Atl-atl
Adventurer
Yep, used one factory hole to hold the mount in place then marked and drilled 2 new holes and bolted it on. Offroad Design even supplies the hardware.
Guess who's back!?! Atl-atl's K5 Blazer + Four Wheel Camper "The Crawlin Cabin" documentation thread!
- Thread starter Atl-atl
- Start date
Atl-atl
Adventurer
Yep!
Atl-atl
Adventurer
The single biggest headache of this project thus far has been the brake lines. I saved them until last for good reason. The front soft lines meet the hard lines at the frame in a sandwich. Its the worst design ever. (Ive seen other Chevy trucks of the same era with mounts that hang below the frame which would have been nice.) Access is horrendous, parts are delicate, design is terrible, even on a rust free Arizona vehicle rust/corrosion does its thing. I had to heat the fittings so much the hard line was surely liquid metal at some point. I chose the path of continually heating/cooling/heating in hopes the threads would loosen but the line would be strong enough to stay put. Thankfully this was the case and eventually I got them both undone. As soon as I removed the soft lines and calipers I noticed that both calipers were in crap condition so I got new ones for a whopping $29 a piece ha!
The stock rubber line was nearly taught at the new ride height so there was no option but to replace with extended lines. The union of the hard and soft lines is a hole cut in the frame thats round with flat sides. There is a notch for a horseshoe clip on the inside of the frame where its literally impossible to get your hand/arm/tool of any kind to actually push the clip into place. There is a hex built into the soft line on the outside of the frame and a hex nut on the inside of the frame to bolt it all in place. Then the hard line fitting threads into the soft line fitting that comes through the frame It's all just unnecessarily complicated and nearly impossible to reach. In the end I skipped the horseshoe clip because there was just no way to push it into place. It doesnt help working on your back either, a lift would be nice for this. Thankfully everything went tight just synching down the hex nut.
Stock line going into the frame.
ORD line going into the frame.
ORD line coming through the inside of the frame. I had to leave both sides of the line loose to line up the fittings and get the threads started. Then tighten everything after the fact. Even though this made it more painstaking to finish the install, cross threading in this situation would open up pandoras box of redoing all the hard lines.
And thats just the front!!!!!!
I expected to rear to be easier. Its only a single soft line from the frame to the axle so its gotta be half the time/work/headache, right? WRONG. I couldnt get the mounting block undone from the bracket where it bolts to the diff, problem number one. Put some heat on it, blow the rubber line off the fittings and douse myself in boiling brake fluid, great. Eventually enough heat gets the bolt out of the mounting block. Ok lets move on to the upper soft line mount. Wont budge, great, problem number two. Fresh off the heals of blowing up the rubber line with heat, Im now working right at the gas tank and gas lines where the hard and soft lines meet and this old girl smells like gas all the time. After a couple minutes carefully using the torch I decide this is not a great idea. Especially with a 1/4 tank of gas, lots of fumes that can go boom. So I start working my way up the frame, undoing the hard line up to the union halfway up so I can work the hard line loose and try to remove it to separate the lines outside the truck. Not gonna happen. All the various bends in the line, frame, brackets in the way etc. are not going to allow the hard line to be removed from the frame without destroying it. More on this later. Eventually I get the soft/hard line junction wiggled far enough away from the gas tank that Im OK trying heat on it again and it works, sweet, now Im making some progress. Install the new soft line and were just about ready to bleed the brakes and drive the truck again. All I need to do is loosen the bleed screws at the drums...just loosen em up and call in wifey to push on the brake pedal for a few minutes...just loosen em up and we're home free.
WRONG.
Problem number three. Passenger side bleed screw wont come loose, heat it up seemingly forever, wont come loose. Ok fine undo the hard line going into the cylinder, immediately strip the fitting beyond recognition, using flare nut wrenches. Try all the sizes of vice grip that Ive got and nothing. Ok guess Ill be replacing the passenger side hard line, Ill just buy a new one tomorrow. Nope, nobody in town has hard lines nor can anyone make them. So my options are make my own or buy new ones from LMC or some other place online and wait. I decide to order the two rear axle hard lines, foregoing ordering all of the hardlines. Im now worried that I should have ordered them all but thankfully it worked out in the end. Im still pretty tempted to redo all the hard lines on the truck for piece of mind.
Here is a picture of just how close the upper soft brake line mount is to the gas tank. About 2 inches. Also worth noting, in the top left corner of this picture is a fuel line, a rubber line with a crappy ladder clamp, about 4 inches from where I was trying to use a torch to loosen the fitting.
The stock rubber line was nearly taught at the new ride height so there was no option but to replace with extended lines. The union of the hard and soft lines is a hole cut in the frame thats round with flat sides. There is a notch for a horseshoe clip on the inside of the frame where its literally impossible to get your hand/arm/tool of any kind to actually push the clip into place. There is a hex built into the soft line on the outside of the frame and a hex nut on the inside of the frame to bolt it all in place. Then the hard line fitting threads into the soft line fitting that comes through the frame It's all just unnecessarily complicated and nearly impossible to reach. In the end I skipped the horseshoe clip because there was just no way to push it into place. It doesnt help working on your back either, a lift would be nice for this. Thankfully everything went tight just synching down the hex nut.
Stock line going into the frame.
ORD line going into the frame.
ORD line coming through the inside of the frame. I had to leave both sides of the line loose to line up the fittings and get the threads started. Then tighten everything after the fact. Even though this made it more painstaking to finish the install, cross threading in this situation would open up pandoras box of redoing all the hard lines.
And thats just the front!!!!!!
I expected to rear to be easier. Its only a single soft line from the frame to the axle so its gotta be half the time/work/headache, right? WRONG. I couldnt get the mounting block undone from the bracket where it bolts to the diff, problem number one. Put some heat on it, blow the rubber line off the fittings and douse myself in boiling brake fluid, great. Eventually enough heat gets the bolt out of the mounting block. Ok lets move on to the upper soft line mount. Wont budge, great, problem number two. Fresh off the heals of blowing up the rubber line with heat, Im now working right at the gas tank and gas lines where the hard and soft lines meet and this old girl smells like gas all the time. After a couple minutes carefully using the torch I decide this is not a great idea. Especially with a 1/4 tank of gas, lots of fumes that can go boom. So I start working my way up the frame, undoing the hard line up to the union halfway up so I can work the hard line loose and try to remove it to separate the lines outside the truck. Not gonna happen. All the various bends in the line, frame, brackets in the way etc. are not going to allow the hard line to be removed from the frame without destroying it. More on this later. Eventually I get the soft/hard line junction wiggled far enough away from the gas tank that Im OK trying heat on it again and it works, sweet, now Im making some progress. Install the new soft line and were just about ready to bleed the brakes and drive the truck again. All I need to do is loosen the bleed screws at the drums...just loosen em up and call in wifey to push on the brake pedal for a few minutes...just loosen em up and we're home free.
WRONG.
Problem number three. Passenger side bleed screw wont come loose, heat it up seemingly forever, wont come loose. Ok fine undo the hard line going into the cylinder, immediately strip the fitting beyond recognition, using flare nut wrenches. Try all the sizes of vice grip that Ive got and nothing. Ok guess Ill be replacing the passenger side hard line, Ill just buy a new one tomorrow. Nope, nobody in town has hard lines nor can anyone make them. So my options are make my own or buy new ones from LMC or some other place online and wait. I decide to order the two rear axle hard lines, foregoing ordering all of the hardlines. Im now worried that I should have ordered them all but thankfully it worked out in the end. Im still pretty tempted to redo all the hard lines on the truck for piece of mind.
Here is a picture of just how close the upper soft brake line mount is to the gas tank. About 2 inches. Also worth noting, in the top left corner of this picture is a fuel line, a rubber line with a crappy ladder clamp, about 4 inches from where I was trying to use a torch to loosen the fitting.
ExpoMike
Well-known member
I feel your pain. I take it you don't work on a lot of older vehicles. The way the lines mount and are ran is common since they switched from mechanical brakes. LOL Wasn't until the mid/late 90's they started making line mounts bolt on to the frame. I have done dozens of vehicles like this.
Atl-atl
Adventurer
Nope, this is the only old vehicle I've ever worked on!
Atl-atl
Adventurer
Ok for anyone that is still paying attention, ITS ALIIIIVE!!!! Got everything buttoned up and slowly drove a couple miles listening for odd noises, trying to feel weird vibrations etc. I definitely need to tweak pinion angles so that will take a little more figuring before I can drive it more than "around town" but otherwise it runs and drives and works. Disconnected the swaybar and tried flexing it a little to check for clearance. So many things have changed its going to take a lot of tightening, checking and torquing before I feel comfortable going faster than 25mph.
Rear sits extra high right now because the camper is off. Should settle down nicely when it has the appropriate weight on it. Those are 31x10.50x15s for reference.
Even with brand new springs, a nearly empty gas tank, no camper, no people or gear inside it flexes pretty well, especially the front. Its going to work really well in the end.
Rear sits extra high right now because the camper is off. Should settle down nicely when it has the appropriate weight on it. Those are 31x10.50x15s for reference.
Even with brand new springs, a nearly empty gas tank, no camper, no people or gear inside it flexes pretty well, especially the front. Its going to work really well in the end.
Kingsize24
Well-known member
Love it! It really is a fantastic looking Blazer.
Atl-atl
Adventurer
Its probably a couple hundred pounds lighter than a standard stock Blazer. No fiberglass top and no back seat but otherwise its the same as any other K5 Blazer which are about 4200lbs.
Atl-atl
Adventurer
Nice Blazer but what's up with that burgundy Westy?
nate
Ha, no idea, that was just a random rig parked at the trailhead down the street from my house.
Atl-atl
Adventurer
Anyone with a keen eye would have noticed new carpet in the picture where Im flexin on the stump. Now that the truck is just about ready to hit the road Im finally getting around to the interior. Instead of ripping out the old carpet and installing sound deadener I opted to try laying the new carpet over the old. It worked out pretty well, other than being really hard to find all the old bolt holes for seats, belts, shifter and misc. things like the passenger seat hook mount thingy and the plastic trim that holds the carpet down behind the front seats. It was painstaking and took about 2 days to get it installed but nothing feels bad compared to the brakes so I aint mad about it. What a difference new carpet makes. Its already so cozy looking and feeling and you could immediately tell right away the truck is quieter, even with the top off! Ive got more interior parts showing up soon. New seat upholstery, new headliner, all new pillar trim pieces, sun visors, seatbelt holders etc. Hopefully I get a few more warm days in Flagstaff to install this stuff before it truly gets cold.
As expected the floors are in really good shape underneath. Only some small rust spots at the very end of the "bed" where the sill plate screws on. I cleaned it up as best I could but will come back another time and try to sand/paint. Most likely if/when I decide to repair a couple other parts of the body. Also I decided against new side interior panels because they are completely hidden by the camper. Some day Id like to replace them and fill the empty space behind them with insulation but thats WAY down on the list.
Old carpet
Underneath
I cleaned up all 3 sill plates (rear and both doors) with the wire wheel on my bench grinder and they came out really nice.
Rear before
Rear after. The dark spots are just shadows, its all shiny aluminum.
Also covered my center console "lift blocks" with extra pieces of carpet I wound up with.
As expected the floors are in really good shape underneath. Only some small rust spots at the very end of the "bed" where the sill plate screws on. I cleaned it up as best I could but will come back another time and try to sand/paint. Most likely if/when I decide to repair a couple other parts of the body. Also I decided against new side interior panels because they are completely hidden by the camper. Some day Id like to replace them and fill the empty space behind them with insulation but thats WAY down on the list.
Old carpet
Underneath
I cleaned up all 3 sill plates (rear and both doors) with the wire wheel on my bench grinder and they came out really nice.
Rear before
Rear after. The dark spots are just shadows, its all shiny aluminum.
Also covered my center console "lift blocks" with extra pieces of carpet I wound up with.
Atl-atl
Adventurer
Carpet install round two because lots of pics. As new things get installed it really makes old stuff glaring. The plastic buckle holders are so brittle they cracked into a thousand piece when I tried to remove them so new ones are on order. The scratches in the center console are mostly hidden by the seats but now that I know theyre there I wont be able to leave it alone. I also sanded and painted the t-case shift surround even though its going to change when the new drivetrain goes in. Can put rusty crap on the new carpet. A little bit of massaging and the staple divots went away nicely.
The previous owner had installed this ledge/storage cubby that filled the gap behind the front seats. Initially I started to reinstall it but decided against that because the area will make the perfect place for my pup to sit/lay/sleep while the vehicle is in motion. This is actually a huge help because she's a total derp and hates riding in the car because she always slides around.
The previous owner had installed this ledge/storage cubby that filled the gap behind the front seats. Initially I started to reinstall it but decided against that because the area will make the perfect place for my pup to sit/lay/sleep while the vehicle is in motion. This is actually a huge help because she's a total derp and hates riding in the car because she always slides around.