Thinking about buying first K5...HELP

[bfaas]

I'm new to K5s and well Chevys in general but here's the deal...it's a tan/brown 88 K5...350, pl, pw, 4" lift and 33" ATs. The body panels, floors, and paint were redone 2 years ago. Seller says it runs and drives well but he doesn't know how many miles are on the 350... because the previous owner swapped it i'm assuming? However, he said there's well over 100k on the truck. There's no stereo in the truck but that's not a big deal because I have one I can throw in. He's asking 3 grand and I'm going to look at it on Saturday.

What should I look for?
What should I offer?

Thanks

 

[454k30]

over 100k is no big deal. Shop around and get ideas of what trucks like that are going for and then make an offer. I have seen blazers of that year go for as little as $1000 up to rediculous amounts for restos.

 

[buefchris]

At that price make sure everything works; windows, engine-trans, t-case electrical, tires in good shape etc. For $3000 it better be clean because you can find them for less.
Haggle a price.

 

[bfaas]

my buddy just bought an 87 k10 6" and 35s with 90k original miles for 2 grand if that makes a difference

 

[Metrodps]

First welcome to CK5. Once you get the truck spend the membership fee for site. You will be glad you did you can see pictures and search for more detail info.

The price to me seems high. I paid $1800 for my 1987 with 92,000 miles on it and it had complete service records from day one. My truck is the base model no pw, pl, no cruise or carpet. That being said here are some areas I looked at on my purchase of a Blazer.

Rust on the floor at rear corners by tailgate.
Rust on the tail pan (under tail gate) where hinges are.
Rust on inside area where the seat belts mount to the side by doors near floor.
Rust on floor where front floor meets the door jamb near rockers.
Rust over rear wheel wells.
Rust on the rockers.

Front fenders are easy to buy after markets so I did not worry about them. You can still find NOS (New Old Stock) fenders and metal but you will pay for it.

Here are pictures to help you (I used photobucket so you can see them). I am sure others can add more. You can also go to http://brochures.slosh.com/ for more info on truck such as sales docs and info from factory. This is a brothers site and a great source too.

over rear wheel well

Floor at drivers feet

Passenger side area where seat belt bolts by floor.

Driver side area where seat belt bolts by floor.

Rear floor by tail gate passenger side.

Rear floor by tail gate drive side.

Where it starts on floor and in yellow tail gate area.

The floor areas to check have arrows.

Hope these help you.

* edit: Silverado had carpet, rear side panels and brushed chrome/silver trim on dash and passenger side insert on dash. Check http://brochures.slosh.com/ for more details.

 

[bfaas]

wow thanks! I'll let you know how it turns out

 

[Metrodps]

wow thanks! I'll let you know how it turns out

Take a fridge magnet so you can check for bondo! You can get parts for our trucks at several sites.

http://www.lmctruck.com/ parts
http://www.rustfreeparts.com/index.asp parts
http://www.sokyclassics.com/ parts and they also have NOS
http://www.classicparts.com/default.asp parts
http://www.brotherstrucks.com/ parts
http://www.73-87.com/ info

 

[bfaas]

well i went and checked out the blazer today and i'm probably going back tommorow to drive it since i couldn't today. definitely some visible signs of rust not too bad though. the floors are in good shape. there's no way it's worth 3000. 2000 is probably the most ill pay so im gonna drive it and make an offer and see what he says

 

[AJMBLAZER]

This may sound obvious so forgive me if you have already done this.

Crawl under it and look at the floorboards.

You'd be amazed how many trucks I've seen around here that looked pretty good all the way up to outstanding that had holes in the floors and/or the floorboards and body structure were held together by Jesus's good will, the Force, karma, or something.

 

[bfaas]

oh i know i did that...not immaculate but not bad

 

[Metrodps]

Did the pictures I posted help you when checking it out? Good luck and remember SALT kills......

 

[K5 dude 350]

look under the rear quarter by the tail gate hinges, heres a pic on what i overlooked on my suburban.

 

[BLIDVL]

That looks exactly like the rear pan on my Sub when I got it. For that kind of price it shouldn't have any visible rust imo, I'd offer two like you said after really inspecting the areas noted before and keep looking if he doesn't budge.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Don't be afraid to buy rust free out west and drive back. Much better than trying to repair a basket case from the rust belt here.

 

[Metrodps]

Don't be afraid to buy rust free out west and staying there. Much better than bringing it backto die in the rust belt.

Fixed it for you....

My Blazer had no rust till it got back to Ohio and after the first year in salt she started to pop by its third year she had holes! SALT KILLS!!!

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Good point.

Where's that guy slicksintherain? Basketcase Illinois Blazer falling to pieces and wanting to spend thousands and thousands and thousands restoring it when he could have a practically 100% Blazer out west for much less...haven't seen him much since I told him that and he told me to blow smoke.

 

[bfaas]

it seems like i've been searching for a K5 forever but here's the recent happenings...i was supposed drive 2 hours tomorrow to go look at (and probably buy) an 87 with 4in susp 3in body on 35s 75k on the motor 90k on the body for 1800 OBO..well i called the guy tonight to finalize the meeting arrangements and he said "sorry, sold it"...so that kinda ticked me off but i'm back to the 88 i was originally interested in...it turns out the motor was NOT swapped and the odometer reads 77xxx so i'm assuming that it's 177k...however the seller originally wanted 3 grand which was ridiculous in my opinion but now he is down to 2...i drove it and it started right up and ran like a top...so my question is do you think it's worth buying the 88 with that kind of mileage on the motor? the body isn't in terrific shape but a lot was redone within the past 2 years...so i'm wondering if i should make an offer around 1400 if that's even worth it...help?

 

[Metrodps]

Offer the $1400.00 and if he says no then just say thanks for your time and leave. I am telling you watch eBay and there are enough of us around that we can check it for you if you see one you like.

Personally I would not give over $2,000 for one unless it came from the salt free areas. Then before it hit any salt here have the body sprayed in oil! Just my two cents.

Check the complete vehicles for sale section here. There good deals out there still. My friend sold this NEW 1978 Burb for $4,500.00 in June. It came from Iowa and was an EMS truck 7,000 miles certified

 

[bfaas]

how can i tell if it's the stock 350? if it has a smog pump does that mean its the stock motor or no? i would feel much better buying this knowing there's a swapped motor with less miles in it

 

[jt512]

it's hard to tell if a motor from the same era was swapped in, you can check the casting #'s on the back drivers side of the block, but they will tell you a date range and size of the engine (ex. 1980-1985 350) . just to give you some more food for thought, this past summer i bought my 86 k5 out of irvine TX for 1700, swapped in 396 bb, 4 spd trans lots of new parts, shipped to baltimore MD total i spent was under 2400 for a 2 owner completely rust free truck with all receipts from the last 5 years totaling approx 8500. found it on ebay, so you can buy rust free good running k5's for cheap, if you have any doubts on one keep looking