Sayonara, Big Blue

[RobTav63]

Haven’t been on here in a loooong time, life’s had me busy with other things and I kind of slipped away from here. I’m back with bad news unfortunately - My 83 K5 was just declared a total loss. had a collision about a week ago - some pill head looking at her phone instead of the road jumped the double yellow and hit me square head-on in my lane. I walked away more or less unscathed (always wear your seatie belt boys and girls!), so I’m glad for that, but lost the coolest grocery getter in town.

I feel obliged to come back here and thank everyone that’s helped me over the years. Always got solid advice on keeping a 35 year old truck going strong, and enjoyed seeing everyone else’s squarebodies.

Sniffing around for something new - not sure what direction I’m gonna go, but I think if I get another K5, I’d better get a chalet, cause my wife’ll likely turn me out-of-doors =P

Anyway, thanks for all the fun everyone. Here’s my last before and after of my 83 K5 Blazer, Midnight Blue, Silverado Trim

 

[wheels87k5]

Glad you weren't hurt........and don't be a stranger. We still like to hear from you whether you have a K5 or not.

 

[Bent77]

Glad you are ok

And they have K10s ya know

 

[H20 Toie]

Thats just sucks, but glad your ok,

 

[diesel4me]

Glad you weren't hurt or killed--the newer cars have the advantage over a square body as far as surviving a collision,having air bags and crumple zones..
But it sucks seeing a nice K5 get totaled by some idiot distracted driver.....sure it cant be fixed ?...

 

[ZooMad75]

Bummer about the wreck. But you walked away and that's most important.

It can be fixed. However is it cost effective to fix it? I see at least a frame swap, front clip, bumper and possibly the AC parts on the firewall. That's a lot of work. Solid K5's are still out there. keep this one for parts, get another. Salvage what you can and crush the rest.

 

[imiceman44]

Glad you weren't hurt or killed--the newer cars have the advantage over a square body as far as surviving a collision,having air bags and crumple zones..
But it sucks seeing a nice K5 get totaled by some idiot distracted driver.....sure it cant be fixed ?...

Not true.
I have been in devastating accidents in both, my k5 was mutilated when we hit the concrere jersey and wrapped the frame around it, it felt like we hit sand and got stuck, but with the Mercedes I was holding on to the steering wheel and I hurt my knee and almost flew thru the windshield if I wasn't body building.
No seat belt in both accidents.
The weight of the vehicle compared to your weight makes a big difference, it takes the shock for you.
In my big rig a guy hit me head on , I didn't even move a muscle, his expedition was completely destroyed and he went to hospital bleeding from his face from the air bag

 

[diesel4me]

I see your point,though every accident is different..I've seen guys die in square bodies from the hood coming thru the windshield instead of folding up as intended on the news in past years..
I wouldn't want to get T-boned in a square body,the cab and door do not offer much protection,only the frame rail will,and thats right between your legs..I think you'd have a better chance of surviving a head on crash than a side impact..

I don't know if the driver or any passengers lived to tell about this crash,and cant remember where I got this picture from (maybe it was posted here before ?)--..having owned more than one old VW Beetle,I feel lucky I wasn't in a bad crash in any of them..

 

[max 02]

Shitty! Glad you are ok!

I`d fix that...or should say,I`d swap the good parts on to another one.

 

[RobTav63]

No time for projects unfortunately, it was my daily driver and I have to replace it stat. Geico offered me 3k - they got the title and I got the check. I snagged the tin badges as keepsakes when I was at the salvage yard, but they got the rest of her.

As far as safety goes, I’m glad I had all of that weight, and 5 ft of steel in front of me, but I have no illusions about it either - it could’ve went very differently if I spun out, or was t-boned, or rolled, who knows. The steering wheel came at me, and if I got hit by something bigger, going a bit faster, i’d have been tattooed by the thing for sure. My wife has a pic of the inside of the cab, and you can see the steering wheel is warped from my bracing against it. Likely saved me from bashing my skull, but it did something awful to my shoulder and collar bone. Newer vehicles are designed so the engine drops and the columns don’t impale you, and I see why. Obviously it makes more difference in a Honda Civic, but all the better in a big sturdy SUV

 

[obijuank5]

You got short changed on that check. Damn shame to see such a nice vehicle taken by negligence.

Yeah Yeah, glad you're ok too

 

[RobTav63]

You got short changed on that check.

I know it, I would constantly get offers for the truck. It wasn't mint, but it was very clean, and they're hard to come by where i live - the salt and sand just eats them up - they're all rotted out rust boxes. When someone does have a clean one for sale, they know what it's worth. Might look at this jawn tomorrow:

https://classics.autotrader.com/classic-cars/1990/chevrolet/blazer/100925905

 

[SpeedlabDan]

Shame, it'll buff out... Glad you walked away, that's the lucky part, welcome back