73-75 Blazer Questions

[ike]

Im looking at buying a 73-75 Blazer.I need the roll down rear window and dont want to deal with CA smog laws.Im told these are full time 4x4.What's the best set up for these?A 205 or 208 transfercase? and for the axles I see some put 3/4 or 1 ton axles.Are these transfercase and axles from a truck or suburban.I'm looking for a around town toy for the dogs to ride in and a light to med duty off road toy.I like original set ups but am told the full time 4x4 is weak and wears tires and fuel.I found a local truck that has a new drive train with the 205 transfer case and 3/4 ton axles but Im not sure if I might be better off buying a original truck and converting it myself....Any tips on what to look for and watch out for? Im in Orange CA any local shops that I could talk with? I don't need another car project but don't want to buy someone else's Frankenstein Thanks

 

[bigjbear]

All '73-'75 K5s came w/ the open knuckle, disc brake, internal hub, Dana 44 front and the truck 12 bolt rear. If it had a V-8 and an auto trans it was a TH350 coupled to an NP203 x-fer case (fulltime 4WD), All the '74s had had the 203 as well. Not as common were the stick shift SM465s that came with the NP 205 in '73 & '75. Any of these would be fine for what you describe. Just remember that the newest of these would be 30 years old and may have had any number of thins swapped. My '73 for example, has a TH350 from a car, its NP203 has been converted the more conventional part-time 4WD, and has a 10 bolt front axle. For what you are planning I would just look for one that has a sound body and drivetrain. Check for rust in the rocker pannels, rear wheel arches, at the filler neck cover inside, and at the tailpan. Listen for bad u-joints, espically in the front of the of a part time 4WD truck.

 

[ZooMad75]

bigjbear almost described my 75 perfectly.. 350,sm465,205, D44/12b All stock. got mine relativly unmolested (save for the giant hole in the oil pan!). But as far as the truck was when I got it, it was not a frankenstien of parts from other trucks. My point is original un-molested 73-75's are out there, there are just not as many. Look on EBay as there usually are a couple that pop up every couple of weeks.

Not knowing Cali, I wouldn't know of a shop but do remember seeing something in Peterson's about a shop called GM Truck Center in Southern cali. Burbank maybe? I know they built a sweet full convertible K5 that was featured in either 4WOR or Fourwheeler, just can't remember.

One thing you may want to consider is the high swapability of parts on these trucks. 1/2 ton to 3/4 ton axles are a bolt in, so if somebody already did the swap as long as they used parts from another GM truck a good portion of work would be already done. Just make sure the axles are not wiped out/bent or in poor state of repair, but you should do that on any truck you look at, right? Remember any small block bolts in, big blocks too. plus later (86/7 and up) have one piece rear main seals and factory roller lifter cams, so newer is not always a bad thing. Shoot for that matter the sheetmetal interchages too. Alowing you to bolt on a 91 front clip to update the look and still have the truck registered as a 73-75 and not deal with smog. It's the best of both worlds then.

Bottom line is just because a truck has had some upgrades made, does not always make it a frankenstien. If done right it will show. Done wrong should also show up right away when inspecting it. Plus buying somebody else's project that they grew tired of or are in need of money (again built right) can save you money in the long run. I've seen a few trucks for sale here that the guy didn't get nearly what the sum of the parts was worth but sold it anyway. Some guys part them out and still don't make up what they spent. Crazy but it happens...

 

[justwhatido]

Go ahead and replace the u-joints if you

intend to keep the driveshafts. They are not difficult and not expensive. Pretty cheap insurance with a 30 year old vehicle.

Fred

 

[WARP1]

Just do a part time conversion on the NP203. The kits are $50-$200. The 3/4 ton stuff swaps right in to these trucks. I'd look for a truck with a good body (low rust) and mods you can live with. May people use these as their drivers, so it isn't to hard to find a truck already setup for your intended use. Of'course there are many '73-'75 Blazers that are setup with 12" lifts, 44" tires and 10 bolts, or 1-ton running gear and basketball sized dents. Just shop around the internet makes it easy.

 

[RaisedK5]

If you need help when you go to look at a possible i'm sure myself or any of the guys on www.socalbigdawgs.com would be more than willing to help, a bunch of us are in OC. and can help get you started.

 

[seschev3]

Pretty cheap insurance with a 30 year old vehicle.

Fred

I pay $40 a year for registration and only raised my insurance $20 month.in Northern CA.

For what you are doing, you can just put a part-time kit in and be done. After a while or if you stick around here at ck5, you will do many upgrades you were not planning on.

Here is my 75' that I bought for $1200 bucks and dumped thousands into over the past 5 years. Did a frame off like a lot of us do here.