1989 K5 modifications(?)

[JWW]

JWW here,

Yea, I'm new here. II have owned a 1989 K5 Blazer since new. <grin> Yea, I am an old fart. It is in excellent shape but the clear coat is starting to peal in a few places. My odometer has turned over once already and quit working at 75 thousand on the second round. The engine runs strong but there is a touch of oil leaking through by the guides, as a poof of smoke comes out the exhaust now and then when I start the pup up.

So, onto my story, I found a 1984 K5 Blazer through my son-in-law for $800.00 from one of his long time buds. It has a 383 stroker motor in it, headers, dual exhaust, nice rims, Holly Street carb, yada yada and has about 2000 miles on the motor. I have the receipt and he paid $2,600 for the stroker plus miscellaneous parts. The bill with labor totaled $5,099. It was built local to me by Kelley’s Auto And Machine. I spoke with the fellow that built it there and it they put all the good stuff that anyone would every want in a stroker motor. They specialize in stroker motors so everything was done correct. The K5 sat for about 14 months and was never been started for those months. Seems the guy blew the transmission and let it sit. The guy at Kelley’s said he would go through the motor, new gaskets and seals and check everything out for about $300.00. Seems reasonable to me.

I also want to take the entire drive train that is in the 1984 K5 and put in my 1989 K5. The 84 has the larger rear end, 14 bold rear end, probably the 1 inch axles, not sure. Anyway, I have never done anything this extensive before but I have worked on a few cars and trucks in my day, not that I am a mechanic. I have fabrication skills, am a certified pipe welder for nearly 37 years and have a Bridgeport, a lathe and plenty of tools. I have the front clip torn off the 84, headers removed, will be pulling the motor sometime soon to take to the engine builder.

I would also like to upgrade the shocks front and rear. I am not looking to build a rock crawler or a sand dune K5, but I do want something trick looking that is totally functional. I will be pulling a toyhauler as well, nothing more than a 26 footer. It must pass emissions here in Phoenix Az as well.

Anyone willing to lead me to the correct path for modification, problems I might run into switching out the drive train etc., things to look out for, ect. message threads pertinent to my mods, beefed up transmission information or any other help would greatly be appreciated. Oh, I do love to hit the sand dunes and off-road in my Rhino, of course the K5 goes as well (pulling it).


Regards,
-JWW:

 

[JWW]

Oh, another picture ...

 

[scrappyk5]

you got a heck of a deal for $800.00.

 

[K5_DIESEL]

Snag that thing mang

 

[CGT80]

I don't know the smog laws in Phoenix but the 89 would be throttle body injected and the 84 is carbed. In california you can not swap an older engine into a newer truck. A nicely built 383 will not run correctly with a stock TBI setup. I have been researching this topic since I have an 88 K5 TBI that needs a better engine. My 79 c20 pickup has a great 383 but the carb can supply enough air and fuel to meet its potential power. I also spent $5,000 + on the parts and rebuild labor for my 383. I did most of the work myself for the swap. I dropped the old 350 off at the engine builder along with the new aluminum heads, intake, distributer, etc., and then picked it up when it was done and reinstalled it.

It looks like you got a great deal. If you can get around the carb to tbi issue the swap shouldn't be too hard since they are both k5s. My k5 smokes on startup and then a little while running, but it is still reliable. I like the tbi. It is pretty responsive but it sounds like it is a major pain compared to a carb set up when it comes to upgrading the engine. TBI also requires certain cam profiles to run properly.

I could not tell from the photo if the rear end in the 84 is a 14b FF for sure. Are you certain on that one?

Do you know which trans the 84 has? A stock 700r4 may not last long with a 383 and pulling a toy hauler.

In my 79c20 I run the 383, th400 trans that has been built as much as practical, with the equivilant of the Allison torque converter, and a gear vendors overdrive unit. I have 6 forward gears. I have the 14b FF rear with 4 wheel disk brakes. The 14 bolt has 9 leaf springs on each side from the factory. I also run 5000lbs air bags on the rear to help clear the tires without a lift and to stabilize the truck.

I pull a 2001 21' fleetwood wilderness toy hauler. I estimate my truck weight at 7000lbs and the trailer at 7-8k loaded. I use a weight distribution hitch. The tongue of my trailer is so heavy that two people can not budge it if it is not sitting over the ball of the truck. I have to be within a half inch or so with the truck to get the trailer on it.

I get 5 mpg while towing and would not do it without having 6 speeds to get me up to speed, not to mention up the hills. I pull Cajon pass (so cal) on the 15 freeway at 55-60mph max. The steep part will get me down to 2nd gear direct at 3800-4000rpm. I run a 4.10 rear end with 33" rear tires. I had hoped to tow my trailer with my k5 also, but after seeing how my truck struggles, I don't think it is safe. The k5 is very short and the frame is probably lighter than a 3/4 or 1 ton pickup.

My grandparents 25" 5th wheel weighs 2000 lbs less than mine when you compare the listed dry weight. Theirs is also newer and not a toy hauler. They do have a slide out. Out of couriosity, have you towed your toy hauler with your K5? I have only moved mine a few feet in the yard with my K5.

I hope some of this helps

Good luck
Chris

 

[4X4HIGH]

The blue blazer (not sure what year it is) has a 14sf rear axle. Also like was said the 89 will be TBI while the 84 will be carbed and a 383 will not run properly without a chip burn and some other work (cam spec'd for FI).

 

[JWW]

Thanks for the help and suggestions. Looks like I shouild of done a little more homework before buying this pup.

I don't mind taking the stroker back to the original engine builder to get it profiled correctly to install on my TBI 1989 Blazer. Is there a problem with that working or something? Is "that" going to be a PITA or something? I don't mind spending a few more bucks whatsoever, as long as it will run properly and pass emissions.

If the engine swap will work, then what sort of transmission should I be looking at getting, or can my 1989 K5's be beefed up propely? Any ideas on cost?

Cheers,
-JWW:

 

[JWW]

The blue blazer (not sure what year it is) has a 14sf rear axle. Also like was said the 89 will be TBI while the 84 will be carbed and a 383 will not run properly without a chip burn and some other work (cam spec'd for FI).

The Blue Blazer is a 1974 and is naturally aspirated. The 1989 had the TBI. So does a problem exist with the swap. Is a chip burn (whatever that means), a few mods to motor (cam or whatever) possible without anything unusal or custom. In other words, is it something that a qualified engine builder would know how to accomplish, still use my 1989's wiring harness, exhaust etc.?

-JWW:

 

[G-Force8]

A qualified "TBI engine builder" is the kind of builder you want. There are builders out there that have more experience than others on modifying the factory TBI computer. They are known to be difficult to modify to accept more than moderate performance modifications. The camshaft profile cannot be anywhere near "radical" using the stock TBI computer. The computer can accept the 400 crank mod (ie:383 stroker), i've seen it.

www.turbocity.com is a good place to look. They make H.O. TBI kits that will allow considerable performance gains.

You will need to have the engine's specs checked and might need to downgrade the cam if its to much for the TBI.

 

[JWW]

Any threads here on how to put disk brakes on this?

 

[1AAuto.com]

That's a nice Blazer.