L94 & 6L80 Into My '92 2dr K1500 Blazer

Woo Hoo! The remodel is done and the 5.7 comes out this weekend! I'll get some pictures on here of the progress. My plan is pull the old running gear, clean the hell out of the engine bay and underside, paint the frame with POR 15, Replace the fuel tank & all lines, run the harness, drop the new engine & 6l80 in, run the trans & oil cooler lines, plumb the cooling, tow it in for a new dual exhaust, tow it home & figure out why it won't start. :) Oh, I have to change the shift linkage to cable with an IdidIt kit and install a Dakota Digital cluster.

Attachment 9602Attachment 9603Attachment 9604Attachment 9605Attachment 9606OK, the engine bay is ready except for the distributer. Tommorow I'll cut off the exhaust and drop the T-case & drive lines. I'm thinking of trying to pull the engine & trans as one unit? I have a cherry picker and an electric hoist in the garage, so I'm hoping I can work the duo up and over the radiator support. Any thoughts on that?

Here's the promised pics:

I have all the running gear out. Woo Hoo! The L94 exhaust manifolds are being dropped off for ceramic coating today, as well as both driveshafts for high speed balances & new u-joints and front slip joint repair. The front driveshaft slip joint is frozen solid. I spent hours trying to get it out, then it dawned on me: Just pull the transfer case! Doh!

I ordered a new windshield washer tank & all hardware for a '98 Yukon; it's still available new from GM! The later trucks have it under the battery on the driver's side. My truck has it where my ECM is going to go... I also have the GM parts to move the battery over to the driver's side.

Next step is to drop the fuel tank, pressure wash the hell out of the underside, and POR15 coat the frame and anything else rusty under there. Doesn't look like it's too bad at all, just surface rust on the frame & the body looks clean.

BTW, in the pic of the L94 & 6L80 the wood blocks are just a safety precaution. It all balances fine on that engine stand. Very nice piece!

Now that the 700R4 is out I was able to take some good measurements. Both the 700R4 and the 6L80 are 26 7/8" long from forward mounting surface to the rear mounting surface of the 4WD adapter. As far as the mounting holes for the transmission mount, the distance from the center of those holes to the rear surface of the 4WD adapter is 2.5" on the 700R4 and 1.5" on the 6L80. So, the transmission crossmember will need to be moved 1" rearward. Pretty easy since it just bolts in place with 4 bolts. 4 new holes in the frame and all will be good. The driveshafts and TC shift linkage should line up perfectly. The shift shaft on the 6L80 is about an inch?? further rear than the 700R4. I think I'll be switching to cable linkage--I already have the IdidIt kit-- but I'm going to leave the rod linkage in place to see if it works. Even if it does, I'll probably need to switch to cable to make room for the exhaust.

Edited to add: OK, I measured the shifting shafts. From the front mating surface of the transmission to the center of the shifting shaft: 700R4 9"; 6L80 10.75"

Just been treating rust and cleaning. I'll be coating the underside with POR15 today or tomorrow, then the modifications can begin. First on that front will be stripping the existing harness down to what is necessary: AC, lights, ABS, etc. None of that connects to the ECM on my year, so it'll be a matter of identifying and eliminating all of the wiring for the old ECM. I'll be leaving pigtails on all of the wires going in to the firewall connector for the ECM; that;ll leave a convenient and factory method of running wires in & out of the cab. Also, I'll start on fabricating a mount for my electric fans. They're factory 9 blade fans & shroud out of a 2009 Escalade.

My plans on oil & trans cooling is separate coolers with fluid flow controlled by a thermostat. Any thoughts on that?

Yeah! Good news. I'm using the 1998 fuel tank because the fuel sender unit is compatible with the late model computers. It has a vapor pressure sensor in it, but is the wrong one for the L94. I got the proper one today, GM # 13502903, and it fits right in to the hole for the 1998 sensor. Perfect. I wasn't' sure they if they kept the size the same for the Gen IV stuff. Thank God for GM always keeping damn near everything compatible.

Looks like you're off to a great start. Keep the pics coming and keep up the good work.

Thanks John! More pics soon... I figure no one wants to see the greasy old engine or the greasy engine bay... LOL! Once I get the engine bay clean I'll start posting pics of my progress.

I put the radiator and electric fans in place to see how the fans would fit. Looks pretty good; shouldn't be too hard to install. I'll have to trim the shroud where it hits the steering box. Also, it sit's out about 3/8" on either side. I could trim the top and bottom to get it flush, but on the bottom I'd be trimming away part of the support for the lower mounts. On the plus side it would probably get it off the steering box. I could also just use foam strips to seal the sides. I'll decide on that later. Also, the power steering lines need to be bent out of the way. Attachment 9622Attachment 9623Attachment 9624Attachment 9625Attachment 9626

Here's the new motor mounts. The base of the mounts is convex and flattens out when torqued down. New to me, but apparently as designed.Attachment 9640