WELL HERE GOES,MY BUILD THREAD FOR MY 1970 K5.ONCE IN THE GARAGE THE RUST WAS A LITTLE DEEPER INTO THE COWL AND ROCKER AREA THAN I WAS ORIGINALLY THINKING.GOT IT STRIPPED DOWN TO THE BARE TUB AND DRIVELINE.WILL BEGIN ROUNDING UP PANELS AND STEEL TO MAKE REPAIRS SOON.PLANS INCLUDE ALL NEW STEEL PANELS,FUEL INJECTED 350/4L60E,AROUND 12" OF LIFT AND 38'S.WHO KNOWS WHAT ELSE,AS YOU CAN SEE FROM MY TAHOE I TEND TO GO OVERBOARD SOMETIMES.





http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r310/DREW4201974/DSC00008.jpg

MORE PICS:
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MORE PICS:
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MORE TO COME AS THE REPAIRS BEGIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have fun, your in for a long road. It took me three years to get mine done, working on the weekends and after work. It appears the rockers were replaced at one time from your pictures. I would get those off first to see what is going on behind there. There is normally alot to fix in that area. Are you going to take the tub off the frame? I would think about boxing the frame. I started to do that but ended up not and I think it would have made a big difference in the amount the truck flexes especially with the big tires when turning. Looks like your off to a good start.:c2:

Nice project, those floors look to be in decent shape to start with :D

First Area Im Gonna Tackle Is The Windshield Frame.then Pull Off The Old Rockers And Repair/replace Everything.due To Limited Space Im Only Able To Pull The Tub Up Off The Frame About 10-12 Inches.but Im Gonna Do My Best At Getting The Underside Cleaned And Sealed.the Truck Will Still Be A Driver And Play Toy,so Im Not Gonna Overdo The Underside Resto.the Floors Are Seemingly Solid So Far.the Bed Floor And Rear Bedsides Are Almost Spotless.which Doesnt Make Much Sense For All The Front Rust.but Im Not Complaining!!i Havent Thought Much About Boxing The Frame Rails.iv Had A Couple Of Pickups Lifted And Never Really Saw Any Issuses.but Thanks For The Heads Up And I Will Be Looking Into That As I Get Into Frame And Chassis Works.

Seen worse, good luck and keep us posted ;)

Looks like you have your work cut out......ô¿ô. Good Luck

Ya know the funny (or not so funny) thing is: you can post a whole bunch of pictures, don't have to label them and everyone knows exactly what it is you're showing us. Keep the pics coming. Gonna be sweet!

That truck looked good in one piece, now I'm scared to take mine apart! Good luck with the project.

yes it did look good complete!
a few times during teardown i began to get a little worried,but WTF,ive seen worse and i know eventually it will be one bad s.o.b.!!:metal: :metal:

Hey man... didn't take you long to destroy that thing! :crazy:

Here that bad boy is the day I dragged it home.

:b69:

Later,
D

Dang, that looks almost rust free,except for the cowl-OUCH. Enjoy the ride, looking forward to your pics. And so the saga continues, again and again....

Someplace around this great country of ours there must be rust free Jimmy's and Blazer's. J.

Have fun, your in for a long road. It took me three years to get mine done, working on the weekends and after work. It appears the rockers were replaced at one time from your pictures. I would get those off first to see what is going on behind there. There is normally alot to fix in that area. Are you going to take the tub off the frame? I would think about boxing the frame. I started to do that but ended up not and I think it would have made a big difference in the amount the truck flexes especially with the big tires when turning. Looks like your off to a good start.:c2:

I don't think boxing the frame is such a hot idea, Maybe it's just me, I work on Range Rovers and Land Rovers, specifically the older series trucks. The biggest problem with all of these trucks is the boxed frame, we see alot that have rusted from the inside out, along with cracking the frame because they don't have any "give". Most of the trucks from the east coast are already on their third chassis, The hot thing to do now is install NEW galvinized frames. Yes, I said new. you'd be amazed at how much stuff we can still buy new.

Well Its Been A While Since I Posted Any Updates To My K5.i Didnt Take Near As Many Pics As I Should Have.heres Where Im At.
Some Photos Of The Left Side Teardown:

I Drug The Frame Out From Under It:

Decided To Buy A Body Cart.i Know Im Going Way Overboard For A Truck Thats Gonna Be In The Mud And Trails,i Just Want A Nice Ride.

Got Most Of The Left Floor,rocker And Misc In.

Got The Right Side Cut Out:

Look What Else Just Showed Up!!!!
2004 Tahoe Engine 5.3 18k Miles...........complete

Where did you get the body cart? And how much was it?

I GOT THE CART AT THE CARSLILE PA SHOW LAST WEEK.FROM THIS GUY:
www.accessiblesystems.com
GUY WAS SUPER NICE,EASY GOING GOOD OLD BOY.MAKES ALL THESE HIMSELF DOWN IN TN.
I JUST GOT THE BASIC ONE FOR $275.00 AND IT IS NICE AND SOLID.I USED THE TIE DOWN STRAPS ON MINE JUST FOR A LITTLE INSURANCE AS ITS USUALLY JUST ME PUSHING THAT IN AND OUT OF THE GARAGE.

Great progress - gonna be a sweet motor for you!

looks like your coming right along have you thought about a cage and how you are going to tie it to the body? Might be a good time to start looking at that aspect if you are going to have one. Looks good

Looks like you're making some serious progress. Looks good. So...will she be done in time for the cookout? J/K, take your time and enjoy. :c2:

great start, will be nice when you get it done.. if you don`t have the 12` lift let me know i can get you deal on one...

Nice work, enjoying your thread. That truck looked solid, surprised to see all that rust under the rocker. Enjoy the resto. J.

That looks great, what will the rest of the drivetrain be?

Nice build up....and since you are so handy with body work you can come down and help on mine.....:lol:

Decided To Buy A Body Cart.i Know Im Going Way Overboard For A Truck Thats Gonna Be In The Mud And Trails,i Just Want A Nice Ride.


I walked the same path with my resto and when it was finished I couldn't even take it on a dirt road let alone wheel it...so I just had get a second one that wasn't quite so nice to beat on. :hm:

Nice build, keep us up to date.

Jtrux,im going with a 400 turbo,203/205 t/case,60 frt ,14bolt rear,513's and hydro steering assist.sometype of trac/ladder bars setup for the rear.

1969k10stepside....if youll watch my kids ill help.....:gi: :lol:

you ever make it up to attica?maybe we could meet up?

thanks to all for the encouraging words.with a 4 year old and a 3month old my time has been limited.doubt if itll make it to the cookout but hopefully this year still.............hopefully............

I was up past and beyond attica a few weeks ago.I went to Plymouth Indiana to get a truck bed for the '71.I wasnt close but closer than I have been before.....We could meet there some time,the 71 isnt running yet as the motor still needs installed and "MUD LOVER" is still waiting on its 1 ton drive train...so maybe sometime this summer or something...I'd rather take the 69 so I can try out the dana 60/14 bolt thats going in so it might be sometime this Fall.

im going with a 400 turbo,203/205 t/case

I was wondering how you are going to get around not using the stock transmission that supplies the vehicle speed sensor information to the computer. I ask because I looked at doing a similar conversion with a with a 5.7 Vortec and that was one of the issues that came up. Also who is going to do all the harness work for you. I talked to a few places that did the conversions and just decided to give up and throw on a carb for now I know that these are being done, I just wanted to know who you are using for further reference if I go down that road later.

i think there are a couple places that sell a conversion for the speedo signal.ive got a 4l60e that i might use.ive had several issues with them in my tahoe and am a little worried about the 4l60 holding up though.
as far as the harness goes.i have talked to "tbi chips about it and reprogramming my pcm.i will probably rework my own factory harness to try and save a few $$.my advantage there is that i work at a large chevy dealer so between parts,other vehicles and a few awesome techs i think it will be fairly straightforward.however as with everything else im sure there are some snags i havent thought of or ran into yet.
ive also used the following sites for info and reference:
ck5.com
ls1tech.com
ls1truckboards.com
tbichips.com
and the dreaded pirate4x4.com
ill keep posted as to the issues i run into.
anything i can help with let me know,thanks

Awesome thread ! Love all those great pic's of the teardown. My 1970 K5 doesn't look too bad as is, but I'm afraid of what I'll find after the wrenches start turning! Oh well, as soon as I find a location to work on it, I'll find out. Hope I can document the resto as well as you are! Hope to see more! Any cage ideas yet?

gotten a little more done.
hacked off the old w/s frame:

cowl panels patched up.damn that was a lot of cutting and wlding:

more of the frt...still lots of grinding to do!!!!!!!!!!!!

frt floorsand cowl:

Looking good!!!

Did you get your drive shaft back on the Tahoe?

Yep,got The Shaft Back In...thanks

Going Up For Sale....gonna Kill Me But Too Many Toys,too Many Kids And I Want My K5 On The Road!

Good about the shaft...Bad about selling!!
But...good for the Blazer!

damn that was a lot of cutting and wlding:

That's an understatement but that will be so sweet to have all the rust tackled! Good job :metal:

Looks damn good....

Got The W/s Frame Done:

Excellent!!!

Man, I love your build thread! Any new news? I keep watching to see what's going on here! Anything new on the 1 ton setup?

NOT MUCH MORE DONE YET THAN THE PICS.ITS GETTING THERE.THE BODY TUB WILL GO EASY.IT IS IN AWESOPME SHAPE.I THINK MY NEXT STEP IS GETTING THE BODY INSIDE AND UNDERSIDE BLASTED.

AS FAR AS THE 1TON SETUP.ITS MOST LIKELY GETTING TOSSED INFAVOR OF ROCKWELL 2 1/2 TON MILITARY AXLES:metal: :metal:
AND 46 OR 49" MEATS.

MY MAIN USE IS MUD AND SAND.THE 42'S ON MY IROKS GET SWALLOWED EASY IN THE MUD WHERE I PLAY.....NOT FOR LONG:lol:

THANKS FOR THE COMPLIMENTS.
BUY MY TAHOE!

Can't wait for this one...:c2:

Me too - Looks great! :cool:

2 and 1/2 ton Rockwells :jdp: That's gonna be one bad a$$ blazer,Andy.I cant wait to see the k5 once you have the drivetrain under it.I dont think there is any other k5 in the hoosier state with 2 & 1/2 ton Rockwells and a tire above 44

AS FAR AS THE 1TON SETUP.ITS MOST LIKELY GETTING TOSSED INFAVOR OF ROCKWELL 2 1/2 TON MILITARY AXLES:metal: :metal: AND 46 OR 49" MEATS.

Schweeet! Can't wait to watch that stage of your project! :metal:

thanks for the compliments and encouragement guys.but be patient it may be a little slow going.
UNLESS....if i can sell the tahoe then most of that $$ i can put into the k5.

ive got my 5.3 wiring harness about 80% complete(removed un-needed wiring and sensors,rerouted)cant do much more with it untill the engine is sitting between the framerails.

i am researching and experimenting with a home-fabbed wheel brake setup for the rockwells so it will be somewhat streetable.pinion brakes are for sure cheaper to fab and install...im just not sure how safe they are on the street.

i am also working out some suspension ideas:4 link all around would be cool,but would cost a lot of $$ for the front to ride and drive the way i want.i think im going with leaf springs up front and a triangulated 4 link in the rear.i just think the rear will be easier fab work,its not like im building a rock crawler needing massive flex so a rear 4 link should be good enough.

well as i get more pics and ideas ill let you all know.
this board has been a great resource for great people and great info...
thanks to all..........:metal:

your doing a hell of job keep it up

Can't wait to see it on the ground! Or rather in the air!:D

update photos:
found lots of ugly damage on the right bedside.cut parts from a shortbed i had lying around to fix it.

one more of bed:

heres the diy4x b52 kit.this is very nice stuff.

my s&w 10point cage kit:

heres the rear axle,just before disassembly...if you dont have a crane or engine hoist,dont plan on thionking of moving these....heavy sob's

heres the front axle after teardown:

heres the stock rockwell shafts compared to dana 60 1ton axle.

my s&w 10point cage kit:

What do you think about that cage?

Wow...:c2:

Good to see your moving ahead with this build.

Doing anything to 'stay light'? :lol:

No really, you think you'll be able to be under 7K lbs in the end?

So Far In Mock Up The Cage Looks Nice.plus For $250.00 I Couldnt Pass It Up.

Does Not Planning To Run The Top On Count As Trying To Be Light??

Future Plans Are Including The 16k Winch.cause If This Pig Gets Stuck............its Gonna Be Stuck!!!!!

Interior Will Be Sparse,but Extra Addons Will Still Outweight
The Stock Interior Stuff..

Excellant work, Look forward to progress!!

I'm digging the tires that are on the rockwell axle. That's quite a bedside repair. Can't wait to see more progress!

the tires on the rockwell axle in the photos are the stockers..about 42" tall.heavy as hell...but will be good to use as mockups to get ready for the 49's

Wow... Great work on the Blazer, and those Rockwells are gonna be awesome under there!!!

Now that your bodywork skills are getting so good, just let me know when you're ready and I will send up one of the old Dodges... maybe not 4x4 but at least the yellow one has a 4.10 Dana 60... does that count?

Later,
D
AKA "Little Brother"

yeah,build me a shop and the bodywork is free!!!!!!!!!!!!

i will have to be careful.....dont want the house to burst into flames when i pull a CHRYSLER/DODGE into the shop...:lol:

i will have to be careful.....dont want the house to burst into flames when i pull a CHRYSLER/DODGE into the shop...:lol:[/QUOTE]

lol... hey great body work... you can just imagine what i thought(and said) when i seen the first pic of your tub..lol

thanks all for the encouragement.
if you didnt catch it. the guy with the old chryslers/dodges is my little brother.musta got dropped a lot when he was young:haha:

Great Work:metal: Keep the pics comin'.....

got some more work done on the diffs,got centers cut out,cleaned,new high clearance and strength skids indsalled.axles painted,begin assembly next week.i am narrowing frt axle,wilkl have more pics.