new member...new project

[cipioxx]

I started lurking here about 2 weeks ago and this is by far the best offroading forum I have come across. I am slowly but surely starting the build on a K5 Blazer that is in somewhat decent shape. I know it's really big, but it runs good and I am not quite ready financially for anything else. After I finish the Blazer, I am going to work on a Cherokee I have also. Thanks in advance for answering the stupid questions that will soon be coming from me.

[cipioxx]

I'm posting what hopefully will be before shots of the Blazer. My first order of business is to install a new set of Mile Marker manual locking hubs. I made a stupid mistake last year and need to replace the drivers side.

[cipioxx]

I have some pics of the Jeep also. It's a little rough, ok a lot rough, but runs good. Both of these vehicles have helped me through some rough winters and I want to get them both in decent shape. The brown Cherokee is not mine. My Buddy asked if he could park at my place over the winter...

[Scott Brady]

Welcome to ExPo :)

The K5 is a great platform. Dont let anyone tell you different.

Lots of available parts and good reliability. You also have excellent storage space, payload and capability.

It will be fun to watch your project evolve. :camping:

[cipioxx]

I can picture the finished product, but getting it there is where I falter. Do you think 33in tires are good enough? I don;t want to have to put a huge lift on the truck, but would like a little better clearance. I am going to get the exhaust fixed after I fix the hub and then work on my carge area. I really appreciate the words of encouragement about the K5.

By the way, I love the expeditionwest site Scott. I am going to talk to my manager about relocation one of these days and head west....

[DaktariEd]

Welcome to the forum!
Glad another "lurker" has gone public...
Good looking vehicles there.
It will be great to watch them evolve.
Cheers!

:friday:
Ed

[cipioxx]

thanks daktari... I was torn between the Cherokee and the Blazer on builds and chose the Blazer after checking this site out. I will still get to the Cherokee, but I need\want something to use now and the Blazer is an easier project financially. I will keep you guys posted on my progress and look forward to meeting some of you one of these days

[ZooJunkie]

Oooo a K5! Nice truck! Can't wait to see you evolve this excellent truck.

[datrupr]

Welcome to ExPo! Great projects you have there, and I agree with Scott on the K5. What a great truck. I think you will be fine with 33's, and you should be able to fit them with minimal lift and probably will not have to regear. Keep us posted on you your progress and get a mod thread started for you build up. Or is this it? Never mind, I am confusing myself, and at this point probably everyone else too.

[cipioxx]

Im really glad to hear that people think the K5 is a good platform to start building. I kept reading that it was way too big and other stuff and was starting to have some doubts. I'll take pics when I get the hub installed and try to get an idea of how I would like to setup my cargo area. Thanks for the info about the tires and I am going to try to grab a set before the holidays. You guys are making want to really get started on this and I may have to sell the Cherokee to get things rolling. I am going to try to have the K5 done mechanically by the spring. I'll worry about paint and bodywork later... Thanks again everyone.

Change in plans... I am still going to keep the XJ. I am following some of the threads in the Jeep area and that will be next years' project...

[Charger92]

Nice platform to start from on the K5. Parts are every where for them. Fullsize all the way is the shnizzel. Except when it comes to women.
33" tires are pretty good in size. The cost is kept down on lift, roll over height is lower, plus 33's are cheeper. A savings.

[cipioxx]

thanks charger... Do you have any pics of your truck on here? I would love to see it. I was trying to get a RamCharger a couple of years ago. I still know where one is, but the lady who owns it is not taking good care of it. She wanted $800.00 for it back then and I didn't have the money. She and her boyfriend use it to tow people every winter. They live on a strret on a hill and when it snows people always get stuck. She charges them $20.00 to pull them up the hill. The truck is red and is in pretty good shape. I think it's a 1988 or maybe a little earlier. I know it needs a freezeout plug or 2 but I would get it anyway.

[Grim Reaper]

K5 is a hell of a start right out of the box.

www.ck5.com if your haven't found it yet.

www.offroaddesign.com is your friend. Give Stephen a call for your needs. Tell him I sent you.

First thing you need to get is his steering brace. The frames are prone to cracking around the box. Second thing to get is the sway bar disconnects.

How old is the fuel pump? I have seen more pumps fail then anything else. What happens is if you run the truck with only a few gallons of fuel in it all the time it runs the pump hot. Try to keep a 1/2 tank in it at all times.

The other problem is wit the age of the truck is it has a lot of sediment in the tank. When you start bouncing it around some of it will break up and it will get sucked up in the pump or clog the sock on the pump.

Bottom line is get a spare pump. If you go to J C Whitney or the junk yard you can get a 12x12 inch piece of the cargo floor. Cut a hole in the floor above the fuel tank to make an access hatch so that when that pump gives it up you don't have to remove the tank to fix it. ;)

33's will fit the truck with no lift. However I would recommend a 2 inch front spring with a 4 inch raised steering arm or crossover and 4 inch rear spring to improve wheel travel and ride. Again ORD.

ORD sells what they call a Zero Rate add a Leaf. What it does is allow you to move the axle forward. With those wheels I would recommend to either get that for the front or re drill the spring perches and move the front axle forward 1 inch.

With those mods you will have a VERY capable truck.

A couple other things I would recommend is learning everything you can about the FI on that truck. Its pretty dependable but if it gives you a problem you want to know what to do. The vacuum lines are going to be very brittle...REPLACE THEM ALL! including the large hose going to the MAP sensor next to the distributor. Vacuum leaks play hell with that FI and is the #1 cause of most complaints. Usual symptom is a Serge at steady cruise. Keep an eye on the throttle body gasket.....its prone to failure.

Cross over steering is a great Mod if you can swing it. The drag link in stock form is very short and if you get driver side front extended it will bind the suspension and not let you turn.

Here is a picture of my last K5 with the Lovely Mrs Reaper at the helm.

[cipioxx]

Thanks so much for the info Grim Reaper. I have been checking out coloradoK5 for a while now. I bookmarked the ORD site and will get my list together. I just go my LMC book and I will order the hoses ASAP. Your truck is nice and I would love to get mine half as built as yours is. I have a ton of small issues that I need to get working on, but I will try to do the lift and steering box at the same time and work my way up I guess. Could I take care of the gas tank issue by getting an external electric fuel pump? Actually, I need to get the cargo area floor repaired so I can go ahead and kill 2 birds with one stone again by having a hatch put in when I get the mounts and floor fixed. The drag link issue is scary... That is something I need to take care of soon I guess. I don;t knowmuch about crossover steering, but I'll look into it and add that to my "todo" list also. thanks again

[Charger92]

Nothing on here for photos. I do have these from my desk top at work my wife emailed me one day. I will try and post. Most of my photos are at home of my rig and outings with it. I need to orginize them and create a little web site of my on going build and travels one day.

[cipioxx]

Nice tent setup....what kind of roof rack is that? The trucks looks great from what I can see in the pics....

[Charger92]

The rack I built my self. I had a design in my head over a period of a year and figured out just where I wanted everything. It' s still not complete as I want lights mounted under the front space for the backroad night travels and I have a few more things I want to add to it.
It definitly is a leather man of roof racks. It flips here, this bolts there, you can add this that and the other thing and it is very strong. I can carry 4X8 sheets of plywood and the front and back come off for a flat platform.
I had a friend of mine that does metaleragy work in CAD and solidworks programs, he told me to give him all my drawings with metal thicknesses I used.
He put it under load in various situations along with force of load under bouncing (kind of an off road situation simulation) and the thing will hold at it's weakest link a load of 1700 and some odd lbs. For a test, 6 of us at work stood on it and bounced, all of us average around 200lbs/person (me being 225 and another 185 etc.) it never flinched.
He thinks I would be able to drive a Quad up there and still have no problem, not that I ever would but I like things built over kill.
I'm hoping to get in a 3yr fabrication course apprenticeship this spring and start in doing things just like this. We'll see how the waiting list goes. Other wise I will go back and do a welding apprenticeship instead of the welding artisan general interest class, which I had taken.
I won't take up your thread and start a build thread of my own on my rig one day soon.

I would like to of had an older Ramcharger like a pre 1980 for the removeable top aspect but I'm a Dodge guy thur and thru and this one had low miles on her so I could not resist. I was waiting 4yrs to find the right Ramcharger rig. Other then the fact this one has a solid roof, but being a newer year with the MPFI magnum, makes up for not being able to pull the top off.

Cheers.

[cipioxx]

From what I can see of the rack, it looks amazing. I wish I had the know how to build something like that for my truck. I guess I will have to go and buy one when I get my money together. I still didn't put the locking hubs on the truck, but I'll get to that one day this week. I can;t wait to get this truck on the road and built...

[cipioxx]

I got the broken Mile Marker manual hub installed...finally. I think I'll work on the lift, suspension and steering stuff now.

[cipioxx]

I found these little gems in a local junkyard for like $2.00. I'll clean them up and test them out over the weekend. They are Hellas believe it or not...