What should I do? I want to go diesel. (MORE PICS)

[DK5]

Hey Guys, I know I don't post very often, but I'm on here all the time. I'm just looking for some guidance from the brotherhood. I love K5s and I have three of them (sort of, one of them is just a body).

What I would like to do is to just have one really nice daily driver that I can take on the highway (30 mile commute daily) and enjoy driving it most everyday. Right now I'm stuck with driving a saturn ion (help me ).

I have:

- A 1990 with the 350tbi (mild comp cam) in really nice shape; almost totally rebuilt; stock axles (3.42s); 33" rubber; no lift.

-1988 with the 6.2 diesel in not so good shape (186K miles) rusted in the usual places, holes in the floor, on jackstands as I took the spindle off the front axle for the '90.

-1986 K5 body tub with the top. More rust than I thought and crappy repair jobs; minor damage to the roof (previous owner squeezed the cab somehow from picking it up)

I am considering selling the '90 gasser so I can build or buy a nice 6.2 diesel that I can drive more often.

I'm no mechanic, but I do all the maintenance and some technical stuff (installed new spindle and manual hubs). I'm a college student but i'm almost finished (one more year) and again, i live out of town as I commute. What should I do guys?

 

[yellowK20]

keep the 90 its nice!!!

keep the diesel as a donor truck and buy a 6.5 long block and a banks turbo kit and swap the diesel stuff into the 90

 

[ryoken]

whats wrong with the 90?

seems like a no brainer to me, ditch the other 2 lawn ornaments and concentrate on the gasser...

 

[tRustyK5]

Swap the 6.2 into the nice one and enjoy it...no brainer if you love K5's but need better commuting fuel mileage.

Rene

 

[DK5]

thanks for the replies guys,

keep the 90 its nice!!!

keep the diesel as a donor truck and buy a 6.5 long block and a banks turbo kit and swap the diesel stuff into the 90

do they bolt in the same as a 6.2? I haven't thought of this idea. might be more expensive though?

I'm not too worried about power. I've read many times that a stock 6.2 has enough power for the economy you get with it. Maybe i'd throw a turbo on down the road..

 

[yellowK20]

yeah for the most part, I just figured since you said the 6.2 was wore out you could just start with a 6.5 short block and go from there

 

[DK5]

whats wrong with the 90?

seems like a no brainer to me, ditch the other 2 lawn ornaments and concentrate on the gasser...

The '90 doesn't need much, but does have some rust. I bought 2 rear quarters and rockers from Napa to have them welded on for cheap. I'm also planning on fresh black paint in April as I can get a great deal through my school from the autobody students ( cheap!).

It really is a nice truck but the fuel mileage is so damn brutal that I rarely drive it. I used to spend over $100 a day in fuel when the price was high. and why keep it if I can't drive it all the time..

Swap the 6.2 into the nice one and enjoy it...no brainer if you love K5's but need better commuting fuel mileage.

Rene

Would it be easier though to just fix up the blue one? I've read about some of the frustration that can be run into with converting everything over (ie, hydraulic braking system, fuel lines, tank, etc.) at the end of the day which would be easier?

 

[DK5]

yeah for the most part, I just figured since you said the 6.2 was wore out you could just start with a 6.5 short block and go from there

good point

 

[tRustyK5]

The '90 doesn't need much, but does have some rust. I bought 2 rear quarters and rockers from Napa to have them welded on for cheap. I'm also planning on fresh black paint in April as I can get a great deal through my school from the autobody students ( cheap!).

It really is a nice truck but the fuel mileage is so damn brutal that I rarely drive it. I used to spend over $100 a day in fuel when the price was high. and why keep it if I can't drive it all the time..



Would it be easier though to just fix up the blue one? I've read about some of the frustration that can be run into with converting everything over (ie, hydraulic braking system, fuel lines, tank, etc.) at the end of the day which would be easier?

Well, turning wrenches is always a lot easier than doing moderate to major rust repair. If you think the rust is moderate, chances are high it's major. If you think it's major, it's prolly best to call a wrecker and have the remains crushed. K5's, and most other 'squares' hide their dirty secrets well. Usually by the time you see rust anywhere on the exterior, it's already at the moderately bad stage. If you're seeing good sized holes on the exterior it's already really, really bad.

As for the 6.2 swap, in your case it's a pretty straight forward deal. You have both complete trucks sitting there. Remove from one, bolt to the other. Motor mounts and exhaust are same. Hydro-boost brake stuff will unbolt and swap over very easily. Same with the rad and stuff.

The good part is you'd be able to remove the entire TBI engine, ECM, harness, fuel system and sell it as a bolt in kit...

I'll give you the numbers my pick-up puts down regularly. Not my all time best, but my regular average numbers. I go 10litres/100 km (28 mpg to the CDN gallon)if I have at least 60-70% freeway. More freeway, less fuel used. Best is probably 9.3 litres/100km (30.4 mpg, 100% freeway)

A K5 is slightly worse aerodynamicly, but still mid to high 20's is easily double what you were getting.

I've done the swap, and it's not terribly hard. Power level is decent too...

Rene

 

[DK5]

Thanks for your input

I will probably have to wait until the bodywork is all done before I do anything major to it (so I can drive it there).

In the meantime how do I check that my 6.2 block isn't full of cracks? Drop the pan under the truck and have a peek? Anything else I should look at? I might take some more pics when the weather gets better. Supposed to rain all week

The other thing I'm wondering about is the tranny; would I have to swap the diesel one into the gasser if I was to convert it? I believe they are both 700R4s.

 

[yellowK20]

swap convertors I think is all you'll need to do really not 100% on that though

 

[K5dreamer]

to me its a no brainer, the diesel is something you will thank yourself for down the road. and while its no cummins, powerstroke, or duramax, it has more than enough power for wheelin and driving, maybe not towing. but with a turbo, and a few other mods it can put out adequate power, with fuel economy most other engines can only dream of.

Rene will correct me if im wrong here, but i believe his pickup hitting the 28-30mpg is a manual. ive got the power sucking TH400 and still hit low 20's on the highway. the 700R4 should be somewhere in between the two (if im correct about the manual thing)

But yeah, take the 1990 with the pretty body, and drop the diesel in it, sell the TBI engine and setup as a swap for some other poor shmo, and then sell the rusty bodies for scrap, keep the driveline parts for spares if you have room.

thats the way Id go personally.

 

[DK5]

More pics

Thought I`d share photos with the non-supporting members too. I`m new to photobucket so let me know if the pics don`t work. (Pic whore time)

So this is the Black `90 with the TBI350 and 700R4:

These are old pics, its on 33`s now (stock axles; 3.42`s). The truck isn`t perfect by any means, which is why I`m on the fence about selling it. There are fist-sized holes on the rocker panels and the rear wheelwells have some rust bubbling through the paint. The truck was also covered in dents, but I had them all popped out, filled, and primed at my college. (I could get some pics, but we got about 6 inches of snow on the ground now and the truck is snow covered... ...and its cold

I bought some new rockers and rear quarters from Napa (cross-canada parts) and was planning on having them installed at my college by the autobody guys. Not too sure on how it will turn out though (they are newbies afterall, though the instructor wasn`t worried about it).

 

[DK5]

Maybe someone can chime in on rear quarter panel installment, how hard are these things to weld in? I asked the instructor if there would be any worries about the top not sealing properly after, but he said they usually line up the front fender first, then the door, then they use the door as a reference for alignment of the rear quarter panel.

I was thinking that they could use the topper as a reference too if I made a stand out of 2x4s that would rest in the bed and hold the top in place for them to measure up against.

 

[DK5]

The diesel

88 k5 6.2 diesel leaks oil, don't know what kind of shape the block is in yet. 700R4 tranny (i think). Hasn't been driven in over a year. Lots of rust (holes in the floor, no interior, everything feels loose, nothing works properly, literally bounces when driven over 80kms an hour (out of alignment and bad tie rod). Lots of work, I know... but still a cool truck I think. You don't see a lot of these around; here especially.

 

[tRustyK5]

Rene will correct me if im wrong here, but i believe his pickup hitting the 28-30mpg is a manual. ive got the power sucking TH400 and still hit low 20's on the highway. the 700R4 should be somewhere in between the two (if im correct about the manual thing)

No, my pick-up has a 700R-4. The 28-30 mpg is to the imperial gallon which is larger than the US gallon. The original poster is also from Canada, so I was trying to put the mileage in terms he is more likely to be familiar with.

24.5 mpg (US gallon) = 29.4 mpg (imperial gallon)

I wouldn't mind an NV3500 in the pick-up though...maybe if the 700R-4 packs it in one day.

Rene

 

[K5dreamer]

ah, my apologies Rene, you know how us ignorant Americans are

forgot about the US gallon, Imperial gallon factor.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

I say go diesel. How you do it I won't say as I'm just mechanical enough to be dangerous. Swapping an engine in by myself makes my eyes roll into the back of my head and I start babbling.

That said...you live in Canada. Realize that driving one of these as a DD in the winter is just consigning it to a rusty death eventually. GM didn't think about body longevity very much with these. Only reason I have mine is I'm not staying in the salt belt.

 

[CUCV2]

It sounds like the K5 with the diesel is in rough shape. But if you could get it roadworthy, you could try out the diesel and see if you like it. Might make more sense to use that as a mileage mutt of sorts and keep the 90 K5 in good shape.

 

[DK5]

The original poster is also from Canada, so I was trying to put the mileage in terms he is more likely to be familiar with.

24.5 mpg (US gallon) = 29.4 mpg (imperial gallon)

Rene

Thanks, I was hoping for close to 30mpg (imperial), but I know that won't happen now especially with the 33" x 12.5 tires. I could always swap them down to 32" x 11.5 with 16" rims or so down the road. What would be the ideal gearing here again? (In terms of optimal highway fuel mileage). It has 3.42's now.

I say go diesel. How you do it I won't say as I'm just mechanical enough to be dangerous. Swapping an engine in by myself makes my eyes roll into the back of my head and I start babbling.

That said...you live in Canada. Realize that driving one of these as a DD in the winter is just consigning it to a rusty death eventually. GM didn't think about body longevity very much with these. Only reason I have mine is I'm not staying in the salt belt.

Great points AJM, I was waiting for you to chime in too.

I'm a little worried about the engine swap too as I currently don't have a shop. I do have a small single car garage however.. ok more like a closed-in carport . I'm also not sure whether I would tackle the engine rebuild myself or have it done professionally.. Or just buy another engine and use the old blue K5 as a guide.

As for the rust issue: I want to do everything that I can to prevent that from happening. They do salt the roads here in the winter, so I would get it undercoated once a year before. I also found this gadget at Canadian tire that you can attach to the frame I believe and it emits a low charge on the entire vehicle thus preventing rust from happening. I might try that too.

It sounds like the K5 with the diesel is in rough shape. But if you could get it roadworthy, you could try out the diesel and see if you like it. Might make more sense to use that as a mileage mutt of sorts and keep the 90 K5 in good shape.

Good idea too, that was the original plan actually when I realized that the diesel needed so much work. I was going to drive the '90 until I had the '88 fixed up. And then park the black '90 and restore it to new condition. Thing is, why put so much resources into 2 blazers when I only need one?

I see what you're saying though. I could always sell one or the other then afterwords. That old blue needs a lot of work though. I might try putting together a list of what each truck needs and then go from there.

thanks for the responses guys, keep them coming!