Restoration opinions wanted

[Eagle Driver]

Hello all,

I am new to the forum, as I just bought a 1987 K5 Silverado Blazer. 91k original miles, great condition overall considering the age, and the only modifications from stock have been a CD player and 33" tires.

Anyway, my goal is to have a completely restored Blazer a few years down the line. I am in no rush, but I was wondering what order of restoration you would all go in...as far as engine, body, interior, etc, etc...

I would like to end up with a good mix of dual sporting...comfortable to haul the boat and kids, but tough enough to explore off-road trails...

Thanks for the opinions ahead of time!

 

[monster man]

sounds like it's almost there already.
My opinion? If you want to really restore the truck, I would plan not to use it so much since it will get right back to where it is. I would love to one day restore my '73 to original and give it back to my dad.

Best course of action is doing a lot of it at once- minterior/paint at once and underbody/suspension at once. I did interior/paint at the same time and it saved MAJOR time, and prevented a lot of scratching too. Do everything you can afford to at once
and I'd do the engine last since that NEVER stays clean, might as well do it last so it looks factory fresh

 

[trailblazr81]

WELCOME!!!

Try to do as much as you can at the same time. Its easier to paint with no interior and no engine. So you can be rebuilding or cleaning up the motor while its being sprayed so it will look good under the hood. I would stay with the 33's and add maybe 2" lift so they wont rub, or lift it 4" and go 35's. Like a BFG A/T or maybe a M/T from BFG or Goodyear. 4.10 or 4.56 gears will be good with the OD tranny and either add a LSD or a detroit Locker out back. Since the motor has 91K I would wait and do interior and paint first. But also look at what needs the most attention...like how well it stops, turns, if the lights work, weird noises, etc.

 

[Eagle Driver]

Another question

Thanks for the replies. First thing I have to do is fix the rear window...plenty of posts on those not working. Let me ask another question - If you knew you were going to gut an interior, would you put original factory stuff back in, or make updates to it? (i.e. really nice bucket seats out of a vette, etc...) Or would OEM stuff make it more valuable fully restored?

Thanks again! I love this f'ing truck