K5 Collectability

[muddermilitia]

I would say that the majority of the planet doesn't want more than a 4" lift on their truck/blazer/burb so if you are really worried about resale value, I probably wouldn't go higher than that. But I myself would rather have a stock vehicle and I can modify it how I want it to be.

I enjoy making a vehicle my own. I don't really worry about re-sale. I was the 1st civilian to own my 86 M1009. A friend liked the truck so much, he went and bought his own. His was through a few owners. I customized some things but mechanically I didn't do much to mine and I put on 50k miles. My friend on the other hand had all sorts of issues and maybe only put on 10k miles before he sold it

 

[500$k5]

Build it to drive it, not sell it! The total years, that I've owned my Chevys. '81 C-10(14yrs), '78 K-5(13yrs), '78 K-2500(12yrs), '81 Monte Carlo. (23 yrs). Total 62 years.

 

[ZooMad75]

Build it to drive it, not sell it! The total years, that I've owned my Chevys. '81 C-10(14yrs), '78 K-5(13yrs), '78 K-2500(12yrs), '81 Monte Carlo. (23 yrs). Total 62 years. View attachment 312507

Agreed! Drive them! Kind of reminds me of this meme:

 

[fordsucks!]

I haven't met any K5 collectors, just a bunch of Shadetree wannabe , low ballin, butt scratching, good for nothing Auctioneers try to throw offers in the street to impress their ladies,

 

[sfazekas]

Up until February when I bought my 72 K5, there weren’t a lot of Blazers on the market (east of the Miss) that were in great shape / restored - for the market price I was targeting. Sure, there have been 10-15 Blazers on the market nationally for the past year for about $60k or more, and I believe none of them are resto mods. Most are from dealers or restoration shops...

It seemed like right after I bought mine, the Blazer’s vehicle rating at Hagerty must have jumped because I started seeing about 20 more listings on eBay for 69-72 Blazers, restored or not... it just seemed like a Hagerty Hot Car List was updated and all those owners thought there would be a buying frenzy. There are so many of those Blazers still for sale on eBay, and some are way overpriced. I’m guessing that it’s not a sellers market just yet.

I agree that a 4” lift is about all most would want on a restored or modified Blazer. Not everyone has an 8’ tall garage, otherwise they’d be more in demand. When I found mine, I knew I wasn’t going to find another one down the street that wasn’t a 6” lift, but I’d been looking for 2-3 years for “the right one”. It was tastefully done in a way that still looks original.

Depending on options, such as color (in my book, it’s most important), you’ll see better value. Black with Houndstooth is a nice looking Gen 1. I will say this, when I showed the pic of the Blazer to my girlfriend, she liked the color of 1980 Dark Blue Metallic, and that’s the only approval I needed to buy it. She knew I wasn’t going to stop looking for one.

Blazers are for those who gravitate towards them and know what they are getting into, not necessarily to collect per se. When you go to the car shows and roll up with the top off and the headers open, will that be enough attention? That’s the big sell in the Blazers. If I had a resto mod with a full roll bar, I’d take it to Silver Lake for a run.

I love having the convertible top... the alternatives (early Broncos and Scouts) are few and far between - everyone else who can’t get one ends up owning a JK or JL. I’m glad mine still makes a JL with 37” tires look small.

https://imgur.com/gallery/ErcWXSC

... and Chevy sure did shit the bed calling the new family vehicle a “Blazer”. If they made a version like the original to compete with Wranglers, they’d have done well.

 

[trukman1]

Hagerty lists K5 Blazers as one of the top ten vehicles slated to rise in value the most in the upcoming years.
Everything has a cost curve. By that I mean when it's value peaks. Whatever vehicle people wanted, when they were in high school (or had) is the vehicle they will look for when they hit the 40 year mark, think mid-life crisis. Right now the people that were "kids" in the '80's are approaching the age where they can afford to get the vehicles they had or wanted.
Example: When my son was in high school all the guys wanted a K5 Blazer. Now that he's 39 he's wanting a K5 (especially mine, LOL!) Which, btw, is completely stock.
In my generation it was muscle cars which have already peaked in value and in some cases are starting to decline. albeit not much but still the market is softening on them. Check Barrett Jackson or Mecham prices. While muscle cars still command high prices they aren't going up in price as fast as they were 10-20 years ago, as a percentage. Still going up in price but not as dramatically as prior years.
Stock vehicles bring more than most modified vehicles because 1) they are more rare, 2) more likely to not have been abused and 3) they can be built to whatever configuration a person wants without the "build" being suspect. Face it, when you buy a modified vehicle you don't know the quality of the parts or installation.How many modified vehicles do you see that have the exact lift, modifications and wheel/tire combinations that EXACTLY match what you want to have on your personal vehicle?
This seems to be backed up by the current market prices. YMMV.

 

[wazzabie]

I'm debating if I should swap out the stock leaf springs. They are getting tired.

 

[imiceman44]

I'm debating if I should swap out the stock leaf springs. They are getting tired.

Leaving tired springs is not beneficial in any way

Choosing the replacement is important if you care about the resale value.
Unless you got the original for free and are getting all the parts you use used and cheap, you can never get your investment back, unless you don't count your work and you do all the work

 

[trukman1]

I'm debating if I should swap out the stock leaf springs. They are getting tired.

New bushings can go a long way toward improving your ride. Lots of antique trucks still running on "old" springs with new bushings.

Leaving tired springs is not beneficial in any way

Choosing the replacement is important if you care about the resale value.
Unless you got the original for free and are getting all the parts you use used and cheap, you can never get your investment back, unless you don't count your work and you do all the work

I never count my time. If I did I'd never try another build again!
Can't agree more on replacement being important...very true!