New to the Board, seeking 1st Gen K5 and information

[Chris Lott]

Hello, I just wanted to introduce myself and ask a couple of quick questions (probably not very quick though).

I have two 70 Buick GSs (one a 350, one a 455) both are very original cars that I am restoring (I'm one of those resto freaks). I hang out at the http://www.v8buick.com board most of the time, as I do a lot with the Buicks, anyway keeping tabs on both of these boards is going to be quite a chore, they are both very active from what I can see.

Anyway, I have always liked the first generation K5s, and now it is time to start looking for one. I know of a few in my area, but honestly I have a lot to learn before I know these trucks as well as I do my Buicks, and I'm going to need to learn about the areas and items to watch out for. I want to find a very original Blazer, something that can be restored close to original (although I will probably put a little big larger tire and lift on there, that being about the only mod I'm looking to do).

I have read that the Rocker Boxes, "bed" corners, cab corners, and windsheild frame are the main areas of interest when checking one out. If anyone can provide a picture or two of these areas, that would be super as I haven't really looked closely at one of these trucks before and I am going tomorrow to look at one or two. I also see that the rear seats and front buckets are very specific, and somewhat hard to find. Is this the case and what should I watch for to make sure they are original (not late model bolt in-s).

A couple of the blazers down here do not have the hardtop with them, and that will be a problem as I definately want the top. Are the tops generally hard to find items, or should it not be something to worry about. They do have softtops, but being one of those resto type people I don't know if I can deal with the soft-top look on a day to day basis. It will either be hard top or no top most of the time.

Well sorry for such a long post, but I figured I might as well get everything out there and see what kind of responce I get. I have done a couple "blazer" searches through the back posts and read what I could, but haveing never really messed with the trucks before I have some new termnology to learn. Thanks for the read, and I look forward to meeting some new people.