Starting Interior on my '84 K5 - Burgundy

[bigschuss]

Joined 2 years ago and been lurking and learning while I finished my new barn. I used to work on K10's and K5's when I was in my 20's...haven't touched one in 30 years so I am relearning everything. My first post here....thought I'd share my interior project.

Pulled this K5 out of Oregon 2 years ago. Going to do a mostly stock interior remodel.

- Going to clean and reinstall all the molding.
- New plastic headliner with the built in speakers from LMC.
- Reupholster the front and rear seats.
- I found some really nice OEM side panels in burgundy.
- New paint on the door panels
- heavy duty power window harness from LMC
- Some kind of a new floor...correct rust issues, POR 15, insulation, sound control, a new burgundy carpet.

It's not a mud truck. My wife and kids enjoy it spring through fall...fishing, camping, back road cruising...pretty tame stuff like that.

Would appreciate any advice or suggestions.

 

[Gentleman Jimmy]

Nice rig Looks like a pretty clean start to your project. I just went from burgundy to black on mine. I’d offer up some panels etc.. but most of mine were pretty worn out.
keep us posted on the progress, sounds like you’ve got a good plan.

 

[MEMO43]

wow
The interior is awesome
what kind of insulation are you considering
spray on ( lizard skin, raptor liner)
brush on
I used kilmat from Amazon
cheaper than Dinamat etc etc
you planning on carpet or vynil flooring.
As for seats look up suburban 3rd row seats for the back ( shoulder belts)
same for front seats.
Are you planning on keeping the hard top?
If so new seals for the back.
take lots of pics
we like pics

 

[bigschuss]

Nice rig Looks like a pretty clean start to your project. I just went from burgundy to black on mine. I’d offer up some panels etc.. but most of mine were pretty worn out.
keep us posted on the progress, sounds like you’ve got a good plan.

Thanks GJ. I have most of what I need for panels. I'd love to find a set of carpeted lower door panels in burgundy. Mine had speaker holes and were ratty. I see them after market and will go with those if I have to.

 

[bigschuss]

wow
The interior is awesome
what kind of insulation are you considering
spray on ( lizard skin, raptor liner)
brush on
I used kilmat from Amazon
cheaper than Dinamat etc etc
you planning on carpet or vynil flooring.
As for seats look up suburban 3rd row seats for the back ( shoulder belts)
same for front seats.
Are you planning on keeping the hard top?
If so new seals for the back.
take lots of pics
we like pics

Thanks Mem043. Yes, this Blazer has minimal rust throughout. Not sure who owned it out in Oregon, but it surely was taken care of and has never seen salt.

I quite literally bought 2 boxes of that Kilmat from Amazon yesterday....based on a recommendation I saw here on a different thread. I'll use it on the entire floor, and I think I'll even have enough to add some to the backside of my rear side panels. All the factory insulation is missing on the ones I found.

Going to go with a carpet from Stock Interiors...waiting for some samples before I place the order.

Good tip on the Suburban 3rd row seats. Thanks.

And yes...going to keep the hard top and do all new seals.

 

[Gentleman Jimmy]

Thanks GJ. I have most of what I need for panels. I'd love to find a set of carpeted lower door panels in burgundy. Mine had speaker holes and were ratty. I see them after market and will go with those if I have to.

I think I actually have a set. I will take a pic for you. If you think they’d work for you you can have them for shipping cost.

 

[bigschuss]

I think I actually have a set. I will take a pic for you. If you think they’d work for you you can have them for shipping cost.

Oh, that would be awesome. Thanks so much.

 

[Gentleman Jimmy]

Whelp never mind. These have speaker holes in them too. Sorry

 

[bigschuss]

Whelp never mind. These have speaker holes in them too. Sorry

No worries at all. Thanks for taking the time to snap a few pics. My driver's side arm rest is the same exact color as yours and I assumed it was a replacement...doesn't quite match the rest of the burgundy. The passenger's side is fine. I wonder if they start out burgundy from the factory and then get darker with use?

You don't happen to have the burgundy rear seat belt restraints do you? The ones that mount to the floor? One of mine is toast.

Thanks again.

 

[Gentleman Jimmy]

No I don’t have those unfortunately. I sold almost the whole interior to a guy in Jersey.
The armrest you see in the pic there used to be blue (probably why it looks darker) someone had painted it burgundy along the way.
LMC has color match vinyl paint which works pretty well if it’s prepped properly. May be a good Inexpensive option to get all your panels looking fresh and matching again.

 

[bigschuss]

No I don’t have those unfortunately. I sold almost the whole interior to a guy in Jersey.
The armrest you see in the pic there used to be blue (probably why it looks darker) someone had painted it burgundy along the way.
LMC has color match vinyl paint which works pretty well if it’s prepped properly. May be a good Inexpensive option to get all your panels looking fresh and matching again.

Thanks again!

 

[Wes Harden]

@bigschuss did you get your carpet? If so how do you like it how is the fit? Am looking at getting new carpet myself.

 

[bigschuss]

@bigschuss did you get your carpet? If so how do you like it how is the fit? Am looking at getting new carpet myself.

Hey Wes....I just got it in a few days ago. Still working on rust and wiring issues. I was just about to post an update with some pics when I saw your post. The carpet looks nice and the burgundy color is a pretty good match to the factory carpet I had. I also bought matching lower door panels and some extra Jute padding for the rear cargo area. I bought the carpet that has what they call the Mass Backing for extra sound deadening.

Blair

 

[Wes Harden]

Good to here. I did order ACC today, same mass backing.
I haven't got my old stuff out.
Can't imagine anything worse the surface rust to contend with.
I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.

 

[bigschuss]

Good to here. I did order ACC today, same mass backing.
I haven't got my old stuff out.
Can't imagine anything worse the surface rust to contend with.
I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.

Sounds good. Looking forward to seeing how it goes.

 

[bigschuss]

Thought I'd post an update on the interior of my K5. Nothing too exciting yet...but plugging away.

I did have some success getting the adhesive off of the wheel wells. The Whizzy Wheel didn't work. In the end, I just took my time and used a heat gun and a metal scraper. The plastic ones just didn't work so I used a metal scrapper. I nicked the paint here and there so just touch up everything with some primer. Took about an hour per side.



I then tore into the dash in preparation for a new stereo and speakers. The previous owner cut the wires running to the dome lights for some reason? And the wires to the under dash courtesy light were severed. So, I've got some trouble shooting to do there.



I need to replace the courtesy light switches while I'm at it. My '84 isn't suppose to have this style of switch...so not sure what's up with that.

 

[bigschuss]

Removed the glove box to swap out the latch and found no options list. Kind of a bummer. Bought a radio patch panel and getting that ready to weld in. And I installed a set heavy duty power windows relays from LMC. Made a huge difference.




Found a set of factory tow hooks on Facebook for $20...got them primed and painted and installed. Wasn't sure if the hooks face in or out? I mounted them facing in.

That's about all for now.

 

[bigschuss]

Thought I'd do an update. Been working in some wiring issues, getting interior plastic trim cleaned and painted, small details....but mostly taking care of rust issues and prepping the floor for POR 15.

First...did a refurbish on the gauge cluster...cleaned it and did a metallic silver paint job and all new LED lights. Pretty sure it made the cluster brighter at night.




Pulled the top off to get some more light in the cab and make it easier to work on the interior...even got room to park the tractor underneath.





I've never welded before, but I bought a cheap little Chinese made flux core MIG to to some sheet metal work. As I began working on the cab floor I found about a half dozen nickel-sized holes and many small little pin holes. I welded in small little patches on the bigger holes. And I used Eastwood soldering butter and lead rod to fill in the small pin holes. I then used JB weld to fill in the pin holes just to be sure. I suck at welding...but I think I am getting better and I like learning something new.

 

[bigschuss]

Not everything is going well though. Had a bad window sash and tried for days to remove the glass from the metal sash...ended up busting the glass on my last attempt.



Cleaned the entire floor in preparation for POR 15. Kind of a pain as it's a 3 step process. A lot of people don't like POR 15. I used it as I was meticulous in the metal prep work, and it won't be exposed to UV light or the elements at all. Two coats...happy with how it came out. The bed had no rust issues at all, so I am just going to leave it as is.




In between the rust issues and coats of primer and paint, I added some silver exterior side moulding and a set of Bully steps to the Blazer.



And I got my radio patch panel in place. I was not confident at all in my ability to weld in the panel perfectly in place. I cut it oversized and used a few rivets to hold it in place. Then I welded the rest as best I could. Worked fine and will hold my OEM AC Delco radio I have going in.




That's all for now. Next up...sound deadening Kilmat, carpets, speakers, CB, dash, interior trim, door panels, and seats. Hoping to be on the road by June 1st.

 

[bigschuss]

Thought I'd post an update of the final work on my interior. It wasn't meant to be a complete interior restoration...just wanted to clean it up, take care of some rust issues, and make it look nice.

After I painted the floor with POR 15 I then used 2 boxes of KILMAT I found on Amazon. It was just enough to do the entire Blazer plus the sides of the rear cargo area.






I then put down extra Jute padding in the rear cargo area and glued on the wheel well carpet pieces.








And then the rear cargo area carpet, rear seat, spare tire carrier, and side panels. Found the panels on Facebook....not perfect, but pretty darn clean originals with no speaker holes.