. It's a only a 80 watt unit, but it works great with the speakers I am using. Here's the light fixed and you can see the fuse panel in there too:


Gotta get the CB setup too. In order to do so the Antenna mount I used on the 75 was going to be put back into service. But after mocking up, it won't fit without hitting the gate as it closes. So I enlisted my brother in law who is a sheet metal fabricator to make one up with the right equipment in his shop. You can see the difference in my blacksmithing and his handy work.


Tight fit:


Since the CB is inside the console, an external speaker is needed to hear it. Bro made a quick bracket to mount it under the ash tray.


With the truck back from Larry's I figured I'd pull the t-case to fix the leak. Got a new o-ring for the trans. Got help from by Buddy John to pull the t-case without killing myself. I thought it was odd the bolts into the trans were finger tight to remove. Once sealed up we stuffed it back in and found that the friggen threads in the trans were shredded. Bolts would get snug and then loosen again. Pulled the t-case to Find chewed threads. So another weekend later John and I installed GM time-sert thread repair inserts to the trans and installed the t-case again and the bolts got tight..


Freshly tapped hole ready for an insert.


I did get around to installing a external PA speaker for the CB too. It's under the aux battery tray.


ACC Vinyl flooring warming up in the sun:


Partially installed.


Rear in. Not happy with how the wheel tub covers fit.


Seats back in..


Got a fresh crank handle for the back window. It had been used as a tray in our parts department for who knows how long. Nobody knew what it was. LOL...


Then this came in. Expensive, but very worth it. New built rear shaft with a slip yoke and CV joint up front. All 1350 one ton spicer joints. 3" thick wall tube and built very well.


Installed. This is actually mid travel. It sticks in almost 4 more inches and pulls out the same amount. Should be perfect..


That's bringing it up to date on the pics. I've driven it once to try it out to make sure the driveline does not want to destroy itself. It is smooth now, but one nagging noise is still happening. It does not match a driveline or engine speed problem. I think it's the engine grounding out on the firewall. The drivers side cylinder head is very close to the firewall to start with, but the 1/4" shim between the t-case crossmember and frame closed the gap up.

It's been raining here nearly every night since I drove it so I haven't been able to isolate the noise. Got to move the #1 son up to Denver tomorrow for his first semester at Metro, so I may not get anything done until Sunday.

[MTCK]

You have been busy!!! All good looking work. Any trail rides in the near future?

[Zoomad75]

Originally Posted by MTCK

You have been busy!!! All good looking work. Any trail rides in the near future?

I want to take it right now. Actually got invited to run up to Hancock lake with my buddy John for this weekend. But I need to put some miles on it to shake it down before I go off pavement. Plus we are moving my son into his college apartment in Denver today. Dad duty calls.


I hope to get one run in before the snow flies.

[Zoomad75]

Im on my third day driving to work with the Blazer. Runs great buy it's sucking fuel like a frat boy doing a keg stand. It is more fuel than I expect for a 5.3 with my combo. It's all in the tune. If I can back it down from the 8.1 fuel map down to stock 5.3 or 6.0 I'll have a better baseline. Just struggling to find the file.

[MTCK]

What software are you using? HP tuners or EFI live? What PCM do you have? I can't recall... Also do you have an OBD2 scanner hooked in? Setting SES lights?

My L29 was setting trouble codes for rich condition bank 1 and bank 2 before I had it tuned. On my little bluetooth scanner, I was consistently at 25% fuel being pulled out in the long term trim, but I still got decent gas mileage (11 mpg on a long trip), the adjustment from O2 sensors was just fighting the tune.

[Zoomad75]

I'm using a MEFI4 controller. Software is Tunerpro. It can set codes but are read with the tunerpro software.

I have changed the calibrations with one for a stock LS1, as it's what I had on the laptop. That change alone has it up to 12.12 mpg over 10 and change. Just a matter of tweaking it now.

[Zoomad75]

Spent the weekend over at our local lake with family and friends. Good times. One of those friends is building a 70 K10 with his 15 year old son. We talked quite a bit and had a couple of other guys come by to check out the K5.3. Thier project is interesting because they are taking the long box and cutting it down to the short box sizing. It's got your nomal 350 small block and he told me he was going to find some Vortec heads for it to bump it up a little.

This is where I had an idea. I told him, stop looking. I've got a pair sitting in my garage you can have for the project. This was an extra set I picked off of a blown 350 from a customer at the shop. I've got nothing into them. I LOVE the fact that the son is excited about the project (he checked out the K5.3 too) and this truck is going to be his ride through high school and beyond. I said I've had some stuff given to me throughout my project and it's my way of paying it forward. The heads are not doing anything but taking up space and they could use them.

Special callout to GARY here.. I know you've been lurking on this site. If you read this, share your build here with us. I'm dying to see pics of the long to shortbed conversion. Since we have some miles between us I can watch (heckle, just a little) and throw any help I can your way. Starting a build thread is a good way to track the build, look back at where you started and provide insperation to others on thier builds.

Lakeside pic.. Got some lake mud on the tires. Truck is dirty, but it's built for getting dirty. I'm ok with that.

[Zoomad75]

Prior to the long weekend at the lake I did a "tuning" run out to Buelah about 30 minutes west of my place. Got to get a little dirty in the park up there..





I got a little mini project completed too. I've got the tach I used on the 75, but the face is getting faded and I'm just not feeling the look. I wanted a factory tach, but the electric speedo makes it a expensive prospect. Even the aftermarket "factory" tach with small fuel gauge in the bottom would require some surgery to the housing and creative wiring. So a thought came in my mind, why not put a new face on my old Sun tach and make it look like what could have been a GM accessory back in the day?

So with the help of a Member on CK5 that does all kinds of graphics/decals/signs, ect we made a gauge overlay in the same style as the stock gauges. Here's the look:



Finished product reassembled.


I had to measure everything out and figure out the layout of the numbers. The look came out good.


Heading out for a day trip tomorrow to catch some fall color in the moutains. Going over Medano pass and dropping into the backside of the Great Sand Dunes national park. Probably be the only chebby amongst a Cummins Dodge, Heep and vintage land cruiser. Should be an eclectic group for sure. Can't wait..

[ryanroo]

Everything is looking good! that tack overlay is sweet and an awesome idea.

[DirtyLarry]

That tach is way cool!

[Zoomad75]

Thanks on the tach. Looks way better than the faded face it did have. Worked good on the trip today too.

[Zoomad75]

Here's a mini trip report. Went up and over Medano Pass and dropped into the Great Sand Dunes National park and preserve. 239 total miles driven, 20 of which were on the trail. 18 total gallons of fuel used for 13 MPG on the trip. (gps mileage data) The trail itself is a mild one. Proof of that a bone stock Toyota Sequoia was in our group and it never had a problem. Still, the trail is a rough SOB in spots and then gets carpet like smooth when you get into the sand. It's a good proving out run for the K5.3. Onto some pics...

Riding in on highway 69 looking into the Sangre De Cristo range.


The trail sign:


First of many Toyotas we passed. Besides the Sequoia you see here that was with us, we passed a ton of tacomas and 4runners going the other way from us.


Starting to get into some color. My buddy Bill is leading the way in the Dodge.



Now we got color.


I'm spoiled to live so close to this. WOW.


One of many creek crossings on the west side of the pass.


Stopping to let the dogs out to have a pit stop.


Poser shot, of course.


Then we came around a corner to find this mess. Now this crap pisses me off. This idiot was hauling ass on a tight trail that you really don't have any view of the turn until you on it due to the thick brush trailside. The nitwit was going fast enough to mow down a dead/burned tree that was 15 inches across at the trunk where it broke. That momentum managed to flip what was left of the tree up and over the top of the Jeep on it's side. Had those three trees not been there it would have been upside down in the creek below. This was a newer 4dr Jeep Wrangler. Georgia plates. Flatlanders..



Consider this a PSA, then I'll get off my soap box. I like going fast just as much as the next guy. But there is a time and a place. Where this goon pulled this off was too tight to see anything until you were right on top of it. If it was dark it would be even worse. Waiting until they were 20 minutes further down the trail where it opens up and is nice and sandy you can carry a little more speed because you can see the turns well ahead of getting into them. Moutain trails are not for fast moving. It's not King of the Hammers. Some turns we couldn't see another vehicle coming at us until they were right on top of us. Take it easy, enjoy the view.


Getting into the dunes. Driving on them is strictly prohibited. Closest you can do is this trail I'm on.


View at our lunch stop.


Just getting ready to leave our lunch stop, the area was swarmed by a gaggle of Jeeps. All JK's with one TJ in the bunch. Nothing older.


From here, the group decided to take the highway back over La Veta pass, to Walsenburg and back up I-25 to home. My kidneys thanked me for that.

Overall, the K5.3 did awesome. Double the fuel mileage of the 75 for sure. Never stalled or stumbled at elevation (topped out at 10,700ish). Off road with the slush box over my beloved granny gear muncie was a different animal. Going up to the top, I made it pretty far on 2wd alone. Locked in the hubs and got up to the top without any fuss. Stuck it in drive and point-n-shoot. Very easy. Downhill I really missed granny gear. So I used the 2.72:1 in the 241 to my advantage. Shoved the t-case in 4lo and low gear on the trans and it was pretty close to creeping in granny. The only negative I have from the run is the ride quality. Despite the fact the shocks I reused were not leaking, they have little to no compression in the rear. Anybody that was behind me saw the rear tires catching air many times. Hell I even caught air in my seat a couple of times it was so bad. Bilstein shocks from ORD are on my list to get sooner than later.

Still I'm super pleased on how the K5.3 did today. It eats up road miles like pac-man, comfy as long as the road is smooth. Off road the tires and tru-trac up front kicked ass. Never really lacked traction, at all. It's getting there for sure.

[LT7A]

Glad that your rig is running so well. Cool to see pictures from the trip. I hope Mr. JK Rollover learned a lesson. Question on your tach. First of all, that overlay looks very cool. Question is, where are you going to mount it? I like the idea of a good-sized non factory tach. But our infamous steering columns that twist with the automatic gear selector are making it difficult. Where do you mount that dial?

[Zoomad75]

Originally Posted by LT7A

Glad that your rig is running so well. Cool to see pictures from the trip. I hope Mr. JK Rollover learned a lesson. Question on your tach. First of all, that overlay looks very cool. Question is, where are you going to mount it? I like the idea of a good-sized non factory tach. But our infamous steering columns that twist with the automatic gear selector are making it difficult. Where do you mount that dial?

The tach right now is bolted to the top of the dash. Currently, I don't have the dash pad bolted in though. Mine is hideous. Thinking of options to address the cracks. The permenant location is TBD, but I like it up top. In the old K5, it was on top, but over by the A-piller. Right now, it is just to the left of the corner of the hole where the center speaker would normally be.

I thought about the column, but if I mount it up high enough to be above the shift collar, it's blocking the view of the shift position. I don't like that. I won't mount it to the shift collar and have it rotate every time I move the shifter. It's probably going to stay on top, but where may depend on what I do to the pad. I've thought of a couple of ideas to possibly mount the tach directly to the a-pillar. That might happen once I figure out a bracket for it.

[MTCK]

Awesome pics! Glad you have been getting out and putting the miles on.