KENDA’S K5 BLAZER

Words: Shaun Ochsner Photos: Shaun Ochsner/Mike Higgs

It’s not often you come across a K5 Blazer build. They are out there, just like Kenda Tire’s 1991 GMC K5 Blazer. Introduced in 1969, the K5 was the smallest SUV out of the GMC truck line. The final year of the K5 was 1991 before it was replaced by the Yukon. The K5 was built as a short-wheelbase vehicle with two and four-wheel drive options.

Kenda Region Sales Manager, Mike Higgs spent years trying to find a K5 in just the right condition. His search came to an end near the shores of South Lake Tahoe. It had no issues starting and drove just fine. He paid the owner $1,000 for it.

Just like how every garage build normally starts, Higgs wanted to keep things simple. Change out the suspension, new wheels and tires along with adding a lighting package and some other small things. Of course, the more parts you add, soon the project turns into a full-blown build. That is

exactly what happend with the Blazer.

Higgs started out with a custom 4130 chromoly race cage from Wicked Creations. Next a Wilco tailgate was added. Higgs went to Can-Back to design a custom pre-production soft-top. Baja Rack stepped in with a roof rack system and integrated adjustable light bar. After sitting in the garage for months, Higgs moved the Blazer to Mikey Vanden Huevel’s race shop in Wisconsin. Vanden Huevel was between projects and agreed to work on the vehicle. Vanden Heuvel was taking on a build outside of his normal

wheelhouse. This is where things went into full overdrive. Vanden Huevel installed a customized carbon fiber dash for the interior from Fiberwerx . Higgs sourced a fiberglass body from McNeil racing. Adding all these parts increased the weight of the Blazer. New springs and suspension

from Eibach were added to the Blazer along with Bilstein shocks to handle the increased load. The final weigh in came in at 5,600-lbs.

The new goal of the K5 Blazer was to make it as versatile as possible. Higgs could drive at high speeds in the deserts, or slow in rock crawling sections. The front hood

assembly is all one piece and can be unbolted and removed when necessary. The fenders can also be removed with two bolts per side to turn the Blazer into a rock buggy. Higgs says for overlanding trips, he can add a rooftop tent. The Blazer has already proved itself on the desert terrain of the recent King of the Hammers.

KENDA K5 BLAZER BUILD SHEET:

1991 K5 GMC Blazer

GM DR525 LS3 6.2L Aluminum V8 Engine CBR Performance Products-Aluminum Radiator

Automatic Transmission Designs 4L80E Reid Racing Super SH80 case Flying Dutchman Custom Dana 60 Front Axle W/ Reid Racing HD Dana 60 Flying Dutchman Custom GM Corporate 14-bolt Rear Axle

PSC Motorsports -2.5” Full Hydraulic Dual Ram System

Flying Dutchman Off-Road Designed 4 & 5 Link Coilover Solid Axle Bilstein M9100 2.5” Coil-Over Remote Reservoir & Bypass Remote Reservoir Eibach Performance Suspension-Coil Springs

Wilwood Brake System Arizona Performance-Caliper Brackets

McNeil Racing Fiberglass Conversion Fenders, Hood & Bedsides Flying Dutchman Off-Road Designed Front & Rear Pre-Runner Bumpers. Wilco Off-Road Products-Custom Swing-Away Rear TireGate BajaRack Adventure Roof Rack Can-Back Convertible Soft Top Lightforce Performance Lighting Warn Industries-Zeon 12-S Winch Freesprit Recreation High Country 63” Rooftop Tent

Fiberwerks Off-Road Fiberglass-Navi Full-size Race/ Pre-Runner Dash Aqua-Hot Heating Systems WR13000 Auxiliary Heating System. ARB On-Board High Performance 12V Air Compressor Forged Aluminum Air Tank. Corbeau Baja XRS Suspension Seats Aim Sports MGX 7” TFT Competition Data Acquisition Dash Lowrance HDS-12 Gen3 & HDS LIVE 7 Baja Touch Screen GPS Rugged Radio-VHF Radio System DIRTSPORTSWORLD.COM | 29

30 | DIRTSPORTSWORLD.COM T o say that not all suspension lift systems are created equal is naive. The truth of it is simple, you pay for what you get. A good suspension manufacturer spends a lot of time, effort and money making a well balance kit that addresses all aspects involved, including ride quality, fit and finish as well as replacing or relocating all components affected. RAM 3500 trucks are extremely popular rigs to modify, though the optional Factory Air Assist throws some companies for a loop. That wasn’t the case for Carli Suspension and their 3-3.5-inch Pintop System, specifically designed for the RAM’s Auto Level Air Suspension. Rear air assist air bags aren’t uncommon in the aftermarket world; it is the OEM world that doesn’t utilize them as much. When building the kit, Carli Suspension had more than just air bag placement to be concerned about. The air bags adjust based on positioning of sensors tied to actuator arms. When the arms angle from a heavier load on the truck, the air bags automatically inflate, then deflate, as needed. These actuators need to be in the correct position to work properly and by default, lifting the back of the truck would change them. The can of worms gets opened. To relocate the front radius arms for proper geometry, drop brackets need to be carefully designed. Doing so, however, causes interference with the Auto Level truck’s air tank. Carli Suspension includes components to relocate the air tank. There is quite a lot that goes into a good kit and to get a good scoop, we got in touch with Dan Tourino, Sales Manager at Carli Suspension. “We’re the only company that engineered the entire kit for the air-assist truck.” Explained Dan. “All items needed to correct geometry and maintain FULL use of the truck’s factory air assist system are included while the additional suspension travel and progressive rear leaf spring pair with custom shock tuning to offer a superior ride and huge boost in handling while minimizing driver fatigue.” The southern California based company didn’t stop there. They are a performance suspension company and build components that had handle the duress of off-road fun, heavy loads and general on-road driving. “The progressive leaf spring pack is not from our non-Auto Level system and adapted, it’s designed to bear the entirety of the 6,500lb payload should an airbag fail.” Dan explained further. “We provide brackets to lower the actuator links to ensure the bags are NOT over-inflated at the new ride height causing a harsh ride quality. The air tank is relocated to the factory spare tire area (on a Ram, there’s no room for an oversized spare so this area is worthless on a lifted truck) to clear the radius arm drop brackets that correct the front pivot point/alignment.” The company spent plenty of time in the front

Words: Jake Headlee Photos: Danny Ellender

end of the truck too. A reduced spring rate was carefully chosen for the front coil springs. To keep geometry correct, radius arm drop brackets were computer modeled based on CAD files from RAM and built from ¼-inch cold rolled steel plate and CNC formed for a precision bolt in assembly. These also correct the dreaded coil bow some common on the stock RAM heavy duty trucks. An Adjustable Track Bar is also included to push the straight-axle back into position at the new ride height. New front bump stop drop brackets are included as well a Cali Tuned King 2.5-inch Remote Reservoir Shocks at all four corners. The new combination of springs and shocks boasts a 50 percent improvement in straight up and down suspension travel over stock. A key point of the dually drivers out there, this kit is fully compatible with dual rear wheel trucks. At the end of the day, the base kit from Carli Suspension blows most other kits out of the water. That doesn’t include the additional options that can be added such as replacement fabricated Radius Arms, Torsion Front Sway Bar replacement, Low Mount Steering Stabilizer and more.

Gotta start with the tear down. Thankfully newer trucks don’t have rusty bolt issues like older and well-used trucks do.

Worth its weight in gold. Carli Suspension works directly with King Shocks and Deaver Spring to get the best performance possible.

DIRTSPORTSWORLD.COM | 31 The front suspension is pretty straight forward. Get the front differential assembly to lower enough to remove the springs and shocks. Install the new Carli-spec King Shocks and the new reduced rate coil springs.

Next, the back side of the OEM radius arms is unbolted and the factory bracket is removed. The new bracket bolts right in place and the original radius arms bolts straight in.

The rear suspension is nearly as simple. Disconnect the Auto Level components and swap the leaf springs. Install the air bag drop brackets along with the new drop brackets for the actuator arms.

Carli-tuned King 2.5-inch Piggy Back Reservoir Shocks balance the bump dampening in the back end.

Carli Suspension states the 3-3.5-inch kit can utilize 35-37-inch tires. On this rig, Baja HQ installed 35x12.0 Nitto Ridge Grappler tires wrapped around 20-inch KMC XD wheels.