Before & After - My 1993 K1500
 

My first trip out with the truck was on 1-1-08 at Haspin. I saw CORE there for their hangover run. I started out with with a 6" lift and 35's on the stock IFS. I got bored with it pretty quick and started upgrading.
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And now...
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I originally planned on a full exo, but decided on just some grill protection and half an exo instead. Made some simple tube doors I can swap out when it's nice out. Let's go wheelin. :thumbup:

Looks lot better now.. What mod made the biggest improv? I guessin the solid axle, or the trail lightening...or some other mod?...

The biggest improvement was the axle swap. That torsion bar bracket in the middle of the truck would hang up on a lot. It also made it ride better off road and flex better. I used a 52" rear spring with a 4" lift on the front so it would flex good. Except for the cage, most of the other stuff was a ripple effect. Heavy truck with big tires = big axles, moving the front axle forward to clear the big tires = hydro steering, and so on.
Now I need more power. Where's Tim the Tool Man Taylor at... :rolleyes:

Here are some build pics as it evolved through the years.

Off with the bed.
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The bed, box, and fuel cell done.
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Rock sliders getting installed.
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Starting the exo cage.
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Working on the rear cage
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Cage almost done. Added some bracing and cab protection later. Still IFS at this point.
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Started the 1 ton axle swap. I wish my tires still looked that good.
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To the front...
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Swap all done.
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Added some front end protection. This was supposed to be the start of the front exo. I never liked the way the tube looked that came down from the top, so I never finished it, Until...
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New tube doors.
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I got sick of all the heat inside the engine compartment and tryin to see around the hood and fender so the dog house got removed. This was the only way to get the exo look I wanted.
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The radiator suppport and platform for the stinger
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Started the front exo
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Exo is finished
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All done except headlights.
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I cracked the knuckle in Harlan and patched it to get me through the rest of the weekend. After getting the new knuckles, I decided to not use my old 4 bolt high steer arms and get the Solid 6 bolt arms. Hopefully I get them in the next few days.
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I upgraded to the Solid Axle steering knuckles. The difference between the two are huge.
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The lower king pin bearings are probably original and in horrible shape.
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I hate waiting on parts. I ordered those arms from Solid, which is in North Lima Ohio, and don't have them yet. I order from Jegs or Summit, and I get it next day. Bronco Graveyard is in Michigan and I get it in 2 days max. Day 3 and Solid hasn't even charged my card yet. Maybe they're made to order or something, who knows. They just need to hurry up and send them so I can get my rig back together for Harlan. :sweatin: I guess I will use my old ones if I have to... :(

I just called them. The arms are on backorder for 2 weeks, so plan B is in action. I'm getting my old arms notched tomorrow just in case.

Got the arms back. They did a nice job notching for the keyway. Now I'm wondering if I should even get new arms. They worked fine before, and now they are keyed and have 5 bolts. If I have time, I do want to make a spring eliminator plate. This will work for now if I don't.

I'm thinking about loosing the full size rig, and going to something not as wide or heavy. It weighs in at 5300 lbs.

Either I do a whole new build, or use the doghouse from a S-10 extended cab, and switch cabs. That means I would have to completely redo my cage. I would use 1 3/4 .120 this time. I would link it front and rear. Relocate the radiator to the rear, then I could chop off the front and rear as much as possible for a good approach angle, and weight loss. Was even thinking about using the all aluminum 5.3, using an aluminum radiator, and ditching the steel cable in the winch to save more weight. I will still run the current axles/tires. The thing I'm not sure of is how much lighter will it be. Is the extended cab s-10 lighter than a full size regular cab, or heavier? Would using the frame from the s-10 instead of the full size frame be benificial? Does anyone have the cab measurements on a extended cab s-10? Any help would be appreciated.

I love this plan.

Sorry, no help. Just moral support!

Just throwing it out there, by the time in invest that much effort into redoing a rig, or building a whole new one basically i would think you would be time and money ahead to just go full tube chassis. You have the hard parts already by re-using you current drivetrain, just sub out the truck body and frame for a tube chassis.

I have given this some thought recently at well about my big behemoth of a K5. Looked into build it. links, more tube, hacking it up for better approach/departure angles and so forth and came to the above conclusion. The Only upside to the truck, is i have a title to the blazer and could keep it streetable.

I see your point, but I really want to have a cab and doors though. It sure makes wheeling in the winter or rain a lot nicer.

I'm really interested to see what you come up with as I'm in the same boat. I like the K5 but simply having a smaller body seems like it would make most trails a little more enjoyable as you don't have to worry about snaking in and out of trees as much....the tires would still be the same width but at least you wouldn't have to worry about the body as much.

Not sure on the weights but wouldn't think you lose much between the fullsize regular cab and S-10 extended cab considering most of the heavy stuff (frame, drivetrain, etc...) all stays the same.

This is the reason I like my truggy so much. It is a full tube chassis but still has a toyota cab and dog house. Seriously thinking of starting a new chassis with the same concept but with a few changes to suit my style better.

I'm not sure your gonna save weight by going to an ex cab s10 cab... I have a cab if u wanna come measure on it... It's a heavy pig... If u wanna save weight get rid of the full frame and do a tube frame it makes a world of difference... The green ex s10 I built that I posted pix of a while back had some of the original frame and time I plated it up to be strong enough for the links it got real fn heavy... My current rig/build is a full tube chassis reg cab s10 with tons and its gonna be MUCH lighter than the ex cab I built for my buddy

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I'm hoping to weigh in under 4500#

Ex cab linked both ends makes for LONG wb... My buddies is 12 9 and be tough to get it much shorter and still have good approach/departure angles... Mind is 116" and right where I wanted it

Your engine, axles, frame size are what's killin you on weight, my rig weighs in at around 3500 Lbs, start downsizing on axles & motor, besides its your weight that will hold you back or brakes you in the first place. Just my opinion...

That's sweet!! I like the idea of a tube frame. I didn't realize the s-10 ext cab was so long. I was wanting to go a little less than the 117" mine is now. My biggest issue now besides being on the heavy side is it's way too long. Linking it would fix that. I figure I can remove around 30" off the length if I link it. The width at the sliders can be an issue at times, but not a huge problem.If I end up doing an s-10, the tube frame and non ext cab would be the ticket.

There are things I can do now to save weight. I know my stock doors are heavy. There's an easy 150 lbs. I just don't know if it's worth it to build a whole new rig to save 500 or so pounds.

If you don't mind, could you throw a tape across your rock sliders and let me know what it is. If what I read online was correct, my cab is only 8" wider than the s-10. That doesn't sound right. Thanks

I hear ya... I doubt I will ever run less than what my current drivetrain is. I just need another 100HP. :thumbup:

Yea ill measure tomoris mornin when I'm at my shop... Those are tons and 43s ...it will be fairly low for a truggy rig... 23" belly and 76" to top of cage...