1985 V8-S10 Blazer

Update your progress on your various car projects.

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TireSmoker
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Re: 1985 V8-S10 Blazer

Post by TireSmoker »

I finally got out to the garage tonight to finish getting the Blazer back together. Everything was pretty simple. No weird gotchas or anything. I almost got derailed with no trans fluid at 9:30pm, but Drug Mart is thankfully open till 10.

I can say the new converter really kicks ass!! It has totally changed the driving character of the truck! The engine doesn't stuggle when I pop it into gear, nor do the RPMs shoot up when I put it in neutral. The harsh tire-chirping shifts at medium throttle are absorbed, its just much more pleasant to drive.

I'm pretty certain I'm gonna go from bogs to wheelspin at the dragstrip, but thats ok!!

-Dave
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Re: 1985 V8-S10 Blazer

Post by TireSmoker »

Getting gas this weekend..
20180902_124036.jpg
-Dave
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Re: 1985 V8-S10 Blazer

Post by Blue_69_malibu »

Was the entire gas station upside down or just your car? :mrgreen:
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Re: 1985 V8-S10 Blazer

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Blue_69_malibu wrote:Was the entire gas station upside down or just your car? :mrgreen:
I come from the land down under...
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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Re: 1985 V8-S10 Blazer

Post by Basement Paul »

After riding in it yesterday, I can attest to the huge improvement in pretty much everything the Blazer does now. It sounds better, it idles better, it shifts better, and launches better. V8 S10s are supposed to have traction problems on street tires.

-BP
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Re: 1985 V8-S10 Blazer

Post by TireSmoker »

TireSmoker wrote: The B&M instructions said that lighter weights = higher shiftpoint and that with the springs, the heavier springs will produce closely-stacked shifts, while lighter springs will spread them out.

The B&M kit comes with 6 weights, numbered 1-6. 1 is the heaviest, 6 is the lightest. B&M #1 and Factory "C" weight are both about 15g. I don't know how to compare the factory springs with the B&M springs, but B&M gives you 6, with a range from heavy(1) to light(6).

So, out the box, with (2) "C" weights and factory springs, shifts were around 4500 1-2, and 4200 2-3.

Combo #1) B&M #4 & #3 weights, B&M yellow(#4) & green springs(#3). Shifts were waaay too late, no good. But I also got my first taste of high RPM with this engine! (6000!)

Combo # 2) "C" weight, #2 weight, factory heavy spring, B&M green spring. 1-2 @ 4800 and 2-3 @ 4800

Combo #3) "#2, #4 weights, factory heavy spring, B&M green spring 1-2 @ 5600, 2-3 @ 5700. This would've been about perfect, but it seemed to take a little speed before it would shift 3-4 at part throttle. But I wanted to get the WOT shifts down to 5400-5500

Combo #4) "#2, #3 weights, factory heavy spring, B&M green spring. I was expecting this to lower my WOT shift points a little bit, but it didn't. It also has the issue of needing too much part-throttle speed (55mph) before shifting into 4th.

This is where I stopped. Also, some of my testing was on wet roads, which made it less than ideal conditions. I think I may trying going back to Combo #3, but change the B&M green spring (#3) for either the blue(#2) or purple (#1) and see if that makes 4th gear come in sooner at part-throttle.

At this point, it'd be fun to take it back to TRP to see if it can crack 13s since it can finally reach into the powerband.

-Dave
Just wanted to update for documentation purposes.. I did end up changing the governor again:

Combo #5) #1, #3 weights, with the blue & green springs. Heavier spring (blue) under heavier weight. This combo works real well, with a WOT 1-2 shift @ 5200 RPM, and 2-3 @ 5500 RPM. 4th gear at part-throttle seems to come at around 40-45mph, which is about what I want. The only issue is it still shifts from 2-3 quite a bit early at light throttle conditions. The converter allows the engine to make enough power to pull through it, though. If I get ambitious, I'll try one more change with a lighter spring combo, but if I don't, this setup works very well overall.

Also, I did take it out to TRP on 9/5 and finally hit my 13-second goal, with a 13.85 & 13.87, @ 98 MPH!! It was the best the truck has ever run, by far, with 60ft times in the 2.0x range with wheelspin. Unfortunately, I lost in the first round, but with the approaching bad weather that night, I didn't care. I got what I went for.

Shortly after Paul helped me change the converter, I had a wheel bearing start humming on my Cobalt, so I decided to start daily-driving the Blazer to work. After all, when I bought it, I wanted something that could function as a 9-month DD. With the installation of the Sniper, while it ran well, the mileage never seemed good. My speedo cable is broken, so I don't have real numbers to use, but it seemed to be eating more gas than it should. I went into the Holley software and leaned out the cruise areas for a target AFR of 15:1 -- default settings were 14:1. This seems to have helped a bit. I feel like there are more gains to be had with some ignition tuning as well.

I've also been experimenting with fuel. I don't really know what compression the engine is. The new Summit heads have smaller chambers than the old GM heads. I ran some premium as a fail-safe, worked my way down to 89 octane, and finally this past week went down to 87 octane. 87 seems to work fine with no pinging. Yay, cheap fuel!

I'm still enjoying this thing quite a bit. More to come.

-Dave
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Re: 1985 V8-S10 Blazer

Post by TireSmoker »

I finally got the TCC working today! I dropped the pan last night and changed out the lockup solenoid. It was reading no-resistance across the two terminals, where it's suppose to have 29 ohms. I installed the new solenoid, hooked up the wires and re-installed with a shiny aluminum pan w/ drain plug. Hopefully it's a good long time before I have to back in there for anything. The trans as a whole works great.

Truth be told, the Edge converter might be a little on the loose side, but it really gets the engine into the torque. Going up Mayfield Hill or running down the freeway at 70+ could be slightly annoying at times. With the lock up engaged, its just more efficient.

I just have it on a manual switch for now. Ideally I'd like to control it from the Sniper, but I'm not sure it has the capability. Manual is good enough for the moment.

I've now purchased two Summit brand torque converters that were supposed to be lockup, but didn't. I won't be buying any more of those.

-Dave
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Re: 1985 V8-S10 Blazer

Post by TireSmoker »

I had a productive Saturday night in the garage this past weekend.

Sometime after installing the Sniper, the 10-pin connector flopped onto the exhaust manifold and melted the housing a little bit. Everything worked, but looked bad and was compromised from a sealing perspective. I contacted Holley and they said $50 to fix it. Sweet, so I sent it down to them in Bowling Green right around the new year. Got it back a week or so later, fully repaired. I wasn't billed for the repair or return shipping. Yea Holley!

So while it was removed from the truck, now was the time for a distributor swap for computer controlled timing, I pulled my large-cap HEI out and swapped in a gutted GM TBI/TPI distributor. I removed the module and installed a MSD-like connector on the wires directly from the pickup coil (VR sensor). This connects directly to the wiring on the Holley to provide a tach signal. The Holley will now control timing fire a newly installed MSD 6AL and Blaster SS coil. The 6AL is overkill, but it was inventory.

While it fired up immediately on the first try, I still need to nail down the trigger angle. What I set the distributor (14*) at and what the Trigger Angle in the computer are at (45*) somehow work thats how it was when it first started. The timing was only off a little bit, and when I found the trigger angle setting in the software, I saw it at 45 and that made no sense. When I changed it to 14, it wouldn't start. Still gotta figure that out.

In the interior, I found some Metra modified speaker mounts for the rear that allow me to fit my Sony 6x9 speakers into the factory location. No more speaker boxes.

-Dave
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Re: 1985 V8-S10 Blazer

Post by Basement Paul »

Wow, a free repair?? And you didn't even have to tell them your dog's name was Holley?? Cool.

-BP
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Re: 1985 V8-S10 Blazer

Post by MostMint »

Basement Paul wrote: And you didn't even have to tell them your dog's name was Holley??
This you must tell them!
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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Re: 1985 V8-S10 Blazer

Post by TireSmoker »

So, I've been working on this thing a bunch the past couple of weeks. After getting the Sniper back from service by Holley, I pulled the non-computer control large-cap HEI distributor and install a small-cap HEI and MSD 6AL with Blaster SS coil. That should be a pretty solid ignition system.

On the small cap distributor, like the kind you'd find in a TBI truck or TPI car, you remove the module and just connect the magnetic pickup wires from the distributor directly to the Sniper's harness. I started with a junkyard distributor from inventory. Installed it, wired the Sniper to fire the 6AL box (white wire), and the 6AL was firing the Blaster SS coil. Except it kept stalling. It will start and run, and then just die. Instantly, no how stumble. And it will re-fire, but probably die again.

So I ordered a new distributor from ebay. For $40-something, I got a complete distributor, module, cap, rotor, and gasket. Everything looked decent enough. I pulled the module and added the appropriate connector to the magnetic pickup. Installed it, same problem.

Just as a sanity check, I popped the old large-cap HEI in there and everything ran perfect. I even drove the truck around a little bit. This sort of confirmed that the Sniper is basically working, at least on the fuel side. After that, I pulled it back out and put the small-cap back in.

Next, I tried removing the 6AL from the configuration, even though it looks good, I got it from Sutter a while back. Same issue. Finally, I pulled my Blaster 3 coil off the Chevelle and it seemed to work. It ran for 15-20 minutes without stalling. Ok, so the coil is bad. I went down to Summit and they swapped my Blaster SS for a new one, which I bought almost a year ago. I was prepared to buy a new one. Yay Summit!

Brought it home.. SAME problem. GRRRRR..

Contemplating my next move...

-Dave
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Re: 1985 V8-S10 Blazer

Post by Basement Paul »

If you put the Blaster SS coil on the Chevelle, does it work there?

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Re: 1985 V8-S10 Blazer

Post by TireSmoker »

I guess I never updated this..

I did finally get everything running well and reliably (so far..) It now has a GM small cap HEI with the module removed. The wires from the pickup ring in the distributor (VR sensor) connect directly to the Holley. That provides the RPM signal. Also included in the Sniper kit is a coil driver module so that the Holley can directly fire a coil. It is firing the Blaster SS coil. The 6AL has been removed from the equation.

What the issue ended up being, I believe, was electrical interference/noise. I relocated the coil-driver module to the other side of the engine and once I did that, basically all the issues went away. The original mounting location was very close to some heavy gauge wire near a junction block.

I drove it last week for the first time in a few weeks and realized just how fun this thing still is. It fired right up and ran well. Its a completely different piece compared to the new Corvette, but still pretty satisfying as a street cruiser. I love taking Holley with me in this thing. But I think it's time to let a new owner enjoy it. It will be for sale shortly.

-Dave
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Re: 1985 V8-S10 Blazer

Post by TireSmoker »

So I haven't done much other than drive it the past 6+ months, and since November hit I hardly drove it at all. With the mild winter we're having, I did take it out in December, the Saturday of the annual poker party of Paul's. I had driven all around that day, even to Summit Racing and back without any issues. In the evening, I was filling it up it gas at Shell in Chesterland, on my way to Paul's. I went to pull out onto Mayfield, and it just quit. Quick troubleshooting revealing a poped main fuse. (30A) That's a bad sign. I robbed the wiper motor fuse (25A) and popped it in, but nothing. No key-on fuel pump. Crap. Tony ended up picking me up to get to the poker party, and Fade towed it home for me the next day.

When it rolled off the Fade's flatbed in my driveway, we were going to push it into the garage. I turned the key to unlock the wheel, decided to turn it all the way and it fired right up! woohoo! That was the good part, now I'd have to hunt down the short. When I had it running in the garage later, I noticed the handheld display showed "UnPlggd" for the O2 sensor. That's weird. I put it up in the air, and sure enough the wires had all gotten pulled out of the o2 sensor plug on the harness side. Higher up the harness (closer to throttle body), it was completely ripped off. I have no idea when/where that happened. It's like something caught the wires and just ripped it apart.

So here's the part where it actually gets really GOOD... I called Holley this morning to arrange for a repair on my unit. It's out of warranty, and I just wanted to be able to send it in for a repair, assuming I'd have to pay some nominal fee. I explained the O2 harness was damaged and I needed it repaired.

He gets my information and says "this might sound a little weird, but our EFI repair is guy out and he's probably going to be out for a little while. Are you ok if we just send you a new unit, and you send us the old one back? You have the silver one? Did you want to change color or anything?" (not changing color, the silver looks good to me)

I was blown away! They're sending me an entire brand-new unit. FREE. I gotta send them my old one back. They're not even waiting to get my old one back before shipping the new one!! This is the 2nd time I've engaged Holley support, both were over issues that could fairly be called installation related issues, and they've taken care of me both times with ZERO HASSLE.

SO PROPS TO HOLLEY/HOLLEY TECH SUPPORT !!

-Dave
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Re: 1985 V8-S10 Blazer

Post by MostMint »

Nice to know someone is interested in good customer service.
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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