82 k5 build "K80"

[MJB774X]

it's not finished, but I'm getting there....
here's what I started with

after taking it home and getting in trouble because the whole family wouldn't fit in it....and other things like outragous registration cost and some other little problems that I found I ended up getting a k5 with plans to swap the ton gear into it from the k30.......I know, I know this may piss some people off but it is what it is

 

[MJB774X]

first on the list was to pick the k5 up a little, after much debate with myself I decided to not go with an off the shelf lift, so I planned for a 64" spring with a flip in the rear and b52 set up in the front.... I went to pick a part and yanked some rear springs off a later mid 90's burb, turns out they are 60" but I decided to go with them anyhow. I was going to leave the hanger in place and move the axle back, but it would hit the tank so I decided against that idea and figured I'd just move the hanger, after taking a better look at moving the front hanger of the rear spring forward, I didn't want to move or fool around with the body mount so I ended up making my own hanger which bolted directly in place of the original, I made it with options of moving the spring forward or back or I guess I could put the 64"s if I wanted later

the plate that bolts to the frame

the bracket welded up

 

[MJB774X]

here's the bracket painted and installed

 

[ryoken]

nice fab work...

what's next?

 

[MJB774X]

the last k5 I had about 10 years ago I did a down and dirty shackle flip where you torch out the bottom of the stock bracket flip the shackle and weld in a flat bar with a gusset, I liked it, but I did not like how squishy it was on the street. for this build I was planning on just buying a flip and switch, but I wanted options, I figured if I could get good angle to stiffen up the ride for street and hwy (maybe even towing...we'll see) and then get angle the other way to get good flex thats what I wanted, so I figured I'd make something like I did for the front hanger, I forgot to mention I did not want to weld to the frame so I wanted to utilize the holes for the original bracket, I still had to drill some extra holes though

 

[MJB774X]

I utilized some plates at work that were cut out for making a hitch ( saved on some cutting) I didn't take any pics in between but here it is painted and installed

 

[MJB774X]

heres the burb springs next to the 52"

heres the burb spring installed on the stock bracket, you can see where I was planning to cut the sheet metal

 

[MJB774X]

the rear of the blazer sitting on the ground with the 14 bolt

 

[MJB774X]

when I made the flip brackets I was in a rush, after all this I measured from one side to the other and I made them too close to the frame in relation to the front hangers, so the springs aren't parrallel to eachother, they are about an 1" closer to eachother in the rear....I posted the issue on here and after some good input from ck5ers I decided to leave it alone...turns out toyota tundras do this but to a more extreme degree, I guess it helps with stability....so my screw up might help me out (I'll find out for sure once I get driven it)

 

[MJB774X]

I was working on a boat before I took this on which I ended up selling, but I kept the 396 I built for it, originally I was going to use the 454 from the k30, but I figured after all the work I might as well use the 396 since it was fresh, all forged internals and balanced

 

[ryoken]

woh, deja vu.. it's the motor out of my Chevelle.. same timing chain chain cover... don't tell me it has 427 heads...

 

[MJB774X]

I had a bad ass carb (aed) that was for the boat, I spent some good coin on it, I was going to send it back to aed so they could rework it for the blazer, after debate about spending more money on it, and remembering how my last blazer ran (on inclines) a buddy of mine put a tbi on his jeep and was happy with that, I talked to him about the swap and he convinced me it would save a lot of headache and probably money in the long run to just buy the system from affordable fuel injection. he did his piecing it together and he ended up getting a harness and some other stuff from them so I decide to sell the carb to help pay for the TBI set up
the carb (I ended up selling it on ebay)

the tbi set up from afi

 

[MJB774X]

woh, deja vu.. it's the motor out of my Chevelle.. same timing chain chain cover... don't tell me it has 427 heads...

close it's a 396 from a 1969 "pass hi perf"
it's a 2 bolt though and had a cast crank probably 275 hp or 325 hp motor, when the guy who built the motor ground the crank he had to go 30/30, I told him to throw that bitch in the trash, I found a forged crank, forgot the number on it, I think it was 6223 or something like that paid 50 bucks for it cleaned up 10/10

heads came with that motor closed chamber oval ports...nothing special

 

[ryoken]

yeah, my 396 had a 10/10 forged and 2 bolt too.. 427 closed chambered heads, solids, fun...

looks good so far!

 

[MJB774X]

the cam in the motor was not going to happen with the tbi, so with afi's recommendation I bought a comp 255 deh, I also got the b52 brackets at the same time

 

[MJB774X]

I should have taken more pics of all the little things in between but I basically stripped the k30 for what I wanted out of it, and got rid of it...oh yeah originally I was going to swap the 465/205 from the k30 into the k5, another debate with myself which ended in me deciding to run a 400/205, part of the trades I made with the k30 I left the 465 in it and got a rebuilt 400 with a 205 with low miles, originally with the 465 I was going to run a doubler- something that I am still considering, all I need is a 400 to 203 adapter, the 203 box, and a doubler, I have the input gears. one of my buddy's who is a machinist said he'd help me make a doubler so I'm doing some debating

 

[MJB774X]

here's the front end, I forgot to mention I put in some ez inch blocks with it set 1" forward...not sur if I like it, I have the spring in the furthest forward hole on the b52 bracket with the ez inch... the tire is right up on the front of the fender

 

[MJB774X]

the shackle hanger brackets on the front suck so I got new ones from diy4x, some say to move the hange forward for more shackle angle and flex, but I intend to drive this truck to the desert as well as driving it in the desert so that extreme angle isn't really practical for me...at least from what I think, later I might put longer springs as well so I might scrap the b52 brackets and fab the front of the frame to accept 64" springs...but that later, oh yeah I need to get some spacers or offset shackles because they aren't perfect inline, but thats minor details
heres a template I made out of wood for opening up the hole in the frame with a hole saw

heres a shot from inside the engine compartment

 

[MJB774X]

this weekend I finished swapping the cam out

decided to paint the valve covers and timing cover...I like it better

some of the accesorry brackets in place

 

[magik235]

This looks like an outstanding build. I will be following it closely.