full 2.5-ton drivetrain under my truck...
 

Hey y'all,
I'm planning a beast of an off-road truck. It'll be used for rock-crawling, hill-climbing, and mud-slinging. I'm thinking of a '75ish open top blazer with a full cage. The running gear would consist of a Caddy 540ci Stroker followed by 2.5-ton tranny, t-case, and axles. The frame would be boxed and the steering would be hydraulic. I want to run 44" swampers too. What do y'all think?
Sincerely,
Chris :flag:

I think your nuts! uh, can I help?
Sounds killer to me. I know who to call if I get stuck.

Yeah dude, I'm totally sick and twisted!! I always wanted to build something so trick and so massive that hills would flatten themselves out to avoid being climbed. There are a lot of old mining and timber roads around WV and many steep and nasty hills that demand to be climbed. I also want to be able to chuck globs of mud the size of soccer balls. Sure, you can help! It's going to take some figurin' and some head scratchin', but it's going to happen. There's a military truck salvage yard about 5 hours from here so I'm going to load up on deuce parts some weekend. My biggest question right now is how am I going to mate the deuce tranny to the Caddy engine? Any of y'all messed around with those big ol' 5-speeds at all? Thanks.
Sincerely,
Chris:flag: :rolleyes:

Sounds like it is going to be a bad a$$ rig. I posted a classified ad for a '74 Blazer body I saw for sale for $200 in WA on CK5. Might make a great start to the topless beast!

Thanks bouncy, there's not going to be much Blazer left when I get done. I hate to do that to a nice rig so I'm hoping to find a beat up old piece of junk so it'll be cheap and won't bother my conscience. I'll check it out.
Sincerely,
Chris:flag:

why the caddy motor?
Ive heard they are a great motor in stock form and are very in expensive.
It seems to me if u are going with a built motor it might be better to go with a chevy big block because of price and aftermarket support.
That sounds like a sweet truck.

why the caddy motor?
 

Well, I have one in my current Blazer and it's pretty much completely stock and I love the thing. With an Edelbrock intake, it's only 30lbs heavier than a Chevy SB! Not that weight savings are real important on this rig. I'm not against using a Chevy BB, but the thoughts of a stroked Caddy motor just gets my blood pumping. What it may come down to is how I'll be able to hook the engine up to the deuce tranny. We'll have to see when I get everything together. The guys at MTS build the 540 strokers and they are putting out 550hp and 600lb-ft. Check it out HERE. The Maximum stroker kit is around $2000 and it includes everything you could need like the crank, pistons, cam, bearings, valve-train, etc... I'm going to keep doing my homework. A 502 ramjet would be nice too or a Cummins with a straight pipe.....
Sincerely,
Chris:p