RSB3
11-26-2008, 08:24 AM
Ok it is time to post this intro (Blanco pushed me), my name is Bob and I am in the process (long as it has been so far) in building a 73 K5 Blazer into a Class 3. I have had many conversations with many friendly and helpful people so far. I live in Boise which is difficult to access and personally see the parts that are required for such a build. I recently traveled down to Pasadena for work and took the hour plus drive to Kartek, talk about a kid in a candy store! I met Baja Mike and he was very helpful and gave me further encouragement to move forward.
The Blazer is going to be heavy to start with, I have a K30 donor which will give me my axles ((Dana 60 and 14FF) a big block, turbo 400 and NP205) thinking the K30 could someday be used for a pre-run vehicle or possibly other race truck? I like the old style look and it would just be cool… But the Blazer comes first! Bought it in Sacramento during the late 80’s and drove it as a college rig and on the dunes in Pismo, 6’ air and a broken axle dana 44 (bent) and it still drove on the freeway to San Luis Obispo to get me home…I have hauled this rig from CA to Boise (where I decided to go the Class 3 direction :D) and to three different houses and hopefully to its final resting where it will be built to finally roll out a racer.
I am currently waiting on a house with a 900 sf shop! Finally no more crawling around a two car garage populated with everything other than just auto tools… hopefully within the month I get to move and I’m faced with hauling two non drivable rigs across Boise (Blazer and the K30)… the shop is the motivation!
From what I have learned is that I need the parts to build the cage, I am leaning towards Fox Bypass 18” shocks, 40+ gallon fuel cell, I have the 3G seats, Deaver springs, Hannemann fenders and drop hood but the cage is my biggest hurdle, I recently bought a mig welder but would feel 100% better if someone else a lot more qualified could weld and bend it. I am finding that every cage is different so I am looking at a lot of photos to get ideas, spare tire placement, fuel cell location, etc. I will have many question on this and how to tie to the frame, I am loosing the 300+ fiberglass top and skinning with aluminum (bought road signs from a scrap yard that appear to be the right thickness, bare aluminum up to the sky (painted) Speed Limit 25 to the interior… hahahaahhaaaaaaaaa hopefully going a lot faster than that but I know there will be many times going less than that…
I can keep going but will end it here…
Again thanks and hopefully this K5 will be rolling next year! or the next or the next... money and time....
One question I do have is that since BITD has some races close by, what would a Class 3 classify as racing in their series? I want to do Baja (any of them) but I would like to test it close to home for the first time.
Thanks again,
Bob
The Blazer is going to be heavy to start with, I have a K30 donor which will give me my axles ((Dana 60 and 14FF) a big block, turbo 400 and NP205) thinking the K30 could someday be used for a pre-run vehicle or possibly other race truck? I like the old style look and it would just be cool… But the Blazer comes first! Bought it in Sacramento during the late 80’s and drove it as a college rig and on the dunes in Pismo, 6’ air and a broken axle dana 44 (bent) and it still drove on the freeway to San Luis Obispo to get me home…I have hauled this rig from CA to Boise (where I decided to go the Class 3 direction :D) and to three different houses and hopefully to its final resting where it will be built to finally roll out a racer.
I am currently waiting on a house with a 900 sf shop! Finally no more crawling around a two car garage populated with everything other than just auto tools… hopefully within the month I get to move and I’m faced with hauling two non drivable rigs across Boise (Blazer and the K30)… the shop is the motivation!
From what I have learned is that I need the parts to build the cage, I am leaning towards Fox Bypass 18” shocks, 40+ gallon fuel cell, I have the 3G seats, Deaver springs, Hannemann fenders and drop hood but the cage is my biggest hurdle, I recently bought a mig welder but would feel 100% better if someone else a lot more qualified could weld and bend it. I am finding that every cage is different so I am looking at a lot of photos to get ideas, spare tire placement, fuel cell location, etc. I will have many question on this and how to tie to the frame, I am loosing the 300+ fiberglass top and skinning with aluminum (bought road signs from a scrap yard that appear to be the right thickness, bare aluminum up to the sky (painted) Speed Limit 25 to the interior… hahahaahhaaaaaaaaa hopefully going a lot faster than that but I know there will be many times going less than that…
I can keep going but will end it here…
Again thanks and hopefully this K5 will be rolling next year! or the next or the next... money and time....
One question I do have is that since BITD has some races close by, what would a Class 3 classify as racing in their series? I want to do Baja (any of them) but I would like to test it close to home for the first time.
Thanks again,
Bob