-1973 K5 - Project Canyonero

[edlaffoon]

Thanks Matt @Irvinator.

Sooo for those that do not see me daily, a month or so back I had a pretty rough ride in the K5 and long story short it landed on the passenger side. I've been too down to get in here and post an update, but I'm coming around and getting excited about fixing it. I'm at work but will post more when I get home.

 

[PhilipE]

Oohhh shoot after all the work you have done over the years. Then this happens. I hope no one was hurt.

 

[edlaffoon]

Fortunately I was alone and no one was hurt.

 

[LIVEanimals]

That is seriously unfortunate. How'd it happen. Thankful no one was hurt.

 

[spot]

Wow hate to see that. Glad you are ok. The poor K5 has had it rough. 3 engines, a trans, kicked by a horse and now a roll. It'll buff out. As they say "chicks dig body damage"

 

[edlaffoon]

It's been a while since I was in here. In that time I've seriously 'questioned my faith' and contemplated buying a more modern rig. But who are we kidding!?

The K5 has been in the frame repair shop since may of this year. I plan on making major suspension upgrades while they are repairing the damage. It will get custom leaf springs from ORD and their HD shackles which I am excited about.

In the meantime I have been busy building my adventure periphery including an adventure trailer and an inflatable boat.

Over the next week I will collect and post photos of progress on all of that, including the crate engine update that I never did make.

 

[arveetek]

So sorry to see the damage! What happened?

Casey

 

[edlaffoon]

Stay with me as I try and get through a year and a half of posts. I'll answer any questions throughout.

 

[edlaffoon]

Before the accident I had just finished putting the new new motor in. It really was all going very well and the truck was running better than ever. I've never owned a brand new crate motor before, it was really cool. So clean and nice and ready to go.




Layla was a good helper. It's a really cool thing to have kids in the first place, even cooler when they take an interest in things you really care about. I'm sure someday she will stop but for now it's a lot of fun.









For the first time in a long time it was looking really good:






Here is a before and after:




In the last two pictures you can see some of the cool stuff we were able to do. My dad surprised me with a brand new original wire harness, albeit for HEI, which you can see at the top of the firewall. You can see how much it cleans up the engine bay. Along with the black trim in lieu of chrome it helps the oem plus look like that I like.

I also painted the brake booster and got rid of all the rust.

 

[Willard27]

"I also painted the brake booster and got rid of all the rust."

It's amazing how rewarding a can on spray paint can be in an engine bay! My family had a '73 GMC Jimmy when I was a kid. Blue and white. Memories of riding around in it with the top off are definitely why I have made my way through a Jeep and 2 4Runners. My other memory was mom driving one winter and we hit ice. That thing spun like a top! Let Satan take the wheel and close your eyes because there ain't much you are going do about it. She wouldn't drive it again. You be safe and keep the story coming. I want to see it with the trailer!

 

[edlaffoon]

"I also painted the brake booster and got rid of all the rust."

It's amazing how rewarding a can on spray paint can be in an engine bay! My family had a '73 GMC Jimmy when I was a kid. Blue and white. Memories of riding around in it with the top off are definitely why I have made my way through a Jeep and 2 4Runners. My other memory was mom driving one winter and we hit ice. That thing spun like a top! Let Satan take the wheel and close your eyes because there ain't much you are going do about it. She wouldn't drive it again. You be safe and keep the story coming. I want to see it with the trailer!

The stuff I used was the kind that turns rust into a different form of oxide. It worked great. Yep let Satan take the wheel, lol that's how it felt for sure, and about the truck and trailer, thank you! I need motivation really bad right now. The K5 has only ever pulled it once.

 

[edlaffoon]

So sorry to see the damage! What happened?

Casey

It's a short story involving a nasty wet piece of asphalt. I was only doing about 25 rounding a clover leaf, next thing I know I'm on my side.

 

[edlaffoon]

The Flip

Once it was back on the road we were able to squeeze in a camping trip or two. It felt awesome to be back in the saddle. It's always amazed me how much crap we can cram into the back of this thing.






That was the last and most recent "good photo" I took of the K5. In typical fashion as soon as I got the truck in the best shape it's ever been in disaster was looming around the corner

Driving home from work one day on a misty road the rear lost traction and hit the guardrail. It spun me into the opposite rail and making the truck hop onto it then flip in the opposite direction it was travelling. All of this at about 25 mph in about 40 feet of roadway. It was the strangest accident I have ever been in.

That spot is really bad though. There are dozens of accidents exactly like mine at the same spot every year. I also have a friend who rolled his 99 Tahoe under nearly identical circumstances a few weeks later. We both bought BFG AT's at the same time, so I'm not sure if it was the tires or what.

Carnage:














After the tow truck righted it:

 

[edlaffoon]

Canyonero down!

Needless to say I was yet again devastated by this. When Missy came to pick me up she and Layla were in tears, more for the truck than me. I cried a lot over this.

At the same time I realized that this is the risk you run driving one of these old trucks every day 70-100 miles. It just felt like the odds were against me though. As I said in an earlier post I seriously questioned my path with this truck and my seemingly insane dedication to it. My friends have taken to calling it the "Wicked", "Cursed" and "Killer" K5.

I don't really believe in all that though, it's just a matter of circumstance and perspective. So after a while I shook it off and got moving again looking for parts and solutions to my new set of problems...

 

[edlaffoon]

Fun Stuff

I guess part of the reason I've been able to keep my attitude positive toward this is that on top of being a loyal optimist (read: totally naive and borderline insane) I really enjoy the "stuff". Parts collecting, planning, strategy etc... those are my strong suits. Execution, completion, delivery... not so much.

So I went back to the drawing board on a lot of things. What I found ultimately was that this exact truck what still what I wanted and 90% of what I needed. The addition of our third kiddo means that I do need a bit more crap capacity, but I had already decided that we need a trailer.

Regardless I needed to iron out the issues from the accident first. Here is sort of a list of things that are "known bad" on the truck at present:

-The frame is totally bent and crooked, crushed on the passenger side.
-Pretty much every perch/mount on the suspension needs rebuilt and straightened.
-Broken spring pack on front passenger side
-Broken motor mount on front passenger side
-Severe body damage to hood, passenger fender, passenger rear quarter and taillight housing. All irreparable and require replacement.
-Moderate damage to passenger door and mirror, fiberglass top cracked and window shattered.
-Currently sitting on the spare wheel and 35" BFG due to wheel damage.
-Minor cosmetic damage to things like badges etc.

That sums up the damage from the accident. The truck still has other issues though:

-The steering column was completely disassembled for repairs to the ignition cylinder and rack. The parts are god knows where.
-All of the top/body/door/window seals should probably be replaced. The truck has a lot of rain leaks.
-The fuel tanks need to be removed and replaced with a single large tank. This will also mean eliminating the second fill neck and body hole for it.
-The rust has set into the fenders. It's the GM Mark of Excellence.
-The engine and trans etc will probably present some leaks considering it has not run regularly since spring 2016.