Dphillip
Senior Member
Red Cone is one terrifying trail especially the last down hill section.
Four Wheel Blazer Pop-up, Finally found one
You betcha. I think the wrinkles are finally out of my seat cover from that one. I knew it was hairy going in. I read up on it through my trail guide book and multiple trail websites. I definitely missed my granny low 4 speed from my old K5 on that downhill, but the deeper low range in the 241 made up for part of it. Plus not having to put my left foot on the clutch pedal allowed me to stand (and I mean STAND) on the brake pedal with both feet.Dphillip said:
ntsqd
Custom User Title
Thought of going Hydraboost? The Bronc-up came to me with it and being able to easily modulate between gentle braking and locked-up on 37's with low pedal effort sold me on them. Had it installed in our CTD and that has made panic stops much more easily managed. Am thinking to convert the '73 SB-SS using CUCV parts.
Already have the parts to do so. Actually, I had them before the Red Cone trip and wanted to kick my own tail for not doing the install at that point.ntsqd said:
To do the full swap you need the brake pedal too. The hole for the pushrod is not in the same spot as vacuum systems. Mine will probably go in at the time of a big block swap as it will be easier to do then.
k5nutt
Member
I believe the Denver/Phoenix K5 with pop top and cummins was done in a shop in MT if i remember right years back as i saw the pics online. Trying to find it online is kicking my butt currently.
Back on horsepower front. The 454 has landed. The guy I bought it from delivered it over to my buddy's house Friday night. I have a laundry list of things I need to facilitate the swap but it's pretty manageable. Can't wait to get the rat in it's new home.
CougarCouple
Senior Member
Following.
My buddy degreased the engine today. Plugs looked good, no oil deposits or any deposits for that matter. He did find somebody had the intake off at least once and broke a corner of the upper plenum. Good news is he has 2 intakes in stock in his spare pile.
CougarCouple
Senior Member
Bet your pretty jazzed zoomad, we had a 7 liter in a class B Roadtrek definitely had the power. I had to pull the intake due to a bad gasket problem GM had. Saw it on a V6 motor also. Coolant to oil cross contamination. That might explain the reason the intake was pulled, I went with GM replacment gaskets they upgraded the gasket to fix the problem. One things for sure the new motor is gunna fill the engine compartment
Russ
Russ
I'm jazzed for sure. The L29 is an great engine overshadowed by the LS engine family and the bigger brother 8.1. As far as installing into a Squarebody, it's a bolt in affair. No engine mount adapter brackets like I had to use putting the 5.3 in there.CougarCouple said:Bet your pretty jazzed zoomad, we had a 7 liter in a class B Roadtrek definitely had the power. I had to pull the intake due to a bad gasket problem GM had. Saw it on a V6 motor also. Coolant to oil cross contamination. That might explain the reason the intake was pulled, I went with GM replacment gaskets they upgraded the gasket to fix the problem. One things for sure the new motor is gunna fill the engine compartment
Russ
The engine will be completely resealed front to back, top to bottom with Fel-Pro seals and gaskets. It will be sealed tight.
The fat block will fill the bay more, but the nice thing is there is lots of room still.
The hunt is on for the NV4500 trans though. After taking some measurements on my existing 700r4 to t-case adapter and my buddies nv4500 equipped 89 Suburban, the overall length from bellhousing face to the mounting surface of the t-case is the same length at 27 3/4". Meaning, I can install the manual and not require any driveshaft modifications over what I have now. Added bonus will be the improved low gear for crawling and better gear splits.
CougarCouple
Senior Member
Morning
I reread my post and if it was missed whatI ment by "fill the engine compartment " what a nice site to pop the hood and see that motor.
Does the NV4500 have a granny gear? If yes that would make for a low in 4 low. If you find something over here and want it looked at let me know.
Russ
I reread my post and if it was missed whatI ment by "fill the engine compartment " what a nice site to pop the hood and see that motor.
Does the NV4500 have a granny gear? If yes that would make for a low in 4 low. If you find something over here and want it looked at let me know.
Russ
Knowing my buddy Larry, he's going to make sure we get it to look like factory or better. So yeah, there will be some nice eye candy to look at under the hood.
The NV4500 does have a granny gear. 5.61:1 for the version I'm looking for. The crawl ratio from my current setup will go from 33:1 to 62:1. This will make my fun mountain downhill runs a bit more controlled and less reliant on the brakes. I've got line on one locally, just need to see if he's going to use it or not.
The NV4500 does have a granny gear. 5.61:1 for the version I'm looking for. The crawl ratio from my current setup will go from 33:1 to 62:1. This will make my fun mountain downhill runs a bit more controlled and less reliant on the brakes. I've got line on one locally, just need to see if he's going to use it or not.
Been a little bit since an update. Too cold and too dark to work on the camper outside with my hours at work so focus has shifted to the rear bumper and spare tire carrier.
My setup used last year while effective was a pain to lower/raise for access to the backside of the camper. After a few days on the road for the desert trip the spare was quite a chore. Even before we built that setup I had peeled a spindle, hub and outer axle shaft from a 10 bolt front diff in a pick-n-pull junkyard. The plan was to use this assembly as the hinge point for the spare swingout. This would set up a spare set of bearings and lockout hub assembly if I managed to damage such parts on the trail.
A few weeks ago my buddy Bill got started at whittling away the rotor mounting surface on the hub and part of the spindle and stub axle. He got them down to a manageable hunk ready for adaptation to use on the bumper.
He welded the stub axle to the trimmed spindle. After $140 later at the steel shop for some 3x6 box tube we got to work adding the spindle assembly to the tube. In order support the spindle better we added a hole to the box tube to inset the spindle allowing welding to the spindle on both the top side and part of the bottom. Since the spindle is cast, we used a torch to heat up the parts for better penetration with the mig welder.
We added a support to the inside of the box to connect all the way to the bottom of the box as well. The welds turned out pretty good with the added heat.
On another weekend we mocked up the assembly to the Blazer to lay out the swing arm. In order to save fabrication time we recycled the drop down spare to work as the main vertical section on the swingarm.
Fitting the main lower section was first. Again heat was used to aid the welding process due to the cast material.
The upright cut and beginning to be fitted.
Getting ready to weld.
With the upright in place we tested it out. Even without grease the action is very smooth.
Bill added the diagonal supports to the upright.
He also capped off the ends and cleaned them up.
We also had planned on adding a receiver to the bumper for possible towing duty and a easy spot for a removable step. We planned to set this into the box slightly for clearance and locking it into the bumper than just welding it to the bottom face. We still have to add gussets to this, but it dropped in perfectly.
The backside of the receiver.
Bottom side:
Items still left to add are D-ring mounts, folding step, rack for 3 jerry cans and a folding table off of the backside of the swingout. This is along with the brackets to attach the bumper to the frame (using 3/8" plate), the stop and rest for the end of the swing arm and the latch to lock it into place.
Not to soon we will be mounting it. It will be much nicer to easliy swing the tire out of the way and then lock it into position with the lockout hub.
My setup used last year while effective was a pain to lower/raise for access to the backside of the camper. After a few days on the road for the desert trip the spare was quite a chore. Even before we built that setup I had peeled a spindle, hub and outer axle shaft from a 10 bolt front diff in a pick-n-pull junkyard. The plan was to use this assembly as the hinge point for the spare swingout. This would set up a spare set of bearings and lockout hub assembly if I managed to damage such parts on the trail.
A few weeks ago my buddy Bill got started at whittling away the rotor mounting surface on the hub and part of the spindle and stub axle. He got them down to a manageable hunk ready for adaptation to use on the bumper.
He welded the stub axle to the trimmed spindle. After $140 later at the steel shop for some 3x6 box tube we got to work adding the spindle assembly to the tube. In order support the spindle better we added a hole to the box tube to inset the spindle allowing welding to the spindle on both the top side and part of the bottom. Since the spindle is cast, we used a torch to heat up the parts for better penetration with the mig welder.
We added a support to the inside of the box to connect all the way to the bottom of the box as well. The welds turned out pretty good with the added heat.
On another weekend we mocked up the assembly to the Blazer to lay out the swing arm. In order to save fabrication time we recycled the drop down spare to work as the main vertical section on the swingarm.
Fitting the main lower section was first. Again heat was used to aid the welding process due to the cast material.
The upright cut and beginning to be fitted.
Getting ready to weld.
With the upright in place we tested it out. Even without grease the action is very smooth.
Bill added the diagonal supports to the upright.
He also capped off the ends and cleaned them up.
We also had planned on adding a receiver to the bumper for possible towing duty and a easy spot for a removable step. We planned to set this into the box slightly for clearance and locking it into the bumper than just welding it to the bottom face. We still have to add gussets to this, but it dropped in perfectly.
The backside of the receiver.
Bottom side:
Items still left to add are D-ring mounts, folding step, rack for 3 jerry cans and a folding table off of the backside of the swingout. This is along with the brackets to attach the bumper to the frame (using 3/8" plate), the stop and rest for the end of the swing arm and the latch to lock it into place.
Not to soon we will be mounting it. It will be much nicer to easliy swing the tire out of the way and then lock it into position with the lockout hub.
Mighty Dodge Ram
Senior Member
Nice work guys.
+1 - are you taking orders?Mighty Dodge Ram said:
ntsqd
Custom User Title
Did I see that right, he's in a chair? I chase/crew for a friend in a chair who built this. He's said to me many times "Walking is over-rated." Kudos.
It's currently getting a bit of a make-over and class change.
It's currently getting a bit of a make-over and class change.
Yep you saw that right. He's in a chair. I've known him since college and my wife, him and my buddy Larry (blue K10/camper) went to high school together. He was born without the use of his legs, so he doesn't know any other way. I will say this he's one of the most capable people I know (chair or no chair). His ability to drive off road is uncanny. I don't think I know a better driver off road as he just has a feel that most including myself don't. He's a damn good fabricator too.
He's done a few other bumpers before for himself and our buddy Larry but we are throwing all that he's learned on those into this one. I've set the design ideas and we do a lot of brainstorming in the shop to flesh out the final version. We work pretty well together for sure. I couldn't be happier how it's coming out.
More work to be done Sunday. D-ring mounts and bumper mounts fitted to the truck and then the bumper.
He's done a few other bumpers before for himself and our buddy Larry but we are throwing all that he's learned on those into this one. I've set the design ideas and we do a lot of brainstorming in the shop to flesh out the final version. We work pretty well together for sure. I couldn't be happier how it's coming out.
More work to be done Sunday. D-ring mounts and bumper mounts fitted to the truck and then the bumper.
Colorado Mark
Advanced Member
Great work on your Blazer Zoomad!!!
If you are ever back up around the Wheeler lake area and see a Silverado with a new Grandby on it, that will be me.
Very good friend of mine owns quite a bit of the property with mines on them in that area above Alma.
Come say howdy. I always have the key to his gates and the gates the forest service has. Several gates where put up by the forest service to keep people from cutting across his property to get to abandoned mines.
We can take you places nobody else gets to go to.
Unlocking the gate.
One of the mines.
Pretty much everything in this picture belongs to my friend. Including the mineral rights.
If you are ever back up around the Wheeler lake area and see a Silverado with a new Grandby on it, that will be me.
Very good friend of mine owns quite a bit of the property with mines on them in that area above Alma.
Come say howdy. I always have the key to his gates and the gates the forest service has. Several gates where put up by the forest service to keep people from cutting across his property to get to abandoned mines.
We can take you places nobody else gets to go to.
Unlocking the gate.
One of the mines.
Pretty much everything in this picture belongs to my friend. Including the mineral rights.
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