1994 K1500 in Adam's Hill, L.A.

[Kex]

Hi everyone.

We bought our truck new and it now has 190,000 miles clocked. We use it to tow a steel Sundowner horse trailer we bought at the same time (with a horse, of course!). Here are the details:

- K1500 Z-71 5.7L Silverado short bed (step side) extended cab.
- First registered in CA, since then CO, VA, D.C., MA, and now CA again.

Everything is OEM since all repairs were done by a Chevy dealer (mostly in Alexandria, VA).

Our last "big" trip was from Wellesley, Masachussets, to Santa Monica, CA, in June 2005 when the truck already had 183,000 miles clocked, towing the horse and the steel trailer. She did a great job (we never went over 60 mph just to be careful with all that heat) and we met with a few interesting experiences on the way (like some guy at a service station in Southern Utah who came running out to tell us we needed new shocks before we wore out our tires and drivetrain and that he could change them for us for half the dealer cost in just 90 minutes or so).

What we have replaced over the years are:
- a/c unit (twice, I think).
- rear brake cylinders.
- wiper motor.
- power steering.
- water pump.
- catalytic converter (just once).
- front ball joints.

We had a persistent problem with the brake switch failing every year or so until we had all the trailer wiring replaced by a horse trailer repair shop. The last two times it failed before that, the cruise control also stopped working. The first repair was done in Virginia, but when MUZI in Masachussetts replaced the brake switch, they wanted and extra $90 diagnostic fee to check why the cruise control was still not working. We never went back there again (we had some other issues with them that just made us lose all confidence in their dealership).

Apart from the cruise control (which still doesn't work), and the center console (which broke off its anchors), everything works more or less as it should. The exterior looks a bit worn though (OEM paintwork very disappointing in quality IMO).

So, we want to keep this truck, and would like to get her back in good shape. I would love to hear from anybody in the L.A. area, Glendale or elsewhere, that has any good tips for us:

- Good workshop for issues such as the cruise control.
- Good workshop for servicing (and finding any issues that need attention).
- Good bodyshop for planned paint job.
- Good source of parts such as the broken center console and other bits and pieces.
- I like to do some DIY (at least, the simple stuff).
- We like to keep our truck pretty much OEM.
- anything else anyone cares to suggest as a good idea!

I'll post a pic if I can figure out how to do it!

Thanks for reading!