wow, 200+ pages of member introductions, that's impressive.
well, I'm another NOOB. never owned a K5 but I've always liked them. I've owned 5 or 6 Chevrolet trucks in the past, various years from '85 to 2000. some were 4WD, some not. Been playing with turbo Buicks (Grand Nationals and T-types) for the last 14 years or so, but I'm about over that. picked up an '86 K5 pretty cheap off Craigslist a few weeks ago. it wasn't local so I had my brother-in-law go check it out for me. He's an ASE Certified mechanic and very knowledgeable about GM trucks. the Blazer checked out good (for the price) so I bought it. haven't seen it in person yet, planning to pick it up from my brother-in-law Christmas day.
this Blazer is basically stock except for the trans., springs, and tires. I was told the origina 700r4 lost reverse so the previous owner replaced it with a TH350. I plan to go back to a 700 asap. I'm assuming it has lift springs since it's sitting on 33x12.50 TSL's.
initial plans:
- replace the existing TH350 with 700R4
- replace worn-out 305 with 350, possibly 383 although I want to look at cost and complexity of converting to LS-based truck engine.
- fuel injection of some kind.
- replace OEM steel wheels with OEM aluminum wheels (already have a line on a set)
- fabricated bumpers, including tire carrier and wench provisions.
- swap-out bias-ply TSL's with more street friendly radial mudders
- make the AC *COLD*
- drive the wee out of it, mostly on the street but with trips to the trails as often as possible (nothing too serious, just rookie stuff for fun with the family)
will post pics asap.