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Less glug, more chug! 350 TBI?

75K5SOCAL

75K5SOCAL

Registered Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2012
Posts
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Location
San Gabriel Valley, CA
What's up everyone. I'm new to CK5. I've been reading here and there from a "free" memebership standpoint. 01/01/2012 I went out and bought a 1975 Chevy K5 Blazer 4x4 and went home and paid my $25 membership fee to join fully. I don't want to get into too many details about my K5 just yet as I'm hoping everyone will help me tackle things as they come along and the fact that the guy I bought it from pretty much had no clue what he was selling. I'm trying to figure out what has been done to it and what is origina. He was asking $2500, and somehow I talked him down to $700. Jumped in and drove it home. :D

My 1st order of business is repairing the frame, which shouldn't be too bad, just a lot of cleaning and rust proofing. Installing a frame brace from ORD, new body mounts from ORD, and the other usual stuff. I have a pretty good grasp of how to tackle the frame.

My 2nd order of business is where I'm hoping you all will jump in. My K5 has it's ORIGINAL GM Goodwrench 350 SB, an edlebrock intake, and 4 barrel edlebrock carb. It runs like SH*T. lol. I thought about putting money into the engine boring it out and making it a 383 SB. After talking to a few machine shops, and arguing with my wallet for a few days, I came to the realization that maybe I should just buy a new motor. There's a guy on craigslist that always happens to have motors from chevy trucks laying around. His most recent posting caught my attention. 350 TBI with ECM and Harness from a 95 chevy truck with 112k miles on it. He is asking $650 OBO. I was thinking of calling him and making an offer but I don't know what a fair offer would be?
1st question: will this engine fit my K5 rather smoothly? What kind of mods will I have to make to sit this engine down and make it run right?

2nd question: how the heck do I tell if the engine is good by looking at it? He says in the ad the engine was running when he took it out. I would say that too if I wanted a block taken from my driveway. lol.

3rd question: how much do you guys think I should offer him?

Any advice/help/counsel will be greatly appreciated!
 
Sounds like a rebuilder. 112k of unknown maintenance or abuse. Unless you could pull the covers and pan, and do a compression test, I would pass on.

Also in So Ca, what would the smog issues be?
 
Yeah, no smog required. It's a 75. No seat belts required either, but I'm not an idiot. lol. I'm really trying to not spend a ton of money on the motor. I haven't even decided if this will be a trail truck or just a weekend driver but I still want a good motor. Something I can hand off to a future son.. lol.
 
I'm going to call the guy and ask how he gets the motors or what he does.. maybe I can decifer his trade and i'll let you guys know. I know he sells a lot of motors simply because he is always posting new ads for different motors. I wish craigslist had a "review this seller" option. I might submit that as an idea like ebay.
 
what EXACTLY is wrong with the current engine? Does it smoke or knock? If not, then why not spend just a little money on a quicky mini overhaul and spend the big $$ on stuff that really needs it?

There are so many things that make an engine run bad. I did a top end overhaul on my k5 at 230k, and it lasted me until 270k. That included some stud that would transfer over to the new engine.
 
If it were me I'd just pull the 350 out now and rebuild it yourself. Have it bored 30 over and put a mild cam, headers, and rebuild that carb and it'll drive alot different. Price it out first, if a gm long block is cheaper just go that route and swap over intake, carb, etc.

As for telling the condition of an engine from the outside is down right near impossible. Anybody can use some degreaser to make a motor look good. You pretty much need to pull the pan and vc to judge it.

As for a tbi swap there are two different flexplates for those motors and will not interchange so you'll need the one for the newer motor. Also you'll need to run fuel lines to and from the motor with a pump plus all the wiring for it. It's that bad but much easier and cheaper to stay carb.
 
What part of OC are you in? Did you have to smog the K5 to transfer title and register it? Remember, it is not smog "exempt", it is just exempt from smog checks. But I think you still need to pass every time the title is transferd.
 
1st off. Thank you all for the feedback so far. Making the wheels in my head turn in a good way.
What's wrong with the engine; leaking from every place possible, no "umph", makes a poping noise, and of course the carb needs some attention too. I haven't actually taken the engine off or apart to check out the "guts" so i know i'm thinking prematurely. I'm ok doing the body work, the frame work, welding and what not. And when it comes to the motor, seals, gasgets, cleaning, not a problem. BUT!! Boring to 30 over? huh? i know what boring is, but how? I understand the concept of possibly making a 350SB a 383SB. I'm definitely not an idiot and i can read, thank god. lol. can anyone point me in the direction of a good book or website or checklist of sorts to do this and not forget a step and blow it completely. I would love to give this a shot myself. I just hope the tools required don't destroy my nonexistent "budget" and i hope the "might as well" mentallity i keep reading about doesn't take over..
 
Welcome to CK5, I'm in Irvine and there are a few others CK5 members in OC. If you want some help or to throw around some idea's. let me know. I have a 75 Step side Long bed. Good Luck with your project. Lou
 
Thanks Lou. I just might. You going to the pomona fairplex on 03/04/12? You should check it out. I'll be there getting more parts and ideas too!
 
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