Kinda long post here --- I am bored tonight --- cold rain and puddles keep me inside --- so I type!

I am kinda tough on my '86 K5, logging firewood and crashing over stumps - dragging full trees behind me and then hauling what I cut in a 12' x 6' high bed trailer --- 2 cords is usual --- around 8,000 lbs or so.

Once - I came over a hill - in fall and there was a huge rock under a concealing pile of dead leaves --- BLAM! ---> high center had all 4 wheels off the ground!

I thought the transfer case was going to come up through the hump and hit me --- it was a HARD hit.

Winching it sideways was the only way to not bend the driveshaft or ruin the undercarriage more than it was. Two trees volunteered as deadmen, and a pair of ****** blocks got me off the rock after an hour of being careful.

Long story shortened --- I recently blew up the torque converter - don't ask how --- I just did it.

So - I had the transmission rebuilt to the specs I had used when I built it over 25 years ago; shift kit, racing sprag, 3" wide pre-torched 2-4 band, Corvette servo, oversized the drainback passageway, stuffed the accumulator(s) and used a hardened drum.

The transmission was still good --- you could see the part numbers on the fibers and the steels were unburned and still had my 90-grit marks on them.

The transmission shop called to tell me the frame was badly damaged and they wanted my promise that I would take care of it soon.

Yesterday I cut some 3'x2 1/2" x 12" heavy angle steel, drilled them for the crossmember bolts and put the crossmember back up where I want it. The frame was badly pushed up, cracked and deformed and I used the new bolts with stacks of huge washers to draw it down so I can weld it - perhaps Monday or Tuesday this week.

Has anyone else cracked their frame at the rear mount crossmember?

I promise to take some pictures of it --- if it stops raining long enough for me to toss some cardboard (farmer's creeper") under it and use my tablet for a combo of pictures and perhaps a YT video.





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