CK5
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'91 K5 Four Wheel Camper
This is the build for my 1991 V1500 Blazer, AKA the K5.3. It started out life being sold to the U.S. Government with a 350 TBI/700r4/241 combo. 4 years with a 5.3/700r4 Combo and now moving to an 8.1L Vortec and NV4500 5-speed.
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- Jul 18, 2000
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We have hills here. Big. Focking. Hills.
A 6.0 would only get it done with a turbo
I’m only disappointed he didn’t go 8.1L
I've said it in other posts, but really the issue is getting low end torque. By that I mean, off idle low end torque. Something I've found is quite lacking in my 5.3. Sure off road, in 4 low I've not had a problem. It's crawled over everything I put it in front of. But on the pavement, it's lacking. Accelerating from a stop or trying to get up mountain grades has me fogging it like a rented mule. Like 5,000 rpm 2nd gear pulling up the grade at 45 mph and falling. It's just not fun.
Sure I could hop up the 5.3 or get a 6.0 which would also require hopping up too. All you have to do is look at the stock hp/tq graphs and you'll see these engines don't build torque down low compared to the L29. Hopping up does bring on more hp and torque, but it's still at a higher RPM than a big block. Every cam I looked at for the 5.3 pushed the torque curve up 1,000 rpm or better. Sure a turbo or supercharger would make a difference but at a pretty heavy cost. Cost that I can't afford on my budget.
L29's are dirt cheap right now. They make torque down low where I need it. It will push my overweight K5 with a camper on it a with a whole lot less effort than the 5.3 ever has. It's just the least expensive way to get what I need. Nothing wrong with using a 5.3 or 6.0 in another build, but in my case there is no replacement for displacement.
Had I found an 8.1 at the dirt cheap price I did I would have bought it. I know of a customer of mine that has a fully rebuilt 8.1 ready to go but he's got a ridiculous price tag on it. Like $5000. No bueno for this hombre.
Are you planning to regear? Or are you just gonna run the 454 at 5000RPM?
Shouldn't need to run the 454 at 5000. It should pull the grade a gear higher atleast I would think
I'm pretty sure the 454 is going to be just fine with 4.10's and my tire size. Combined with the 4500 I would be able to pull passes much better than I can now. I'll be in the sweet spot of the torque curve and won't have to dive deep into the gears for more power.
I got a trade in the works to get the nv4500. The guy I know that has the burb with the 6.2 oil burner has thrown in the towel on it. He's going with the L29 they pulled with the 4500. He wants to keep his an auto and since I happen to have a 4l80 it's a good fit.
We both need some stuff to facilitate the swap. I already got my list but he needs some different stuff. One of which will be the front driveshaft. Am in insane thinking he might be able to find a factory front shaft from a truck that had a 4l80 originally? Or is it just easier to have his existing front shaft retubed to add the length needed?
We both need some stuff to facilitate the swap. I already got my list but he needs some different stuff. One of which will be the front driveshaft. Am in insane thinking he might be able to find a factory front shaft from a truck that had a 4l80 originally? Or is it just easier to have his existing front shaft retubed to add the length needed?
beags86
Eastbound and Down
I would just have one lengthed. But where your at. Trucks last longer due to lack of rust, so maybe it's worth trying to find one.
You might down there
I have a few shafts from some GMT 400 series and they seem a bit longer then our older stuff. They are all over in the wrecking yards and should be much cheaper than getting a new shaft built. Might get lucky? What t-case is he running? Lift?
Oh yea ............... ALL RIGHT on getting you a 4500
Oh yea ............... ALL RIGHT on getting you a 4500
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I have a few shafts from some GMT 400 series and they seem a bit longer then our older stuff. They are all over in the wrecking yards and should be much cheaper than getting a new shaft built. Might get lucky? What t-case is he running? Lift?
Oh yea ............... ALL RIGHT on getting you a 4500
I guess the smartest thing he can do is get the drivetrain in and start taking measurements to see what matches up.
His CV joint on the existing shaft is worn out and needs rebuilt anyway.
If I remember right he's got a 6" lift. He's running the stock 208 t-case.
- Joined
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You know what, he might have a horse shoe up his butt because I saw a 91 4L80E Suburban at 29th the other day when I picked up that grill and I'm pretty sure the front shaft was laying in the back. I thought about grabbing for stock. I'll probably have to go get it for him as I doubt he would find it there.
Yep, he won't find it. Glad you did though.
I haven't spent much time on CK5 lately so I've spent the last half hour catching up on your build. I love where this is going!! The L29 is a great motor. The one I had in my old 96 K2500 (L29 with a 4l80e) was a great motor (on a side note, I sold that truck to my brother who lives in Penrose now...so you and Larry probably see it drive around sometimes). And having one swapped into your K5 with a NV4500 will be freaking sweet! And I totally support the additional cubes over the 5.3 at elevation. With how much weight you have now with the camper, it's a very smart move.
As far as the hydro's for the pedals go, as you stated earlier in the thread, there are a couple different ways you can go the whole setup, and the AA bell housing works good. I ended up using the factory external slave bell housing on my 95 NV4500. You can read through my crew cab build thread and see what I did for a refresher if you want (link in my sig below). My setup with my 8.1/NV4500 has probably about 7 or 8k miles on it now and working great.
I know exactly what you mean about the GMT400 trucks right now. They are freaking dirt cheap, especially the BBC ones. So much so I couldn't help myself a few months ago and bought a 93 3/4 ton BBC Suburban and am working on doing a SAS on it. I was looking for a 96+ GMT400 burb to get the L29, but the one I found was in such good overall condition and very well maintained...and was so cheap I couldn't say no, haha. So mine has a TBI454/4l80e/manual shift 241 and it's getting a ford high pinion d60 and some 35's. I think I may do a few small things to get some additional power out of the TBI454 but not too crazy. Essentially I want this burb to kinda be like @Larry's Polar Bear and be more of an adventure rig/backup tow rig for my 8.1 swapped V3500 (it's even white like his, haha).
Looking forward to the progress on this thing
As far as the hydro's for the pedals go, as you stated earlier in the thread, there are a couple different ways you can go the whole setup, and the AA bell housing works good. I ended up using the factory external slave bell housing on my 95 NV4500. You can read through my crew cab build thread and see what I did for a refresher if you want (link in my sig below). My setup with my 8.1/NV4500 has probably about 7 or 8k miles on it now and working great.
I know exactly what you mean about the GMT400 trucks right now. They are freaking dirt cheap, especially the BBC ones. So much so I couldn't help myself a few months ago and bought a 93 3/4 ton BBC Suburban and am working on doing a SAS on it. I was looking for a 96+ GMT400 burb to get the L29, but the one I found was in such good overall condition and very well maintained...and was so cheap I couldn't say no, haha. So mine has a TBI454/4l80e/manual shift 241 and it's getting a ford high pinion d60 and some 35's. I think I may do a few small things to get some additional power out of the TBI454 but not too crazy. Essentially I want this burb to kinda be like @Larry's Polar Bear and be more of an adventure rig/backup tow rig for my 8.1 swapped V3500 (it's even white like his, haha).
Looking forward to the progress on this thing
I haven't spent much time on CK5 lately so I've spent the last half hour catching up on your build. I love where this is going!! The L29 is a great motor. The one I had in my old 96 K2500 (L29 with a 4l80e) was a great motor (on a side note, I sold that truck to my brother who lives in Penrose now...so you and Larry probably see it drive around sometimes). And having one swapped into your K5 with a NV4500 will be freaking sweet! And I totally support the additional cubes over the 5.3 at elevation. With how much weight you have now with the camper, it's a very smart move.
As far as the hydro's for the pedals go, as you stated earlier in the thread, there are a couple different ways you can go the whole setup, and the AA bell housing works good. I ended up using the factory external slave bell housing on my 95 NV4500. You can read through my crew cab build thread and see what I did for a refresher if you want (link in my sig below). My setup with my 8.1/NV4500 has probably about 7 or 8k miles on it now and working great.
I know exactly what you mean about the GMT400 trucks right now. They are freaking dirt cheap, especially the BBC ones. So much so I couldn't help myself a few months ago and bought a 93 3/4 ton BBC Suburban and am working on doing a SAS on it. I was looking for a 96+ GMT400 burb to get the L29, but the one I found was in such good overall condition and very well maintained...and was so cheap I couldn't say no, haha. So mine has a TBI454/4l80e/manual shift 241 and it's getting a ford high pinion d60 and some 35's. I think I may do a few small things to get some additional power out of the TBI454 but not too crazy. Essentially I want this burb to kinda be like @Larry's Polar Bear and be more of an adventure rig/backup tow rig for my 8.1 swapped V3500 (it's even white like his, haha).
Looking forward to the progress on this thing
I'll have to go back through your build tonight. Larry have a plan of attack on the clutch and using the stock bellhousing that was on the 4500 is the direction we are headed in.
Thanks for checking back in. All input is helpful. I appreciate it for sure.
Is that an early bell housing (external slave on passenger side) or late bell housing (internal slave)?
98 housing. Internal throwout bearing. As in, no clutch fork.Is that an early bell housing (external slave on passenger side) or late bell housing (internal slave)?
