CK5
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73 K5 mild retro restore

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It is #36 in this diagram.

It sure would be great if you have that piece.

I am thinking around here I was going to have to track down and buy a complete transfer case for the one little spacer I need.
 
Ouch, have to disassemble the whole thing, huh?

Martin

Just have to remove the rear cone and shaft.

The spacer rides just in front of the planetary assembly to keep some needle bearings in place.

I was hoping maybe you already had one apart.



I will keep looking around here. Monday I will put some feelers out at the local Mud Bog guys.

Thanks anyway Martin.


Thanks for the link, defiantly need new weather strip and that would make things really look nice but other things are higher on the list.

A soft top is very high on my list along with a couple other Mechanical things.
 
Well, its been a long 2 weeks. with some set backs.

#1 Part time kit was a pain.
My early tailcone rear oil seal is not available so I will have a drip.

#2 The new front shakles and bushing from ORD are in. rides so much better and sits level.

#3 I had a Mechanic from work rebuild the carb.
Did not turn out well.
Ran worse when I got it back. He had a list of things he thought it might be but couldn't make it run right so he just gave it back along with all my money.

I pulled the carb apart and cleaned it like he should have. I think he just disassembled it and reassembled it with new gaskets. I used a Borg Warner kit for my rebuild and now have a pretty good understanding of a quadrajet.

Put the carb back on and set idle and mixture. ran better but still not like it did before the carb rebuild. Rough idle and pretty doggy out on the road.

I remembered him saying the timing was way out of wack. so I start checking. initial timing is at 10. should be fine for a stock 350?
I try 13, a little better. I call him and find out initial was set at 20 before he started changing stuff.
So I dial it to 19 or 20, idle smooths out and this thing wakes up going down the road.
I am guessing someone has put a cam in it because it is a stumbling dog with 10 initial timing and runs like a race car with 20(so much for my all original)



Anyhow its back together and running for the holiday weekend.
 
You may or may not have a hot cam in that motor...

When I did the V8 swap in my 81 K5, it ran like a pig at first, rough idle, low on power, drank gas, then I followed my friends advice (old school mechanic that forgot more than I'll ever know about cars) in that he told me to advance the timing until it sputtered, then back it off 2-3 degrees, and that made a huge difference! It was originally at 11 degrees and I actually ended up at about 24 before it would quit pinging under load. I had run it out to 32 but it would ping under throttle, but ran amazing just cruising, and 24 was where it would run without pinging at full throttle.

Fully stock other than 10:1 68 Comaro Z/28 heads and a Rochester Q-jet.
 
That setting is with the vacuum advance disconnected and the line plugged.
 
Then it could be a bigger cam, or the balancer as slipped. I would say most folks find proper initial timing in the 8-14 range.
 
Nice k5! My 77 was also built at flint truck. My uncal worked in the paint shop then... some good stories.

Did you do the shaft kit or just the *spider's*? My truck was similar to yours (35k original owner) but was a farm truck with beat body. I swapped the 203 for a 205 and liked it better but it did require driveshaft mods.

keep up the good work!
 
I did the spider kit, the shaft kit is no longer available.

long term I think a 208 may be swapped in. I need to do more research and compile all the parts.
Pretty sure it will need the cross member and shifter assembly from the 208 donor truck.
I am not sure if drive shafts will work or I will need those from doner truck as well?


But first things first, I am still not happy with how it runs.
I am thinking the distributor mechanical advance is shot. it seems to be all in by 1800 or so. Thats way to fast for a 4x4. I think the springs have gone soft or somebody has swapped them trying to "make it fast".

I am going to swap an HEI in this weekend and replace all the vacuum lines.
 
I had good luck disassembling the mechanical advance, cleaning it thoroughly and putting it back together. They get gummed up over time.

As for timing, they all have changing needs as they get miles on them. Timing chain gets looser over time, so more initial is needed. I've always advanced them until I get pinging, then back em off a couple of degrees.
 
MSD brand HEI installed, custom fit MSD wires, all new vacuum lines, valve covers painted and new gaskets.

What a difference.
Initial timing is now 14 degrees advance.
carb makes 18 lbs of vacuum at that advance and idles nice and smooth. It will pull 20 lbs at 18 degrees and thats the most it will make. Everyone has been telling me advance until vacuum is max then back off a few degrees so I settled on 14.

Stock air cleaner no longer clears the new distributor, So I had to buy a cheesy chrome one and new breather.

It will do for now. because it Starts so easy and is smooth all the way down the road.

So glad I did this.

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wow! this is just like the one i just purchased

I am in the process of cleaning up a 1973 that I just purchased. This i the same truck!

Is the trim stock? The one I has is attached with rivets? My body shop guy suggested removing all trim aside from above the wheel well.

thoughts?

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Thats cool that you have the same blazer, I wish I could see your photo but I am not a premium member yet. Email me a photo I would really like to see [email protected]

I keep wanting to join but everytime I think I have extra $25 something has cost me more to fix.

I believe the trim is original but not positive. all the mount points on mine seem proper.

I plan on doing 2 tone burnt orange and white that should really make the trim pop.
 
Took the Blazer to a RC car Race this weekend. The blazer got allot of attention from the toy car crowd. I kept saying the open top was what made the rain go around us all weekend.

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Blazer in a background shot in the pit area

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Me and the boys relaxing between races

Here are a few shots of the toy cars in action just for fun.

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my oldest son putting it into the wall

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as close as I can get to a K5 race truck and be legal to compete. (same color)

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My youngest getting some big air

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My truck coming in for a landing

Sorry for the picture whore but we had a blast this weekend and taking the blazer made it even more fun.
 
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