Faults:

Interior was shot.

Engine needed major help.

Needed body work and paint.

Rust in the floor pan and some on the body.

New shocks and springs.

Engine belts and hoses were shredded/torn.

A couple of more small details.

General Comments:

What can I say? The truck is a tank on wheels. Bought the car maybe 7 years ago, just to have, and recently started a full restoration.

Practically rebuilt the engine with a new blower, spark plugs, fuel lines, oil and brake lines, plus belts and hoses

Tore out all carpet in the interior, and went ahead and did a roll on bed liner on the floor and painted the inside, top and sides, rebuilt the steering column and painted the dashboard.

Has 18" cherry bomb glass packs with 21" tips with a 4 1/2 outlet. The truck sounds great.

Fresh paint that's charcoal grey with metal flake, plus body work and a small 3" body lift.

Hoping to swap the factory manifolds with hooker long tube headers, and run true dual 18 glass packs or maybe header mufflers.

Has a 3" body lift, which was ordered off LMC Truck, but hoping for a 6" rough country suspension lift.

Have to say it's a great first car for a 16 year old.

Faults:

I bought the truck, and the motor went out on it a week later.

The truck needs the inside redone bad.

General Comments:

I bought this truck two years ago. I have put a new motor in it. I have fixed so much on the truck.

I have put an 8 inch lift on 35 inch tires.

The gas goes fast, but the truck has a lot of power.

That truck has made it through everything like nothing.

It is a truck worth buying.

Faults:

The original ball joints finally started going bad around 190,000 miles which, IMHO isn't bad! The ball joints were replaced by myself. I replaced the inner and outer wheel bearings along with the hubs just so everything in the front end was fresh. Total cost for this was $325...try doing this on a newer vehicle--it would probably run at least $500.

The heater blower motor bearings started making a horrid noise--the blower motor was easily replaced in about 20 minutes. This was around $30.

The alternator went out and had to be replaced, but this was only about $30. Cheap!!

It eats gas if you drive it hard.

These have been the only "real" problems I've had with it and for the age and mileage, it's to be expected.

General Comments:

I really liked this Blazer... the reason I say "liked" is because it's now seriously damaged due to hitting a cow a few nights ago.

The cow didn't fare so well, but myself and the passenger with me escaped unharmed. I even drove it home that night. There is no way I could have done this with my 2002 F-150--it wouldn't have been driveable.

The insurance company will probably total the Blazer as estimates are $3500 to fix it. It's been a great rig... tows my boat well, drives like a champ on snowy/icy roads, turns on a dime and has never left me stranded out in the boonies.

I wouldn't hesitate to drive across the country entirely off-road in the Blazer as it's darn reliable.

I'm in the process now of looking for another one just in case this one is a total.

Faults:

At 190,000, motor was finally done. Replaced with rebuilt block and cleaned intake, exhaust, and such.

The transmission was all original and gave out at 193,000. Survived higher hp, performance of new block for 3000 miles.

Complete rebuild of front end, bushings, bearings, ball-joints, and tie-rods/steering linkage at same time as motor. Everything was original.

General Comments:

This is a 79 1/2 Blazer and was built with 78 and 79 parts under 1980 body. It has been difficult to "re-match" the original parts, but NAPA and others have many OE parts in warehouses across the country.

All things being said, the truck has held up much better than any manufacturer has ever claimed. 189k miles for a motor/transmission that really was not taken care of prior to my purchase is more than one would normally expect. This was also wearing 38s when I purchased, now 32.5s.

I have rebuilt and replaced, restored and repaired nearly to new for less than $5,000.00.

I would suggest this type of vehicle for anyone who is thinking about restoration for standard or off-road use. I have done and continue to finish the body work and it has been very easy to find replacement and repair parts for the work.

Proper distributor, coil, plugs, and exhaust set-up can bring you 32-38mpg on the highway, and this is something that new SUVs are incapable of. It also adds the alternative HP for off-road or utility use (less mpg of course).

Faults:

When I purchased this K5 for almost nothing, it needed a carburetor and tune-up. I spent about $1000.00 on parts that I installed myself. Instead of spending $400.00 on the rebuilt 300 cfm OEM unit, I installed an Edelbrock 500 cfm unit for about half the price. the results were more power and reliability. I use the truck as a daily driver and for snow plowing. It has full time 4 wheel drive, a small amount of rust, and will go just about anywhere. The A/C still works and the track starts up in sub-zero temperatures. The trick to any car is to buy the highest cold cranking amp battery you can find.

General Comments:

If you can find one with a solid body, these trucks are great. The repairs will always be cheap and they run like clocks. I recommend 1990-1991 K5 Blazers because the bodies are galvanized which means that the will almost never rust. They really are Like a Rock.

Faults:

Previous owner commented on fuel pump going bad a few times.

Bad battery, but that was fixed with a new one upon receipt.

Right turn signal light blew out.

Bubble in power steering box, fixed by bleeding lines though.

Not much other than that.

General Comments:

This truck is a dream come true for me. I have wanted this thing since I first laid eyes upon it. Being 23 years and only having 23,500 miles on it, it runs like new. Some minor surface rust, but it is not a major thing. The body panels are nearly immaculate, and need nothing.

Truck is lifted 3.5 inches, and are shod with 32 inch off road tires, and I cannot wait to test them out.