CK5
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Are manual k5 blazers desirable?

Only to folks that want a manual trans.

Are we talking 100% original for a collector or swapped to manual trans as a driver?
 
Had one, swapped my other to manual. So to me, it's desirable. To somebody born after 2000, probably not so much.

It's only desirable to somebody that wants one.
 
100% factory manual tranny 4speed 4x4 K5 with a np205 tcase. I found one in a junk yard. I'm not sure if the tcase from a manual np205 would fit behind the th350 tranny.
 
100% factory manual tranny 4speed 4x4 K5 with a np205 tcase. I found one in a junk yard. I'm not sure if the tcase from a manual np205 would fit behind the th350 tranny.
85 and later have a hydraulic clutch. The bell housing and pedal set are worth a bunch.
Not sure which years had the 205.
 
If all the people in the 80s loved manual transmissions so much they sure didn’t buy a lot of em. Us whippersnappers now would love them.
 
If all the people in the 80s loved manual transmissions so much they sure didn’t buy a lot of em. Us whippersnappers now would love them.
Maybe if they actually developed a overdrive manual trans (read 5-speed) sooner than 1988 then maybe they might have sold more trucks with manuals.

That being said the 5-speed in either form nv3500 or 4500 in the gmt400 trucks didn’t have a huge take rate either. It just shows the market was making the gradual shift to automatic transmissions.
 
The last year for a v8 manual in the most common light truck of the ford f series was in 2003 when I graduated high school. People just didn’t buy a lot of em. My parents specifically avoided manual trucks. Whatever the market was doing, sucks for us now.
It would have been pretty cool if there was even a 60/40 split on auto to manual squares. Finding hydraulic pedals is a pain in the ass now.

I’m just snobby enough to want that rpo code rather than swap another truck again.
 
I'm so glad that back in 84 when my old man ordered my K10, the 700R4 was having a ton of problems right out of the box so he opted for the SM465.
Now here we are almost 40 years later and the SM465 has 214, 000 unrebuilt miles on it, with it's third clutch.
I don't think an auto would have fared so well.
 
They are to me. The k5 is a factory 465. My mj is a factory 5 and my D3500 has a g56. Something about rowing them makes me happy.
 
The trucks I’ve owned and loved driving the most were all of the three-pedal variety : 69 C-10 ( Muncie 3-spd ) ,77 K/10 ( SM-465 ) , 79 FJ40 ( H42 ) , 83 K-3500 ( SM-465 ) and a 02 BR2500 CTD24V ( NVG-5600 ).

A lot of folks complain about how the SM-465’s gear splits are but they were designed that way for a reason. Those 4-spd’s were made to work for a living and 3RD was geared that way to allow for pulling power once the need to gear down arose. It’s all part of the joy of driving a truck and selecting gears and driving style as apposed to letting a 10-spd auto hunt and pick for you….

That being said; as I get older I appreciate a tried and true TH400, 4L80E slush boxes more and more but given only one choice it’s gotta have three pedals….
 
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If you can obtain the clutch/brake pedal assembly I would be interested.
 
100% factory manual tranny 4speed 4x4 K5 with a np205 tcase. I found one in a junk yard. I'm not sure if the tcase from a manual np205 would fit behind the th350 tranny.
Your question was completely passed over. The short answer is no. The early 4 speed has a 10 spline output shaft. But it doesn't require any machine work to swap the 27 spline input to make it work. So I wouldn't buy it unless it was cheap as you need a different adapter and input shaft.
 
Have to agree with @kennyw
That said I alway get disappointed when I see an auto shift and excited when I see a manual. Obviously not in a truck that is newer than 2000 because there isn’t hardly any made.

To answer the question asked IMO a manual is desirable in a blazer.

Swapped my 77 to a 465 no regrets!
 
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