I remember reading 1982 was the last year GM made a 2WD Blazer (K5 full size)..it was very low production,less than 10% of total sales..
CK5
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K30 with a big block question?
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When mom gets over the Rona, I will see if she has pictures. Dad only kept it a couple of years because he quit drag racing boats. Kids were too expensive.
My bad confused blazer with suburban, my mind is kind of jumbled lately.
Just chatted with mom. Man her mind is sharp. She remembers stuff I never will. She said that hole is empty in my dads car collage frame.
It was built on an RV K30 chassis cab. Yes, it was 4wd. He converted to SRW front because he did not like the dually and swapped the rear end. Dad welded 2 beds together because it needed a 10' bed. He sold the truck to another boater racer in 78 and that guys son totaled it when he fell asleep heading to a race. The owner did not survive the accident. So it was gone sometime in 1980.
In those days you could order trucks and cars how you wanted them. Dealer lot cars were the normal builds. He bought a 70 impala for my mom, in primer, so he could paint it my mom's favorite red.
It was built on an RV K30 chassis cab. Yes, it was 4wd. He converted to SRW front because he did not like the dually and swapped the rear end. Dad welded 2 beds together because it needed a 10' bed. He sold the truck to another boater racer in 78 and that guys son totaled it when he fell asleep heading to a race. The owner did not survive the accident. So it was gone sometime in 1980.
In those days you could order trucks and cars how you wanted them. Dealer lot cars were the normal builds. He bought a 70 impala for my mom, in primer, so he could paint it my mom's favorite red.
We had a 478-cubic-inch version of that V-6 in a tow yard truck in the late 70s. It was in a mid size late 60's tow truck. Burned up starters trying to spin it over. Sounded weird with just the manifolds on it. Dad made me put exhaust on it because the office people in the tow yard complained. I would giggle while running it around.
I had a fun childhood and teen years.
I had a fun childhood and teen years.
Being 75 was probably a 20 truck and not a k30.
2wd converted truck or something p chassis being an rv?
2wd converted truck or something p chassis being an rv?
that trucks specs show 4 speed and 3 speed over/under brownie box with pto and the 2 speed rockwell t-case . those 305 v6 engines just run and run .
Sorry dude. Nope. You were not there.
You have to remember that the factories were not so rigid back then. He was in the Chevy truck division in Detroit when he ordered it. Came with K30 special badges. Was a one off truck. Picked it up from the factory 3 weeks later and drove it to So. Ca. without a bed on it. He was a designer for GM in their race program through Bill Thomas Race Cars.
Just was chatting with my older brother about our mom and asked him about the K30 extra long bed dad built. He said he remembered backing boats in with it as a young teen. Guys were always wanting to buy it and asking where he got it. Dad did not like driving it empty because he never changed the spring packs out. Supper rigid. Daily drove the C20, 454/sm465. Smoother ride.
It needs that overdrive to hit low freeway speeds. Those V-6 engines did not like RPM's.
K30 means a k and a 3 in the vin number. Those two didnt exist together until 77.
I actually talked to @ktmoutfront's brother Warren about it a few years back by complete happenstance, confirmed
Warren sold the M head Bridgeport their dad owned to Wade and then Wade to that my axle guy that I used to machine my knuckles and t case
Just because the internet tells you that, does not make it correct. Just like moms Impala did not have a color code on the plate.
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I don't have any experience with factory Chevy one offs, but I can tell you even today it's possible if you know the right folks to end up with a one off Ford. It's not impossible to end up with some pretty cool stuff when the right people are connected.
beags86
Eastbound and Down
With all due respect to anyone and anyone's dad that bought a once in a century one off truck.
None of that matters, it's just an irrelevance pissing match.
The question at hand was if a k30 454 was available, and if so when?
So basically the answer is no. Not to the general public before 81.
Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.
None of that matters, it's just an irrelevance pissing match.
The question at hand was if a k30 454 was available, and if so when?
So basically the answer is no. Not to the general public before 81.
Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.
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Fleet trucks often have unusual drive train components ,they could be ordered special to suit a buyers needs back in the old days..
I do not doubt there were many "one off" trucks assembled on a special order rather than a buyer just taking what was on the lot..
I remember some early 60's C-60 bucket trucks at the gas company my dad worked for having 348 or 409 V8's in them,when the typical engine would have been a straight six or 283,327 V8...perhaps those big blocks were available for any medium duty truck and probably some detroit diesels too,but the only ones I ever saw were in those service trucks and a few fire engines...
I do not doubt there were many "one off" trucks assembled on a special order rather than a buyer just taking what was on the lot..
I remember some early 60's C-60 bucket trucks at the gas company my dad worked for having 348 or 409 V8's in them,when the typical engine would have been a straight six or 283,327 V8...perhaps those big blocks were available for any medium duty truck and probably some detroit diesels too,but the only ones I ever saw were in those service trucks and a few fire engines...
From GM's standpoint I can see where it would have been possible. They sold C10's with 454's...K5 is just shorter. I just never saw or heard of one. Would have been cool, and collectible AF now.
348’s and 409’s are known as “dump truck” engines because they were very common in medium duty truck applications before the 366/427 engines became available.
My parents have a 66 C-60 4x4 with a 409 and a Clark 5speed and Rockwell 221 t-case . It’s been their plow truck for going on 30+ years
There just wasn't many ordered or sold around MA I guess with the 348/409 BBC engines,I guess...most all here had straight sixes or small blocks..either that or they all got scrapped before I was old enough to go poking around in salvage yards..
I think I've seen maybe 2 or 3 C60 or 70 series trucks with Detroit Diesels in the early 60's body style...I did see two 1965-1966 C-60's with the "Toro-Flow" diesels,I read they were based on the 478 V6 gas engines....
I found it strange not many diesels were in older C-60's around here--you'd think there would be a lot more of them in fleet duty or construction trucks,dump trucks,but for whatever reason they didn't sell many in this area..even school buses usually had only 235 or 261 straight six engines or small blocks in the early 60's..
Either that or they were all scrapped before I started lurking around in junkyards..but usually once a medium duty truck lands at a junkyard here,it sits there forever..(or at least until scrap prices rise enough to justify the expense of cutting one up,which can be a long time !)..
My older brother and I came across a '59 GMC oil delivery truck being parted at a local junkyard several years ago,we about peed ourselves when we saw it had what looked like a 409 ,we came around the corner right when the owner was lifting it out of the truck with a big forkloader ,it had a clark 5 speed hanging off it by one bell housing bolt!..(an employee must have missed it,it was the one dead center on the top of the bell )..
We saw the bell housing flexing away from the block,and feared the block was going to snap the bolt boss off and ruin it,but it held until he let it down on the ground..
I climbed up on the loader and asked him if it ran,or he'd sell it,he said "well,I drove the truck over here,and from the guy I bought it from 5 miles away--hell yeah I'll sell it--tell you what--"$150 "as-is"...we shook on it and 15 minutes later it was in my pickup's bed going home with us..
We later found out it was a 348,but didn't really care ,because it looked identical to a 409...it had a weird water pump mounted on a tall casting like a windmill,so it'd line up with the radiator..
My brother never ended up putting it in anything,after it sat in his garage a long time he sold it to a guy with a '58 Impala,I think he got $400 for it..he decided to pass on keeping it due to the ridiculous cost of parts for the 348/409 engines..plus he had other 454's in storage.
It is rather strange GM would build 1/2 ton 2WD pickups with 454's,and Suburbans,but not the K5's,especially when its practically a bolt in swap...they screwed up,I think a lot of them would have been sold..
I think I've seen maybe 2 or 3 C60 or 70 series trucks with Detroit Diesels in the early 60's body style...I did see two 1965-1966 C-60's with the "Toro-Flow" diesels,I read they were based on the 478 V6 gas engines....
I found it strange not many diesels were in older C-60's around here--you'd think there would be a lot more of them in fleet duty or construction trucks,dump trucks,but for whatever reason they didn't sell many in this area..even school buses usually had only 235 or 261 straight six engines or small blocks in the early 60's..
Either that or they were all scrapped before I started lurking around in junkyards..but usually once a medium duty truck lands at a junkyard here,it sits there forever..(or at least until scrap prices rise enough to justify the expense of cutting one up,which can be a long time !)..
My older brother and I came across a '59 GMC oil delivery truck being parted at a local junkyard several years ago,we about peed ourselves when we saw it had what looked like a 409 ,we came around the corner right when the owner was lifting it out of the truck with a big forkloader ,it had a clark 5 speed hanging off it by one bell housing bolt!..(an employee must have missed it,it was the one dead center on the top of the bell )..
We saw the bell housing flexing away from the block,and feared the block was going to snap the bolt boss off and ruin it,but it held until he let it down on the ground..
I climbed up on the loader and asked him if it ran,or he'd sell it,he said "well,I drove the truck over here,and from the guy I bought it from 5 miles away--hell yeah I'll sell it--tell you what--"$150 "as-is"...we shook on it and 15 minutes later it was in my pickup's bed going home with us..
We later found out it was a 348,but didn't really care ,because it looked identical to a 409...it had a weird water pump mounted on a tall casting like a windmill,so it'd line up with the radiator..
My brother never ended up putting it in anything,after it sat in his garage a long time he sold it to a guy with a '58 Impala,I think he got $400 for it..he decided to pass on keeping it due to the ridiculous cost of parts for the 348/409 engines..plus he had other 454's in storage.
It is rather strange GM would build 1/2 ton 2WD pickups with 454's,and Suburbans,but not the K5's,especially when its practically a bolt in swap...they screwed up,I think a lot of them would have been sold..
