Doors and windows

[Extreemo]

hey dudes...i just recently but a 1980 K5. I'm kinda new at this, but love the hobby. The beast is in pretty good shap in regards to engine, tranny and transfer. But body wise needs a lot of work. One thing that has me especially worried are the doors and window mechanisms; the passenger side and rear window system are pretty much rusted and shot. Based on any of you guy's expierience, should I just look to buy doors from a junkyard or can these systems be restored?

PS: I live in Costa Rica but you'd be surprised how many love good ol' American Trucks here. Junkyards are do-able.

 

[73k5blazer]

If the door itself is in good shape, it's relativly easy to refurb the innards. Junkyard doors are probably not going to be in any better shape, but you could get lucky.
The parts are easy to come by, but they are usally not cheap.
lmctruck.com, chevyduty.com, and GM (dealer or gmpartsdirect.com) have all the parts you need. Weatherstrips, regulators, window sash, rollers are all available new.
Are these elec. or manual windows? Alot of times, with the side doors anyway, you just need to take it apart, grease up the rollers, regulator, mabey replace the rollers (those are pretty cheap) and your good to go. New window felts are always a good idea as well, really cuts the wind noise down too.
The rear tailgate is another story, grease never hurts, but rust is usally beating any grease you provide. The side channels and sash are famous for rusting. If elec, the motor cable and wiring is always in need of checking.

 

[Extreemo]

wow man...great info! thanks for the words of wisdom! i'll check those sites...

 

[spoolnaround]

Doors? who needs doors? Loose the doors and top and enjoy

 

[Extreemo]

Doors? who needs doors? Loose the doors and top and enjoy

LOL...you know i was thinking about that....but Costa Rica is very humid and rainy. Plus security is also an issue. I'd hate to invest all that money, time and effort to get a kick ass soft top look going on just to have it slashed by some delincuent.