Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives K5 Blazers

I’m looking at an 85 in decent shape. Has an new 383 motor and rebuilt transmission. I’m thinking about a 6” lift and some 35’s. Anybody have one? This is just a toy to haul the kids around and use during hunting season.

Awesome vehicles you will have fun

I had a '76 w 350/400 and PTO.
Poor thing rotted out, had over 200K on it and was still running fine (had transmission rebuilt).
It sucked in the woods, it was so big.
Cold in winter (too much space for just front heat).
But it hauled my crap and had room for a deer inside.
Could get my camo cold gear on while still seated behind steering wheel.
Was a good vehicle,.
Took out a doe on interstate at about 80 MPH. Hit on frame rail, so bumper grill and hood crinkled. Fender too.
Drove it 50 miles past that to get home ( tire smoked due to alignment screwed up).
Kid was in baby seat in middle of back seat, never even woke up.
Deer was a mess.

Mine was full time 4wd and no lift. Did OK, but was gas hog.
Dunno what the axle ratio was.

Mine was a '73, the last year of the 1 piece fiberglass roof, I think. I saw it on a dealer's repair lot. It had a 327 and a 3 on the tree, the only one I've ever seen on a Blazer. The linkage was worn out and they couldn't get the parts to fix it. I found a floor shift conversion kit that I knew would fit and made them an absurdly low offer. They grabbed it. It had about 100k on it. It took me 2 hrs to install the shift kit and I ran it another 100k. Then I sold it for the same price that I'd paid for it years before. I had a ball with that thing. It seriously needed a 4 speed but by using the low range to get moving sometimes, it never failed to get me there.

I had a '74. Dad had several '73-'79. Mine was lifted with a hopped up 350 and a set of Super Swampers. Never had it stuck despite trying just about every weekend.

Would own one as a play toy again.

Been around Blazers, Prospectors and Broncos. All fun wagons.

Okay rigs. Hated deer hunting out of one, kill a deer then have that nasty stinky bastard in passenger compartment with you.

I'd recommend against a 6" lift on a Blazer. Will likely need new driveshafts and brake lines, and that much lift makes the vehicle taller than necessary (i.e. easier to roll). You can fit 35s with less height. With that being said, I wouldn't recommend 35s on stock 1/2 ton axles, because of gearing and lack of axle strength. If swapping to heavier duty axles, go for it.

75 was the last year of the full top Blazer. Someone must've swapped in a 327, if that's truly what was in your Blazer. IIRC, 1969 was the last year for the 327.

You're right about the top. '73 was the 1st year of the full top, not the last. It was a 327 for sure. It's possible that it wasn't the original but that 3 spd transmission was an odd one, too. I sold the Blazer with 200k and that was a lot of miles for an engine back then. It's possible that the engine was much newer.

73 was the first year of the new body style. The 69-72 Blazers had a full fiberglass top, as well.

Had a 72 350 automatic. Loved that truck. Picked it up with a plow in 81 for $3500 and 12,000 miles on the odometer. Only problem lack of parts by 81. Wanted a step-bumper but they were crazy rare. 73 stuff wouldn’t fit. It was a tank.

Dad had several, they were tanks.
30 gallon fuel tank centered in the back.
Fill that sucker up if you knew you needed traction.
High center was the only thing that ever stopped us.


Guess who got to lay in the dirt and dig the thing free?

Had a '75 for several years back in the day. With a good set of tires, it went everywhere I wanted to go in some very muddy country in east-central Kansas and the montmorillonite clays of Wyoming's Thunder Basin.

I have an '80 K5 in my fleet. IMHO one of the better years, as it has the NP205 cast iron transfer case and non-overdrive auto trans that actually live, unlike the 700junk4s they started using in 1982.

I’ll be the second to recommend against a 6” lift. Besides being too much tire for stock 1/2ton running gear with 35”s it’s going to be way top heavy. I’d be running no taller than 33”s, preferably skinny 33”s if you can find them and either a 2” lift to fit them or if it has any rust just trimming fenders with a sawzall. If it’s got a TH350 behind that 383 budget for a replacement, doubly so if it’s got the OD 700R4. I think some of those had 10 bolt rearends and they’l be a weak link especially if you run big tires.

Overall it’ll be fun for you and the kids if you like to wrench on stuff, not so much if you don’t or can’t. 34 year old 4x4 will require some wrenching sooner or later. But it’ll be good for you and the kids to spend time together and teach them how to work on stuff. Plus you’ll get to have fun together out wheeling it and tearing it up again.

PS like somebody said above it sucks hauling a dead deer inside with you, especially with the heater going. If it’s not a serious wheeling trip to get to where you hunt look into a receiver mounted cargo rack you can strap your deer onto.

My '70 K5 Blazer is the reason I've never bought another Chevrolet. Cold with that uninsulated fiberglass top, top heavy, over sprung, short coupled, rode like a lumber wagon, rusted badly and drank gas like it had a hole in the tank. Last straw was coming down a slippery hill backwards with the plow attached being that light in the back end.

Correct. The 307 replaced the 327 during the 1969 model year.

I had a 1971. It was a blast on pavement and dirt.

Bad years for any American vehicle. They all seemed to come pre-rusted. Quality in general was at a low point.
EPA had totally f'd things up.
Probably a gutless 350, automatic, with full time four wheel. There were a lot of those and pickups like th st around here.

Ford it seemed, did a bit better (not much) but most of those trucks were lock out hubs and 4-speeds.
With the gutless engines of that time, it helped.


Dad would only buy 4 speed, lock out hub vehicles.
A cousin had a 400, auto, with full time.
A bobtail semi does much better on fuel.

It is easy to swap out both the front and rear ends out , get them from a 2500 truck, as long as you are lifting it, put new brake,
And fuel lines on while you are under it.