Please help me pick the right size tires 76' blazer

[dasanii19]

I have a 1976 K5 I just bought. I'm not too up on the suspension lifts and im trying to figure out what size lift I have, I asked a guy at les scwab (I didn't have the truck with me) he said if the rear leef springs have a 2" piece under them its a 4" lift, if it has a 4" piece under them its a 6" lift. Well my rear leef spring do have a 4" piece under them ( I don't know what the "piece" is called) anyway's, what im trying to figure out is what are my options on tires sizes? The rims I have are Pro comp Xtreme PCD:6X139.7 Size: 15"X10" Offset:46mm maybe you can make some sense on what to run. Bare with me guys im really trying to learn here.. I'm looking for practical but at the same time I want the tires to look pa portioned with the truck.. Your suggestions will really help, the tires that are on it right now are 33's and look like they are about to pop!!

The tires I like the looks of are the Cooper STT's http://www.4wdworld.com.au/products/cooper/index.htm

Heres a picture of the truck im restoring

 

[imiceman44]

I have a 1976 K5 I just bought. I'm not too up on the suspension lifts and im trying to figure out what size lift I have, I asked a guy at les scwab (I didn't have the truck with me) he said if the rear leef springs have a 2" piece under them its a 4" lift, if it has a 4" piece under them its a 6" lift. Well my rear leef spring do have a 4" piece under them ( I don't know what the "piece" is called) anyway's, what im trying to figure out is what are my options on tires sizes? The rims I have are Pro comp Xtreme PCD:6X139.7 Size: 15"X10" Offset:46mm maybe you can make some sense on what to run. Bare with me guys im really trying to learn here.. I'm looking for practical but at the same time I want the tires to look pa portioned with the truck.. Your suggestions will really help, the tires that are on it right now are 33's and look like they are about to pop!!

The tires I like the looks of are the Cooper STT's http://www.4wdworld.com.au/products/cooper/index.htm

Heres a picture of the truck im restoring

Youhave a 4" lift just from looking at it and you confirmed.
You can go with 35" tires and be fine.
Youu can also keep the same size it doesn't look bad.
What are you plans for it?
Daily driving or what?

 

[dasanii19]

Thanks for the reply man, I already have a gas saver so this truck will be mostly used for the hills, I might drive it to town just for fun every now and again.

So will 35's look to "stuffed" I just want it to look nice but practical and if im going drop $800+ on tires I want to make certain I will be happy you know? If you look at the pictures you can see some rust on the quarter panle above the wheel well, im kinda confused about if I should just cut the quarter panel wheel wells bigger thus eliminating the rust seen or should I just buy new quarter panels? If I did cut the quarter panel wheel wells bigger would 35's be the best choice? and If I cut the rear wheel wells, would I have to cut the front as well? How would I go about doing that and would you suggest it? I need some ideas here I guess.

Again thanks for the reply, ive been checking this forum over and over waiting for replies, im ready to start restoring this truck!!

 

[dasanii19]

My plans for this truck is to get it slick again, I want everything on it clean, if it takes me a long time so be it, im in no hurry. The motor has been rebuilt before and from what i was told it's a corvette motor, it seems to be leaking some oil some im going to pull it out, clean it up and put new gaskets on it, it seems strong so no need to rebuild it I dont think.

Yesterday the truck would NOT start, I trouble shot it a little and came to the conclusion it was the starter, I pulled the starter out, man there was a bolt lodged into the gear on the starter, umm where did that bolt come from? well come to find out that bolt was fromt he FLY WHEEL!!!! Man the fly wheel has only two bolts holding it!! The torque converter has a mount misssing so I cant even put new bolts in the fly wheel yet, im going to have to buy another torque converter. Any suggestions on what kind of torque converter I should get? arent there different kinds of torque converters for different types of stall speeds? I need some help picking one out.. Also the tranny is screwed, the trucks reverse is out so while I have the tranny disconnected I mine as well pull it out and have it rebuilt and while that is getting rebuilt Ill pull the motor to clean that up as well.. Thats another thing, should I rebuild the tranny I have or buy a "beefyer" one? How do I even tell what kind of tranny I have? Questions , questions , questions. Pleeeeease try and answer all.

 

[k2mslskier]

Thanks for the reply man, I already have a gas saver so this truck will be mostly used for the hills, I might drive it to town just for fun every now and again.

So will 35's look to "stuffed" I just want it to look nice but practical and if im going drop $800+ on tires I want to make certain I will be happy you know? If you look at the pictures you can see some rust on the quarter panle above the wheel well, im kinda confused about if I should just cut the quarter panel wheel wells bigger thus eliminating the rust seen or should I just buy new quarter panels? If I did cut the quarter panel wheel wells bigger would 35's be the best choice? and If I cut the rear wheel wells, would I have to cut the front as well? How would I go about doing that and would you suggest it? I need some ideas here I guess.

Again thanks for the reply, ive been checking this forum over and over waiting for replies, im ready to start restoring this truck!!

This is my 86 with a 4" lift, 35" BFG Mud ta's, 15x10 MT II's with a 3.625" backspace. No fender trimming yet and I haven't had any real serious rubbing issues.

Andy

 

[dasanii19]

That looks great, I think i will leave the wheel well alone and just buy new quarter panels, I think I will go with the 35's..
Ok I gave my rim size above, here is the cooper website, I want the STT's, the only 35's they have are 35X12.50R15LT, is that size conpatible with the rims I have? What do you thnk, is it a go?


http://www.coopertire.com/Flash/index.aspx

 

[k2mslskier]

That's the size that is on mine. You shouldn't have any problems.

 

[dasanii19]

Sweet man, I was pretty sure about those coopers , but those tires you have on your truck look really good. What do you think of those STT coopers? good choice?

 

[k2mslskier]

Looks like a pretty decent tire. I don't have any experience with Cooper so I can't give a very good response.

 

[bowtiepower00]

I ran a set of STT's in 31x10.5r15 and they were good tires. The BFG Muds and Goodyear MTR's are about the best off-road radial tires you can buy for all-around use. The only concern I would have with any of them is sidewall puncture resistance if you like trails with lots of sharp stuff on them. Whatever you get, I would suggest getting lifetime roadhazard if you are going to venture offroad. I would get the 35's if your rig is mainly going to be used for trails.

 

[Confedneck79K30]

38.5s lots of trimming... would look cooler, but thats my humble opinion

 

[spoolnaround]

That looks great, I think i will leave the wheel well alone and just buy new quarter panels, I think I will go with the 35's..
Ok I gave my rim size above, here is the cooper website, I want the STT's, the only 35's they have are 35X12.50R15LT, is that size conpatible with the rims I have? What do you thnk, is it a go?


http://www.coopertire.com/Flash/index.aspx

They make patch panels for the area above the wheel openings, might save you some $$. I think I would go with the 35's myself.

 

[dasanii19]

They make patch panels for the area above the wheel openings, might save you some $$. I think I would go with the 35's myself.

Thanks man, where would I look for the patch panels at?

Yea I like the 35's, ill post a picture when I get them mounted..

 

[imiceman44]

Answers

Too bad about your tranny and starter issues.
Well I am pretty sure you should have th350 tranny, that was the stock tranny if no one changed it.
I would go with a rebuilt from a reputable company, here in my area I go with Shift management, they have a great warranty, 18 month 18k miles, and their price is cheap.
And you already got your answer on the size, I definitely recomend the 35" tires
The Cooper is part of the Goodyear group, they are decent tires and the tire you like is a new killer design, go for it.

 

[dasanii19]

Too bad about your tranny and starter issues.
Well I am pretty sure you should have th350 tranny, that was the stock tranny if no one changed it.
I would go with a rebuilt from a reputable company, here in my area I go with Shift management, they have a great warranty, 18 month 18k miles, and their price is cheap.
And you already got your answer on the size, I definitely recomend the 35" tires
The Cooper is part of the Goodyear group, they are decent tires and the tire you like is a new killer design, go for it.

THANKS FOR THE REPLY!! yea I've been asking around town about some reputable tranny guys and have been referred to a few but haven't talked to them face to face yet. What price am I looking at? Id like to know a round about price so I dont get ripped. I have in the back of my head $500ish, does that sound about right? I'm going to pull and install it myself. Should I get a plain and simple rebuild or would you suggest while its already out and getting re build to have them install some "soup ups"? and what would those "soup ups" be?

Also how do I figure out what torque converter to get? If my tranny is a stock (TH350) and my motor is a 350, can I figure it that way or do I have to know the exact specs on my motor to figure out what torque converter to get?

 

[ccatlett1984]

tell them the engine that you have, they should be able to tell you what TC you need to get. lower stall speeds are meant more for towing. higher is more for racing.

you should be able to get that trans rebuilt for around $600 (at least in my area).

at least have them install the HD clutches and the upgrades to the trans since yours was manufactured. (IMO I would go with a stage-1 shift kit, to give a little firmer shift and to reduce the slipping.)


INSTALL A TRANS COOLER, it's the best thing you can do for your trans.

 

[dasanii19]

everyone agree? Thanks for the tips, ill go down and talk with the tranny shop tomorrow and post up what they say before I pull money out of the bank

 

[imiceman44]

everyone agree? Thanks for the tips, ill go down and talk with the tranny shop tomorrow and post up what they say before I pull money out of the bank

I agree, $600 is roughly what it should cost for a th350, I would do the HD clustches and the stage 1 shift kit, that should bump it about $100.
The Torque converter usually is part of the deal and go for a stock replacement for what you have.

 

[dasanii19]

Well I went to Summit today to get some prices on some tires, 4 35" BFG mud terran w/tax = $772.89, I also got a price on the new Super swamper 35" mud TRXUS for 828.72 w/tax. The guy at the counter told me they "meet or beat" prices, so maybe I can find somewhere on the net thats a little cheaper and hell maybe I can save a few bucks? who knows. Man both of these brand tires are pretty sweet looking, I also ran into some pro comp muds that looked pretty good. I dont know what the heck to choose, so many choices.. My buddy is pressuring me to get the swampers, he says they are the way to go, ill probably do some research on google.

As far as the torque converter goes, I got a price at summit as well for a B&M 2000 stall for $95.95.

I will take your guys advice and get a stage 1 shift kit and HD clutches for my transmission, I will also add the trans cooler.

So this is my starting project, Transmission (round about prices) $700, somewhat decent paint job $1,500, Tires $900, and this is the begining, after I get all that done, I will start with interior and odd and inns around the truck like sandblasting parts/undercoating all that pidly detail crap that will make it an all around sharp looking blazer. (Money's horse power, How fast do ya wanna go? right?)

 

[bowtiepower00]

For tires, check Discount Tire, Wal-Mart, or Costco. Discount has the best roadhazard if you plan on cutting sidewalls- which will probably happen if you're wheeling.