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Disassembly… 14MAR09

14 March 2009, 7:26 pm

After a useless work detail at the fire hall which wasted all morning and accomplished absolutely nothing, I started back at the ‘burb.

I continued with the trim removal on the inside, getting all of the plastic trim removed carefully so that I could attempt to sell it to regain some of the money I spent on buying the truck.  This was not a difficult task and after about 45 minutes, It was done.

The carpets, headliner, and side trim in the back were junk and treated as such.  The main reason why the previous owners were getting rid of the truck were quite evident once the interior was gutted.  The entire passenger side was sagging 4” below the bed floor inside.  The center two body mounts were busted up through the floor.  There was absolutely nothing but the roof holding up the rear quarter at the C and D pillars!

As I was planning on chopping the truck up anyway, I busted out the saws-all.  The passenger quarter panel was my first victim and two cuts is all that it took to be removed!

The truck was quite rotted underneath.  The next time I am down there, I will take a picture of the underside of the rear floor to show just how bad it was. 

Filed under Blazer, Engine, Exterior, Interior, Metal Working, Transmission.
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Disassembly Started…

12 March 2009, 9:23 pm

Jason (my cousin) and I were able to get a good start on tearing down the ‘burb tonight.  We started by removing the doors. 

The “barn door” style rear doors were a cinch to remove only requiring the impact wrench.  The rear doors on the sides were also quite easy requiring some trim to be removed, electrical connections disconnected and then removal of the mounting bolts for the hinges. 

The front doors on the other hand…  After removing the trim on the inside it became evident that the wiring had to be disconnected from the components inside the doors and then fed back through the hole in the door first.  Only then could the doors be unbolted.

Once the doors were out, we pulled the glass.  This was made very easy with the way the glass was installed at the factory.

Filed under Blazer, Engine, Exterior, Interior, Tires, Transmission.
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$250 Later

10 March 2009, 7:31 pm

So $250 later and the Suburban is sitting in the shop!  No real excitement in picking it up.  Just drove it up onto the flatbed and chained it down. 

The ride back down off of the flatbed was interesting though.  It was raining outside which left the bed of the trailer quite slick.  The practically bald tires on the ‘burb offered no traction and the truck just slid on down.  There is no real problem with that, it just came as a surprise to me.

Filed under Blazer, Engine, Transmission.
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Donor Suburban…

23 February 2009, 11:51 pm

So I now have the opportunity to pick up a 2wd 1990 Suburban.  It is currently drivable, however, the body is rotted quite bad in the back.  So much so that in order for the previous owners to utilize the back door, they had cut the top of the bumper off to provide clearance.  Clearance which is now gone because the body has sagged even more.

Here are some pictures:


Parts retained for the K5 include:

  • TBI 5.7L engine and full wiring harness
  • Tilt Steering Column
  • 2wd Steering Gear box – for future cross-over steering setup
  • Full dash, firewall, and all A/C components – for a future swap to add A/C and the later model dash
  • Front doors – good doors with minimal rust and full power windows/locks
  • Center console
  • A portion of the rear bed floor if it is still in salvageable shape.

For my Chevelle, I will be keeping the recently rebuilt 700R4 transmission

The rest of the Suburban will be parted prior to finally scrapping it.

Filed under Blazer, Chevelle, Engine, Exterior, Interior, Transmission.
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Headers Installed – Exhaust…

28 January 2009, 11:59 pm

So after determining that the old Hooker headers from my Chevelle would not fit the K5 properly, I ordered a set of Hooker Competition headers.  These are made to work with the Hooker Competition dual exhaust system which I also ordered.

The headers fit very well, however, the mandrel bent exhaust system did not fit to my liking.  The passenger side exhaust pipe needed to be cut into 4 separate pieces to properly clear the frame & transfer case as well as have the pipe end up at the proper place to tuck the mufflers up under the truck.  The driver side pipe only needed to be cut once.

I have the driver side pipe welded back together with the appropriate clearance and positioning for the muffler.  I also fabricated a hanger to properly locate the exhaust system using some 1/4” bar stock and an exhaust isolator from NAPA.  I will have pictures of these pipes up at some point.

Here is a short video of the open headers:

Enjoy!

Filed under Blazer, Engine, Exhaust, Welding.
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More Work…

31 December 2008, 2:12 pm

So the Chevelle headers do not fit to my liking.  The passenger side would have a problem with the front driveshaft if the suspension were to hit the bump stops.  Going to full static articulation (lifting the front passenger wheel until the rear passenger wheel begins to lift), I still had enough room for a wrench to fit between the driveshaft and one of the header primary tubes.  But with more than an inch left before the spring would hit either of the two bump stops, I decided to play it safe and get the proper headers.

I was able to get a set of Hooker headers for $146 delivered next day from Amazon.com.  The headers and the exhaust system I have purchased are made to work with each other nicely.  However, not as nice as a true bolt in.  Some "massaging" of the exhaust will be necessary to get the mufflers and tail pipes located where I want them. Nothing a cutoff wheel and a welder will not fix.

The good news is that I was able to save the Flowmaster Series 40 mufflers that were on the truck and they will get welded back into the system.  I am trying to find some high temp cold galvanizing paint locally right now so I can spray down the welds to try and prohibit rust formation.

I also did some more digging into the speedometer calibration and what needed to be done.  I pulled the driven gear out of the back of the transfer case and had a look at it.  It has a 7 tooth drive gear and a 19 tooth driven gear. I would need to step up to a 23 tooth driven gear to get the speedo to read right.  However, only up to a 21 tooth gear is available.  So I will need to purchase an add-on unit (speedometer ratio adapter) to get to the proper ratio.

I have pictures of all of this stuff, but will have to update later.

Filed under Blazer, Chevelle, Exhaust, Exterior, Metal Working, Tires, Transmission, Welding.
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Snow

21 December 2008, 6:14 am

We were hit with a decent snow storm Friday, December 19th.  By Sunday, we had anywhere between 12” and 18” depending on where you measured and that was before the wind kicked up.

Here are some pictures:



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Longer Drive

20 December 2008, 11:15 am

So Friday I was able to take the Blazer for a longer drive, ~15 miles one way.  Back roads are great at seeing how the suspension works over bumps, pot holes, and wash boarding.  Nothing but smooth driving.  The snow made it a little bit of a challenge on the way back as the 33×12.5×15 BF Goodrich Radial Mud/Terrain tires are just too wide and aggressive to get any bite on snow covered asphalt. 

I did notice that the speedometer is noticeably off.  I am assuming that the gear ratio is left unchanged and since the original tires for this truck were H78-15B which had around a 27.8″ outside diameter, the speedometer is off by ~20%.  This was using the information on the following websites:

NovaResource.org – Speedo & ChevelleEngineer – Speedo

My next task before I actually put this truck on the road is to patch the hole in the bed floor which at this point in time will just include some silicon sealer and sheet metal screws.  I will also have to get the exhaust so it exits out behind the rear wheels to pass an inspection.  I am not sure if I am going to slap on the headers just yet as the temps outside have been quite frigged and I will need the cooperation of the weather to get it done.  Time will tell.

Filed under Blazer, Exhaust, Interior, Metal Working, Tires, Transmission, Wheels.
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Carb Rebuild

16 December 2008, 1:08 am

Today I removed the carb and treated it to a complete rebuild.  After cleaning everything as best I could on my bench, I pinged down the original well plugs on the bottom of the main body, then cleaned these areas again, finishing with some brake cleaner for a residue free surface.  I then applied some JB Weld to the plugs and surrounding surfaces to seal them up, hopefully for good. 

After allowing the JB Weld to setup firm, I reassembled the carb and reinstalled it on the motor.  I will have to wait until midday tomorrow before I can put some fuel to it and see how well it responds.

Next on my list is to remove the old points style distributor and install the HEI distributor out of my Chevelle. 

 

I will be picking up a freeze plug block heater tomorrow to install when I remove the manifolds to install the headers.

Filed under Blazer, Engine.
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Gall Bladder Be Gone!

12 December 2008, 1:23 am

So my surgery went well I suppose.  Had a bit of a rough patch coming out of the anesthesia, but that was solved by a nice pain killer shot.  The nurse was a bit ambitious flushing my IV line and my hand is still burning from the first flush, but I was quick to scold her that I was already in pain and did not need more added onto it to save a few seconds.

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