81 K5 "Arctic Blaze" H.O. 5.3 / SM465 swap

[y5mgisi]

Good job on the swap! I really like your one sensor at a time approach on the harness!

[whitels1]

Originally Posted by x ReAcT x

I give you props for doing all the wiring yourself. That would drive me nuts, you definitely have a talent. I wish i would have seen your thread before i went and bought the 5.3 Erod package. I do have a question though. I just mounted the engine and transmission and i was gonna bolt the stock manifolds on the engine but the drivers side manifold hits my slave cylinder for the sm465. I see you used the f-body manifolds. Those are camaro manifolds correct? i know thats a silly question but i cant find any online. Did you just go to the junk yard and yank them yourself or buy them online?

And also do those manifolds clear the slave cylinder? If you have any picks i would definitely appreciate that

Thanks. I had my manifolds laying around, they were off of my 99 Z28, and should be fairly easy to find on ebay etc. I would go with the 2000 - 2002 to avoid having to plug the air and egr ports. I am using a hydraulic throwout bearing so I did not run into any clearance issues, it does look like the driver side F-body manifold will give you room, here are a few pics, hope it helps.

Originally Posted by y5mgisi

Good job on the swap! I really like your one sensor at a time approach on the harness!

Thank you.

[x ReAcT x]

I appreciate you going out and taking pictures, you have clearence for days with those manifolds. And thanks for the tip about the egr ports, i figured all years came with those. I guess ill have to start searching ebay and craiglist for 2000-2002 manifolds. I think im speaking for everyone but your build is helping me out tremendously. ill be referencing this quite often.

[k5xjfiles]

Subscribed, Im going to put a 6.0 into my 70ish K5/10/20 hybrid "some day" and def want to run the SM465 from my 72K5 in it. Very glad its possible and thanks so much for the great info!!

[cadillacfltwd85]

Hey what engine crossmember did you use, and did it give you any issues

[whitels1]

Originally Posted by cadillacfltwd85

Hey what engine crossmember did you use, and did it give you any issues

I used the stock crossmember with a truck oil pan and there was plenty of clearance.

[whitels1]

After a few times wheeling / fishing, I noticed a few things I needed to change, so I have had the Blazer lying dormant. Finally I have started driving her again to work, since I don't want to stack up miles on the new ride.

The first thing I needed to tackle was the air intake / filter set up. A few times down rough roads it had fallen off. Since I like to rev it out an haul ass down dirt roads it needed to be taken care of.

Here is my attempt, with some metal scraps, intake piping I had laying around and a few bucks in ABS piping this is what I came up with. Not flashy, but this is a purpose build rig. I secured the filter to the inner fender where the washer bottle used to be, and the other support is secured to the existing holes in the alternator bracket.

Before


After












Next up is installing my evap canister.

[whitels1]

I finally got to really beat on the motor and it sure was a fun trip to the sand.

http://youtu.be/YH4FqonYiYU

[y5mgisi]

THat was fun to watch!

[MalibuSSwagon]

So it looks like you didn't have to move the SM465 at all to accomplish the swap, correct? I'd like to swap my C10 without moving the transmission at all.

[whitels1]

Originally Posted by MalibuSSwagon

So it looks like you didn't have to move the SM465 at all to accomplish the swap, correct? I'd like to swap my C10 without moving the transmission at all.

No it did not move.
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[whitels1]

A few videos of my Trip to Dumont Dunes, I drove her out there and back 15mpg, while on the dunes I was always bouncing off the limiter, and most of the time between 4-6.5k. Gotta love it!

LS 5.3 K5 Blazer climbing Dumont Dunes comp hill...

LS 5.3 K5 Blazer 2WD chased by a Robbie Gordon...

[79bonanza]

Hey, I got a question about your throw out bearing. Why did you go with a aftermarket setup instead of the later model style hydraulic setup. I'm swaping a lq4 to a sm465 and I'm wondering if there isn't enough travel or not enough room for a stock setup. I already have a nfw1050 flywheel and ls7 pilot bearing. I still want to run my stock hydro clutch setup.

Do you know if there is any reason why it wouldn't work?
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[whitels1]

The reason I went after market was to have as few moving parts as possible, and I already had an older manual clutch style bellhousing. I went with the NFW1050 so I wouldn't have to shim the bearing and so I could use my old style clutch. The NFW1050 makes up the difference in spacing from the block mating surface to the crank, so your set up should work just fine.

[79bonanza]

Ahh ok, I was thinking you might have went that way for reasons like that. And that's good to hear, I've been waiting to see if it'll work
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[mattcrp1]

I liked your fuel tank solution. Did you find this to be a more cost effective solution than just a rail pump or a necessity to run the EVAP system?

[whitels1]

Originally Posted by mattcrp1

I liked your fuel tank solution. Did you find this to be a more cost effective solution than just a rail pump or a necessity to run the EVAP system?

Thanks. It seemed to be the easiest way to run the evap system. The cost effectiveness was not an issue, I wanted the in tank pump due to reliability and thought since I do a lot of desert wheeling it would be less susceptible to having failure problems due to heat. If I had to do it over I would have left the original sender for the gauge and mounted the late model pump off to the side.

[mattcrp1]

I take it that the late model sender is not compatible with your gauge?

[whitels1]

Originally Posted by mattcrp1

I take it that the late model sender is not compatible with your gauge?

No, the pcm reads voltage from the sender, the old gauge reads ohms.

[whitels1]

Finally got a gopro, so I hit the local sand dunes to try out my magnetic mount, it made for some cool transfer case views.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp9Sq_Wngdg

[whitels1]

Another video, might as well!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTeSGmRWqVA

[MTCK]

Cool vid, thanks for posting.

[whitels1]

More LS Fun!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr-74hWSFnw

I have been having a problem with it taking out spark plugs at high RPM, I'm going to try a larger wire from my alternator to my battery and also rework my ignition power source to the pcm. Hopefully that will solve the issues... ahh well it's an ongoing project!

[whitels1]

Made a video of my Headlight wiring upgrade with relays.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUuDjtZbI-c

I will soon have a video of how I ran my evap system on the blazer to eliminate having to use a vented gas cap.

[whitels1]

Happy New Year guys! The weather was so nice today 65 deg, I could not pass up some wheelin!

You Tube