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Restoration Cost?

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pnel128

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I was wondering if anyone here could give me an idea what it would cost to restore my '87 Blazer and do the job right. I'm thinking full frame off, built to like new quality with some minor updates (every bolt does not have to be new). I'd even be willing to use a completely different truck as long as it is rust free. (Mine only has minor rust in the usual places)

I don't have the time or the skills to do the job myself, but I don't want to get the project started and be unable to finish. I know that a built from scratch car can easily run 200K, but I wouldn't want to go much beyond 60K as I'll be saving for sometime just to do that.

Any experience is welcomed.

Thanks.
 
So you want it to look and drive just like it did when it was new, and you want to farm out the whole resto? It can vary widely, but I would say about 30K. But it is one of those things that you would never be able to tell for sure until it's all said and done.
 
Depends entirley on what yo start with too. Cleaner the subject less cost in rust repair.
 
Yeah I want it to look new, and have it ride like new(but not necessarily '87 new ride). I want the body to still be there in great shape 20 hopefully 30 years from now. And I've seen a lot of cheaply done restorations that look good from a far, and make me wonder just how long it'll be til it rusts out. I could do the mechanical work and misc installation myself but figured it would be easier (and faster) to have it done as a package even if it is not cheaper.

All I really know is that rust scares me and I have no business doing body work. And shops have quoted me all over the board from 40K to 160ish. So I'd kinda like to realistically narrow that down but I'm not looking for an exact figure.
 
for 60 g's, I'll build ya a near showroom 87 Blazer... not joking.... no hack work out of my garage either...
 
Your best bet is to buy a RUST FREE California, Arizona, or Texas rig then add new body bushings and whatever else you want and call it done. There are plenty of CLEAN rigs out there and for FAR LESS than paying someone to "restore" one.
 
I'd say start with a perfect blazer. They are out there, and are probably WAY cheaper than doing repairs on an imperfect one. Come out to CA or AZ and pickup a clean one, and start with that. Might as well look for a 91 while you are at it, and start with the newest you can.

Realistically, i would expect shops to be hesistant to give you a price, just like they seem to be doing. Any shop to give you a hard estimate to do that kind of work is either giving you a REALLY high number to cover their a$$, or they are taking a huge risk financially and will cut corners when they run into problems. I would expect a general estimate from a reputable shop, but it will probably come down to man hours into the project for final cost.


I suggest you look deeply into shop's past work, and decide just how perfect you want this truck. How perfect will determine whether its a $5k resto or a $200k resto. Very few people chose to do these resto's completely at custom shops....most are done with a good amount of person wrenching time to make costs realistic. Unless money is no object, i recommend you do what you can, and get the body done professionally. Most non body work on these trucks can be done by the above average wrench turner with the proper tools and some learning time/assistance.
 
i say go with what a few ppl said here with find a rust free k5 and go from there. i went to school to restore cars so i would go with that and you can do the work yourself. theres no other feeling when someone ask where you get your truck done and you can say my garage.
 
If it were me and I had the cash to drop and didn't want to do it myself, I would look for a super clean rust free west coast truck and start from there. I have seen some beautiful K5's on ebay and other sites that have 30-40k dumped into them and people struggling to get 10k out of them ( not that it's strange to lose your arse if you try to sell something like that).
IMO I would spend the money on a great truck to start and build it to suit your needs as opposed to spending the money trying to un-rust a east coast rig, for what you are hoping to end up with I would think that would be the most logical route.
 
Millions and millions of dollars. Atleast thats what it feels like. :crazy: :D :haha:
 
I agree with everyone else, find something super clean, that in and of itself will cut the cost in half.

So one question, do you want a resto or a resto mod. In my mind a restoration is putting everything back up to stock exactly as it came from the factory.

Resto mod would be mabey a mild lift a hopped up motor newer stereo etc. Looks mostly stock but is way nicer than stock would ever be.

The cost is actually quite different, if you use all GM parts it would be super expensive. Aftermarket parts can save you tons
 
You can look at mine, I have spend some where around 7k or more in the last 11 month to get this far on mine. The body was rust free and painted about 9 yrs ago just never did anything with it, until last Feb. I have used us much GM stuff on the interior us I could get because the aftermarket stuff looked like crape. I fiquire by the time I finish the motor, trans, frame, ect. I will have 15 to 20k in this rebuild, and I have done almost all of the the work myself.
 
I can tell you I have worked up a budget for my crew cab, I am not restoring it per say but modding it to last forever, that includes a line x undercoating and a fully painted frame some powdercoating for smaller items alot of stainless steel fastners plus a whole lot of nicer interior stuff.

Just my estimates but I am over 10k. Thats just parts, I do all my own work, only way I know its done exactly the way I want it. I am probably going to spread this out over several years
 
Teck said:
You can look at mine, I have spend some where around 7k or more in the last 11 month to get this far on mine. The body was rust free and painted about 9 yrs ago just never did anything with it, until last Feb. I have used us much GM stuff on the interior us I could get because the aftermarket stuff looked like crape. I fiquire by the time I finish the motor, trans, frame, ect. I will have 15 to 20k in this rebuild, and I have done almost all of the the work myself.
Click to expand...

I have an 86 K20 I purchased on Ebay. It was an updated truck w/ new paint(2 yrs old at the time), stock 350 crate motor, redone interior, and cheap 6" lift suspension. Bought the truck for $4700 (Calif. rig), installed a 410 CI stroker and Dana 60 frt axle, Offroad Design 3" suspension w/ traction bar and reverse shackles, and new exhaust. Have some minor engine bay/detailing to finish, as well as changing the interior over to an OEM Silverado package. I haven't totaled all the bills, but have spent an additional $8K to $9K (the Dana 60 update was expensive). Did most of the work w/lots of help from a great friend(a great fabricator & wrench). Figure to spend another $1K to finish....if there is such a thing. I'm guessing $15K when finished. I bought the nicest truck I could afford, w/a goal of already finished body and paint(since I have ltd. experience in that area). I wanted a K30 single rear wheel to start with, but couldn't find one in good condition. My objective w/ this project was to finish w/ a clean K30 Silverado style truck. Would have been cheaper if I had started w/ a K30. A long project due to costs and scheduling time w/ my buddy for the heavy lifting. I researched this forum and Pirate 4X4 extensively prior to and during this restoration.....saved a lot of time and costly mistakes. In the end, I have a great truck, lots of education, and pride of ownership. Anyone can buy a shiny new truck. Good luck w/ your project.
 
4X4HIGH said:
Your best bet is to buy a RUST FREE California, Arizona, or Texas rig then add new body bushings and whatever else you want and call it done. There are plenty of CLEAN rigs out there and for FAR LESS than paying someone to "restore" one.
Click to expand...

Bingo

Regardless of how much you love a blazer, how much you make, what your debt to income looks like. Paying 60 to 100k for something with no chance in hell of being worth it once completed is a horrible finical decision.

There are truly trust free blazers out in the west and they are cheap. Buy someone else's blood sweat and tears that is a great platform and enjoy making it your own and perfect..while driving it


something like below fits what i had in mind.


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Chev...Cars_Trucks?hash=item3ca8dd7a0a#ht_1423wt_961
 
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