C10 versus k5

[CRaigMac]

hey all, looking for opinions here. I Have an 86 C10 and I am trying through Photos online, to figure out if there is a body difference between the 86 C10 and 86 k5… I’m looking maybe to put a cab on my c10 , lift it 2 inches + and try to mimic the look of a K5 without the 4 x 4 capability… Anyone else ever come across that as an idea? Thanks!

 

[Bextreme04]

I'm not sure what you are asking.... are you asking if you can lift a 2wd? There are 2wd and 4wd versions of the K5... which is a blazer or Jimmy. A C10 is a 1/2 ton 2wd truck that could be short bed, long bed, step side, fleet side, but definitely will never look like a blazer. Or are you asking if you can make your 2wd look like a 4wd, i.e make a C10 look like a K10?

 

[dvdswan]

Welcome to the site. Technically, the K5 is a short bed truck. The B-pillar is part of the bed up to model yr 77. 78 GM changed the floor to have more leg room in the back seat.

 

[CRaigMac]

Hi DVD and bextreme

Thanks to you guys for your reply. I should be more clear....I have a short bed c10 2wd and from pictures online I have seen, i was trying to figure out whether a 86 k5 was basically the same body configuration as my 86 c10. To my eye, the only difference I think I see is that the k5 has a cab over the bed. I’m wondering if I’m wrong and that’s too simplistic to think that’s the only aesthetic difference between k5 and c10. I was thinking if I lifted my c10 2 inches front and back plus found a cab for the bed, it could be a k5 look.....Maybe I will try to post to comparison photos to show what I’m talking about....

 

[Crispy]

K5 vs C10 shortbed + camper shell?

To the Squarebody enthusiast it will be a clear difference. To a casual onlooker, probably not too much. I believe the wheelbases between the two models are almost a foot different. The overall length is pretty close but to me a shortbed square with a shell looks nothing like a K5.

If lift is all you are looking for then by all means go for it. A little ground clearance never hurt.

 

[Turbo4whl]

The big difference is the wheel base. The short bed pickup has a 117" wheel base. The Blazer/ Jimmy has a 106" wheel base.

That is of course, an 11" difference. Any of us could see that difference across the football field. If you are going for the look, buy a cab level white cap. The factory offered the cap in white and black only. The also offered a soft top. I know in the early years you could buy the truck with no roof at all. The base model had one, (driver's bucket) seat standard. Needed to option up everything else.

 

[bucket]

The big difference is the wheel base. The short bed pickup has a 117" wheel base. The Blazer/ Jimmy has a 106" wheel base.

That is of course, an 11" difference. Any of us could see that difference across the football field. If you are going for the look, buy a cab level white cap. The factory offered the cap in white and black only. The also offered a soft top. I know in the early years you could buy the truck with no roof at all. The base model had one, (driver's bucket) seat standard. Needed to option up everything else.

Some years there was a tan colored top available too.

 

[CRaigMac]

Thanks a lot for the wheelbase detail...would have taken me a while to figure that out myself. Thanks for helping me understand something I’ve been thinking over for months now! Great site and info ! I will start looking for a cab and just see what it looks like when I put it on there.

 

[Craig 85]

Here's a quick visual comparison for you. K5 vs C10. I could not find a good picture of a short bed with a cab high shell, so the third picture is a long bed, but you get the idea of what a P/U looks like with a K5 style shell. If you are good with a computer, you can probably cut and paste that shell onto the the short bed.

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[Bextreme04]

Here's a pic I found of a lifted K10 with a color matched cab high shell... looks somewhat K5-ish I guess...

The real problem will be finding a lift kit for the C10 I think. There is a thread on another forum with a guy using rough country lift spindles from a 88-98. He had to use C30 lower control arms and the matching 88-98 brakes as well. I think i have seen lift spindles up to 3.5" that work directly on your truck without swapping other components though.

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[80BrownK10]

hey all, looking for opinions here. I Have an 86 C10 and I am trying through Photos online, to figure out if there is a body difference between the 86 C10 and 86 k5… I’m looking maybe to put a cab on my c10 , lift it 2 inches + and try to mimic the look of a K5 without the 4 x 4 capability… Anyone else ever come across that as an idea? Thanks!

Are you trying to turn your 2wd truck into a 4wd blazer or a 4wd truck (k10). To do what your saying is not going to be easy! Your going to have to get rid of your cab and everything!

 

[86 SCOTTSDALE]

BTW, in 86, Blazers were offered with color matching tops accept red, I still have an original brochure.

 

[CRaigMac]

Thanks to you all for all the advice and pictures… After some thought, and especially looking at the pictures I think I will leave the c10 as it is ....no cab and maybe just get a 2 inch lift on the rear so it looks a little raked… In answer to the question From 80brown....didn’t want to convert it 2 wheel drive to four-wheel-drive, I was just going for a blazer kinda look… But now I also realize that with the 11 inch wheelbase differential, it wouldn’t look quite right. Point taken turbo4whl!

 

[CRaigMac]

One of you noted that finding a lift kit for an 86C 10 might be a problem… I thought I had seen kits available online but maybe I’m wrong? Is there some issue with the lift kit on a square body that Anyone knows of?

 

[80BrownK10]

One of you noted that finding a lift kit for an 86C 10 might be a problem… I thought I had seen kits available online but maybe I’m wrong? Is there some issue with the lift kit on a square body that Anyone knows of?

There plenty of square body lifts...for 4wd. Not many people beyond the squat truck generation that want to be "tooted up" are into lifting 2wd? It's kind of counter productive. While lifing it for bigger tires you do gain ground clearance, but your still 2wd, so your still going to get stuck pretty fast. Now there is those prerunner guys who like to drive 100mph in the desert and they sometimes have 2wd. Just not much interest in lifting 2wd, especially a 40 year old truck.