CK5
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I have started a few other builds on here, but as life gets in the way I don’t post as often as I would like. That is hopefully going to change as I build this blazer into something I can teach my kids how to wrench on. I won’t be doing a whole lot of body work on it right now since it has some electrical issues, as well as a worn out rear end but that day will come. So here it goes. I finally got a K5. The drive home from 2 towns over was uneventful, despite the blazer running rich and feeling sluggish. I ran it back and forth to a buddy’s house, and promptly ran out of gas. At this point, I realized that the gas gauge was the only one that doesn’t work. So I got his girlfriend to bring me some gas and a chain, and got the blazer down to the gas station. 27 gallons later, it occurred to me that with a Mr gasket fuel pump, you really don’t want the pump sucking fuel any farther than it needs too. Mine was mounted on the framerail next to the passenger side headed. Hmm. Too easy. I’ll fix it later. That night, it again rain out of gas when I went to jump start said buddy’s girlfriend, I ran out of gas. Wait a minute though, I just put 27 gallons in it that afternoon and I only ran it maybe 20 miles. People joke about big blocks being thirsty but really??? So I moved the pump in the parking lot, in the rain, in the dark. Problem solved? Nope, but it got me home before it started acting up again. So the next morning I dropped the very full gas tank and removed the fuel sock, who’s was almost completely plugged and definitely original. Then, I decided to tweak the timing and try to lean the truck out since it had been smelling rich since I picked it up. But of course the timing cover is original and the marks on it are rusted over. And it needs a new damper. So i timed it by ear and a vacuum gauge for now and cut the fuel till it reved well under power. But, the afr gauge says she’s still fat and happy at an average of 11.6-12.2 going down the road and 13.5 at idle. Hmmm. The burning in my eyes driving down the road agrees with the wide band but the long skinny pedal says it’s running like a raped ape. To be continued since this is long on my phone.
This was the add that convinced me to call my bank before I went to look at this blazer.
Looks like a good start. Someone has put quite a bit of money into this. Just needs some fine tuning and cleaning up to make it better and the way you want it.
Solid, looks like a great start.
Thanks. It’s got the right parts in a lot of areas to be something nice. It just needs a lot of typical stuff like cleaning up harnesses to prevent forest fires and such. I’m looking into a set of 1 tons for it. One of the blazers that I almost bought re surfaced as a parts truck with a 14b FF and an 8 lug front. The question is gonna be whether it’s a 44 or a 60. I’m hoping the guy who has it will trade me for my spare 454 or some other driveline parts I have.
How it looked today at work
The gauge cluster is a little cluttered, but I never feel uninformed.
The gauge cluster is a little cluttered, but I never feel uninformed.
So it’s been a while since I posted anything on here due to a crazy work schedule and trying to sell a house. The blazer has given me a few headaches but it’s slowly improving. The first big headache was the three rear ends I went through. I blew up the 12 bolt trying to play on pavement, so I swapped in a 10 bolt I had laying under a buddy’s boat trailer. That lasted about one trip to work before grenading all over the road on the way home. The next one lasted until about two days ago but since it was also a junkyard special, I didn’t expect much. The pinion is slapping the sides of the housing right now so I give it about another 50 miles. After the last axle swap, I had a bad morning where I lost oil pressure piling in at the house. I dropped the pan and discovered that the engine rebuild didn’t include a new pump and that the old one had sucked up the retaining clip for my dipstick tube. New pump and several back to back oil changes netted me 65 psi cold and 55 at 180 degrees at idle. The next problem was a simple one that kicked my but for about 3 months out of sheer laziness. I couldn’t get a timing light to read on my balancer so I figured the outer shell must have spun because it looked bad. In truth, I was at 36 degrees of initial timing which led to upwards of 50 something at 3000. Should have been obvious but I didn’t notice until I layered the new balancer next to the old one. With the new balancer installed, I set timing to a more respectable 14 degrees initial, and about 32 at 3000. I also jetted the carb down a few sizes although I think I should have stopped a size sooner on the rear. The next issue I need to address is my front squirter timing as they are coming in late on tip in. If I roll in like I’m walking on eggshells, it will stay at 13.2 - 13.6 but if I give too much throttle, it wants to run lean into the 17s or even 0 out the gauge. I’ve also done a little bit of routine maintenance ie belts fluids and such and I’m working on some upgrades to the lighting.
Life can definitely get in the way of projects. Good to see you have at least been using (enjoying?) your Blazer for the past year. Three rear ends later and I'd say you have a lot of patience with it!
Lol. I did let it sit for a little while after the oil pump. I didn’t want to look at it.
Nothing better to do on dinner at work yesterday than take a few pictures of the blazer.
New switch panel for the KC lights.
New switch panel for the KC lights.
So I have some new parts coming in the next week and some more that already arived. Right now I’m trying to decide whether to tackle the Dana 60/ 14 bolt 4.10 combo in my back yard or wait and instal my new cam next week so I can drive it a little before I go one tons. In other news, I’m am finally retired from my first career and am back home in Vermont so I guess I need to change the name of this build thread. Any suggestions, feel free
I’m over in Sharon, and ya. I was a Bradley mechanic for a few years. Are you local?
Sharon yup way down right before WRJ on 89!!
I live on the Addison/Chittenden county line, a little over an hour north of you.
I’m no longer the only camo M1009 in VT with ham plates, but I’m the only chick in an M1009 with ham plates
Don’t drive it much farther south than Waterbury however...someday I will, probably after a carb rebuild.
I live on the Addison/Chittenden county line, a little over an hour north of you.
I’m no longer the only camo M1009 in VT with ham plates, but I’m the only chick in an M1009 with ham plates
Don’t drive it much farther south than Waterbury however...someday I will, probably after a carb rebuild.
So I decided to do my cam first and worry about axles later this year.
It’s been a little while since the motor has seen the light of day, but I finally picked it up from the machine shop yesterday. I’ve been a little preoccupied between work, soccer for the oldest two and an ever growing collection of sears suburbans, Montgomery wards squires and wheel horses in my yard. Hopefully I’ll have everything together this spring to run the blazer on some trails up here.
The motor is in its new temporary home for the winter, and I think the blazer is gonna get its first taste of this yucky white stuff New England is famous for. I wanted to have the front clip back on but I think it’s gonna sit the way it is for the winter.
It’s been in the 40s all week and the snow is going away fast. I finally made some decisions about my blazer. It’s going to be on a carb free diet. 
So I have some questions for anyone who has done a sniper install.
1st question : Assuming I take my time with the instal and set everything up correctly, is it safe to break in a new motor on a Holley sniper out of the box? I do have all my engine specs written down somewhere.
2nd question: has anyone set up an sniper to allow for a high idle switch to be programmed in or should I KISS it and run an old ac solenoid on the throttle linkage?
3rd question: do I run the pump Holley sent me or is there something reasonable but better?
Any Holley sniper input is welcome. Thanks
1st question : Assuming I take my time with the instal and set everything up correctly, is it safe to break in a new motor on a Holley sniper out of the box? I do have all my engine specs written down somewhere.
2nd question: has anyone set up an sniper to allow for a high idle switch to be programmed in or should I KISS it and run an old ac solenoid on the throttle linkage?
3rd question: do I run the pump Holley sent me or is there something reasonable but better?
Any Holley sniper input is welcome. Thanks
