Best truck to start with? 75 and below

[1990k5fan]

Alright well currently I just finished building a 71 camaro that I plan on selling to build a nice offroader / daily driver for the winter.

Plan on doing an lq9 / 4l80e swap and the main thing I need to know is what base should I be looking at to keep the 4 wheel drive fully functional?

Which truck out of 69-75 will be my best bet? Plans are 4.56 gears, 38" tires, 8-10" lift. I've only built cars and not having my 90k5 around anymore really makes me want a truck again.


Reason for 69-75 is that in Cali we have to smog newer cars and I don't want to have to go through the trouble of trying to do a smog legal swap.

Thanks

Dennis

 

[rdn2blazer]

Alright well currently I just finished building a 71 camaro that I plan on selling to build a nice offroader / daily driver for the winter.

Plan on doing an lq9 / 4l80e swap and the main thing I need to know is what base should I be looking at to keep the 4 wheel drive fully functional?

Which truck out of 69-75 will be my best bet? Plans are 4.56 gears, 38" tires, 8-10" lift. I've only built cars and not having my 90k5 around anymore really makes me want a truck again.


Reason for 69-75 is that in Cali we have to smog newer cars and I don't want to have to go through the trouble of trying to do a smog legal swap.

Thanks

Dennis

Yes, in Cali go with a smog exempt 75 or older.

 

[1990k5fan]

lol I already knew that....looking to find a truck to start with...not knowing which model is best for my plans...I'll probally be better off going with a 3/4 tons due to 38's?

I know the 10 bolts on my 90 k5 were only good to about 35" until they start failing...

 

[Burt4x4]

Get a 71 to match your Camaro, also the first year for front disk brakes

 

[dremu]

All pre-76 Blazers's are full convertible, so be prepared for fiberglass work and leaks. (Or going topless even in the rain.)

If you're talking about pickups -- and since you mention 3/4 I'm thinking you are, since Blazers only ever came as 1/2 ton -- then you have more options. IIRC, a 3/4 ton is your best bet as K30's weren't offered until '76 or '77. That is, the one-tons only came as 2WD up until then.

The big choice in my mind is body style; 67-72 pickups (and 69-72 Blazers) are the one body style, and the 73-75 would be like that '90 Blazer you had.

After that, I don't think there's enough difference between model years to warrant searching for a specific one, plus they're Tinkertoy enough that you can swap parts to get what you want.

As for 'wheeling, I suspect it depends on your driving style; if you're prone to use of the skinny pedal on tough terrain, then you may well want a Dana 60 front axle, which will mean you'll be mixing and matching parts no matter what.

-- A