1973 4wd to 2wd K5 Blazer Build

[pbeguy]

Originally Posted by notsolo

Looking good, big time savings having a 2wd frame to work with, that will save you a month of fab ing frame perches etc. I did the same, reused brake lines, they polished up nice. I did a 5.7 Tbi 4L60 with 273 gears it's a nice cruzer.

With the 2.73 does it actually go in to overdrive? I am wondering because my rear tires are 31" tall. On paper, I do not think a 700r4 will ever get out of third. I am probably going to use the TH400.
Love your Blazer by the way. Nice job.

[notsolo]

Thanks for the comps....whole drivetrain was out of a 93 Caprice wagon. Definitely goes into overdrive, I still have a few bugs to work out, dash, bezel is also out of the same car, have not got the electronic speedo to work. Can't find the dash pinout for that car. Back to thinking it could be a ground wire...Your project is going to be sweet.

[Crcrft78]

Do you have a picture of the surface conditioning disc you used on the hard lines? Or a brand name.

[pbeguy]

CRcrft, I happen to have a lot of Sungold Brand disc. They are the Roloc type. Plenty of similar brands out there. Harbor Freight has there own brand also. Just use them lightly and they wont break through the coating on the lines. I follow up with a scuff from a Norton Scotch-brite pad and clear them. The green disc is a 3M Bristle disc. It is excellent to clean with also.

I did get the frame moved to my storage to begin the process of mating them up.

[pbeguy]

Big day today. Got the frame bolted up and rolling on its on. It was way tougher than I expected. A lot of small movements and lining it up. I will be working on the motor and tranny next. Also trying to decide if I want to bag it. I am so happy I decided to use the complete 2WD frame instead of modifying the 4WD.

[pbeguy]

Put in a little work getting the inside cleaned up. It is as bad as I thought it was. The seats hid a lot of cancer.
Luckily, the complete rear floor and wheel wells from the donor are in great shape.
I will replace the bed floor and floor boards as needed.

[pbeguy]

Something bugged me about the way the wheel sat in the wheel well. I modified the new perch to position the axle 1 inch forward. It looks correct now. I am sure I will have to order a new driveshaft anyway because I am using the TH-400 for this build. It came with the yoke still in it.

[pbeguy]

Have not had time to work on the Blazer in a while. Got it pulled home this weekend so I can put in a few hours at a time. My before and after makes it worth the frame swap.

[lolife99]

Looks great!

[pbeguy]

Seems like forever since I posted last. Got the engine pretty much done. Vortec heads with the valve guides cut down. Comp cam, lifters, springs and push-rods. All new gaskets and seals. Rebuilt Holley. Cleaning up the serpentine set-up to install. Going to tackle the transmission next. Found a guy that is willing to put it the TH400 back together for a great deal. Found some sheet metal for it. Still need a better tailgate.

[rodstored-72]

nice build, will be following along....

[SCOTI]

I'm in too. The frame swap was a good idea to save lots of little headaches!

[pbeguy]

Started tearing down my 700r4 for a quick rebuild. I have an ATSG book coming and all the parts I will need. It already has some upgrades and I can not wait to mate it to the motor and get it installed. Also going to put a 3.42 disc rear in to the Blazer.

[pbeguy]

Well, it took some time but I finally got the 700 rebuilt. It was not so difficult but I had a lot of online help. I followed the series of YouTube videos from Transmission Bench and was careful on each step. Luckily, I have a connected TV in my garage and could pause and rewind the couple dozen times I needed to. I added a B&M kit and used the ASTG book also. I am putting a new stall converter (1900 rpm) as per the comp cam recommendations. I ordered a new speedo gear that matches my tires and gear ratio.
On to the next phase.

[SCOTI]

Added some bling during assembly

[LT7A]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

Added some bling during assembly :cool:

Had to squint at that picture ;)

[pbeguy]

If it works as good as it looks I will be very happy. I was very careful on the rebuild. If it does not work like it should, I will not build one again. I can see why people just buy a new or let a reputable company build one. It was a time consuming project.

[pbeguy]

Thought I would put some pics up of my molasses soak. (1 gal molasses / 5 gal water) I just let them sit for a week or two and rinse the parts off. I know some people pressure blast them but that is a lot of work. These parts were pretty crusty.

[pbeguy]

Today was a big day. Finally got the Blazer in my garage at the house. I have been working on it at a mini storage. The motor and tranny are ready to put in. The new disc rear end setup is ready also. It is time to get some work done. I ordered some parts to bag the front. The rear axle flip makes it low enough in the back. I need to put a small notch in it for clearance. I will add more updates soon.

[LT7A]

Congrats on getting it home.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by pbeguy

Today was a big day. Finally got the Blazer in my garage at the house. I have been working on it at a mini storage. The motor and tranny are ready to put in. The new disc rear end setup is ready also. It is time to get some work done. I ordered some parts to bag the front. The rear axle flip makes it low enough in the back. I need to put a small notch in it for clearance. I will add more updates soon.

I replied to another thread w/this info. Thought it's worth mentioning here as well since it's a similar situation....

One 'watch-out'…. Burbs/Blazers are known for issues when c-notching. If you notch it, I would verify there's the same amount of travel available above the different as well. Otherwise, you'll clear @ the axle tube but still hit @ the floor.

I highly recommend 'over-doing' the c-notch if planning to tow. A simple bolt-in raised floor allows for better frame rail height above the notch & ample pumpkin clearance (win/win). It doesn't have to steal too-much interior compartment space. Even raised just 2" allows for a superior ('safer' since you're a family guy) set-up & wouldn't be that noticeable.

[pbeguy]

Thanks SCOTI.
I will never use it for anything other than a fun driver. I do plan on making sure on the spacing and I may bag it later anyway. My last build had an 11" notch to lay rocker on 31" tires.

I do appreciate the heads up.