1985 K5 Blazer Silverado - NOTHING ORIGINAL!

[Grit dog]

I will absolutely give you $500 more than you paid for that junker without the original drivetrain and bad steering!!

Seriously, if the body is as nice as it looks, $2k for a nice K5 is absolute robbery. Should have come with NO engine, trans or rear axle for that price!

congrats on the sweet ride!
Not sure I can repeat your Rodney King post, but I was roflmao!

 

[Grit dog]

BTW, I don’t believe “original” or numbers matching means much if anything in value. Maybe another 30 years from now it will but “original” drivetrain from most anything from the 80s actually means underpowered, emissions choked, crappy transmissions.

 

[just_some_guy]

I will absolutely give you $500 more than you paid for that junker without the original drivetrain and bad steering!!

I got the steering issue fixed yesterday. I took it back to the place where I recently got:

Tires
Brake Job
Upper Ball Joints - both wheels
Lower Ball Joints - both wheels
Sway Bar & Bushings
Gearbox
4 Shocks
Steering Stabilizer

Turns out the lock washers and nuts on the gearbox "worked their way loose" in the 4 days I had it back. I call ******** on that. I think they put them on there and forgot to tighten them up. It had gotten progressively worse to the point on Friday it was actually dangerous to drive. The cocky mechanic who offered to "do me a favor" and "take it off my hands for me" when I brought it in two weeks ago (this was a costly repair) wasn't so cocky yesterday. I guess the owner chewed his ass out for doing such sloppy work. Anyway, it drives great now.

Seriously, if the body is as nice as it looks, $2k for a nice K5 is absolute robbery. Should have come with NO engine, trans or rear axle for that price!

There is barely any rust on it at all. It's got some small dings here and there but they are few and far between. I'm planning on having it painted the original GM "Midnight Black" eventually.

And I didn't want to sound like I was bragging earlier but I actually paid $1,500 for it.

congrats on the sweet ride!

Thanks, I appreciate it. I'm going to fix it up as nice as my wallet will allow. I'm working on the interior (got a new TMI dash pad) and trying to track down some leaks at the moment.

The only reason I was going on about the "original" stuff is because my buddy who lets me use his garage to work on it is really OCD about "original" stuff. He's got a 1986 Mustang SVO that is "all original". He paid $800 to have the radiator that came in it re-skinned instead of just dropping a new one in there. He's got like paper tags hanging onto the coil overs that he checks to make sure they haven't finally broken loose and flown away every time he finishes actually driving it. Some people are nuts about that kinda stuff. Me - not so much. I just want it to look and operate nicely.

 

[oldretiredafguy]

This is the thing in the glove box (which needs cleaning)

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Welcome to the forum from N. Texas!

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Reading the fine print on your factory glove box label, the truck came with the 305 engine (1LE9 in the second column is for the 5.0 motor). The truck also came with the 700R4 trans (1MX0 code in the first column). A lot of 700R4's crap out because people forget and tow with it in OD. A big No-No in the owner's manual. You might check the shift indicator to see if it still has the O in the shift pattern. Unless the PO was a fanatic detail kind of guy, the shift indicator probably didn't get changed out.

Regardless, it is one good looking truck, and a bargain price to boot!

 

[just_some_guy]

Welcome to the forum from N. Texas!

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Thank you. Glad to be here. My maternal grandmother was from East Texas - a town called Smithville in Bastrop County. I've always considered myself "part Texan" LOL.

Reading the fine print on your factory glove box label, the truck came with the 305 engine (1LE9 in the second column is for the 5.0 motor). The truck also came with the 700R4 trans (1MX0 code in the first column). A lot of 700R4's crap out because people forget and tow with it in OD. A big No-No in the owner's manual. You might check the shift indicator to see if it still has the O in the shift pattern. Unless the PO was a fanatic detail kind of guy, the shift indicator probably didn't get changed out.

Regardless, it is one good looking truck, and a bargain price to boot!

Yep. The "OD" is still in the shift display. I was wondering if I could get a different one with "1, 2, and 3" instead of "1, 2, 3, and OD".

This is what it looked like when I first got it:

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I'm going to try and recall everything I have done just to the exterior:

new tires
removed aftermarket mud flaps
put bands on the wheels
put new 4X4 stickers on the rear wheels
put the "K5" emblems on the sides
put the "CHEVROLET" emblem on the tailgate
swapped out that winch and winch bumper for the OEM bumper w/bumper guards
added air deflector under bumper
new grille, grille Bowtie emblem, and headlight bezels
added OEM hood ornament
new windshield & rearview mirror
new windshield wipers
new chrome door edge guards
new chrome rear license panel

I think that's about it for the exterior. I'll have to list interior and mechanical stuff in separate posts. Will probably need to root through a stack of receipts. I've had it less than 2 months, as I bought it on February 9th.

 

[Turbo4whl]

Yep. The "OD" is still in the shift display. I was wondering if I could get a different one with "1, 2, and 3" instead of "1, 2, 3, and OD".

Yes, can easily be replaced with a different pattern. D,2,L or paint and re-letter the one you have. Be very careful of the plastic needle. The old plastic will break if you breath on it hard.

Aftermarket has a replacement needle. Costs as much as you could by the whole assembly from GM years ago.

 

[Powerhouse Ranch]

LMC is a great place to look for parts. And if you can't find something try Brothers as a backup. they have some things LMC doesn't

 

[Grit dog]

I got the steering issue fixed yesterday. I took it back to the place where I recently got:

Tires
Brake Job
Upper Ball Joints - both wheels
Lower Ball Joints - both wheels
Sway Bar & Bushings
Gearbox
4 Shocks
Steering Stabilizer

Turns out the lock washers and nuts on the gearbox "worked their way loose" in the 4 days I had it back. I call ******** on that. I think they put them on there and forgot to tighten them up. It had gotten progressively worse to the point on Friday it was actually dangerous to drive. The cocky mechanic who offered to "do me a favor" and "take it off my hands for me" when I brought it in two weeks ago (this was a costly repair) wasn't so cocky yesterday. I guess the owner chewed his ass out for doing such sloppy work. Anyway, it drives great now.



There is barely any rust on it at all. It's got some small dings here and there but they are few and far between. I'm planning on having it painted the original GM "Midnight Black" eventually.

And I didn't want to sound like I was bragging earlier but I actually paid $1,500 for it.



Thanks, I appreciate it. I'm going to fix it up as nice as my wallet will allow. I'm working on the interior (got a new TMI dash pad) and trying to track down some leaks at the moment.

The only reason I was going on about the "original" stuff is because my buddy who lets me use his garage to work on it is really OCD about "original" stuff. He's got a 1986 Mustang SVO that is "all original". He paid $800 to have the radiator that came in it re-skinned instead of just dropping a new one in there. He's got like paper tags hanging onto the coil overs that he checks to make sure they haven't finally broken loose and flown away every time he finishes actually driving it. Some people are nuts about that kinda stuff. Me - not so much. I just want it to look and operate nicely.

shoot, I’d brag all day if I got a truck like that for $1500!
And being factory black is even better.
You have a great looking rig.

 

[1973c10]

Welcome aboard

 

[Grit dog]

The options list on that Blazer is pretty impressive.
It should drive just fine at highway speeds with 3.73s if it still has those gears. But if you were planning on a lot of highway miles, I’d probably leave the shift indicator alone and find another overdrive trans eventually.

 

[just_some_guy]

LMC is a great place to look for parts. And if you can't find something try Brothers as a backup. they have some things LMC doesn't

Oh I have become very familiar with LMC Truck lately, trust me. They have separated me and my bank account from a good bit of money so far.

 

[just_some_guy]

The options list on that Blazer is pretty impressive.
It should drive just fine at highway speeds with 3.73s if it still has those gears. But if you were planning on a lot of highway miles, I’d probably leave the shift indicator alone and find another overdrive trans eventually.

I do drive it on the highway occasionally. It seems to cruise along at 70 mph OK so far but it does suck away the gas, for sure. I'm still trying to find out what gears it has since this is not the original rear end that came on it. The one on there now allegedly came out of a 1981 Suburban. Are there any markings or codes on the outside that would tell me what kind of gears it currently has? I don't plan on putting some super lift on it (maybe one of those 1.5" - 2" "add a leaf" setups) and turn it into some mud bogging or stump jumper rig. I also don't plan on doing a lot of towing with it, either. The most I would ever tow with it would maybe be my old 1980's Snapper riding lawn mower to the small engine repair place maybe once every few years for service.

 

[Powerhouse Ranch]

Oh I have become very familiar with LMC Truck lately, trust me. They have separated me and my bank account from a good bit of money so far.

yeah well that's how you know you're doing it right!

 

[Grit dog]

Jack it up and count the driveshaft revolutions?
Idk if it’s stamped or tagged.

 

[85 red GMC]

You got a great deal The engine and Tranny upgrade are great The glove box (RPO I think) shows you had a 4 speed automatic to start so if you went to 3 speed tranny it was a bit of a downgrade but my 83 blazer was taken from 305 engine and 4 speed AT to 350 engine and 3 speed tranny. Must be a thing to do. My red GMC pickup is still original tranny and 305 engine but the 83 blue blazer has more power. The RPO seems to show you have / had just about every factory option you could get at the time. Great purchase. I am jealous. Good luck and have fun

1985 GMC step side Sierra Classic short bed 4wd (little red)
1983 Chevy Blue Blazer Silverado (Big Blue)