$6k dd/expo vehicle?

[hillbillyjake]

i have looked at teh wj's and they are still on the short list. i like them but the pull of an old blazer or sub is strong. i was lokin on craigslist a the southeastern states and found some nice trucks. these would also be feasible for mem to try and buy because i could drive to most of these places in a long day. logistically, driving acrosss the country just aint going to work. sorry roamingaz. you definetly have some nice stuff and i hope you sell it, but it isn';t going to be to me. good luck with the sale.

i never really though about the military blazers. basically because i'm not that familiar with the 6.2. i saw quite a few on craigslist so i'm going to ck5 later to do some reasearch. any info onthat motor would be appriciated. 20 mpg in a full size blazer or sub would be so nice considering my usuall commute. thanks again fellas. enjoy spending my money.

 

[KLAKEBRONCO]

i have looked at teh wj's and they are still on the short list. i like them but the pull of an old blazer or sub is strong. i was lokin on craigslist a the southeastern states and found some nice trucks. these would also be feasible for mem to try and buy because i could drive to most of these places in a long day. logistically, driving acrosss the country just aint going to work. sorry roamingaz. you definetly have some nice stuff and i hope you sell it, but it isn';t going to be to me. good luck with the sale.

i never really though about the military blazers. basically because i'm not that familiar with the 6.2. i saw quite a few on craigslist so i'm going to ck5 later to do some reasearch. any info onthat motor would be appriciated. 20 mpg in a full size blazer or sub would be so nice considering my usuall commute. thanks again fellas. enjoy spending my money.

The 6.2 is stone simple. can be very reliable, and get GREAT mileage. They do not have much power though. The ideas of a Power Stroke, Cummins, or Duramax are WAY, WAY offbase of what to expect with the 6.2

The later 6.5's can be built for pretty impressive power and torque. The 6.5's can be reliable too. Cooling mods, and pump driver mods (electronic pump) and they are good to go. Peninsula Diesel used to build 300hp marine 6.5's so you can build decent power.


If they are available I would try to find a 6.2 K5 Blazer.

I would forget the Military Blazers. Rugged is nice, but SOME comfort is nice too. The mil Blazers will be spartan big time.


The other route that would be nice is buy a nice Bronco in the 3K range, and then a cheap rusted out 6.9 or 7.3 Ford and swap in the diesel. (EDIT: This actually sounds like a way to suck up most of the budget and still end up with a used engine-forget that)

If you really want more info on Bronco's check out fullsizebronco.com. I said it before but again there are guys over there close to, at, and even over 20mpg with a fullsize bronco on 31" tires.

 

[DT75FLH]

Spartan is being nice

NO ac, 24volt system, NO carpet or sound deadener , vinyl seats.

I would look for a civi version . Ive seen some k-5's with the 6.2

 

[lstzephyr]

It would be a simple home project to put in a carpet kit, plastics from a junkyard truck, nice stereo and new seat covers into a military blazer. That would make it much more comfortable.

But then my daily is a dirtbike so what do I know about comfort. My truck's ac is broken so no comment on that.

Prerunner broncos are awesome. I'd love to have suspension travel like this in my truck.

 

[hillbillyjake]

i was checking out craigslist last night and saw some really nice 91 and older suburbans. some of them had the 6.2. but, i was surprised at how nice some of these things are on the inside. i had a 91 alonf time ago and it was vinal floors and seats. the subs i was looking at last night looked super comfortable. i kinda leaning toward a sub. it's hard to go wrong with a solid axle chevy for simplicity.

i'm kinda on the fence about the motor. woould the dirt cheap to work on and stone reliable 350 be a better choice with it's 10 mpg or would a 6.2 getting 20 mpg with with harder to find parts and me having 0 experience with them be better?

are the 6.2 a mechanical motor? if they are, like that idea of them. thanks again

 

[Rot Box]

woould the dirt cheap to work on and stone reliable 350 be a better choice with it's 10 mpg or would a 6.2 getting 20 mpg with with harder to find parts and me having 0 experience with them be better?

are the 6.2 a mechanical motor? if they are, like that idea of them. thanks again

The 6.2 is a mechanically injected motor. It uses indirect injection, its a V8 with 2 valves per cylinder with glowplugs for starting. There were a couple versions, but all are basically the same. The best ones to look for (but not a deal breaker by any means) are the 1982 (red block) because is has a really stout engine block with big valves and the 87 (ish) and newer because it has a serpentine belt and heads that flow much better than the earlier years.

I really like the 6.2's and I will always go that route over the v8 gas engines that's just my personal preference though. What I do like is they are very easy to troubleshoot, they are simple to work on and parts for them are everywhere! www.thedieselpage.com is a great resource as is www.thedieselplace.com.

Power wise they leave a lot to be desired but fuel economy usually makes up for going slow :elkgrin: A good running 6.2 can easily pass the 20mpg mark. The turbo's and plumbing off of a 92-00 6.5TD will work with some mickey mousing or you can find an old ATS or Banks kit to really up the performance.

With the weight I would highly recommend a 3/4 ton Suburban or swapping the axles from one over to a half ton. The 10bolt rear is really pushed to its limits offroad in a loaded down rig imo.

 

[KLAKEBRONCO]

i was checking out craigslist last night and saw some really nice 91 and older suburbans. some of them had the 6.2. but, i was surprised at how nice some of these things are on the inside. i had a 91 alonf time ago and it was vinal floors and seats. the subs i was looking at last night looked super comfortable. i kinda leaning toward a sub. it's hard to go wrong with a solid axle chevy for simplicity.

i'm kinda on the fence about the motor. woould the dirt cheap to work on and stone reliable 350 be a better choice with it's 10 mpg or would a 6.2 getting 20 mpg with with harder to find parts and me having 0 experience with them be better?

are the 6.2 a mechanical motor? if they are, like that idea of them. thanks again

My dad always had a suburban when I was growing up. Even the early body styles like you are looking at. A 91, that had really nice comfortable seats, power driver seat, power windows and locks front AND rear A/C, overhead console with storage and lights, big center console....They can be pretty nice...


There is a guy selling a 14 bolt 6 lug semi float in MI for $75 with 4.10 gears and an LSD....Point being if you shop around you can find GM parts for barely more than the price of dirt.

 

[hillbillyjake]

i checked out those sites rot box. some real good info. but, like klakebronco said above, the 350 v8 is just above the price of dirt to work on. the 6.2's just aren't that common in the junk yards. well, i guess nothing is compared to the 350, but you know waht i mean.

i'm really liking the idea of a southern pre-91 sub loaded up. these thiungs where just very surprising to me at how comfortable they looked. i'm thinkin find decked out on the inside, 4" lift, 35's, d60f, 14 ff rear and head down the road. i'm really leanign this direction. is there something else better? i know that the mpg may stink, but if i'm not making payments i could deal with it. thanks again

 

[bftank]

my opinion.

if you have the ability to figure out how to put a dana 60, suspension lift and outfit a burb for safe expeditions, you have the ability to understand and work on a mechanical diesel.

you will regret the 350, because after a while it won't have enough power or it costs to much to drive and you will continue to hear about the advantages of mechanical diesel over the 350. then you will learn how they operate realise how ridiculously simple they are, and either start planning a diesel swap or looking for the diesel suburban/blazer you should have gotten in the first place.

everything you need to know can be found in a haynes manual. what's not in there, is in the previously mentioned forums. what isn't in the forums can be asked on the forums and answered by knowledgeable persons.

now your 2 cents richer:sombrero:

 

[Metcalf]

Like this....

 

[hillbillyjake]

i feel richer! i've had a 5.9 cummins in my 91 dodge and felt comfortable working on it. so i guess it wouln't be that bad. i'm just so used to seeing a gas motor. what kinda power numbers are the 6.2 capable of and still being reliable? i've read some on guys putting turbos on them, but then having some reliablity issues. i can give up some power loss for reliablity but i don't want a 6k# slug that can' t get outa it's own way.

and yes metcalf that is exactly what i'm looking for! thanks fellas

 

[KLAKEBRONCO]

If you are conisidering a newer body style, I would look at the Vortec 454 trucks. These have lots of power, and not much worse MPG than a 5.7.

And good prices because they are perceived to be horrible on gas....But they aren't that bad. 15 maybe even 16 on the highway with tuning-compared to say 19 or 20 in a Cherokee or Tacoma. It just makes sense to go big.

 

[hillbillyjake]

well, i like the old body styles but my wife likes the newer ones, i.e 95-99. you know how that goes! the new ones due sem to have some more creature comforts, which i know she would like. they also seem to be in line price wise with the older ones. meanign i have seen alot of 91's w/ 125k for $2500 and a 98 with 130k or 140k for 4500. alot of the newer ones also have new motors and/or trannys. may end up keepin the whole family ifs yet.

who knows what i'll get. i love buying trucks but hate spending money. i appreciate everyones advice and patients. thanks again

 

[Rot Box]

what kinda power numbers are the 6.2 capable of and still being reliable? i've read some on guys putting turbos on them, but then having some reliablity issues. i can give up some power loss for reliablity but i don't want a 6k# slug that can' t get outa it's own way.

Here is what I have found with the 6.2 compared to the EFI trucks (without modifications) that were offered around the same time as the 6.2 diesel option. Take this with a grain of salt--its only my personal view not gospel by any means.

A non turbo 6.2 will put out about the same power as a 305 (not 350) TBI motor. In a loaded down burban you will hate it to no end when driving in the canyon :snorkel:

With most of the aftermarket turbo's out there the 6.2 will have more power than a TBI 350 and in some cases as much or more than a TBI 454.

I also like the forced induction for high elevations. When a naturally aspirated engine runs out of air a turbo diesel keeps on pulling.

Reliability isn't compromised with the proper turbocharger imo. Most of the turbo kits out there only provide up to ~10psi which is right in the ballpark with a factory 6.5TD. Along with a turbo you will need a pyrometer to watch your EGT's and a boost gauge doesn't hurt either.

From what I have seen the fuel systems and glowplug circuits often get neglected and that will cause a lot of headaches that could have otherwise been avoided. Overall a maintained 6.2 will last a very long time for the most part.

Not trying to sell you on the diesel (really I'm not) I'm just giving you my view on the 6.2 as most will tell you it is a pile of junk.

 

[hillbillyjake]

the pile of junk thing was what always worried me about the gm diesels. more than likely coming from people less than educated on them. i have always believed the cummins engine to be the top of the lsit and when i go to buy a diesel it woudl be hard for me to buy anything else. the 6.2 would have some big shoes to fill after owning a cummins. i would love to have a cummins powered burb but it is just not feasible right now. and i don't know if i will be happy with a diesel other than a cummins.

if i were to buy a diesel burb and the motor were to go south, what parts interchange between the gas and diesel suburban? can i pull a diesel engine out and bolt in a gas motor?