Worth "Restoring"?

[Dabba]

Ill try posting pics up. I have an 86k5 blazer, and bodywise i think its fixable but so far everyone thinks its not worth it. Although they are not K5 buffs so..

Theres little to no rust with the floor, or the tailgate. The rockerpanels are rotted up to the doors, and the rear right panel right below the cap is rotted pretty good, and right behind the rear wheel well is rotted pretty much through. I was thinking of throwing on new rockers and replacing that whole back right side, rockers i can get from lmc for like 20 each and that panel is 300. My question is how much i can expect to pay someone to cut and weld it? Is this the right way to go or should it try to salvage the metal? Rust treatments work or will it still spread? The worst part i believe is the door jam. The rear side door jam is all rusted pretty bad and the bottom of the jam which is right above the rockers has a few holes in it. I cant really see any sort of sectioning here by the door jam so im not sure how anyone would correct that? Something tells me thatll be my biggest problem? Heres a few pics of it on the lot, ill take some more detailed pics as requested. Im not going to do this soon, but i want to know if itll be worth it later on. Thanks!

You can see on the well right behind the crome, thats pretty much almost through. the rockers are gone and right beneath the cap is pretty bad along it. Its oddd because the drivers side is pretty much mint except for the rocker.

 

[jonrpick]

Ill try posting pics up. I have an 86k5 blazer, and bodywise i think its fixable but so far everyone thinks its not worth it. Although they are not K5 buffs so..

Theres little to no rust with the floor, or the tailgate. The rockerpanels are rotted up to the doors, and the rear right panel right below the cap is rotted pretty good, and right behind the rear wheel well is rotted pretty much through. I was thinking of throwing on new rockers and replacing that whole back right side, rockers i can get from lmc for like 20 each and that panel is 300. My question is how much i can expect to pay someone to cut and weld it? Is this the right way to go or should it try to salvage the metal? Rust treatments work or will it still spread? The worst part i believe is the door jam. The rear side door jam is all rusted pretty bad and the bottom of the jam which is right above the rockers has a few holes in it. I cant really see any sort of sectioning here by the door jam so im not sure how anyone would correct that? Something tells me thatll be my biggest problem? Heres a few pics of it on the lot, ill take some more detailed pics as requested. Im not going to do this soon, but i want to know if itll be worth it later on. Thanks!

You can see on the well right behind the crome, thats pretty much almost through. the rockers are gone and right beneath the cap is pretty bad along it. Its oddd because the drivers side is pretty much mint except for the rocker.

Totally worth fixing. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

I have this one friend, he thinks I should sell my K5 because it doesn't run right, even though I know why it runs like it does and know how to fix it. But what does he know, he has a car payment on a 2007 JK and he doesn't even wheel. He does want a lift thought because "it looks ghey with small tires".

I can't tell you what the labor will cost to replace the panels. I say get a MIG welder and learn to DIY. That's my plan for replacing my rust.

The general opinion is that once the rust is gone, it can be prevented some with use of POR-15 or another rust-inhibiting paint. Some other good advice I've seen and read is to regularly clean the underside of your rig with a good pressure washing, especially if you drive on salty roads during winter. Paying special attention to the rust-prone spots in both rust-proofing and cleaning them regularly should help a lot.

I've even thought about possibly removing my rust, replacing the metal, and trying to seal up certain areas. The little gaps between the ridges in the floor and the tailpan come immediately to mind. Possibly packing bondo or something in there to keep water from getting in there.

 

[Dabba]

Thanks for the advice, it looks like ill need to replace the exhuast system sooner than i thought, i ****ed it up on the entrance to the beach, bent it to **** and my y pipe cracked. Had it weled but the pipe is ****ty and will prob break again. Meh!

 

[tRustyK5]

Looks worth fixing, but I highly recomend removing all the carpet before spending the cash to fix it. Unfortunately, by the time you can see rust on the exterior of a K5 it is riddled and weakened throughout the floors and structure of the body. You could end up spending triple or more than what you were prepared to...

One key thing I've found about preventing rust is better drainage, and good ventilation. Anywhere that cannot drain will collect with salt, sand and other debris which stays wet and accelerates the whole rust process. If it gets wet, it should be able to dry easily and quickly.

I opened up the rear inner fender drains when I carved for larger tires. Now, no matter what gets up there, I can easily rinse it out and it naturally drains and dries easily and quickly.

Rene

 

[Dabba]

Thanks for the advice. Apparently the body is going to take a backseat to the exhaust. The y pipes gonna break again and i figure i should just replace the entire system. I was thinking of hedman headers, glasspack and a hi flow cat. I wanna do a single 3". Anyone have any idea how much the tubing will be and cost of putting it in? I cant weld

 

[mudboggink5]

for the exhaust I would go with duals, If you go with dual exhaust you can run the pipes nice and high, and you wont be in the way if the front driveshaft if you ever want to lift the truck. also you can run the duals off of the stock exhaust manifolds, so all you will need is a set of cats and mufflers. this was the setup i had. I already had the mufflers so i went to mineke and they charged me 250 $ for labor and all piping.

 

[Dabba]

well i was considering duals so it wouldnt interfere in the lift, but i figure id be spending more money on the 2nd set of parts and ive heard a single 3 inch is better than two 2.5s

 

[Dabba]

For the record. The only work i want to do to the truck is a 4 inch lift, which im considering tuff country ez ride supsension lift, and a single 3 inch with high flow cat and glass pack with hedman headers. I also want to restore the body, but something tells me thats going to be alot more money. the lift and exhaust im looking at 1400, and the body work im not sure about. The major rust i know about is the rocker panels, and the rear right section below the cap. I can get the rockers for 20 each and that section for 300. I also got rust in the door jams so, whatever the cost of replacing that is. Plus labor for the welding job and and paint. I guess total im looking at $3-4k total right? So, think its worth the money to restore?

 

[tarussell]

Looks like a fairly nice K5 ! Your plans sound great for a D/D but keep in mind all that matters is if YOU like it enough to put money in it .
Remember it is a TWENTY-ONE year old truck , it's gonna take some dollars to keep it reliable every now and than.

Tom

 

[Dabba]

Well thats the other good thing. Its not my DD. I have an 03 civic, this is purley a nice day so lets drive it truck, or beach truck or snow truck or i feel like going trail riding. I dont see myself using it much when its not nice out unless its snowing. Now more questions. Other than the welding on the exhaust which ill have someone do. How hard is it to install and exhaust and lift kit. I never really did much to my car other than a bolt mod and im pretty adept when it comes to taking things apart and putting it back together. Id like to save the cost of someone else doing it for me, so im wondering if a newbie can do it. This disspoints me most with the body work because i know thats mostly welding. Im pretty poor right now so im hoping the pipe dosnt blow again, but otherwise after i start having a steady income again (seasonal job just ended) i want to subscribe here and start getting little parts i need for my truck. (the manual rear window crank just broke! ) You guys think a n00bs capable of puttin on most of the exhuast and suspension lift? You think its worth it to pay for labor on body work i should i pick up a welder and start learning. That would be a bit down the road though.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

As long as you have access to the proper tools and equipment you should be able to do the exhaust and lift yourself...assuming you buy a pre-bent kit for the exhaust.

I generally do all of my exhaust myself and yeah, it looks kind butch but it works and well...the local "shops" up here charge murderous prices for their butch work and their welding is horrible. Mine is non-existant but the clamps work about as well as their crappy welds.
BUY A SAWZALL! Exhaust work is half as hard with a sawzall...provided you don't get carried away and cut off a mount you needed...

The lift you can do yourself but a good 3- ton jack and set of FOUR similarily rated stands would be mandatory. Making your life MUCH easier would be air tools or access to them. My tire rotations went from a 45 minute sweat fest with hand tools to a 10 minute job with my compressor and impact.

About 11 years ago I owned a '86 K5 that was probably a double for yours. Light blue interior? Mine had a tired ass 305 with a worn Quadrajet, a soft shifting 700R4, doggy 3.08 gears, and way more rust than yours does. Definitely check the floorboards. It was a POS but it was my first vehicle and started the trend that's led me here.

Ask around about the body work and like everyone said, check it over inside and out. Also consider upgrading components. Fiberglass fenders will never rust and will cover the front tires better along with giving you room for your future 35's. If you plan on bashing it on rocks and trees then they aren't for you but for many of us they're a good option. Also look into the rocker rails that some on here sell. They're the perfect replacement for rusty rockers...no more rust and after that you can use it as a jacking spot. Some even come with built in "nerf bars" so you can loose those nerf bars on there now.

 

[Dabba]

Right now it has a 350 crate motor, and im not sure about the tranny or rear end. I just know the engine is relativly new and the transfer case looks new, which makes me hope the original owner has done some work to the tranny as well. It has a huge holly carb on it and ****ty small y pipe which the truck blew driving at highway speeds. Yeah its good a light blue interior, the weels are all okay its just the rockers and the doorjams and floors close to the door. Ive never heard of rocker rails. I like the stock look but ill check those out as another option. My rockers are rusted up to the bottom of the door jam which has holes in it. I have a compressor but never had or used the tools. My friend has a few so i could borrow em. I also need 2 more jackstands. I have a haynes book for the truck which could help me along but otherwise i would probably just muddle through. As far as the exhaust i would prob putt the headers on and pay the exhaust shop for the tuning and welds. I have alot around here so i have options. If my ****ty y pipe holds, what do you think i do first, lift or exhaust or body? Should i buy the body parts or try to salvage what i can? Should i try to learn to weld or should i pay someone to do it? (i have no idea what welders/body workers want for labor). also, im looking at all my stock parts from LMC truck. Anyone have any input on them? They good? Anyone else better? Im pretty impressed by all they offer. I was looking to get the exhaust components off summit racing and im not sure where id get the lift kit. I was looking for a 4 inch tuff country but not sure where i would get it yet. Again, you guys like 4k is enough for all this work? Thanks for the help thus far.

 

[tRustyK5]

One area most likely rotted bad that you haven't found yet is the lower panels where the front seat belts anchor. Those are one of the worst rust areas on a K5...and they're a bastard to fix properly. Give the seat belts a tug down there, if it's bad you might end up pulling them right off. This is something you want to do before you need to count on those belts for real.

Rene

 

[Dabba]

Thanks for the heads up, ill take a look right now, actually ill take my cam out and take a few picks of the rust spots

 

[Dabba]

Alright i have a decent amount, so bear with me..

Drivers side door

Same

Underneath, rocker and floor

Rockers, gone.

Drivers side rear wheel well looking forward.

Drivers side tailpan

Pass side of same.

Pass side rear wheel well

Pass side below the cap. Do i need to replace this whole side?

Pass side floor, not as bad.

Pass side door.

Pass side rockers.

Pass side floor.

Pass side rear wheel well looking forward.

The beast!

The beast again.

oops.

 

[Dabba]

Bump for the pics! Oh yeah, this truck just keeps falling apart. 4 days ago i broke te window crank, now the blinkers went dead. I assume its a fuse, if not then idk what the eff. haha oh boy.

 

[mr.smartass]

Just swap an S10 body onto the frame...

 

[AJMBLAZER]

You might consider starting to look for a nice southwestern truck or low mileage former military CUCV Blazer. Often they can be had for $3-4000 in better shape than that.
It may have sentimental value but starting fresh with something sounder might be cheaper.

 

[Dabba]

yeah i was starting to think that, maybe ill just use this one for a toy and that all, i still want a lift or exhaust but it prob wont be worth it. And my personal views are K5 > S10 any day.

 

[midnight]

Bump for the pics! Oh yeah, this truck just keeps falling apart. 4 days ago i broke te window crank, now the blinkers went dead. I assume its a fuse, if not then idk what the eff. haha oh boy.

sounds like this k5 was held together with bubblegum and tape. Based on the pics... still definately repairable. eh... you never needed the window crank anyways it's probably one of those quick-release models.