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1996 6.5 obd2 into 87 blazer

J.Peart

J.Peart

Active Member
Messages
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Location
Kelowna, bc, canada
So ive been without a chev for a while but i just picked up an 87 blazer. More or less a rolling shell with a tbi 350 and no trans/t-case. My dad also gave me a 96 2500 6.5l.

First thought was to change it to all mechanical but i would like to use the 4l80e (i know i need a passenger drop tcase). Was thinking i could swap in the whole wiring harness and computer. Can this be made to work while still keeping the stock 87 dash? Any other problems i may not be thinking of?20181029_143628.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
WHY?
The 2500 has better brakes and other things esp. a turbo for what it's worth.

You are not going to save any money overall from the bullet proof 350 vs. install and maintenance of a 6.5 in the rig. Less trouble and labor to keep the 350. Don't forget springs in the front that would sag under the weight of the heavier 6.5.

For the trouble you can buy a tanker truck of 93 octane to run through the 350.

At the end of the day surplus 6.2 military blazers go for $5000 all day long. Sell what you got and buy one ready to drive! pocket the difference.
 
Why the hostility? I remember this site being more welcoming. This isnt about saving money, this is a project for me and a third vehicle. I want another diesel blazer.

For the record in up in canada and finding a good blazer here is often upwards of 8 grand. CUCVs of any type are rare up here.

The blazer has a decent body. Needs some work for sure but is mostly solid. Hell, the inner fenders and rear footwells arent even rusty. I dont think the roof was ever off either. And i got it for 200 bucks. 138000kms.

I was just going to find a donor 6.2 truck to swap in but dad offered me the 2500 for free. Its body is rough and was rear ended. But i know it runs and drives so its a not a terrible option.

You do make a point on the springs though. Forgot about that. Fitting the downpipe and figuring out what to do bout the brakes are also challenges to be overcome.

Point is i dont want a 350 blazer and finding a decent diesel one is very hard around here. I have the tools and most of the skills. The rest ill learn. Or fake :)
 
Ya i was thinking swapping it to a mechanical pump and using a standalone trans controller initially( and is not rulled out by any means), but using the stock computer was suggested and i wondered at the feasibility of it. Obviously its possible... but how practical.

And dont worry there will be pictures. Might get to a bit of prep work before the snow flies but otherwise this will have to wait for spring.
 
Dash will not work. Current turbo location wont work. The harness being fit in would take a lot of time.

I would go mechanical injector pump, stand alone trans controller. Use regular gauges in the dash instead.

Going to be pricey but if your gonna keep it a long time...
 
J.Peart said:
Why the hostility? I remember this site being more welcoming. This isnt about saving money, this is a project for me and a third vehicle. I want another diesel blazer.

For the record in up in canada and finding a good blazer here is often upwards of 8 grand. CUCVs of any type are rare up here.

The blazer has a decent body. Needs some work for sure but is mostly solid. Hell, the inner fenders and rear footwells arent even rusty. I dont think the roof was ever off either. And i got it for 200 bucks. 138000kms.

I was just going to find a donor 6.2 truck to swap in but dad offered me the 2500 for free. Its body is rough and was rear ended. But i know it runs and drives so its a not a terrible option.

You do make a point on the springs though. Forgot about that. Fitting the downpipe and figuring out what to do bout the brakes are also challenges to be overcome.

Point is i dont want a 350 blazer and finding a decent diesel one is very hard around here. I have the tools and most of the skills. The rest ill learn. Or fake :)
Click to expand...

Please, No hostility intended. I have a badly hurt 6.2 under the hood that has disappointed us in the low number of miles it delivered due to the modern inability to get good parts for the antique it is. It's been out and opened up at least 3 times and the last was pushing it with cracked mains. Sorry if that misery rubbed off. Consider me as a bad example to warn others.

Just asking for reasons as to why you want to do this. I posted some of the reasons that don't make sense to me as to why someone would and perhaps talk you out of it. I have no idea how hard or expensive it is to import a 6.2 CUCV up north from say Arizona. Honestly this era it is hard enough as it is just to keep these 6.5/6.2 antiques running let alone a complete conversion looking for the rare good condition parts to make the conversion work.

After experiencing problems with the 6.2 in 1989 and being king of 6.5 carnage one year I really would keep a gas 350 over a throwaway engine like the 6.2 or 6.5. Disappointment would be opening up that 6.5 you have and finding show stopper cracked mains or other cracks making the block scrap.

What's the 350 blazer worth up there if you got it put together and running? Maybe enough to offset getting a CUCV?
 
That thought had also crossed my mind. Rebuild it as a 350 truck would get me probably 4 to 5 grand. Depending on how far i go.

And i understand the pain. Had my share too. But this one wont HAVE to run like my last build. It is just a project. I have a reliable jeep and a motorbike. And that takes some pressure off things.

Even still i thought about other motors. Was thinking bout putting a 7.3 or 6.9 idi in it too haha. But i figured i already had enough complications.
 
The 96 engine can be swapped in. Your main hurdles will be finding a passenger side drop transfer case with a 40 tooth speed sensor in it, or modifying one. Otherwise you need to pull the 4l80e apart, and add a sonnax reluctor wheel to it for the output speed sensor. Many run the 90-91 square body cluster for the electric speedo, or you can buy a generator that will run your cable driven speedo off of the electrical output. 96 isn't a bad year to swap as it has no theft system to deal with. The biggest hurdle electrically is findi,g diagrams to turn your harness into a stand alone as you will not find anybody wanting to do it reasoneably priced. Without a/c the turbo shouldn't be an issue, but you could always pick up a banks manifold for it to move the turbo forward. Spri,gs shouldn't be an issue as people swap all iron nlick/head 454's into the k5 all the time without issue. 1 ton axle swaps are fairly simple to do as well if you want to beef up the drivetrain. It's all easily doable, just a matter of time and money.
 
Thanks, that is some good info. I wasnt aware of the electric cluster being available.

I was thinking i would make all the mechanical gauges work or replace them and leave the obdII dash connections disconnected(mostly at at least). Just wasnt sure if it would run or if there was security of some form.

As for the tcase i need to do some more research. I was reading that a dodge nv241 that has a VSS and mech speedo output. VSS would need to be switched with the chevy one to my understanding but i was thinking i could make it work. Then i could use the mech speedo. In theory at least. Would probably need to swap some other bits too.

Electric cluster might be better/ easier though....
 
I like the idea of your project. I've been thinking a diesel K5 would be a fun off road toy. If I was building the truck I would go mechanical - less things to go wrong when you're out on the trail and you have the rare 96-only thermostat housing which makes routing the cables easier. Mechanical also makes performance mods easier and more in your hands in the future.

I would also go TH400 for the trans....again for simplicity, but I get why you would want to do the 4L80e - you already have it and it would make driving to and from the trails and just driving in general nicer.

I look forward to seeing the direction you go on this project.
 
I wasnt aware the 96 thermostat was unique.

If i keep the electronics ill get a tune. Turbo already has a crude turbo master. Will make a better one or buy one. Has a pmd isolator. Not really afraid of the electronic controls.

Otherwise ill probably get a moose pump for it.

Motor will get cleaned up and maybe some studs either way.

As you say i have the 4l80e and it is a good OD trans. I have all the wiring for it. Have the computer. If i can make it work, great. Otherwise i have to source a bunch of stuff for a stand alone controller. Either way bunch of stuff to figure out still.

Manual maybe? Lol there's a nother can of worms but would pretty well elimine the electrics.

And i do have a good 6.2 solid flywheel...
 
J.Peart said:
I wasnt aware the 96 thermostat was unique.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the 96 housing uses a single, bypass-blocking thermostat, that routes it around the driver side AC compressor just like the dual thermostat housings. It made my mechanical conversion a lot easier. The bypass blocking thermostat is a nice feature too.
 
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