How long did they use the red engine block?

[bavarian_blazer]

Hi,
my K5 was originally equipped with a diesel. Officially it is an 1985 truck (cucv/military vin code) but it has all the 1983-1984 styling options (grille and so on) It had been imported to Germany by a military surplus dealer who sells m1009/m1008s and hummvees, so I think he just replaced the vin number of the vehicle...
The fact is, it's an original Silverado truck with full options and was originally painted two-tone (apple red and frost white)...and has the red 6.2 engine block in it. if that block also was used in 1983, it would be possible, that the truck is an 83 model.So does anyone know how long this "red" block had been used? I also heard that those red blocks have a higher grade of nickle in their casting and are lasting longer and are more crack-free than the later engine blocks.... as a conclusion, building a new engine on the base of a "red" block would be better than rebuilding a later version ? Or did I get that wrong?

Greetings from the Bavarian Mountains

Flo

 

[colbystephens]

i think red was only for 1982. there have been quite a few threads on this topic in the last couple weeks - take a look thru the last couple weeks of threads here in the diesel forum.

 

[tRustyK5]

Yup, '82 only. My '83 is a regular black block...

The '82 also has coarse thread injectors. The red blocks are supposed to be tougher than most other years.

Rene

 

[bavarian_blazer]

@colby:
it's always the same thing, the search function really is giving you answers to most of your questions Why do I forget about that everytime...


@tRustyK5:
are the coarse thread injectors better or sturdier than the other ones? the cylinder heads of the engines are basically the same throug the years or are there differences as well?



Well, over all it's not to bad to have the red block as a base for your build up I think

 

[mudman83]

The heads are pretty much the same except the precups changed many times. There is a guide on the diesel page.com about the precups. I have heard that the CUCv's actually may have used the red block up to '84, but nothing is for sure. I actually got chemical testing done on my block to see what it was(it was manufactured in october 81 so is a red block). The post is also on the dieselpage.com. I just don't have a later block to compare it to.