'82 K5 Blazer aka Death Trap Dixie

[vaporlock]

Hi, I'm new to the forum but have been lurking for a little while. I've been wanting a Squarebody for nearly a decade and recently bought my K5 Blazer. I have a few things I'd like to do to it so I wanted to make a thread for it.

I live in Sweden and Squarebodies are not super common here and the once we do have usually has a lot of rust, haven't passed inspection for 10+ years and are fairly cheap ($4K-8K) or they are fully restored and sell for around $25K. Shiny things are scary and I wanted something in between.

 

[vaporlock]

How it started: In 2014 I decided I wanted a full size Chevy truck with a V8 and 4x4, preferably tax free*, as a rolling project. I was choosing between Squarebody and OBS and somehow my friend convinced me to get a OBS and I ended up with a bright blue metallic 1997 K1500HD ecsb with all the bells and whistles. That truck served me well for a few years but eventually got parked, but I still own it today.
(* We don't pay road taxes for vehicles 30 years or older in Sweden.)

How it's going: My love for the Squarebody never died tho... early 2020, right around the time the world took a tumble, the Squarebody bug came back and bit me again. This time it wasn't a K10 truck but a K5 Blazer that was on my wishlist, 81-91 to be specific. I spent the next 2 years hunting for one that met my requirements and I finally found it. A phone call, a train ticket and 3.5 hours later I was looking right at it. It didn't look as good as it did in the photos (they never do) but it had passed inspections just a month before so we talked a little and agreed on a price, then I started my 5 hour drive home in my new-to-me death trap.

So here it is, my very own 1982 Chevy K5 Blazer 4x4! Unfortunately I don't know much about it, according to the title it was originally "lightblue" but I don't know if it had grey interior originally. The RPO sticky in the glovebox is not the right one.
The only thing I didn't get of my wishlist was the engine, I wanted a V8 Gasser, this one is a V8 diesel. It's loud, obnoxious, smelly, leaky and rattling like hell but I love it! I call her Dixie because the PO glued a confederate flag to the roof as a headliner...

 

[vaporlock]

The drive home & issues: We survived the 190 mile trip home, drove it during the weekend and took it to work on Monday and it was fine. Monday afternoon on the way home I noticed the voltmeter going down... the new alternator isn't alternating anymore... and I think it may have gotten a bit warm.

Question: Is the LOW COOLANT light supposed to come on/off a few times when you start it, while no other light is on? I think it might be low on coolant...

So the next weekend I took a look at the wiring to the alternator, the whole system is poop, but one of the wires was broken of at the connector so I fixed that and put the charger on the batteries, hoping that was the problem.
While the batteries were charging I spent the rest of the day removing stickers... I'm a Chevy girl at heart and anything Chevy is good to me but I don't like stickers on my vehicles so they had to go. The Detroit Diesel stickers are going too but I ran out of time and Label Off.
I also removed the bull bar and extra lights, I don't want anything hiding that purrdy face. I have a LED Lightbar I used to have on my truck that I think might fit behind the grille.

Before (same on both sides):


After:

 

[flatland]

Welcome!
Looks like a great start.
What are your plans for it? Is there much offroad access available there or mainly street driving?

 

[vaporlock]

Welcome!
Looks like a great start.
What are your plans for it? Is there much offroad access available there or mainly street driving?

Thanks!
It's pretty solid as far as I can tell.
Plans are to fix the mess the PO created, make some things better/updated so restomod with maybe some off road mods. Short list is interior, exterior, mechanical, electrical & suspension.
We do have off roading but in specific areas, kinda like off road parks, we can't just drive around randomly in the woods. For me it will mostly be street driving but my neighbor is into off roading and said I have to come with and test it out. The kind of off roading we have is woods, a little rock crawling and mud/snow depending on season. I wish we had sand dunes and rock crawling here, like Sand Hallow or Moab.

 

[TuckerK5]

A Swedish girl with a K5 and a rebel flag headliner?

I think that makes you one of a kind around here.

Welcome to the clan.

I never would have guessed our (US) southern culture had spread around the world.

 

[vaporlock]

A Swedish girl with a K5 and a rebel flag headliner?

I think that makes you one of a kind around here.

Welcome to the clan.

I never would have guessed our (US) southern culture had spread around the world.

Yeah, maybe!
Thank you very much!
Oh, you'd be very surprised than! The US South, Country and Redneck culture and especially US vehicles is huge around here! We have something called Power Big Meet every summer, I think it has over 30.000 visitors from all over the world every year. It's the biggest car meet of it's kind in the whole world. And we are only about 10 million people, with lots of foreigners that don't get our ways.

 

[vaporlock]

Before even finding this Blazer I had a list of plans and wishes for it, by finding this one some of them were already checked of the list.
This list may, most likely, probably, change over time, but here are my plans & wishes for now.

Step 1 is making it tolerable, things that need fixing right now so I can drive it, things like comfort and reliability.
Charging: Something happend, it's a new alternator but the wiring is questionable and it stopped charging. I found a loose wire so I hope it's fixed.
Cooling: Temp gauge isn't working and it may have overheated a little, I hope it's just low on coolant.
Gauges & Indicators: I have Voltmeter, Psi & Speedo and a few lights and they aren't trustworthy, so in general I have no idea what's going on. Because of future plans I don't want to buy the gauges I want now (they're like $900 + shipping, import fees & taxes) so the once I can't make run I'll just get some cheapos to replace for now.
Shocks: It's so rough, I would love ORI's but don't know if it's "worth it" since I spend 90% on asphalt. I want comfort! I think the shocks are done so I'll be replacing those for now.
Seats: I can't reach the damn go-pedal properly. I'm contemplating getting a set of front seats out of a GMT400. I have one and really like the seats in it and there is a set at a junkyard 20 minutes from where I live, they cost like $350-400 tho.
Rattling: It drives me nuts, it's so loud! So I'm gonna track down sources and there will be dampening mat, like all of it!
Steering: Somefin woong... it's all over the place. I don't want a "K5 meet ditch" situation... the adjusting tube between the tie rod ends is bent so that and probably a bunch of other stuff will be replaced.

The other steps include interior, exterior, mechanical, electrical & suspension.

Random Future Plans & Wishlist (will be updated):
52” Roof mounted curved LED light bar
Rear facing LED lights
Rock lights
Switch-Pros RCR-Force 12
Custom rear bumper (maybe)
Debadge & Demold (almost done)
Remove all stickers
Black out all chrome
Sound system
Sound deadener
Complete new wire harness
Full interior
NVU Gauges, Performance II series
Exterior/Paint (Satin finish, color?)
Wheels & Tires
Re-tint rear windows, 5%
86 Dual headlights Grille
LED-headlights
57 Bel Air Chevrolet-emblem (where? you'll see!)
Manual Looking Hubs
Lockers
Columnshift to floorshift (maybe)
Grant Challenger 414 steering wheel, black
D49 Door Mirrors
Exhaust (maybe, it's a bit too loud but I'm missing most of the interior...)
Engine (maintenance)
Engine swap (Down the road, I always wanted a gasser, maybe another 383 Stroker)

Input and ideas are always welcome!

 

[76zimmer]

Welcome to CK5.
Looks like a great start you have in your dream truck, and whatever you have planned (and I see lots on the wish list) someone here has already done, so there is some great advice here too. Keep posting pics, and you’ll have our attention! Good luck w your latest project!

 

[TankedUp]

Welcome. Good looking start to your project.

Shocks. Don’t know what brands you have in Sweden. But here Bilstein shocks make for a better ride. Mine are 5125 series and helped a lot. Don’t know if or how much yours is lifted, but post up I’m sure someone can pass on a part number.

Steering. Take a good look at frame around steering box. It’s a known stress point where frame can crack and then cause a lot of play in the steering. There is a repair plate from ORD to weld in to fix it and also a steering brace. Check over all the steering while looking at steering form underneath while someone rocks steering wheel back and forth.

Good luck And enjoy the ride.

 

[vaporlock]

Welcome. Good looking start to your project.

Shocks. Don’t know what brands you have in Sweden. But here Bilstein shocks make for a better ride. Mine are 5125 series and helped a lot. Don’t know if or how much yours is lifted, but post up I’m sure someone can pass on a part number.

Steering. Take a good look at frame around steering box. It’s a known stress point where frame can crack and then cause a lot of play in the steering. There is a repair plate from ORD to weld in to fix it and also a steering brace. Check over all the steering while looking at steering form underneath while someone rocks steering wheel back and forth.

Good luck And enjoy the ride.

Thank you!
I can get any shocks, we import car/truck parts from the US monthly by container. I'll look into the 5125, as far as I can tell it's not lifted.
I tried looking this weekend at the steering but everything is soaked in oil/ps fluid, I couldn't see any cracks or even rust tho. I'm gonna clean it up and have a better look as soon as I can. Thanks for the tips!

 

[vaporlock]

Update time! Lots to do but so little time, both the Impala and the K5 was on the schedule.

First up was the Impala, I finished what I could on the wiring for the dash and the sound system, what’s left is front speakers and a connection for the cigarette lighter than I can put the interior back together.
Should I make a build thread for the Impala?

(Every connection where I'm missing the original once I've used the regular yellow, blue or red connectors but done this. It's time consuming but so worth it.)

Then it was the K5s turn, the PO replaced the floors but he put that thick nasty sound insulation on the front half of the floor and covered it with speaker fabric rather than a real carpet. I noticed the other day water was leaking in and that the floor and insulation was wet. So before the floors where ruined again I ripped the rear wet half out, sprayed on Label Off, cleaned, wirebrushed and put rustconverter on it. Luckily there was only light rust, I hope to paint the floor this week. How many sq. ft of rattletrap/fatmat/whatevermat does it take to cover the floor, cab roof and bed sides, if anyone knows?



I started taking out the gauge cluster to see why they’re not working but even tho I loosened the dashpad and the gauge cluster moved freely it wouldn't come out!
I asked for help in the interior section and got some good advice from other members so I think I'm gonna get it now, thanks again!
(Redneck Anti-Theft System, Engaged!)

 

[vaporlock]

Last week was a short one, 6 hour workday on wednesday, thursday was a holiday and I took friday off work so I got some things done on the K5, also happy belated memorial day to ya'll!

She’s alive again! She's charging like she’s supposed to. I had to get a boost from another vehicle tho because I can’t leave things alone, I opened the mystery silver box… out came diesel, in went air, oops! It took a few tries to get her running again after that, never realized how much it takes to start these old diesels battery wise...
What was wrong then? The PO used 230V wiring (FK, hard copper) instead of auto wiring (FLRY, soft copper) so because of vibrations the connector (made for FLRY) came of the wire = no charging. I want to replace the whole electrical system but I’ve just gone thru that process with the Impala and I’m kind of over it for now plus it's summer and I want to enjoy it!

On to the fun stuff, rear interior panels. So the interior is almost complete, all I’m missing is that plastic piece that’s on the floor where the front and rear carpets meet in front of the rear seat and the rear side panels. I know I can buy them but I wanted to make the rear panels myself so here it goes: I used 10mm MDF-board because I had it laying around, did some measuring, some cutting, testfit, cut... and so on. Drinker side took about 4 hours because I had nothing to make a template with and captain side less than 30 minutes. (I also stabbed myself in the same hand twice but we’re gonna pretend that didn’t happen.)
Since I'm gonna reupholster the (new) front seats and the rear bench I decided to go full custom on all of it (stock doors and dash tho). The rear panels will be covered in vinyl and have speakers mounted in the front and “hidden” storage in the rear.
Before I can finish that I need carpet, is ACC the only manufacturer? I've looked at LMC, Classic Industries, Stock Interiors... CI says theirs is OEM Authrized. I like that Stock Interiors have so many different colors tho.

 

[vaporlock]

Any day I get to drive the K5 is a good day, my XC90 that I usually drive is going in for service today so I get to drive the K5 to work, it may be loud, slow and all over the place but it's still a whole lot more fun to drive. I still haven't figured out the MPG's because the speedo and trip is a bit off, but I got a full tank of diesel yesterday and I'm counting my miles, we will eventually get a result.
Since fuel prices have gone straight to the shitter in the last 6+ months or so, I did some math and here we are, our prices as of yesterday at unmanned stations: Gasoline E10 Reg $9.30/gallon and Diesel B7 $9.80/gallon, the lowest we had was during the summer of 2020 at half the price. Soon I'll make money calling in sick instead of going to work because I don't have to drive there...

 

[6872xtc]

Entertaining writing here! Awesome!
Drinker side threw me off for a moment! I thought that it was a typo.
Very neat to see what it takes for you to have old American vehicles over there.

I like what you are doing, will be cool to watch.

And the Impala would be neat to see as well!

 

[vaporlock]

Entertaining writing here! Awesome!
Drinker side threw me off for a moment! I thought that it was a typo.
Very neat to see what it takes for you to have old American vehicles over there.

I like what you are doing, will be cool to watch.

And the Impala would be neat to see as well!

Haha thanks! I'm a fan of Vice Grip Garage on the Youtubes, he's funny as hell and pretty much has his own language, the names stick!

What it takes is money and patients... shipping and taxes kills the fun, we usually have things within a week unless it's bigger or heavy things, then we take it by container once a month so about 3-4 weeks.

I'll get working on that thread.

 

[vaporlock]

(Delayed update, this was last weekend)
Right before the long weekend I ordered new window tint and got a text on the friday that it had been delivered so sunday the rear window got new tint. It was pretty beat up but easy to remove. I got reminded of why I don't like doing window tinting but it turned out pretty OK. When I get new rear window parts I might get it professionally redone, maybe. I went with 5% black tint from Global Window Films and it was pretty easy to work with, especially compared to the cheap stuff, and looks really good so worth the money.
I also removed the last stickers on the front fenders, looks so much better now.
Not the best photos, it's been raining cats n kittens on and off for the past 2 weeks... From the outside the rear window is completely black.
Before, you can see some of the damage in the bottom corners of the window:

After, it's black from the outside:


I did run into a little question tho, was the rear side windows available with tinted glass from factory? My rears are tinted and it seams as the glass itself is tinted, yet it's branded Neutral? I can't seem to find an edge on the tint either...


Last but not least I got the dash cover removed and the cluster out of the dash. I picked up some cheapo gauges for temp, oil psi and fuel (volt works) but I don't think they're gonna work in the cluster, but they were cheap @ $20 each. And finally something I've been wanting to do for a decade, I started on my dash project! (more info in this later)

 

[6872xtc]

Yes, those are factory tinted sliding side windows. Not film.
And there aren't replacements available.

 

[vaporlock]

Yes, those are factory tinted sliding side windows. Not film.
And there aren't replacements available.

Makes sense! Glad mine are working and in good shape, just need some cleaning.

 

[vaporlock]

So, I made a call (any MORR fans here?), and bought matching front seats out of a 96 Chevy Tahoe to replace the existing once, complete with brackets and electrodigitals. I have the same seats in my GMT400 truck and they are so comfy. I got them for $300 which is a pretty good price for a junkyard in Sweden, it was also the only set available in the country. I got extra lucky because they are located one town over, about 20 minutes away.
A little story time: There is something about men when it comes to women in "their" line of hobbies/business... As I was standing there waiting for 2 of the guys to get the seats out for me the 3rd guy was sitting at the computer by the counter and not a word was spoken, he barely made eyecontact, only thing he said was Hi when I walked in. About 15-20 minutes later they came out with the seats and one of them said something about payment, then the 3rd guy says "maybe she wants to see them first!?", we went outside and took a look, they were great so they put them in my car and we went back inside so I could pay. When the 3rd guy realized I was buying the seats for my truck (not picking up for someone else) and I showed him a photo of my K5 and the seats I have now, then all of a sudden it was like I wasn't terrifying to talk to anymore and we probably chatted for 10-15 minutes. Turns out he even bought a K5 a few years ago but ended up junking it within a few days...