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BBC or Diesel

K5-CJ5

K5-CJ5

1/2 ton status
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So my 83 CC is going under the knife this summer. trying to decide whether to go Cummins or BBC. Im in cali so I have smog to contend with or a referee station. Because it has to be smogged I can get it changed to a diesel, or go with a newer BBC design and follow the engine year smog laws, or stay with the same vintage BBC that would have come in the truck. The truck has a 350 now which is not near enough for a horse trailer, my land cruiser or my jeep in these hills (8-10k lbs). Im not too worried about fuel economy as its a tow rig, not a DD. I do however want it to handle the loads well, and be reliable once done.

Weigh in on whether you think a BBC would be better (and what model) or diesel. Any thoughts etc helps a great deal.
 
Well, I swapped a Cummins into my truck and never looked back. Since your truck is a 1 ton a cummins can be legally swapped in and pass federal and state inspection standards.

Its an expensive and labor intensive swap though. You will probably have about 2x the time and money tied up in it vs swapping a BB in
 
I have only two suggestions:

1. Reconsider using a Blazer as a tow rig for 8-10K Lb loads. It's not going be anywhere as good as a longer wheelbase vehicle, so even after the motor swap the end-result won't be worth the effort (and $$$) you spend.

2. Research a LOT about the smog laws BEFORE you buy a new engine. CA is really lousy when it comes to rules and regulations, and they won't care a bit about how much you've spent on the swap already..... if it doesn't fit the letter of the law, they'll never sign off on it. Make a friend (or two) at the referee station and double-check all of your assumptions with them along the way so that there are no surprises. Involving them early will also help you when it's time for them to inspect and approve the swap.... since they will already be familiar with you and the truck.


EDIT:

Ignore Item 1. Just reread your post and see now that you are talking about a crew cab, not a Blazer. Not sure why I thought that originally..... :doah:

-G
 
It's not a blazer, it's an 83 crew cab 1 ton truck.
 
OP said it was a CC.

I'd find a diesel CC or a 1975 or older CC and tell the smog man to shuv it up his a$$ :D
 
It doesn't matter what year the truck is, as long as the engine build date is newer than the truck (Federal emissions standards are very strict and will not allow someone to put an older engine in a newer truck. The referee station will instantly fail it)

The good thing is the truck is an 84 and dodge didn't start putting the Cummins in their trucks til 89. I did my swap in AZ and had to go through the referee station and emissions test when I did my swap. My truck is an 89 and my motor is a 91. I only had to meet diesel emission standards for 89, the year of the truck. Not sure if commifornia is the same way, but those motors are so easy to tune that its not hard to dial the fuel way back to pass, then turn it way up again to double the power after inspection is done.
 
One of the best crew cabs I've seen converted to a diesel for towing was a '73 a guy had,who used it to tow mobile homes from the factory in Indiana to MA,he wore out a few 454's in it and wanted something more suitable for long distances..and cheaper to run,the big blocks sucked fuel down like crazy..

What he ended up getting was a straight six diesel from an 20+ foot Isuzu cab over box truck that hit a low bridge,and the 5 speed manual trans that was attached to it...it fit nicely in the engine compartment and he claimed it was not a very difficult conversion to do..the truck got up to 15 mpg towing at 65 mph towing full sized mobile homes over 40 feet long...so,perhaps you could do some research and see if there are any Isuzu's in the boneyards near you.
 
rompinstompinmudmonkey said:
It doesn't matter what year the truck is, as long as the engine build date is newer than the truck (Federal emissions standards are very strict and will not allow someone to put an older engine in a newer truck. The referee station will instantly fail it)
Click to expand...

75 or older vehicles have no smog, no referee, do whatever you want. Same goes for Diesels that are late 90's (?) and older.

I have a 84 C20 Diesel cab on a 79 K10 frame with a BBC, no smog.
 
They don't have to be smogged but they do need to have every emissions component that it left the factory with installed on it. There is no actual emissions test for 75 or older but they need to conform to whatever it had when it left the factory in 75 which is probably a smog pump and that is about it. There is technically a visual inspection you are supposed to pass if the vehicle is purchased from a county that has relaxed vs enhanced emissions testing but the DMV rarely requires it and almost never check up on you. They 'could' but probably won't. Same way trucks originally titled as diesel get gas engines swapped into them and nobody ever checks unless you are involved in a traffic stop or smog stop.
 
I have been looking at https://www.dmv.ca.gov trying to see how I can get my truck to be smog exempt, its a 79 k10.

here is what the DMV site says about qualifying for smog exempt:

2014-04-0909_34_27-SmogInformation_zps64ff6464.jpg


https://www.dmv.ca.gov/vr/smogfaq.htm

I would consider diesel... never had one myself...
 
scottsdale86 said:
They don't have to be smogged but they do need to have every emissions component that it left the factory with installed on it. There is no actual emissions test for 75 or older but they need to conform to whatever it had when it left the factory in 75 which is probably a smog pump and that is about it. There is technically a visual inspection you are supposed to pass if the vehicle is purchased from a county that has relaxed vs enhanced emissions testing but the DMV rarely requires it and almost never check up on you. They 'could' but probably won't. Same way trucks originally titled as diesel get gas engines swapped into them and nobody ever checks unless you are involved in a traffic stop or smog stop.
Click to expand...



all that is possible however very unlikely.
 
Only caveat to that is that if the vehicle is currently non-op or in need of smog you have to smog it once before you register it in a non enhanced county. If you are currently registered you can apply for a change of address and never get a smog renewal ever. I just went this route with my 86 K10. Was going to register it in a county that doesnt require smog but I had to smog it first.
 
It's got current reg. And I'm in the hills of El Dorado county, still smog just minimal. If I go diesel, once reffereed there is not smog as long as it's a 97 or older motor. With a BBC, I need to smog but no cats because of gvw. Just smog pump.
 
not sure about the legalities of it, but I have a 76 454/T400/4.10 C30 CCDRW...it gets no better than 6 pulling my 10-12K
I'm hoping to double that with the 12v 6BTA.
I bought a rollover 98-2500 2WD for 3250, parts sold off the truck already have dropped that down to 2700.
If you have to buy/build a 454, you could find a crashed 94-98 Cummins truck for the price of the BBC, as mentioned it will be more work than a BBC install, but if you need to tow regularly, especially in high altitude, mountainess terrain, you will not regret it.
 
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