Which Blazer to buy??

[athikerguy4life]

New to the forum, so I hope I'm posting this in the right section. Right now I'm looking to buy a k5, and I'm not sure what year/which engines are the best to look for. I'm looking for a cheap one to work on and customize, and there are plenty of them in my area. Right now I'm looking at couple from the mid 80's (85-86) and one from 1990.I'm tearing most of it apart, so the interior doesn't make a difference to me. Any suggesions?

 

[blazinzuk]

The 90 cause its fuel injected and has an np241 t case

 

[496truck]

^I agree^

But, alot of the answer depends on what you plan to do with the truck.

Are you taking it apart to restore? or taking it apart to make a wheeling rig?

How do you plan to use the truck? frequent/daily driver? hot rod? or trail truck?

What are your modification plans? lift? tires? engine?

 

[athikerguy4life]

^I agree^

But, alot of the answer depends on what you plan to do with the truck.

Are you taking it apart to restore? or taking it apart to make a wheeling rig?

How do you plan to use the truck? frequent/daily driver? hot rod? or trail truck?

What are your modification plans? lift? tires? engine?

My plan is to tear it apart and use as sort of a weekend vehicle to take hiking and camping. I want to put some decent AT tires, but nothing huge, and I want to add a small lift kit (probably around 2-4 inches). No serious rock climbing or mudding. Throw on some lights and a brush guard and that'll be about it. I'm leaning towards the 90 right now cause its in pretty good shape. there's some surface rust and it need some tlc, but its stickered and inspected until december so I know it was alright last year (frame won't rust through in a year). I know it needs brake work, and I'll know everything else sunday when I check it out. The 86 and 85 im looking at are in rough shape, but there aren't any mechanical issues.

 

[Smokinthehippies]

for what your going to do i'd run the 90. it will give you probably the best street manners while still being able to do what your looking for.

 

[athikerguy4life]

Thanks, I'll be putting the 90 at the top of my list. When the owner realized I wasn't an idiot he came clean about a couple issues it has (I talked to him about an hour ago). Brake lines, power steering pump, fuel pump, and fuel line. It has a new transmission (receipts to prove it), and he wants $700 for it. What do you think?

 

[blazinzuk]

You can't really expect much for 700 bucks.

Rebuilt trans is a huge plus though.

Do the lines need replaced?

 

[Smokinthehippies]

**** $700 is worth the price of a decently priced tranny. if its even drivable now, then i'd say swoop on it.

 

[athikerguy4life]

You can't really expect much for 700 bucks.

Rebuilt trans is a huge plus though.

Do the lines need replaced?

All I know is what is posted, I'm going to check it out this weekend and hear it start up and run. And yeah, can't expect much for 700.

 

[str8axle55]

If it needs a fuel pump and lines they are for fuel injection, and will be more time & money to fix. The carb truck may be easier to modify if you want to do any engine mods & parts should be cheaper. That being said I would go for the 1990, as the fuel injection generally runs better, especially in the cold. Take a good look at the body, there are several specific areas on Blazers that rust out.

 

[athikerguy4life]

If it needs a fuel pump and lines they are for fuel injection, and will be more time & money to fix. The carb truck may be easier to modify if you want to do any engine mods & parts should be cheaper. That being said I would go for the 1990, as the fuel injection generally runs better, especially in the cold. Take a good look at the body, there are several specific areas on Blazers that rust out.

I plan on it, I just read the "what to look for when buying" thread. thanks for all the advice!

 

[meanboyjr]

Nobody to give love to the 73-79s? Shame.

Sure, the FI engines are more efficient, but I like being able to fix most of my engine problems with a butter knife and a paper clip.

 

[blazinzuk]

newer not just for the injection but for the 241 case, the 700 and that 241 will crawl almost as good as my th350 and doubler.

everything is just a bit newer too and while this doesn't always hold true the newer trucks can be screwed up less by previous owners

 

[athikerguy4life]

Newer=less screwed up, my thoughts exactly. Also winters are brutal here and people beat on these trucks. 9 out of 10 that I find are listed as "yard plow" cause there's so much damage done to them. Ill let you guys know what happens this weekend. Maybe if he takes 500 cash ill be heading home with a new ride!

 

[athikerguy4life]

Does anybody know how much the parts would cost for these repairs? Just a ballpark estimate would be fine. I need a fuel pump, power steering pump, and fuel line. Also, degree of diffuclty? I'm not a mechanic but I know my way around cars and do a lot of my own repairs.

 

[496truck]

Nobody to give love to the 73-79s? Shame.

Sure, the FI engines are more efficient, but I like being able to fix most of my engine problems with a butter knife and a paper clip.

73-79 isn't an option here. This is the rustbelt. If you can find anything here over 15 years old, consider yourself lucky. Over 15yo and little to no rust, you may as well have just won the lottery. I certainly felt like I won the lottery when I dragged my K5 home for $800. It didn't run and when I got it running it didn't move, the interior was nasty and moldy, every body panel had a dent of some sort, BUT, since the PO moved up here from TX the body and frame was solid and rust free. After that, everything else is cake.

 

[496truck]

Does anybody know how much the parts would cost for these repairs? Just a ballpark estimate would be fine. I need a fuel pump, power steering pump, and fuel line. Also, degree of diffuclty? I'm not a mechanic but I know my way around cars and do a lot of my own repairs.

That's a loaded question. Being from the area and working on cars here since the early 90s, a fuel pump isn't just a fuel pump. You'll most likely (almost guarantee) need the sending unit as well, maybe even a new tank. So, keep that in mind.

The last time I had to replumb a fuel system it was in an 89 S10 Blazer. I just bought a roll of 25' of 3/8ths steel tube, a roll of 5/16ths steel tube and some length of Fuel injection rubber hose in those sizes also. I think I even bought a length of 1/4" tube for the vapor line and some hose too. I have a tube flaring tool and made bubble flares to attach the hoses and double hose clamped the ends of the hose. I just bent up all the steel tube by hand and ran all new lines front to back. It's not a high pressure system, maybe 20 psi at most. It was time consuming but not hard to do and it was nice to start out with a good, clean, and solid fuel system.

As far as cost you can look up prices on Autozone, Rock Auto, or similar online places. I like going local because I don't pay shipping.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Coming from the rust belt I wouldn't expect much for $700. Along with all those issues it's GOING to have rot and it's GOING to have more stuff that even the current owner doesn't know about.

I'll never again buy one of these from anywhere that they salt. Mine's from Seattle and it still has/had some body rot issues.

 

[owenst7]

Think I paid $230 for a fuel pump/sender for my '96 a while back. If you are willing to crawl under there and do the work yourself, a K5 is about the easiest rig ever to drop the tank in. It's easy to get to and very easy to balance. If it's not totally full, all you need is a 2x6 and a floor jack. When mine is empty, I can even just bench press it out of there while I'm laying on my creeper. I recommend a Delco (GM) brand pump, haven't had good luck with NAPA pumps. There's a seal under the cap, I think it's a Dorman part in the Help! section of pretty much every parts store for a few dollars.

Make your own fuel lines as stated. Don't forget to replace the fuel filter (they're like under $10).

PS pumps are around $60 I think after you turn in the core.

These are the prices in my neck of the woods at least.

Once you get the tank out, replacing a pump is pretty darn simple. The cap has a collar that you need to turn counterclockwise and then you lift everything up and out of the tank. Clean up the area first so you don't drop a bunch of dirt in the tank. Take a look in there with a flashlight, clean/replace tank if necessary, carefully (the float for the sending unit is real flimsy, be careful with it) put the new unit in there with a new seal, close it back up, put everything back in the truck. Dunno what you do about tank straps over there where that rust stuff happens...I live in the desert Yours may need to be replaced.

Nobody mentioned it here, but make sure you check where the steering box bolts to the frame for cracks. There's a lot of threads about it and what exactly to look for, but that's the main thing I look for. Also, carefully inspect the crossmember under the engine. They are prone to cracking in a lot of places, especially near where the motor mount brackets bolt on. It's not a big deal if you find cracks in one of these places, but make sure you use it to your advantage when you're bargaining. The stock engine crossmember sucks and you probably need to do motor mounts eventually anyway, so you can replace it with a really good custom unit affordably. The steering box area is reapaired pretty easily if you have a friend with a welder and it's also a very good idea to address the issue there even if there's no damage yet.

 

[athikerguy4life]

Thanks for all the help! Looks like I'm ready to tackle this project. I'm hoping to check the blazer out sunday and if everything checks out I'll take it (or if at least most of it does). Then its gonna end up in my buddies driveway since he has the extra room and he has more tools than I do, plus I'll get free help whenever he's there! First thing will be the fuel tank and lines, then the power steering pump, then the brakes are probably gonna need to be replaced. While waiting for all the parts to come in (over several months) I'll be doing the body repairs. After everything is mechanically sound, I'll start working on the interior.