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Another noob with a 72

T

teknoslacker

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Joined
Oct 19, 2007
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Location
Virginia
Hey everyone. I have been checking out this sight for a while and have learned a lot already. It truely is a great resource.

I actually bought this 72 in May 2002 in CO. My brother-in-law found it for me and promised he could get the body and paint done for me pretty cheap and well done out there. Well a very long story a little cash and a lot of hassle and disappointment, in Nov 2007, I finally get it out here in VA with very little work done on it and the work that was done is pretty questionable. But I really wanted the truck, so now I have it. My dad had a long bed 72 pickup that was all original, garage kept, with about 70K original miles on it when he got it. That is what created my love for 72's, and I have always owned Blazers from my first 84 S-10, to my 88 K5 to my 97 Tahoe then 04 Tahoe. Hopefully this spring I can have the top off and cruising in this one.

Anyway, I am starting from square one now. I have no experience welding or doing any body/paint work at all, but am a decent shade tree mechanic. So, I am trying to see where to start. I plan to take it to a local body shop and see what they would charge to have the cancer treatments done and other needed body work, but I have a feeling it is going to be pretty pricey. So I may be investing in a welder and some classes and a lot of practice to add the the already questionable work with a bit of my own. The truck had the engine rebuilt just before I bought it and even after sitting for 5 years, it runs like a champ. I switched out all the fluids and did a little tune up and it is running great.

Besides the body and paint and rust damage repair. It has glass packs on it right now, which i am pretty sure are illegal in VA. Need a full tune up, and would like to switch to an electronic ignition system. Eventually want to swap out the carb for a TBI setup. Need to redo the interior and do something about that ugly top I got stuck with (not the white one below, the black on it has now, see pics).

Here are the pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72blazer/

DCP01703.JPG
 
Looks like a decent starting point as an unmolested truck. What are you're plans for it? Are ou going to lift it with different wheels (do you still have the hubcaps?) As for the top, ya might want to see if Bestop still has any softops available asap. Last I heard, they were going to discontinue offering tops for our trucks which means used or custom are the only options for soft tops.
 
Welcome to the 1st Gen obsession....!!! :saweet:


Well, your first decision (and it's a tough one) is how DEEP do you want to get into the inevitable rust that's in that truck. We ALL have rust issues, and yours don't look any worse than the majority that I've seen. Typical rust in the rockers, front floor corners, exterior rockers, and rear tailgate areas.

The problem (as your photos indicate pretty clearly) is deciding how far into the truck you want to go to get the rust out. The repair shop looks to have decided that the outer rocker was "far enough" and stopped there....but there is plenty of work still waiting in the door moulding crevice and the floor itself.

The challenge is that if you go "ALL IN" for the rust repair at the very beginning, you can sink a ton of money and time into something that you've barely had a chance to develop a love affair with..... that's not trivial, because you may end up resenting the truck before you even get to enjoy it.

Maybe the better solution is to work on all the mechanical items first. Go through it front-to-back and make sure everything is in solid working order. Do the electronic ignition conversion for reliability and then drive it for a while.....let that love affair develop.

When you've taken it as far as you can mechanically, you can make the decision about the bodywork. It's a big step, and putting a nice paint job over lousy bodywork is a waste of time and money....so when the time comes, it's probably best to make the commitment and really get things 100% correct and get ALL the rust out.

Lots to think about. Don't let the project overwhelm you yet. Just spend some time enjoying it.


:usaflag:
 
You might want to sell me the front tow hooks to fund some of your rust repair?:deal: PM me if interested.
 
Nice looking K5, glad to see another SouthEastern guy around.
 
We all have to start somewhere. Greg72 already said everything I would've, and a lot more elegantly at that. Tackle small bits at a time and enjoy doing it. At the end of the day, you'll look at it and amaze yourself with what you've done...even though you've pounded your head against the wall the whole way there.

Oh yeah, and welcome to the board!
 
bouncytruck said:
Looks like a decent starting point as an unmolested truck. What are you're plans for it? Are ou going to lift it with different wheels (do you still have the hubcaps?) As for the top, ya might want to see if Bestop still has any softops available asap. Last I heard, they were going to discontinue offering tops for our trucks which means used or custom are the only options for soft tops.
Click to expand...

I bought a cheap set of 31X10.50's on ralleys for now. I doubt I will go bigger than that. Maybe 33's in time. So I probably won't be lifting it. I plan on it being a Daily/weekend Driver for now.

I have three of the hubcaps. The fourth was "stolen" in CO along with several other parts. Two are in pretty good shape, the third has the center cut out kind of rough. I am not sure if they are the same ones taht were on it in 2002 or not.

Thanks for the info on the softtop. I have been looking at those, but was holding off. Sounds like I need to do that sooner than I thought.
 
Thanks for the info Greg.

You have hit my delima right on the head. I am sure it is a common one. I would like to be cruising in a freshly painted ride instead of the faded grapefruit and primer, but there isn't any point in doing that with all that rust under the surface. I guess I could always sand it down a little and rattle can primer the whole thing. At least it would all be the same color then.

I have read through a lot of build threads that show just what all is involved in really getting the rust out of these trucks. Anyway, lots of work there. A little at a time is probably the best approach for me.

Thanks for the welcome.
 
Welcome to the insanity!!

Definately decide how perfect a truck you want to end up with. Then break the build down into small parts and celebrate the completion of each step. My rig was off the road for close to 3 years total, and still is occasionally.
 
teknoslacker said:
Thanks for the info Greg.

You have hit my delima right on the head. I am sure it is a common one. I would like to be cruising in a freshly painted ride instead of the faded grapefruit and primer, but there isn't any point in doing that with all that rust under the surface. I guess I could always sand it down a little and rattle can primer the whole thing. At least it would all be the same color then.

I have read through a lot of build threads that show just what all is involved in really getting the rust out of these trucks. Anyway, lots of work there. A little at a time is probably the best approach for me.

Thanks for the welcome.
Click to expand...


The 1st Gen guys here "get it".... we understand what it takes to keep these truck alive, and to bring one all the way back to factory fresh.

No one's going to hassle you about the paint, we know exactly what you'll be going through. My own truck is still in primer after 6 years of ownership and I haven't even started on the rust in the rockers yet!

It's no joke, the 69 - 72 K5 guys area a "club within a club" here at CK5. Our trucks are the hardest to get parts for and are more costly to modify. But these trucks represent the original concept of the K5 more than any other. Most of us feel that we are not only the owners of these Blazers but also the caretakers of these historical trucks...there is an additional responsibility that we take on which the later model K5 owners do not.

Keep in mind, there were something like 900,000 K5s built from 1969 - 1991, but only about 78,000 were built from 69 - 72. I hate to call the later models "throw away" Blazers, but there are simply so many out there that nobody worries about hacking them up or parting them out.


:usaflag:
 
Brian,

I tried to post this last night, but I guess I forgot to save. I don't think I have the hooks you are looking for based on the searching around I did last night. These don't look like the stock hooks in other pictures I saw. But here is what they look like.

IMG_3369.JPG
 
Welcome - great looking K5. Don't have much to add in addition to what the other guys have already said other than I agree to take it slow. I tore my 69 K20 apart and took 3 years to get it back together. With my 70 K5 I took a different route, got it rode worthy and I have been enjoying it! I could care less that there is visible rust and some primer showing along with some scary paint. I have a blast driving it and my girls really enjoy riding in it. Paint and body work can wait until I have more time and have had a chance to enjoy my K5.

Wait for spring and yank that top and drive it!
 
nice rig... now cut it up and wheel the piss out of it.
j/k
sometimes I wonder if I should have resold mine since it was really straight imo. Took the plasma cutter to perfectly good rocker boxes and only had minimal rust to fix on my rockers and floor. I really wanted a full top K5 and kinda liked the body style so just kept it. I prob could have turned for some decent $$ then found another base rig but I really like mine how it is and thats more imprtant.
 
In my best impersonation of Obi-wan Kenobi... "Those aren't the hooks I'm looking for..."

Thanks for considering anyway! Oh, and nice truck! I have the same problem. I'm into mine for a bunch of money, and the paint still looks like crap on the outside.
 
Thanks for all the comments. I will post up plenty of picks of whatever I decide to do with this guy.

First step is to figure out the electrical issues. None of the lights work inside or out. Get some mirrors, then get it tagged and inspected so I can actually get it out on the road. baby steps :D
 
Welcome to a lifetime adventure. :waytogo:

Definitely drive it before you tear it down, thinking "I'll just do this for now" somehow has a way of turning into a full frame off resto cause you start to say..."well I'm already this far", I might as well do this too...

Drive it!
 
Agreed, drive it. Like 70jimmy said, 3 years. Take little bites at a time, otherwise it'll make you obsessed like the rest of us...
 
teknoslacker said:
Anyway, I am starting from square one now. I have no experience welding or doing any body/paint work at all, but am a decent shade tree mechanic. So, I am trying to see where to start. I plan to take it to a local body shop and see what they would charge to have the cancer treatments done and other needed body work, but I have a feeling it is going to be pretty pricey. So I may be investing in a welder and some classes ...quote]

Just a thought but a friend of mine is a longtime local consumer of community college autoshop and welding classes. He has an agreement with the instructor that if he buys the parts and welding gases etc they (the whole class, instructor led) will work on it. Maybe that's an approach you can take?
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