Surprisingly good suspension in the 2wd. Really.
They are a long control arm/coil spring setup (think NASCAR). In that vintage, you'll get discs up front already, still drums out back. The drums work fine in this type of vehicle. I dig 'em lowered and there is ALOT of good stuff out there to lower/upgrade brakes, whatever your fancy.
Every piece of metal can be bought aftermarket or made. Doors forward are a pickup truck. Worst cab areas are rocker/floor, watch the door sills.
Your gas mileage will vary from not good to pretty dan bad... These are heavy vehicles. Alot of the 2wd are 4.11. With a three speed auto you're running out of steam at freeway speed. A 3.73 with a swapped-in four-speed auto is a better choice for fuel economy. Even better if you put an FI engine in front of it. Much, much better in fact with a nice FI engine. Stock, carbureted small block, auto and 4.11, probably somewhere in the mid-teens or pushing 20 if you drive
slow on the highway (like 50 or 55).
With the gear/trans swap and a well tuned small carb (e.g. 600 CFM) something in the high teens, MAYBE 20 on the highway is possible but that's about the end of it but now you can cruise at freeway speed.
Another optionin the gearing department that makes a BIG difference is a gear-vendor unit. Nice, nice, over-drive. Very strong and basically doubles your number of gears (3 speed becomes a 6 speed auto, etc).
These are some of my favorite vehicles. This is one of ours - the little brother - 72 two-wheel driver blazer. The 67 through 72 truck/blazer/suburban is a collectable appreciating vehicle. And they're freakin' cool.
angela
