How rare are the 6-cyl K5s?

[meanboyjr]

Just a random question. I was looking through the sales brochure that came with my '76, and I noticed that the 250 Six was offered as a powerplant that year, with a manual tranny and an NP205.

It got me to thinking...how many K5s are there out there with a 6? I've only seen one myself, and it was in a '70, but a two wheel drive version. I'm really interested to see if anyone has a '73 or newer model with the inline.

Again, just random curiosity. I'm stuck at work, and I'd rather be fishing (actually, wheeling to my favorite fishing spot).

Thanks.

 

[dremu]

On paper, I think the 250 and/or 292 were offered until, hmm, '82ish. You can see all the years of sales paperwork, link my signature below.

OTOH, I gather that the Blazers, particularly, were generally sold fully loaded -- something like 90%, even in the mid 70's, had V8/automatic, air, etc etc. It's the same as today -- they make more on the higher-trim models, so that's what they stock.

I think the pickups were more often sold in the lower/stripped-down trimlines, so you'd see proportionally more I6's and sticks in the pickups than the Blazers and Burbs, which were marketed towards family rather than farm or industrial or delivery use.

-- A

 

[diesel4me]

I owned a '75 K5 a 2WD one,that had a 250 six with a one barrel ,the first year of the
Integral head" design engines...it had a 3 speed Tremec trans,I remember replacing the clutch when I first got the truck,and I could not get the tranny off the bellhousing,it wasn't till I almost busted the case ptying on it ,that it had a FITH bolt hidden up top,!--until that tranny came along,every Chevy tranny I had pulled only had 4 bolts....I never liked the six in that truck,it ran kind of herkey-jerkey and I spent a lot of time messing with the carb's part throttle adjustment and did get some improvement ,but it never ran that smooth ..(I liked the older 250-292 engines better)--I eventually swapped in a '72 307 from a K10 Burb 4x4 I got for a parts truck,and I swapped in a Saginaw 4 speed from a '74 Vega--bolted right up and the driveshaft fit,all I had to do was enlarge the tunnel hole for the Vega shifter...

The only other K5 with a straight six I saw was another 2WD one that I happened to see for sale in a nearby town....my interest waned when I saw it was a 2WD..now I wish I'd have grabbed it for 250 bucks,it was not bad bodywise--of course now a 1971 2WD Blazer is highly prized by lowrider enthusiasts and drag truck racers...(just because I dont have that one,right?)..

I guess some 2WD ones were the "entry level" trucks they didn't jazz up much??--nearly all the 73 up K5's seemed to at least have the smallest V8 in them,the sixes only showed up in fleet trucks usually like electric company trucks..I saw a lot more automatics than standards too ...

 

[BAJA_BLAZER]

Thousands of them sold to US Forest Service and other government agencies. I had a 83 that was USFS Green -base model.

 

[str8axle55]

My buddy`s father had a 78-79 4WD w/a 6 and a std trans. I wish I bought it.

 

[diesel4me]

I think a late 70's full sized Blazer or 4x4 pickup with a 292 six,a SM465 and NP-205 ,or maybe a TH400 would be the ideal setup for me...a NP4500 would be even better..8 lug axles with 3.73 gearing & posi rear would be nice too...you'd have a very rugged & dependable vehicle that can actually be repaired easily,should it ever need any work...might not be the best for MPG,but neither are any of the V8's offered those years...

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Friend of mine in the Marines had a late 70's K5 with an inline 6 (think the 292), SM465, and some 3.73's...I think. Thing could pull a house it was so low end torquey. Once moved a dumpster with it on dry pavement after a Jeep with a winch just drug itself toward the dumpster.

 

[meanboyjr]

So, they're out there. Somewhere.

I think a late 70's full sized Blazer or 4x4 pickup with a 292 six,a SM465 and NP-205 ,or maybe a TH400 would be the ideal setup for me...a NP4500 would be even better..8 lug axles with 3.73 gearing & posi rear would be nice too...you'd have a very rugged & dependable vehicle that can actually be repaired easily,should it ever need any work...might not be the best for MPG, but neither are any of the V8's offered those years...

I've always been partial to the 292 and manual trans in Chevy trucks. My cousin had a '67 C-10 with that combo, and it just kept going and going and going. Couple that drivetrain with a 205 in a K5, and I'd be pretty happy.

Hey, if the engine in my Blazer ever needs replacement, maybe I should do a 6-cyl swap...

 

[diesel4me]

I dont see many straight siixes any more.most '84 and older trucks here were scrapped long ago,and the few yrads that hung onto them finally crushed them in the past couple of years when scrap hit 250 a ton...it would be hard to find one now if you wanted to swap one in,the only ones I've seen for sale are the few that muscle car enbthusiasts rip out and post for sale ON craigslist when a V8 is being put in them...

A 292 is the most desireable six Chevy made,but it is quite different than the other 194,215,230,250 engines..they are taller blocks,due to their longer stroke,and the fuel pump and distributor and located in different places--you'll need a special bracket to the frame for the motor mount on the passenger side to bolt onto,which may not be available from GM any more...I helped a friend swap a 292 into a 81 C-20 and he had a 250 to start with,we were very fortunate to find a 77 C-30 mason dump truck in a local salvage yard that still had the 292 and all the needed parts to swap it in,for only 400 bucks..he got rather discouraged doing the swap,he thought "all chevies are the same",but not in his case!.

.after it was done though,he felt the swap was well worth it,his only complaint was it was kind of hard on gas,it only got 15 mpg on its "best" long trip..but he could leave it in 4rh on the steepest hill and not need to downshift...he added a Clifford Research 4 bbl intake and a split header to it shortly before he sold it,said it went a lot better with the 390 CFM Holley and the headers,but gas mileage didn't inprove and actally desreased a bit--probably because he liked to boot it and hear the 4 bbl...