What are you going to do with it? You can just drive it like that, it isn't going to hurt anything.
Martin
Martin
CK5
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1978, too much rust? salvagable? NEW PICS
- Thread starter JACKBURTON55
- Start date
It's not scrap by any means...I just want you to have your eyes wide open when looking at what fixing this is going to take. There isn't anything wrong with driving it as is for a while, but down the road it will be down for a while to repair it.
Keep in mind you still haven't found it all...you never do until you start really cutting the rot out.
I say drive it as is for now, and in the near to mid term look for some better workspace and prepare to do this work yourself. To pay a shop to do this would get totally out of hand. You can get a welder and the hand tools you need for under $1000 easily...and learning to use them isn't too hard. Spend some time reading here to see how others have tackled similar problems, then go from there.
Overall it's not too bad...definitely worth saving IMO.
Rene
Keep in mind you still haven't found it all...you never do until you start really cutting the rot out.
I say drive it as is for now, and in the near to mid term look for some better workspace and prepare to do this work yourself. To pay a shop to do this would get totally out of hand. You can get a welder and the hand tools you need for under $1000 easily...and learning to use them isn't too hard. Spend some time reading here to see how others have tackled similar problems, then go from there.
Overall it's not too bad...definitely worth saving IMO.
Rene
79rustyk10
3/4 ton status
hell. Thats mint. around here they look like that after about 5 years if you dont wash em.
Rene ain't joking about these trucks being a lot more work to repair than initially meets the eyes. I had a 88 K5 I was going to rebuild (though it was 10x as rusty) but eventually gave up and just bought an 85 in far better shape and swapped everything over.
Those on the east coast will say that ain't bad. And I can agree with them from the rusty buckets I have seen on that side of the country. But on the west coast It's got alot of rust IMHO. As someone said still salvagable though and a good project for you to learn how to weld sheet metal if you don't know how to. You have alot of work ahead of you but it can and will be a fun learning project if you go into it with that mind set. Now get some new pannels, rockers, floor pieces ordered up and get to work. Keep an eye out for trucks parting out and go see if there is good sheet metal you can salvage from. You can find that stuff in the junk yard out here all day long. You guys would crap at the good usable rust free metal that get sent to the junk yards here.
smier
1/2 ton status
Just as a point of reference, my 91 was in similar shape with exception of the floors around your wheel wells. A friend of mine fixed mine in his spare time( he owns a body shop), he had 67 hours into it and between $600 & $700 in replacement panels and sheet metal. Thankfully he cut me a huge break on his hourly labor rate. He used it as filler work between other jobs. I obviously have gone well past the point of no return. If you decide to keep this truck, remember that you will have to something to at least slow the spread of the rust down. It's not going to get better.
JACKBURTON55
Registered Member
Let me ask you guys this, when you are quoting these prices on repairs are you doing it to factory spec? I am totally fine with just cutting out bad and welding in sheets of metal. Heck, it doesnt even have to look great as long as it holds up and is strong.
BTW my goal for the overall look of the truck is desert tan with black rims and black soft top.
BTW my goal for the overall look of the truck is desert tan with black rims and black soft top.
smier
1/2 ton status
To answer your question, mine is back to factory spec, actually better because he decided to not use a couple of the available repro panels and instead made them out of much thicker and better quality steel. You would really have to know your stuff to tell mine was repaired. Mine is more of a restoration, but remember, he put 67 hours in but he also knew what he was doing and had a fully equipped shop with a rack they use to do frame and unibody repairs on wrecks to work on. I would have had to put in many more hours than he did... Like the previous poster said, they had to seperate the body from the frame to repair and replace a lot of the crossmembers, supports, and the tailpan. It was pretty disconcerting the first time I saw it disassembled with the rockers cut out. It was well worth it in the end, I plan on keeping this for a long time. Oh, and one more thing, when we first started this project we thought my truck was pretty rust free, the more we removed the more we found, some of the supports for under the floor looked great with no sign of rust, and literally crumbled like the only thing holding them together was the paint. Tailpan looked great with only some bubbling, it was completely shot. My rockers had a few bubbles in the paint, they were rusting from the inside out. My quarters and fenders and doors are perfect, we didn't have to do a thing to them. Moral of this story is these trucks hide rust well, the only thing holding my seatbelts in was the carpet panels, the floor right next to them was perfectly fine. It snowballed in a hurry.
k5warwagon
1/2 ton status
It's not that bad
I never welded before I tackled mine either. I did have some experience bending, rolling and braking sheetmetal. I borrowed a friends welder and had at it. Got about $75 in the metal. You can do it and it's fun to learn.
I never welded before I tackled mine either. I did have some experience bending, rolling and braking sheetmetal. I borrowed a friends welder and had at it. Got about $75 in the metal. You can do it and it's fun to learn.
JACKBURTON55
Registered Member
Well guys I really think I can do this be it eiher myself or get in touch with my mechanics body man who can cut me a deal. I'm thinking do it myself because that way I'll learn and do it the way I want too not half assed. My tucks body is pretty good and so is the frame and drivetrain so it's really just the rockers and flooring.
It's just such a beast truck I want to keep it forever. I just need to buy a dual saw, grinder, welder and the best eyeball welding mask there is
It's just such a beast truck I want to keep it forever. I just need to buy a dual saw, grinder, welder and the best eyeball welding mask there is
its a good way to learn the skills.personaly i wouldnt mess with it and just part it out.
typicalmarine
Registered Member
She looks save able to me!
xCaliK5x
1/2 ton status
If you want to restore it back to stock show room condition, its not that bad and can be done. It all depends on your skill level and how much you want to spend, or if you have a sentimental attachment to the particular truck. That being said, there are cleaner trucks to start with.
Mine is in about similar shape, has the dime size hole in the roof. Nothing really bad or structural. I didn't care, because it now lives in California and it not going to get worse in reality here, and my truck is a sole purpose wheeler so a little rust is just another medal on its chest going into war IMO. Mine got that amount of rust spending 5-6 years in NY and CT.
Mine is in about similar shape, has the dime size hole in the roof. Nothing really bad or structural. I didn't care, because it now lives in California and it not going to get worse in reality here, and my truck is a sole purpose wheeler so a little rust is just another medal on its chest going into war IMO. Mine got that amount of rust spending 5-6 years in NY and CT.
I guess there is something wrong with me. My K30 cab has nebraska licence plates welded to the floor to keep out the mud. The box only had 2 bolts holding it on so I patched it together for the summer. I was worried I would loose my taillights one night when the box fell off.
I would be proud to own that blazer and would wheel the poop out of it.
I would be proud to own that blazer and would wheel the poop out of it.
On my '73, with the exception of new front fenders, I just used pieces sheet metal. It works fine for a wheeling/hunting/bug out truck. If you were wanting to restore it I would say start over, but for your stated purpose I think you'll be fine-if you do the work yourself. If you are paying to have it done I'd start with something else.
Agent_Orange
1/2 ton status
buy a K5 in watertown NY (go ahead i'll let you google map it) and see if you still have complaints about rust. I'm $700 into LMC for pach work on my truck and that only got me from the front bumper to the back of the doors.... you're OK with that truck!!!
I'm pretty sure the decision was made one way or another 2 years ago.
