so as some of you may know my love affair with k5s started out about 2 or 3 years ago, when i picked up my first 74 k5, which i recently sold. now im not sure how much ive put up here about my newest and only one so far which is a 78. so i figured id write up a little life story of the truck so far and whats going on with it now. well this truck was for sale down the road from me with a decent body that i thought we could rob off this truck and throw on one of the other ones i had at the time. the seller was asking 4k i think. took it for a test drive and the rear driveshaft went flying off so i knew there was a problem somewhere and that knocked about a grand off the price so i took it.

this is what it looked like for sale







after getting it home it sat for about all winter while i was trying to sell one of my other trucks. had some 38.5 boggers ready to be put on. but the truck needed some work before she was road worthy. also the axles have different gears in them hence the driveshaft giving way instead of any internal gears. rear is a 3.08 and front is 3.43.

this was the test fit of the tires. they rubbed a little in the front when you would turn so i knew i couldnt run with them on.




so i got to work swapping the rear lift springs from another truck to get rid of the 4 in aluminum block that the moron had installed in here. and also got a shackle flip for the rear from diy4x.



after that was installed i had the body shop across the street from me cut the fenders so i could fit the front tires.



after that i was pretty much where i wanted to be for the summer.

climbing a little hill by my house



then we took a trip up to cedarburg for a little mud festival that was more dusty than anything lol. learned my truck wasnt all it was cracked up to be by getting stuck and broke more than anything.





here i ripped my front tow hook off and messed the bumper up pretty bad cause some moron in a fj cruiser doesnt know how to pull people out. thinks getting a running start up to 30mph was a good idea. also twisted my rear driveshaft in half trying to pull someone out. so luckily i had trailerd my 74 up with and i robbed the driveshaft off of there for the drive home. unfortunately it was a different size ujoint so i had to improvise with washers in order to make it home. was about a 2 hour ride home from north of Milwaukee.

after that i knew it was time to beef things up. took the bumper off and swapped it with a homemade one for my 74. it was sturdy but not very pretty.



then i got the right size ujoint and i was back at it for the time being. went to a buddies swamp romp in kansasville. and didnt break anything thank god.





and the day after



truck was performing alright but i really wanted to be able to mash the gas and not worry about anything. so this winter i have been doing a 3/4 ton swap. 14 bolt full floater in the rear and dana 44 in the front. only because i couldnt find a dana 60 in my price range. both with a 3.73 ratio that will help me a little offroad but still keep it able to go on the highway.

as of right now i have the rear axle in the truck with a disc brake conversion all done and piped in. to replace the small 12 bolt.



the front axle is just about ready to come out i just need my stupid ball joints to get here already. then its just reassembly and in she goes. ive got all new ujoints already installed in the axle shafts. and to top it all off i got a set of beadlock wheels from a buddy of mine which all the boggers are now mounted on and just waiting for the front axle to be put on.





and that is where i am today with my baby. its sad seeing her sit outside all alone covered in snow when she should be driving in it.

if there are any questions just let me know. there is a lot of stuff im sure i have missed only because i have done so much with this truck already but just totally forgot about this forum. now im back on and have my own computer to be on so ill be on here much more often.

 

looks like a good time on wheels

 

I like the 74 but looks like you're having more fun with this one!

 

yeah. well the 74 was in no shape to drive on the road. i like to cruise with this thing too. especially with the top off. it also has just a stock roll bar for the way back. i replaced the exhaust a while ago. was stock manifolds to some super 44s or something with the exit right out the rear. let too much exhaust in through the rear window so it was a good excuse to switch to full legenth headers with straight pipes to some purple horneis glass packs. sounds mean. and it definatly is a good time on wheels. when i can afford the gas lol.

 

so after about a week of working on the truck its practically ready for the road. all thats left is replacing my two front body mounts because the one is saggy and you can definatly see it plain as day from the front and the new driveshaft should be in this week.

these past few weeks ive put the front axle in. painted all the parts i wanted to match. replaced the master cylinder cause it was leaking pretty badly. i can now stop a little better. the front axle is performing pretty well. its doing pretty well out back on a rigged driveshaft for the time being. the new shaft if being built out of .120 wall so i wont have to worry about it snapping on me anymore lol. got some new straps from the gm dealer so i know they will fit the right way. so once the shaft gets her ill get some new ujoints for the driveshaft if it didnt come with them. then bolt it all in.

the front body mounts should be a piece of cake as well. having an engine hoist helps lift the body up. lol. so im planning on having people over on friday or saturday to help swamp up the trail a bit.

the trail went from this



to this



and what the axle looks like under the truck and my saggy body mount.