I need some advice

[DaveK585]

Hello my name is Dave and I just bought my first 1985 K5 Blazer for $500 dollars that a guy thought did not run but I jump the cylinoid and drove it home. It took me an hour and a $10 igition switch and it was working good. The motor is covered with oil but runs and doesn't sound all that bad. I notice as I was doing about 70 on the highway that when I got on it it seemed to lack in power. I plan to first replace gaskets, hoses, and spark plugs and wires and see how she does then. The guy said he just had the rear end redone and u joints replace at a shop about three months ago but when it quit running he just did not feel like putting it in the shop again and he did not have the first clue how to work on anything with a motor. If I was to guess it has a 4" lift with blocks in the rear and street tires.

So here are my questions:
1. I would like 6 to 8 inches of lift which would be better but not require alot of work like shaft, and stering mods and should I go springs front and back or do blocks in back?

2. What size tires are best for the 4" lift amd 16" rims I have know and which for the 6 or 8" later? (I have been looking at Pitbull 35's and 37's)

3. How wide can I go on a tire for the Blazer without rub? (ex. 35/12.5/16)

4. Do you have to have different rims for wider tires and which is better 15", 16" or 17" rim?

5. Last if you have any advice on what I need to check on as I work on this project I would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks,
Dave

 

[pauly383]

1. Six to eight inches is going to require driveshaft mods ( longer ) , and steering mods ( either raised arm or dropped draglink , or crossover steering ) , and maybe angle correction of rear housing for driveshaft to not vibrate , regardless of how you do it .

All spring six inch is good , or front six spring , and rear shackle flip with two inch springs is good when talking about bolt on systems . Most of us won't use blocks here .

2. 35's with some trimming , 37's with a lot of trimming .

3. Depends on backspacing . I know 12.5's work fine on stock rims , wider may hit tie rod end . You can go wider if you change backspacing to move tire away from tie rod end , but too much stress is placed on balljoints and wheel bearings when the backspacing moves too far out though .

4. 12.5 wide fits 7-10 inch wide rims , but look best on 8 inch wide . Most like 15's and 16's on smaller lift with smaller tires .

When you go huge , you can use bigger diameter rims and still have nice amount of sidewall rubber . Like above 37's you'd use 17's and above 40's you'd use 20's . But its personal preference . I like lots of sidewall for aired down wheeling .

5. Make it reliable first , change every fluid and inspect everything you remove the covers from .

 

[DaveK585]

Thanks for the input!

Right now I need some new tires for it to be inspected which went out two months ago. Would 33's on 16" rims be ok on a 4" lift with out triming?

What is the most common problem with the Blazer 5.7 350 that I should keep my eyes and ears open to?

 

[pauly383]

33's fit fine with 4 inch , I ran that for a couple years with 15 inch rims .

 

[DaveK585]

Thanks for the info! I took a look at your pics....looks like a lot of fun times and some pretty nice rides. Thanks again!

Dave