thinking about getting this in the morning

[schpeen]

few new upgrades to the blazer. I have been wanting to build a hoist for the hardtop from the first week I got the truck and I finally came up with something that is working so far so good. We were emptying out a rental property of ours and found an old medical bed. Im not sure where the inspiration came from but I immediately thought of the 2 struts used to raise and lower the head and foot of the bed sticking down upside down coming through the ceiling of my garage with a harness to hold the top up. It came with an electric remote control and with some tweaking here and there we came up with this set up made from alum tube.

[schpeen]

changed out the steering wheel and the turn signal stalk. Still need to hook up the cruise.

[Ski-me]

A few things for you to think about.

Steering box, either Napa or Redhead (being more expensive). I have the Napa on the blazer and the Redhead on my 2500 Yukon XL. Both are good so far.

Horn honking. Because I've done the steering column a few times now, I also got the extra horn honking. Found out that on re-assembly, a part or two were not in properly. After redoing it, problem went away. If your gutsy, you can get into it.

If it was an electric speedo, "easier fix" but cable....you're then playing with different speedo gears to get it right. A few MPH is probably as close as you're going to get. Just annoying really on OCD.

My electrical is spot on and pretty cool! Fully adjustable with the DRAC.

Nice to hear from you! My wife will head your way next month to get some warmth....she needs it!

[schpeen]

bought the Napa box and it was totally wrong one so not wanting to mess around with the clowns at the Nappa store I ordered the red top and now the truck is 10 times better. this box seems to give me the same tight ratio I had before but it is really stiff now. crazy the difference the way it tracks now. That red top is way beefier than the stock box for sure. thanks for the recommendation we had never heard of them before now

[schpeen]

red top installed

[schpeen]

from the side

[Ski-me]

Great, glad to hear it worked out! I was also thinking about getting the Redhead but when I brought it old box into Napa, I didn't have a receipt....very old. I think the PO bought it from Napa but I was going by memory. The guy played on his computer and then said, "found one" and exchanged it for a new one, free of charge. So worth putting on a new one for free!

It could be better, I'm sure but worth getting a new refresh. And my 16 yr old daughter is driving it now so need to have it as tight as I can! She's still learning.....

Glad to see you got rid of the rag joint steering. I'm sure that added to the tightness too.

What did you pay for the Redhead?

[schpeen]

towed the donzi today. they are pretty close in age

[68Timber]

Sweet. How'd the braking go with the boat in tow? Any pushing?

[Ski-me]

OK, what is up with these Donzi's?!? I've never heard of them but over on, of all places, CK5, a guy just bought one in IL and is trying to ship to CA. Really cool looking boats! I guess I need to spend more time on boats.

Yours looks very fun!

Here is the one in IL....454 engine.

[schpeen]

Originally Posted by Ski-me

OK, what is up with these Donzi's?!? I've never heard of them but over on, of all places, CK5, a guy just bought one in IL and is trying to ship to CA. Really cool looking boats! I guess I need to spend more time on boats.

Yours looks very fun!

Here is the one in IL....454 engine.

it is sick with the 502 in it! Boat goes way faster than I choose to go, feels like unlimited power for what the boat can deal with but I have seen one with twin turbos do over 100mph! Mine must be pushing 80. it tows fine behind the blazer but we also have no hills here so it is pretty easy going.

[Ski-me]

Like the softtop. Is there a lot of bolted down hardware to make it stick?

Also, like the hoist. Did the same thing in my garage but had clamps on each side window and two in the back....

[schpeen]

Originally Posted by Ski-me

Like the softtop. Is there a lot of bolted down hardware to make it stick?

Also, like the hoist. Did the same thing in my garage but had clamps on each side window and two in the back....

uses existing bolts. very simple design. it is nice and tight.

[schpeen]

Originally Posted by Ski-me

Like the softtop. Is there a lot of bolted down hardware to make it stick?

Also, like the hoist. Did the same thing in my garage but had clamps on each side window and two in the back....

I'd love to see the clamps you used if you think to take a pic next time you are in the garage.

[schpeen]

Originally Posted by schpeen

I'd love to see the clamps you used if you think to take a pic next time you are in the garage.

Don’t know if you can see it well enough here in these pictures I also broke down and found some old fender emblems
Posted via Mobile Device

[Ski-me]

Originally Posted by schpeen

I'd love to see the clamps you used if you think to take a pic next time you are in the garage.

OK....took me a year.

Please excuse the mess. We were in the process of clean it all up....mainly getting all of my wife's Real Estate staging furniture out to a storage garage.

[schpeen]

Originally Posted by Ski-me

OK....took me a year.

Please excuse the mess. We were in the process of clean it all up....mainly getting all of my wife's Real Estate staging furniture out to a storage garage.

excellent! but put that top back on, you guys are getting more snow today aren't you? LOL. I would love to take my blazer in the snow except I have no heater!

[Ski-me]

Where did you get it and brand name?

[schpeen]

Originally Posted by Ski-me

Where did you get it and brand name?

they are right up the road from you in Denver!

https://www.softopper.com

[LT7A]

Nice new truck. For some reason I want to see you paint the top 2/3rds of it yellow, ha!

[schpeen]

Originally Posted by LT7A

Nice new truck. For some reason I want to see you paint the top 2/3rds of it yellow, ha!

thanks, we love it. Feels like a little Baja truck. I find myself speeding up for bumps in the road. LOL. Color scheme matches the Vette!

[schpeen]

Originally Posted by schpeen

thanks, we love it. Feels like a little Baja truck. I find myself speeding up for bumps in the road. LOL. Color scheme matches the Vette!

I need to line them all up one day and take a group photo! LOL

Safe to say I'm a Chevy guy. Not to say I haven't owned other brands, I've owned the gamut from jeeps to lambos fords Mercedes bmw Lexus Range Rover but I LOVE chevy, so why fight it?

[OutlawDrifter]

Just went through the thread, nice attention to detail on the K5! Looks like a fun driver.

[schpeen]

Originally Posted by OutlawDrifter

Just went through the thread, nice attention to detail on the K5! Looks like a fun driver.

Well Thank you, Thank you very much. (in my best Elvis voice)

Yes it is a great driver especially since I got the AC ducts all sealed up tight now the AC blows you out of there which is important living in south florida. She cools off quickly now. I am getting it back today from the mechanic. I had them install cruise control which was a pain in the ass. Hopefully it works good.

[Ski-me]

And after that pic, I got the garage all cleaned and hosed it all out, too! Feels so nice and clean now!

No heater?!? Did you pull it out? I think my wife would love not having a heater....aka live in Florida!

Yea, suppose to have a lot of snow. Raining right now but 38 degrees. All schools in Denver and COS are shut down in anticipation of storm. 900+ flights cancelled already in Denver. Should be fun!!