Lern Me: K5 Blazers, Broncos, and Ramchargers

I'll start this off with a little story:

Last weekend, I went to the beach with the wife and the dog. The beach we went to has a very heavily rutted parking area, and traversing it, for a lack of a better term, sucks. I've tried taking my Mazda 3, her Mazda 3, and our 1997 2WD Dakota, and none of them do it well. We love this particular beach, as it's one of the only ones in the area that allow dogs year round, and it's not too far from where we live, but man, I'm getting really sick of bottoming out over all the bumps and ruts! Then, as we were leaving, I noticed something: there were a bunch of sweet old 4x4 things all over the parking lot! Among them was one of these:

One of these:

And while one of these wasn't there, I'll toss it in anyway :

Since I can remember, I've always wanted one of these things. My friends had them, my family had them, but I never had one. I said to the wife, "We really need one of those things if you want to come here more often", using that instance as an enabling excuse to think about buying one. I figure they can do about 75% of the "truck stuff" my Dakota does, and with 4WD, I could actually use it in the winter. Plus, at least on the K5 and the Bronco, the top comes off for summer cruising (yes, I am well aware that they made the Ramcharger and Trailduster in the late 70's with removable tops, but they are impossible to find intact in New England).

As a kicker, I missed out on a $800 1984 Ramcharger over the weekend because I was being an idiot.

Now, if I were to buy one, I'm leaning toward the GM twins first, then the Dodge, and then the Bronco. I had a 1992 F150 4x4, and it was a royal pain to work on. It would have to have A/C, as that's a demand from the wife and the dog. I'm looking to spend $20xx Challenge money or less on one and come away with a mostly working example without much rust. Is that doable?

Anything I should know about these if I'm shopping for them? Any trouble spots or model years to avoid? Do you have one sitting in your backyard you are looking to sell?

I've had 2 k5 blazers. everything you ever wanted to know about K5s

Some of the K5's (I'm blanking on years, but know my 79) had what they call full time 4wd. gas mileage SUCKS with these.

87+ had TBI rather than carbs.

Pretty bulletproof in stock form. if you go bigger than 35's and actually offroad it you can toast axle shafts.

Avoid the diesels ones. they are horrid.

I have a soft spot for Broncos for no real good reason. Based on that, I vote Bronco.

Honestly, I feel like they're all fairly equal for those years. You can get a newer blazer with a solid front axle which is nice. Broncos stopped with that after the generation shown in your photos. I didn't know the ramchargers ever had removable tops so I have always written them off as less than.

K5's "full time 4wd" is easily changed to part time with a set of Warn hubs. That, with the 6.2L Diesel and 700R4 with 4.10 gears would run 80mph all day long and get 20mpg. I'd look for an 86-87 with a diesel.

I've always been interested in these though I have no good use for one. Where you live is going to be the biggest problem, they will all be rusty.

I did come across this earlier today, one of the cleanest of these I have seen in a while, still reasonably priced. Ramcharger in NJ

Dad had a Ramcharger briefly, it was an old and badly abused one.

However the carb'd 318 would start and run every time and the 4WD worked well and would pull the thing up a wall. With a decent 360 or even a BB it would have been pretty awesome, but it is still very basic internally.

They are all fairly rough, truck based rigs, so don't expect much comfort, even with A/C and cloth or leather. They all get terrible mileage as well. They are also fairly short, so towing isn't their greatest strength even with larger motors, etc.

There's a reason they all died off, even given the SUV craze.

I'd probably sell the 2WD Dakota and buy a 4WD Dakota (or just raise the 2wd Dakota slightly) since you don't need the 4wd part to get to where you want, you just need the ground clearance and possibly a limited slip.

Another option would be to buy a car-based SUV that is more comfy and has more ground clearance.

A few more things: This isn't going to be an everyday driver. We have other vehicles for that. I get about 15-16mpg HIGHWAY with the 3.9 V6 in the Dakota in a 2WD truck. I used to get close to that around town in a 5.0L V8 powered 1992 F150 4x4. I figure they are all going to suck mileage wise. I also don't tow anything.

Hey Tony, I have a friend who has a ramcharger that started life as a clean 2wd from down south. He yanked the V8 and installed a Cummins 4bt and manual transmission. Then he pulled the manual and put an automatic in it. Then he put a different manual and an overdrive unit.

Then he bought a 2001 or so 1500 ram frame that he shortened and mounted the ramcharger body on. I think the project is 95% done, but he hasn't done anything with it in around a year or so. It's at his brother's house in South middleboro if you're interested I can ask if he's interested in selling it. Truthfully I really want it, but I don't know if I could handle the awesomeness.

Chris

In reply to Mazdax605:

Whoa. That has to be expensive because of all the Diesel Bros around our area, but sure! Is it 4WD now or still 2WD?

4wd, sorry I didn't mention that. It sits really tall too, even though it's on the stock springs.

I had a 1984 Bronco XLT that I loved. 351w, always started--- even after sitting for extended periods. It was dead-nuts reliable, comfortable, and fun.

The best mileage I ever saw was 12.5mpg and that was at steady state 65mph on the highway. Yes, mileage does suck, like 10mpg bad.

That said, it was a hoot off-road and in the mud, unstoppable in the snow, and could carry 5 people and their gear in comfort. The rear window also rolled down--- and ventilation was good. (I think mine had wing windows) I'd buy another---- but I'd probably get a newer Blazer or Bronco with FI and a more modern interior.

Yes the tops come off--- but then expect leaks, as it's hard to get a good seal when you put it back on.

87 Bronco needs trans $1500

94 Bronco no overdrive $2000

92 Bronco no rear window & needs fan clutch $2000

The Blazers and Ramchargers are up around $3000-$3500 here.

If you get a Ramcharger, you have to do it up like Lone Wolf McQuade's:

And don't forget the switch to turn on the supercharger.

My buddy had a 1977 K5 full time 4wd with a 31 gallon gas tank. Filling was limited to pay day and most of the time he showed up with a 1/64 tank of gas. 10mpg with a 4" lift and 32" tall tires hurt.

With a lift kit it always felt like we were going to roll when he hauled butt around a corner. Lots of rust too.

BTW, I like Ramchargers a lot.

A good friend had a 1988 Ramcharger with a 360 and a 4-speed, and it ruled. His was lifted slightly, and would drive over anything! My uncle also had a 1988 Ramcharger, but his was a brougham-tastic Royal SE with a 318, but it also ruled.

My great uncle had a 1978 Ramcharger Sno-Commander, and it was offered to me for free about 10 years back. I think one of my first posts on here was asking about it. It's this one:

It was only used to plow his car dealership and driveway, and was rotted beyond repair. It's too bad, because it was all original and would have been perfect for what I want now. Even the plow setup was as-delivered from the factory. I still have all the paperwork for it, but I decided to pass on it. It was just too far gone.

Make sure it's a 73 or 74 K5 for the full convertible.

They make lift kits for 2wd Dakotas. That and a limited slip might be just the ticket.

JeffHarbert wrote: They make lift kits for 2wd Dakotas. That and a limited slip might be just the ticket.

This Dakota is not something I was planning on keeping much longer. It was going to be sent on it's merry way in the next year or so, cool SUV thing or not.

Appleseed wrote: Make sure it's a 73 or 74 K5 for the full convertible.

Maybe 1975 too. I would fly to Denver for a less rust free version.

I grew up around Ramchargers. Dad had 3 growing up. Well one was a plymouth badged version but some difference.

They are trucks, there is no doubt about that. The later ones did get the better heads on the factory motor and with a little bit of a cam in them, they ran nice. Thirsty but nice. The tops did come off of the older ones and there was a factory roll bar in them. I don't remember us ever taking that off though. I think my dad's response was something about it never sealing right again.

In the mid 80's prior to the TBI versions, the Quadra-jet was pretty finicky new so I got to imagine by now, they ahve to be a PITA. Never remember a breakdown in them and we did use them all over the forests of PA. Learned to drive in the last one for a bit.

I could talk about K5's all day.

I'm a ramcharger freak, all first gen dodges really. This is one i sold last winter it was completely rust free with a 318 and a factory plow package.

They are pretty much all rusty at this point but parts are available.

Used to have a 75 "full convertible" when I was in my 20s...I wish I had kept it:(

They are all similar, it comes down to which flavor of truck you prefer. I would be happy with the cleanest one to fall into my price range.

I used to have a 1980 Bronco. While I liked the truck, 4wd a carbed (2bbl)302 engine was was under-powered and had horrible fuel mileage. Oh, and rust never sleeps. I think the Broncos and Blazers were built with rust as a standard feature...