-1973 K5 - Project Canyonero

bknudtsen

Expedition Leader
If it were me, l'd cut my losses and scrap it. Sucks that it happened, but at some point, it makes more financial sense to start fresh. I've let sentiment stand in the way of sound decision making many times. Maybe a squarebody Suburban makes more sense with a third kiddo on the way?

But, in the end, it's up to you. Whatever you decide, I wish you the best of luck.

Brad
 

Comanche Scott

Expedition Leader
I had a '73 K5 with the Cheyenne package back in the early '80s. I get your love affair with this, but I have to agree with Brad.
Like Brad mentioned, a lot of what you've put into this could be put into a 'Burb, which would fit the family better, and has a solid steel top.
I've seen some pretty awesome builds of 'Burbs.

If you've got a large yard, you could always roll it back there, and then when your next vehicle is done, slowly turn this K5 into an off-road beast.
You could then pull it on a trailer behind the replacement vehicle.

Or maybe buy a crewcab camper special 3/4 to 1 ton truck, with a cab over camper, and start building the K5 Beast from the East (Texas that is... ;))

The nice thing about building an off-road-centric vehicle, is it's not about pretty. A frame shop can straighten the frame, and then you can build a full on "family cage" to strengthen it. From there, it's just fixing up the broken stuff. :)

Good luck whichever way you go. You've done a lot of nice work. :beer:
 

edlaffoon

Adventure Every Day
If it were me, l'd cut my losses and scrap it. Sucks that it happened, but at some point, it makes more financial sense to start fresh. I've let sentiment stand in the way of sound decision making many times. Maybe a squarebody Suburban makes more sense with a third kiddo on the way?

But, in the end, it's up to you. Whatever you decide, I wish you the best of luck.

Brad

I would agree, but I think you are looking at it from a different perspective. A suburban is not for me. To start fresh with a 1973 K5 would mean at least 10k for a decent one. Even then I'd be right back where I started 8 years ago, with a truck I know nothing about.

To top it off in the last few years I've put ~20k into this pile of crap. I'm way beyond making financially sound choices.:sombrero:

Sorry I know the timeline is weird cause I change tense a lot, the kiddo it already here. He's two now.





a lot of what you've put into this could be put into a 'Burb, which would fit the family better, and has a solid steel top.

It *could have but it wasn't, I'm invested in this truck. Additionally I don't really want a steel top, if I did I would buy a new truck. If Chevy made a modern K5 with removable top or jeeps weren't so tiny and prolific I'd have one of those.

I appreciate both of your sentiments, but if this thread has a theme it's that I am not getting rid of this K5 'til I have no other option or it turns to dust.
 
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edlaffoon

Adventure Every Day
Parts!

Knowing the list of things I need to tackle I've kept my ears to the ground for parts.

One of the hardest things to find in good shape is the top, even harder to find good sliding windows. I don't have working AC so I would like the sliding windows.

I came across a pretty good deal on craigslist for a parts truck and made the two and a half hour drive to Wichita Falls to pick it up. On the way there I noticed an issue with the trailer. One of the support braces was busted and the iron was dangling on the ground.

I ended up buying the parts truck and coming back the next day after dropping the trailer off for repair. The drive home the following day pulling the new K5 was one of the most white knuckle I've ever had. It began raining so bad I pulled into a station just in time for it to dump golf ball sized hail.





Boy it's ugly, but it has a lot of things I need like top and hood that are in good shape. It has OEM sliding windows too, which is nice. Most importantly it has a ton of spares and little nuts and bolts that will nickle and dime me otherwise. I wish I would have bought one a long time ago. I do wish this one had the correct doors for my truck, or even the larger towing mirrors but oh well.

I was also able to find some NOS re-pro fenders for $50. Best I can tell these were made in the late 70's early 80's. The sheet metal is much thicker than the contemporary ones.



Still in the paper. There is some grease on one of them but they are perfect in every way. It amazes me that this stuff is still around, and even older than this. People find NOS parts for Model A's etc even brass cars, it's crazy.
 
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edlaffoon

Adventure Every Day
I'm debating if I should do a separate trailer build thread or put it in here. Kinda leaning toward keeping it here.
 

edlaffoon

Adventure Every Day
Small update. The K5 is still in the frame shop, I hope to have it home this month.

The trailer is working out great. I will post a full writ up of it at some point. Here is a photo from our trip in Decmeber:

 

Darkrider

Adventurer
Just read this from start to finish, Kind of surprised you did not just drop the tub onto the chassis from the parts truck given the description of the damage to the original chassis. I was kind of curious as to how the exhaust was laid out on it and the unfortunate accident pics kind of answered that for me. Seriously considering a similar exhaust layout for my '86.

Looking forward to future updates on this.
 

edlaffoon

Adventure Every Day
So where to begin with this update... The short version is I still have the truck, it is in running driving condition. It came back from the frame shop in late 2018 with the new custom ORD suspension and everything dialed in pretty well. It runs and drives better than ever. The only thing left to make it legal is the bodywork.

The long version is incredibly tragic, sad and right in line with what we have been through with the K5 but on a much grander scale. So here goes:

In February of last year I bought my wife, Missy, a new to us 2015 Silverado and we promptly begin using it to tow our trailer.




We went on several camping trips last year and enjoyed the new truck immensely.

I will cut to the chase here, very tragically, my beloved Missy, wife of 14 years and mother to our 3 children passed away in October 2019. Even typing this I have tears in my eyes. It was as unbelievable then as it is now. We (the kids and I, but really everyone around me) were naturally devastated, but have slowly begun to trade grief for small amounts of joy in simple things, mostly each other's company.

To answer the inevitable questions, she perished under hospital care from a very preventable circumstance. I do not really want to go into too much detail here in the forums, but anyone is welcome to reach out to me on IG or PM here if you want to know more.

I hope that it doesn't seem cold to move onto talking about the trucks, but in reality this is part of my healing at the moment, trying to re-engage in things I loved before.

That said I had a tough choice to make regarding her truck and whether or not to keep it. I considered every option, even flipping it to completely build the K5, and I ultimately decided to hold onto it. Time will tell if that was the right choice, but if you have read this whole thread then you will know I am VERY sentimental so it was probably also the inevitable choice.

So here we are in January of 2020. I have been a forum member for almost 10 years. It's hard to believe. It feels like I have not come very far. Major parts of my life are captured in this thread and yet it is very unfinished.

I plan to do a lot of travel in the Silverado this year, I already have about 6 trips in the works. It is ambitious because I also have the goal of re-registering and inspecting the K5 this year. The absolute bare minimum required to do that would be:

- Repair rear passenger quarter damage to taillight area
- Replace passenger mirror
- Replace both front fenders
- Replace hood
- Repair front passenger indicator lights
- Replace front windshield

Probably also needed if not required:

- Replace headlight trim
- New bumpers front and rear
- New passenger door, or skin at least.
- Minor rust repair on both sides of the truck (not required but is annoying)


There is a ton of stuff I still want to do to the K5, but it's role in my life as the primary adventure vehicle has been shifted for the last 4 years. With the addition of the Silverado it's only going to be displaced to "toy" even more so.

I will NEVER sell this truck. Tides would have to turn even more than this to bring me to that. I fully intend to pass it down. I could be tempted to really build it, but it will be a few years before that. Maybe when my oldest starts driving...

A couple of photos of her that are more recent:

It is rare to get snow here these days, but we got dusted a few days ago.


She can often be seen photobombing my IG.


And some of us on our most recent trip, and our first without Mom:





And one of a tree I vandalized at that campsite years ago:


Eric + Missy indeed. I miss her dreadfully, but it amazes me how much joy I get from adventures with the kids, the truck(s) and all the gadgets and crap that goes with it. She loved this stuff too and so do the kids. So we will keep on keepin on in her honor and memory.

A very deep thank you to everyone who read all of that. Please help me keep this thread going. I'm not sure what I will talk about in the coming months but I need the motivation (and conversation) in my life right now to get this thing back on track.
 
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Todd n Natalie

OverCamper
So sorry to hear about your loss...

I'm happy to see you are continuing the adventures with your kids. I'm sure they'll cherish the memories forever.
 

zoomad75

K5 Camper guy
I can't imagine what you've gone through. But I commend you for making the effort to carry on with the kids and get them out exploring. You got the right attitude for sure. Keep the truck as it looks very capable to get you and the kiddos out into the boonies.

As far as the Blazer goes, keep at it. It won't be easy, but it will be worth it in the end. Break it up into smaller jobs that you can knock in a couple of days or less. Keep them small so when you do get it done you get the feeling of accomplishment crossing that task off the list. When the kids can help, get them involved. Even if it's just cleaning up the Blazer or picking out accessories. It will be a lasting good memory working on it together. You have any questions about it you need help with hit me up. I'm always happy to help.
 

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