My Build, My Story, and where we are headed!

Figured I’d share the full story behind my K5, because a lot of people ask — and honestly, I just like telling it.

About 8 years ago I had my first diesel squarebody, an ’84 I called Black Beauty. Built it all up — kinda half-assed it — but it was my first real build and I loved that truck.

Then in 2018, the Camp Fire hit Paradise, CA. The whole town burned down. We lost everything. No home to go back to. My truck was gone too — burned to the ground along with everything else.

A little after that, a PG&E worker reached out. He had an old Blazer sitting in his yard that hadn’t moved in about 12 years. Long story short, he ended up giving it to me for free. Clean California truck, bone stock, no rust. That became the truck I started rebuilding my life with.

I decided this build was going to be done right this time. Over the last 7 years I’ve been constantly tweaking, fixing, improving, and reimagining it. Here’s where it sits today:

🔧 Suspension

About 7–8 inches of total lift
57” Ford F-150 leaf springs up front
Custom frame-mounted under-shackle hanger kit I’m designing
63” Silverado springs in the rear
A whole lot of fender trimming

🛠 Drivetrain

Original 6.2 diesel, upgraded with: Marine injectors Turned-up injection pump Electric lift pump ATS turbo kit adapted to a 6.5 turbo manifold with a custom flange
Still running the stock 700R4 (pulled from a field, serviced once, still alive)
Dual NP241 transfer cases with 6-gear planetaries 1:1 2.7:1 7.4:1 No front digs (can’t twin-stick 241s)
High Angle Drivelines, 37° joints, double cardans front and rear

🛞 Axles & Steering

Dana 60 kingpin front — welded, hydro assist, bronze kingpin bushings
14-bolt full floater rear with a G80 Gov-Lock
Crossover steering
Hydroboost brakes

🛻 Wheels & Tires

Widened 12-bolt H1 double beadlocks 4” widened outer rings 12” total width
Pit Bull 42s
The best setup I’ve ever run — the truck just flat-out dominates every type of terrain

🔨 Current Projects

Right now I’m working on:

The full 57” front spring swap
Fabricating the shackle-under-frame hanger system
Dialing in the suspension geometry exactly the way I want it

🌄 And That Brings Us to Today — 2025

At this point in my life, I’ve been through a lot. My family has been through hell. We’ve been tested, we’ve been pushed, and we’ve had everything taken from us at one point. And through all of it, I realized something simple:

All you can do is keep moving forward.

And that’s what brings me here — to this community, this truck, this journey, and what I’m trying to build now.

Everyone here is like me.

Hardworking people with a passion for Squarebodies.

People who want to save them, build them, wheel them, and keep them alive.

Every one of you would spend every spare minute working on your truck if life allowed it — and I get that. I’m the same way.

Over the last seven years, I’ve learned that life’s too short to stay unhappy. You have to build the life you want. Nobody is going to hand it to you.

That’s why I started Blazin’ Biddles Offroad.

That’s why I started Squarebody Garage.

Not just as a business — but as a community.

I want a place where: