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Rusty Nail

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Rusty
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1977
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C20
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350sbc
Yeah and from my experience the 73-75 K5s are worth a ton of money...Way more than you think.
I wouldn't be so quick to write it off OR part it out.
Speaking of selling motors to fund stuff? If it were me I would VERY SERIOUSLY consider selling the other two trucks to repair the '73.
It's worth WAY MORE than the other two trucks, combined. ++!

I believe you think it's very badly rusted if you believe I think it is VERY LIKELY worth fixing.

Are you interested in selling it?
 

Overland Suburban

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Estacada Oregon
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Tracy
Truck Year
1989
Truck Model
Suburban
Engine Size
5.7 tbi
Yeah and from my experience the 73-75 K5s are worth a ton of money...Way more than you think.
I wouldn't be so quick to write it off OR part it out.
Speaking of selling motors to fund stuff? If it were me I would VERY SERIOUSLY consider selling the other two trucks to repair the '73.
It's worth WAY MORE than the other two trucks, combined. ++!

I believe you think it's very badly rusted if you believe I think it is VERY LIKELY worth fixing.

Are you interested in selling it?[/QUOTE/]

If anyone is interested in buying it I will swap axles first since there not original and put 10 bolts in it. I would leave the SM465 NP205 that I believe are original the 350 that isnt along with everything else. Ive been leaning that way anyways because at the least someone would buy it for an offroader.
 

Dougnsalem

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Overland Suburban

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Estacada Oregon
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Tracy
Truck Year
1989
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Suburban
Engine Size
5.7 tbi
Doug, I've only been here 2 days and everyone's trying to buy my square body chevy's.......Lol

I didn't have this problem when I drove Ford's Haha

I think I'm going to take Shiftpro's advice and keep it complete other than I will swap the 1 ton running gear for the 10 bolt stuff. Why build two into one when you can just start building both! Makes sense.....Lol
 

Overland Suburban

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Estacada Oregon
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Tracy
Truck Year
1989
Truck Model
Suburban
Engine Size
5.7 tbi
For anyone interested in following along I have a build thread started in tech discussion. I will be a week or so before I start and will be slow for a few months but will have and abundance of time starting in April.

My first steps are going to be swapping the 1 ton running gear into the Suburban and the 10 bolt's into the Blazer.

I'm going to do a reverse shackle flip on the Suburban to make for a better drive line angle and get rid of the big ass blocks. I will order my shackle flip kit from DIY 4X My suburban already has the 56" springs in the rear being an 89. I guess the older ones had 52" in the rear not sure on that. My front lift is all spring so not going to mess with that for now. I believe my lift is 4" total

I've got tabs on a used tbi 350 for $500 so I think I'll pick that up for now just so I can make the thing move. I'm in the process of moving to Montana so would kinda prefer to have someone drive it for me rather than trailer it....lol If the 350 tbi is rebuildable that's in the Suburban I'm going to build a 383 roller, put a good set of heads on it, Cam it for around 400 ft lbs of torque. That should pull a camper or fishing boat

Since I've decided to undertake the blazer project, " The real build" Lol I will put the 10 bolts under it for now and keep it operational however I will probably just trailer it to Montana! Don't want to lose any parts on the road....haha It will get parked in a garage and give me something to start on when the Suburban is Camping/ Hunting/ Fishing Friendly
 
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kenn

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Jan 17, 2019
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detroit
First Name
ken
Truck Year
1977, 1978
Truck Model
c10, k10
Engine Size
350
welcome from Michigan I sure its better than rust in Michigan LOL
 

Overland Suburban

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Estacada Oregon
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Tracy
Truck Year
1989
Truck Model
Suburban
Engine Size
5.7 tbi
Just a quick update! As I mentioned previously the current 350 tbi in the suburban was low on compression in two cylinders. After some thought I decided to search for a used tbi engine as a quick way to get this thing going and that would leave me with a spare to build a 383 stroker" possibly" Well, after a week of looking I finally located a used 350 tbi that checked out 150 psi in every cylinder with great oil pressure to boot and purred like a kitten for $500

Today after work I decreased and pressure washed the engine, pulled the distributor and tbi along with a few other goodies off in preparation for tomarro and made a trip to the parts store! At the parts store we got an intake gasket, valve cover gaskets, pan gasket, rebuild kit for the tbi, and some black engine paint to pretty things up a bit. After a little more thought I think I will pick up some silver paint for the intake for some contrast.

The pro's are the engine came complete with everything except the power steering pump. That's going to leave me with a ton of extra parts that I can put in a box in the back for on the road break down emergencies.

Be nice having an extra water pump, alternator, air condition pump, clutch fan, belt tensioner, electrical components, tbi, starter, wiring harness, etc

Might be another week but I will take and post some pics as this project slowly moves foreward



Tracy
 
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Overland Suburban

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Location
Estacada Oregon
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Tracy
Truck Year
1989
Truck Model
Suburban
Engine Size
5.7 tbi
Been going slow but it is moving forward. I rebuilt the throttle body, Wow! These are a lot simpler than a Carb! I don't know why I'd ever swap to a Carb for a stock application with a system as simple as the TBI is to work on. Only problem I found is the regulator was leaking. I thought about turning the regulator pressure nut in a few turns but decided to just put it together as it was and will check the pressure when it's running. If it isn't up to par I'll take it apart and adjust it. This looked to be the first rebuild on this tbi.

When I pulled the intake the gaskets were hard, crumbly, and the useful life was gone. In my research I learned the tbi intake leaks after 100,000 miles or so and it's why I opted for new gaskets. This part is where I have a question.

The intake was sealed with black rtv on both ends. Is this how they came from the factory??? Just trying to determine if the intake gaskets have ever been done before.

I than changed valve cover gaskets. The gaskets that came out were orange and still somewhat pliable but wear and tear was showing. I put a thin layer of blue rtv on both sides of the new blue gaskets and put it back together.

The distributor was nice and tight still though there was a fair amount of rust on the pick up coil and the rotor is rusted on....lol. I guess this is common on tbi chevy's around the coast?

Hopefully I can find a place soon to swap engines because I'm pretty much ready. I got a few numbers to some back yard mechanics that do this on the side so as soon as I find one that will allow my participation I'll throw em some cash to use a shop for 2 days and get this done. I'd do this outside but am currently staying in an RV park and it's not allowed and I certainly don't blame em

In the end this engine probably won't be in this vehicle for more than 6 months but I'm having fun tinkering and might eventually use the engine in an off-road project I'm thinking about.

I have 2 12 valve cummins so I'm seriously thinking about doing a cummins swap at some point though I don't know if I'd prefer a 4 bt instead for the sake of weight and room or building a 383 is still on the table


Tracy
 
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