New to me 1972 K5

[mcmlxix]

I asked for the bird design ... It was better then a company logo... I guess they were built on a Friday. HA. I spoke to the owner and he's building me a new set...

The tank will be 13" deep to fit the factory fuel module. I also have a 1" body lift and the the frame is 4", so if I leave space for the fuel connections on top it should be about 8 to 9 inches below the frame.

[mcmlxix]

Started the motor mounts for the LQ9 ...

Drive side fabrication ....









Passenger side in place waiting to be tacked..

[mcmlxix]

Finish welded the motor mounts...
Test fit the NP205 to the 4L80e and had my friend Russ (the robot) tig weld the adapter...







Should have the gas tank cut on the waterjet this week....

[mcmlxix]

Here are two pics of the big brake upgrade on the Dana 60.... Sorry I dont have the calipers installed yet, but you can the rotor fills up the 17" Hummer H2 wheel...

[mcmlxix]

Ok. weekend update...

New crossmember for the trans/transfer case... boxed mounting plates to fit in the frame... I'm having a bracket cut on the water jet that will be bolted to the trans and welded to the crossmember...



Fox shocks hanging off the factory mounts.... I'll weld the lower mounts when the axle is centerd and pinion angle is set.



Here is the center console. I didn't really do anything to it this weekend other then take a pic. The very front still needs to be bent down. I have a hand e-brake to go in the center.... I just ordered some cable shifters from NWFab....





This is a set up for a doubler, I'll only have two shifters



the last pic is the CaptainFab booster mount and my new wire "harness" for the brake lights. I used a 90* fitting from home depot and I'm running 14awg 6 wire trailer wiring. I will be doing something custom with the rear lights...

[mcmlxix]

I forgot to add that I picked up the fuel tank from the waterjet guy on Saturday too. It's not even bent yet so I didn't get any pics....

[MTCK]

Progress is looking good!

[hgs_notes]

Nice build. I like that console. Should look good with the transfer case shifters and e-brake handle on there.

[mud.man.rj]

Ya really like the console too, most don't even run one, good mod.

[mcmlxix]

Sunday update...

Back of 4L80e with a temporary brace. The six holes in the trans are not symetrical....



Here is a close up of the 3/8 plate that bolts to the trans/xfer adapter... It's welded to the tube crossmember and then boxed in... then some overall pics







Plent of room on the driver side for exhaust... none one the passenger side as the transfer case is clocked up and is only an inch from the floor...

[mcmlxix]

Also finalized the rear axel... centered and set pinion angle ... new lower shock mounts and factory upper mounts... Not sure if I'll add a mount for the reserviors or just attach them to the shock body...



Russ cleaning the axle tubes... you can see the new mounts in bare metal and the factory mounts further out...



Here are the new rear spring hangers. The first set was not square and they also hit the body mount on the Blazer. The vendor was very easy to work with and built the new hanger and sent it out without hesitation. Kert at DIY4X is great and easy to work with. I have recomended him before and still will.



Here is a shot of the front of the driver side, springs mounted and shock tabs welded... 11" of travel on the Fox 2.0 shocks...





OH.. and here is a shot of the stainless steel tank... still flat with its protective plastic cover...

[boonedogs72]

do you loan your buddy russ out????? haha nice work guys

[mcmlxix]

OK. Haven't updated in a while. The tank was a PITA... Too many bends on one piece, so we had to trim ends and weld them back on.. Also put a little too much heat into the ring... so the top is a little warped. Its tacked together...
Trying to track down a scrap piece of 2x4 to make a new rear crossmember. Replace the factory bolt in Z shaped bent one with a welded on length of box tubing...









I bolted up the hydroboost and built the connecting rod to the pedal. I cut and sectioned the brace from the firewall to the master cylinder (not pictured).



I posted this in my brake upgrade thread as well... but ....

I went to test the Raceline wheel on the passenger side and it fit, but barely. So close that I went and assembled the driver side (I hadn't tried this before.) I tride to mount the Raceline wheel and it wouldn't fit over the wheel studs. The problem was I upgraded to 5/8" wheel studs and holes in the rim was too small. It had no allowance for being 27+ years old and slightly off center. So I grabbed the Hummer rim and .. TA DA... it fit the driver side, no problem.... 1/16" celarance between the caliper and rim.... So now I was thinking, what the hell is wrong with the other side....
I disassembled the passenger side brakes, then re-assembled making sure everything was aligned. There is a small amount of adjustment/play in the hole that the caliper mounting bolt goes through. I test the Hummer wheel again, and IT FIT.... again only 1/16" clearance, but it clears... as long as there is no deflection in my braket, I should be fine...

Another note about the Raceline wheels. You have to use aftermarket slpined lug nuts. The fit was so tight that you couldn't even get a thin wall socket on the lugnut. Now that may be beacuse I upgraded to 5/8 wheel studs and the OD of the larger lugnut take up more space, but just and FYI.

[ryanroo]

I had wondered about that tank. it looked like it might be a real bear to break up. i wish you were closer, i could get you your scrap of 2x4 this morning! i used a few drops of that for cross members in my truck since we have a lot of it laying around at work.

are you planning on baffles for your tank? if not, i would strongly recomend them. looking forward to seeing it mounted!

[Jdubs71]

Originally Posted by mcmlxix

Finish welded the motor mounts...
Test fit the NP205 to the 4L80e and had my friend Russ (the robot) tig weld the adapter...







Should have the gas tank cut on the waterjet this week....

Did you have to do any major modifications when adapting the 4l80 to the np205? That adapter looks sweet. I want to adapt my np205 to a 4l60 in my swap. Didn't know if there was a similar adapter for that. PS Russ has some mad welding skills
Posted via Mobile Device

[mcmlxix]

Originally Posted by ryanroo

I had wondered about that tank. it looked like it might be a real bear to break up. i wish you were closer, i could get you your scrap of 2x4 this morning! i used a few drops of that for cross members in my truck since we have a lot of it laying around at work.

are you planning on baffles for your tank? if not, i would strongly recomend them. looking forward to seeing it mounted!

I did split the main section in half... front to back.... had to leave space for the fuel lever float arm on the side...

... and I was politely told to consult my fabricator before making any engineering descisions... hahahah

[mcmlxix]

Originally Posted by Jdubs71

Did you have to do any major modifications when adapting the 4l80 to the np205? That adapter looks sweet. I want to adapt my np205 to a 4l60 in my swap. Didn't know if there was a similar adapter for that. PS Russ has some mad welding skills
Posted via Mobile Device

nothing special at all... but my input shaft on the NP205 was correct for the output shaft on the 4L80e....

[trkfrk]

Nice work... Coming along good.

[mcmlxix]

Sunday Update:

Started by bending a few brake line pieces... then I messud up and went out an bought some more.... moving on ....

When Russ showed up we installed a new rear crossmember to replace the factory one bent like a Z. Unbolted the old one and welded in a pices of 2x4 heavy wall box tubing. Dont cringe, but I cut off the rear frame horns too.... Well I didn't, I made Russ do it.... I just couldn't.... I'll have a custom bumper on the back anyway. I think I want to cap the farme rails from driver side to passenger side for a more finished look... but maybe just skipit as the bumber will be right there anyway...











After the new crossmember was installed, we mocked up the tank. We were making a front crossmember for the tank and I was cleaning the frame rail to weld it when .....

The tank fell off the stand from about 5ft in the air... hit the floor ... put a dent in the back of the tank... and destroyed the OEM GM Fuel Pump assembly.... It's 80% plastic and the force just shattered it. So now I have to spend $250 for a new pump... FML!
...


At this point I just celaned up a few tools, turned off the lights and left...

[MTCK]

Good progress, sorry to hear about the tank - that sucks. Looks like you are getting close to lighting a fire. So which rims are you going to run?

[mcmlxix]

going to stick with the H2 rims.... after adjusting the brackets, they clear... barely... So we'll see if they need to clearance themselves under load... hahahaha..

The goal will be to replace the front hubs with new ones and run M14x1.5 wheel studs to match the late model disc brake rear... 5/8 front studs was overkill for what the truck wil lbe intended for...



Spyntec makes a forged hub with a higher then normal offset that will allow me to make caliper brackets out of 3/8 material instead of 5/16. I can then run normal M14 studs and run any aftermarket wheel without an issue provided they clear the 14" rotors and Dodge calipers....

[mcmlxix]

Haven't done much latlely .. here are a few picture updates ...












Center console....

[mud.man.rj]

Nice idea on the shifter setup. All of them.

[mcmlxix]

thanks...
I still need to figure out position for the twin stick transfer case levers... I have a console mounted e-brake handle to figure out and a digial trans temp gauge....

Also, the front piece in this pic is supposed to fold down.

[mud.man.rj]

So is the twin stick for one only t.case, which one a 205.