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86 K5 purchase opinions

buffblazer

buffblazer

1/2 ton status
Joined
Jan 5, 2005
Posts
2,419
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9
Location
Fort Collins Colorado
Howdy guys and gals, been awhile since I had a K5 and looking at getting another.

Came across one local (sorry no pics, gonna have to use your imaginations)

86 K5 Silverado trim.
350/SM465/208. 10 bolt front 12 bolt rear (replaced by previous owner) 3.73 gears.

Truck cosmetically is pretty much stock. Still has the factory radio and all the badges. The 305 was replaced with a 350 and pretty much all the emissions components are missing.

Mechanically runs like a top, but it’s got plenty of leaks.( motor, t-case, diffs)

Rust- little spots behind the rear fenders like all get, driver side has a half dollar size cancer spot right where the rocker meets the rear panel, (essentially where the cab corners would be on a single cab) but on the driver side it didn’t get into the rocker, passenger side it did. Very small rust. Floorboards are clean, frame is clean. Normal Colorado/Wyoming rust spots not Midwest rust.

Interior is complete minus the headliner. In good shape, front seats will need redone eventually but have covers on them and are comfortable. Rear power window works.

Needs a paint job.

Prev owner decided to rhino line the outside of the top, and also the half cab. Not too concerned about the top but worried about trying to get the liner off the half cab for paint.

Priced at $4500 but think I can get it lower.

I know pics go a long way but hope I painted a decent image of it. Biggest concerns is the emissions due to needing them for my county, and the rust repair.

Thoughts? Price too high? Keep walking? The goal is to keep I stock and have a fun weekend cruiser. Nice paint, interior and stock looking other than maybe an aggressive stance.


Thanks guys. Glad to be back.
 
Personally I would walk away with the emissions stuff all gone if you need it. And the bed liner can be a nightmare to remove
 
don't know Co. emissions laws. The 86 was CCC system meaning you will need a computer and C3 carburetor to be OEM emissions. Which would be the case in Ca. without going to a referee to certify an approved SCAQMD replacement system. Then the air pump, egr, distributor and cat,
 
I can't see how CO adopting CA emissions standards applies backwards to a vehicle made 32-years prior. Presumably every vehicle in CO must have all of the original emissions equipment from the factory, but unless this truck came from CA, it wouldn't have had CCC. Is there any evidence that the CCC package really has lower emissions (especially at this age)? Is it hard to get a "regular" emissions setup to pass their sniffer tests?
 
Its common to see front range Colorado craigslist ads with the issue of not passing emissions. We come down from Wyoming and buy them cheap.

Did the current owner get it to pass emissions with the parts missing? In Ft. Collins I would not buy one that wont pass emissions. Its probably one of the reasons the owner has it for sale.
 
He bought it out of Wyoming and he lives in rural Weld County so no emissions. I don’t mind putting cats on it and even plumbing the EGR to pass a sniff test. But if Larimer county requires all the parts to be there (and they actually check to see if they are and hooked up) then I don’t think it’s worth it. I was going to call them tomorrow to find out.
 
Update to the original post, I did speak with the owner and he did state that he had the original manifolds, the air pump and a few other things ( just no cats) that would go with it.
 
Theres no such thing as antique tags in CO?

In my state (VA) no emissions for any vehicle 25yrs or older if it has antique tags. Technically some restricted use and cant be your daily driver, but no headaches with emissions. Without those tags VA where i live has very strict emissions requirements.
 
muddybuddy said:
Theres no such thing as antique tags in CO?

In my state (VA) no emissions for any vehicle 25yrs or older if it has antique tags. Technically some restricted use and cant be your daily driver, but no headaches with emissions. Without those tags VA where i live has very strict emissions requirements.
Click to expand...
Colorado is kind of weird. Its only certain counties that have emissions. Mostly along the front range. Western slope and the eastern farmland have no inspections.
 
70jimmy said:
One thing to keep in mind is cats have to be CARB compliant, cats for your application run $734.00 each.
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So Colorado now is California?
You even have to use a catalytic converter approved by California Air Resource Board?
This is insane.
Luckily here we found a way around it, as long as there is no record of a need for a new cat, we put a used one or even new cheap and age it so it doesn't attract attention.
I did 2 vehicles like that
 
So which is the dominant factor: needing all original equipment in place or having to pass the sniffer test? Is there no sliding scale where an older vehicle is tested to the older standard? Otherwise, it seems like a catch-22 where you'd be forced to retrofit additional emissions equipment which is therefore an invalid configuration.

They can really say "sorry your perfectly working older vehicle can no longer be registered in this county."?
 
imiceman44 said:
So Colorado now is California?
You even have to use a catalytic converter approved by California Air Resource Board?
This is insane.
Luckily here we found a way around it, as long as there is no record of a need for a new cat, we put a used one or even new cheap and age it so it doesn't attract attention.
I did 2 vehicles like that
Click to expand...
Yes CO adopted CARB California air resources board rules. The guvernor is a California transfer. Big trouble if you sell or install a non carb compliant cat. Alot of people go out of state to have the work done.
 
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Blue85 said:
So which is the dominant factor: needing all original equipment in place or having to pass the sniffer test? Is there no sliding scale where an older vehicle is tested to the older standard? Otherwise, it seems like a catch-22 where you'd be forced to retrofit additional emissions equipment which is therefore an invalid configuration.

They can really say "sorry your perfectly working older vehicle can no longer be registered in this county."?
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It's both.
You have a visual and a sniffer test.
So you know it's not about clean air.
Here they run the sniffer test and then if it passes they do the visual and that is were most fail.
I failed because I had a hose for coolant that didn't have markings on it to prove it was the correct one
 
70jimmy said:
Yes CO adopted CARB California air resources board rules. The gunner is a California transfer. Big trouble if you sell or install a non carb compliant cat. Alot of people go out of state to have the work done.
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If you guys knew the scandal about CARB, the engineer who made all the regulations had fake references and credentials so all his work was not based on science as you can tell, so instead of firing him and reversing the laws or at least bringing in someone qualified to review and amend, they just transfered him to a different place and kept everything the same.
And with the cat, the only difference between a CARB certified and the others is the $40,000 price tag on each model that California has to approve.
That's why no one wants to make them bolt on model specific, just 2 generic, one 2.5" and one 2.25 IIRC.
 
Blue85 said:
So which is the dominant factor: needing all original equipment in place or having to pass the sniffer test? Is there no sliding scale where an older vehicle is tested to the older standard? Otherwise, it seems like a catch-22 where you'd be forced to retrofit additional emissions equipment which is therefore an invalid configuration.

They can really say "sorry your perfectly working older vehicle can no longer be registered in this county."?
Click to expand...
And you should see what they did with commercial trucks and trailers.
If they are diesel.
On reefer trailers the law was simple 7 years, didn’t matter, after 7 years you had to change the engine.
Then they decided to add particulate filters, great, it's not a bad thing, but they put a limit, you can only get another 7 years with the filter, even if you change the filter 14 years on an engine was total.
I had 16k hours on mine at 15 years, I scrapped the whole unit and kept the engine and compressor for future projects.
As for the trucks, they started with filter then came along DEF and now you can't have a commercial truck in California without DEF above a 350 or 1 ton.
 
imiceman44 said:
I failed because I had a hose for coolant that didn't have markings on it to prove it was the correct one
Click to expand...
So you're saying that Gates or whoever has to pay CA to certify that a heater hose doesn't adversely affect emissions? Where do you buy C.A.R.B. certified wiper blades and air to put in your tires?
 
Might need to find a donor truck and just yank everything off, get my 5 year plate and then just keep the stuff for reinstall to get recertified.
 
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