1994 K1500 2-dr Blazer upgrades?

[Hostile]

Hey everyone, I'm the new guy. Yeah.

So I was all ready to get a 6" lift kit installed and throw some 35" tires on, then I learned about all the other stuff that goes wrong. U-joints wear faster, speedometer/odometer are way off, needs new differential gears (or i have almost no torque), exhaust modification, that kinda crap. So I don't think I want to do that.

I've already got an AIRAID filter kit on it, a throttle-body spacer, and 3" dual exhaust (Y-pipe). I figure since it's a huge hassle to go higher, I'd rather go faster. I've got 33" all terrain tires on it now, and I know those aren't the most condusive to speed, but tough shit they were cheap and they look cool!

I've got around $3000 I'm willing to spend on this truck. I have tools and a shop to work in, but very limited experience with most aspects of vehicles. I change my own oil and rotate my own tires. Thats pretty much it, so please consider labor charges as well.

It's a 5.7L V8, 4wd. I thought about having a chip put in, but all the one's i could find require premium fuel (can't afford that!). What about headers, or possibly a new intake manifold, or bigger differential gearing? I'm lookin for the most bang for my buck.

i'm open to suggestions, help a brother out!

Thanks!

EDIT: This truck is a daily driver. I'm getting about 15mpg, sometimes as low as 10mpg. I don't need a 10 second dragster. Just something to lay the whooping on the local ricer crowd (i have a measely 220hp from the factory...damn)

[Hostile]

nobody? Yikes....

[Blazing Rice]

Changing the gearing in your diffs will help with the loss in power. If you do go with the gear swap, with a lift you can run the 35 inch tires with minimal loss. Headers and a full exhaust system will free up a bit more power as well. I'm not too fond a chips, but that's just me.

Actually, if you just want more power, for the $3000 you mentioned you could find a supercharger and get a real boost of power. Are your tires rubbing at all? 33s seem a bit large for the stock suspension.

[Rbraczyk]

Hey join the K5 crowd. When my friends site gets back up i'll post a pic. 1994 K5 Sport. Red. perfect interior and paint. 280578 miles. Still runs strong. Only problem is im having some tbi issues.

[Hostile]

Tires rubbed a little when I put them on. I put some spacers on the bumper bolts to move that forward about 1/4", and I had to trim some of the plastic moulding behind the bumper so they don't scrape when I hit a bump. They're in there pretty tight, but they don't rub. This truck is an asphalt warrior, not offroader. If it went offroad I'm sure the tires would be rubbing real bad.

I don't want a supercharger. I've got close to 100k miles on it, and that'll just turn this thing into a time bomb. I choose life! I've thought about other stuff like a pulley kit or a shift kit, but that all puts additional stress on certain compononents. Basically I'm gonna need a crate motor if I'm gonna get much of anywhere. And at that point, why would I hook up a brand new motor to a 100k old transmission? Thats just dumb. Now I'm $7000 in the hole, and thats...bad.


Rbracyzk - 280k miles? Jesus dude...I think your definition of "perfect" is a redneck's definition of "piece of shit" hehe...just kidding.

[Rbraczyk]

When my friends goddamn site comes back i'll show you a picture. Paint is mint.