What to do, what to do..

[Ol.Luce]

I just recently bought an 85 k5 with a salvage title, a ragged to **** 350 sbc, decent but leaking th350 trans, and a flat tire. I'm looking at a gm goodwrench crate putting down 260hp and 350 tq, but keeping the current motor running in the meantime. I'd like to keep this thing as driver friendly as possible while still being able to bash it around a little bit. Is the 700r4 something I can rely on off the beaten path? And what kind of cage builds are there out there that are driver/passenger friendly when on the beaten path? And does anybody know the stock axle gearing?

 

[CaneyCat]

If I had to guess its a 3.08 or a 3.42 gear. Only ways to know, pull the cover or look in the glove box for the RPO code.

G80 : AXLE POSITRACTION, LIMITED SLIP
GU4 : AXLE REAR, 3.08 RATIO
GU5 : AXLE REAR, 3.23 RATIO
GU6 : AXLE REAR, 3.42 RATIO
GT4 : AXLE REAR, 3.73 RATIO
GT5 : AXLE REAR, 4.10 RATIO

 

[MrSchaeferPants]

I take my Blazer crawling on a regular basis, with a 30 year old 700r4 and 3.08 gears and 33" tires. No worries. In fact the nice thing is the 700r4 has the lowest 1st gear out of any of the auto trannys.

That being said, due to my 3.08 gearing, I leave it in 4/lo so the trans doesn't have to work so hard. Plus, I mean I'm crawling, so I'm never going fast enough. Down side it seems my average speed on the trail when not going over obstacles seems to want to be inbetween 1st and 2nd

Cage builds? You just gotta search.

 

[paratrooper307]

If your TV cable is properly adjusted and you keep the temp down, a 700R4 is a decent transmission. The overdrive is a big plus on a truck that struggles to stay in double digit fuel economy. You can also get some nicely built ones for a reasonable price.

The basic GM 350 is a good value and a good choice as long as you aren't going to go too wild. Swap in a good 4x4 cam (the one it comes with will barely bump the valves off their seats) and a set of Vortec heads and you'll have a strong runner. Or leave it stock, and it will be perfectly adequate and reliable.

If you're planning on bigger tires, think about regearing. The least expensive way to do it is find some 3/4 ton axles. They pretty much bolt right in and a lot of them are 4.10 ratio.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[lloydrage]

I just recently bought an 85 k5 with a salvage title, a ragged to **** 350 sbc, decent but leaking th350 trans, and a flat tire. I'm looking at a gm goodwrench crate putting down 260hp and 350 tq, but keeping the current motor running in the meantime. I'd like to keep this thing as driver friendly as possible while still being able to bash it around a little bit. Is the 700r4 something I can rely on off the beaten path? And what kind of cage builds are there out there that are driver/passenger friendly when on the beaten path? And does anybody know the stock axle gearing?

bro I went GM goodwrench and glad I did.

Check out my build thread sounds like we started the same way