1990 k5 blazer

[maxpowers]

i have a 90 k5 blazer i drove in high school. its bone stock 350 auto, besides a good tune up, cowl hood, throttle body spacer and stereo stuff. good shocks. 32x11.5 tires. i took all the trim off and blacked it out. its been in a garage for 20 years. my daughter is 14 and im thinking now is the time to fix it up. when is a better time to drive cool car than high school? i was thinking about a cummings 2.8 crate....pricey. it has 90k miles on it but hasn't run in 15 years. i happen to have a cummings 6bt box truck with 51k original miles on it that runs great sitting around. which way should i go here? 6bt seems heavy and overkill, plus i think it could kill a 700r4 in a heartbeat.

im thinking soft top, get that vintage infinity stereo woking and rock it! should i just rebuild the 350? not super economical. if im going to sink money into this i want to use it too and keep it. this is the only reason the 2.8 seems like a choice. 4bt im not considering as i have a 6bt sitting around. manual is not an option regrettably, i want her to start on auto.

 

[fourwheelerjeff]

i have a 90 k5 blazer i drove in high school. its bone stock 350 auto, besides a good tune up, cowl hood, throttle body spacer and stereo stuff. good shocks. 32x11.5 tires. i took all the trim off and blacked it out. its been in a garage for 20 years. my daughter is 14 and im thinking now is the time to fix it up. when is a better time to drive cool car than high school? i was thinking about a cummings 2.8 crate....pricey. it has 90k miles on it but hasn't run in 15 years. i happen to have a cummings 6bt box truck with 51k original miles on it that runs great sitting around. which way should i go here? 6bt seems heavy and overkill, plus i think it could kill a 700r4 in a heartbeat.

im thinking soft top, get that vintage infinity stereo woking and rock it! should i just rebuild the 350? not super economical. if im going to sink money into this i want to use it too and keep it. this is the only reason the 2.8 seems like a choice. 4bt im not considering as i have a 6bt sitting around. manual is not an option regrettably, i want her to start on auto.

it's been sitting, is something wrong with the 350? I would just run it for simplicity's sake.

 

[maxpowers]

it's been sitting, is something wrong with the 350? I would just run it for simplicity's sake.

ran fine when i parked it 15 years ago. it nee brake lines and a fuel tank for sure. the ball joints were also not so good. im just thinking if im going to sink money into it a tbi 350 gets realy bad fuel economy for a teenager. this is my chance to build it up for myself

 

[fourwheelerjeff]

ran fine when i parked it 15 years ago. it nee brake lines and a fuel tank for sure. the ball joints were also not so good. im just thinking if im going to sink money into it a tbi 350 gets realy bad fuel economy for a teenager. this is my chance to build it up for myself

are you building it for your daughter or yourself? if you are worried about fuel mileage I would say this is the wrong platform no matter what motor. get a little econobox for fuel mileage and build the K5 for fun.

 

[ZooMad75]

Reviving the 350 would be the quickest path to driving it and saving some coin for the fun stuff.

Jeff is right, none of these things is economically smart to drive. Even with the diesel by the time you spend the money to upgrade everything to survive the 6bt. Not to mention the amount of work that goes into a Cummins swap. Then there is time. She’s 14 now so you got a couple of years to get it going. I’m not saying it can’t be done in two years if you hit it hard but there are just as many that tore a truck down to do major work and the desire wanes and it don’t get done at all.

What is in the truck was arguably one of the stone simple reliable EFI setups ever produced. You got some maintenance catch up to do since it sat for so long. But a fuel pump, rebuilt Tbi, plugs/wires/cap/rotor should get that back to running tip top again. Provided rodents didn’t make a meal out of the wiring.

I look at it from this point of view, whatever my kid is driving I want it to be reliable and safe first. It can still be cool, but it better be reliable.

 

[dyeager535]

If you want to get crazy, and knowing kids these days, I think the main upgrade needed would be one of the aftermarket touch screen/head units. Bluetooth, apple, Android, radio, etc.They are quite affordable and seem to get good reviews.

Agree with others, you'll never break even on economy with one of these things based on cost to do the conversion.

 

[bablazer73]

I would probably try and get the truck running with the 350 and See what it needs. I wouldn't go crazy with upgrades. Find out what she wants. My daughter wanted one of mine, but it was a stick! she drove some of my other ones, but she got a Cavalier as a daily! (gas)
She was always helping me with whatever truck i was building!
Cherish these times!!

 

[dyeager535]

My daughter wants nothing to do with "her" truck lol. Hopefully she needs a woods truck when it's time for her to get it.

These are great rigs to learn the basics of maintenance on I think. Oil changes, brakes, etc. It's also easy to get moving (and slow) in 4L/Low on the 465 to learn manuals.

I like the idea of the touch screen head units too, so having her help install that would be another educational process. Since it's in some way connected to the cell phone, she'll enjoy the results.

 

[Big Ray]

i have a 90 k5 blazer i drove in high school. its bone stock 350 auto, besides a good tune up, cowl hood, throttle body spacer and stereo stuff. good shocks. 32x11.5 tires. i took all the trim off and blacked it out. its been in a garage for 20 years. my daughter is 14 and im thinking now is the time to fix it up. when is a better time to drive cool car than high school? i was thinking about a cummings 2.8 crate....pricey. it has 90k miles on it but hasn't run in 15 years. i happen to have a cummings 6bt box truck with 51k original miles on it that runs great sitting around. which way should i go here? 6bt seems heavy and overkill, plus i think it could kill a 700r4 in a heartbeat.

im thinking soft top, get that vintage infinity stereo woking and rock it! should i just rebuild the 350? not super economical. if im going to sink money into this i want to use it too and keep it. this is the only reason the 2.8 seems like a choice. 4bt im not considering as i have a 6bt sitting around. manual is not an option regrettably, i want her to start on auto.

Gotta disagree with you here. IMHO, a first car should be an absolute beater until she thoroughly develops her driving skills.
Get her something reliable but won't be a great loss if someone hits her or God forbid she hits someone else.
Work on the K5 in the meantime, then after a year or 2 present it to her and tell her how proud you are of her.

 

[maxpowers]

I'm thinking about selling it now. I restored it in 98, POR 15 the entire frame and underside, new rear window motor, replaced the inner fenders, cowl hood, paint, interior a good tune up, 32x11.5 mud tires, tuffy security consul, system, 2 sets of aluminum OEM wheels (road tires and mud tires), and had it just about perfect. Drove it till around 2009 daily. Then it sat outside for a few years with limited use. It developed the usual rust sitting (rockers and inside right behind the cab on the walls). It needs a fuel tank and brake lines for sure, rockers and some interior metal work at the floor/metal top junction. I have all the stock parts inducing hood.

Its been stored inside since around 2011 thats the last time i started it. 112k miles

Im trying to figure out what its worth to someone as a restoration project. It kida hurts to think of but ill never restore it and i could use the money to get her into something more modern.