Ctownsammy
Newbie
Hey everybody, long time, first time. Lots of great info on these boards.
I've been looking for K5's on classified sites for months now. Since I'm in Canada and we have only 1/10th the population of the US it seems like at any time there are only 1 or 2 K5s for sale within a 10 hour drive, even when looking into the Western US States (which would mean having to buy a vehicle sight unseen, drive a potentially rotted truck hours and hours, and then import it into Canada. No small feat).
I am particularly fond of the late 70s blazers and well lo and behold, I have found just such a truck, 10 minutes from my house, original owner, runs and drives, only a little rust that I could see from the outside. I drove it and it felt good not great. Price is $7000 CAD which is $5000 USD. The only drawback was that it is a 400 V8 automatic. I have always owned manual transmission vehicles and I'd want my finished project to be a stick shift as well. I would plan to ultimately do an auto to manual conversion, possibly with an SM465 or NV4500 and an LS engine swap. I know, I know, many many obstacles to overcome with such a build but all the gear heads on this forum make it look easy with their posts on the subject.
From my research it seems like the 1977 400 V8 Blazer only came with the TH400 tranny, and NP203 T-case. That would mean I'd be doing a full sale drive train swap out with a new T-case, tranny, motor. I understand that there is likely a great deal of $$ and fabrication involved including changes to the floor, and installation of the clutch pedal linkage, maybe even moving tranny cross members and lots more... But is there something major I'm missing, specifically related to modifying a vehicle that came with the 400 V8? Compared to most of you on this site I'm an amateur mechanic, but I figure what better vehicle to learn on than a square body chevy? It would certainly be easier to modify than our 2015 subaru!
My question is, should I pull the trigger on this truck because it's the year I want, it's close to home and it runs? Or should I wait for a manual tranny K5 to come up for sale near me, even if it takes months or even years? Will the value of these trucks keep rising as they get rarer and rarer? My thought is that if I buy this truck, at least I have a K5 to call my own and I can drive it as is for a while until the time is right to start my project, then do the manual conversion and all the other body work, interior etc at that time.
Did any of you regret buying the first K5 you went and looked at, and wished you'd waited for the perfect truck to come along? They say only fools rush in...
Sorry for the long read, and thanks for any input you have.
I've been looking for K5's on classified sites for months now. Since I'm in Canada and we have only 1/10th the population of the US it seems like at any time there are only 1 or 2 K5s for sale within a 10 hour drive, even when looking into the Western US States (which would mean having to buy a vehicle sight unseen, drive a potentially rotted truck hours and hours, and then import it into Canada. No small feat).
I am particularly fond of the late 70s blazers and well lo and behold, I have found just such a truck, 10 minutes from my house, original owner, runs and drives, only a little rust that I could see from the outside. I drove it and it felt good not great. Price is $7000 CAD which is $5000 USD. The only drawback was that it is a 400 V8 automatic. I have always owned manual transmission vehicles and I'd want my finished project to be a stick shift as well. I would plan to ultimately do an auto to manual conversion, possibly with an SM465 or NV4500 and an LS engine swap. I know, I know, many many obstacles to overcome with such a build but all the gear heads on this forum make it look easy with their posts on the subject.
From my research it seems like the 1977 400 V8 Blazer only came with the TH400 tranny, and NP203 T-case. That would mean I'd be doing a full sale drive train swap out with a new T-case, tranny, motor. I understand that there is likely a great deal of $$ and fabrication involved including changes to the floor, and installation of the clutch pedal linkage, maybe even moving tranny cross members and lots more... But is there something major I'm missing, specifically related to modifying a vehicle that came with the 400 V8? Compared to most of you on this site I'm an amateur mechanic, but I figure what better vehicle to learn on than a square body chevy? It would certainly be easier to modify than our 2015 subaru!
My question is, should I pull the trigger on this truck because it's the year I want, it's close to home and it runs? Or should I wait for a manual tranny K5 to come up for sale near me, even if it takes months or even years? Will the value of these trucks keep rising as they get rarer and rarer? My thought is that if I buy this truck, at least I have a K5 to call my own and I can drive it as is for a while until the time is right to start my project, then do the manual conversion and all the other body work, interior etc at that time.
Did any of you regret buying the first K5 you went and looked at, and wished you'd waited for the perfect truck to come along? They say only fools rush in...
Sorry for the long read, and thanks for any input you have.
I just want to see if it’s a good deal for you or not? I’ll look at the add.
