Looking for a blazer opinions needed plz

[truckman5000]

Hi, Guys.
I just singed up to this wonderful site. Although ive already looked at it seems all the posts.

I finally found a couple 72 blazers.
Just wondering on what there worth, as its tough finding how much these sell for. As there isnt many around here.
Both of these run and drive.

The gold one has rust all in the usual spots, inc. the windshield header.
But has a rebuilt 350ci. And 50k orig. miles. Can be driven.
Costs about 6k. And ill have 4k in body work with alot of my time.

The black one, was all restored on a rust free body. Truck has been sitting for 4 years. Owner sanded some rust bubble out..but its pretty rust free.
Has a 502 ram jet, with a carb. on it. Guy has the F.I set up. Suposably only 1,00 miles on this set up.. and 1 ton suspension. Comes with another set of wheels & 38"s. Down side is the interior is out, and id have to blend the paint were it was fixed. The interior it comes with isnt original. This truck is around 14-15k.

Im kind of leaning towards the gold one, as i can make it what i want. But after doing so and my time, id be around the same money as the black truck..
What do you guys think?
Thanks.

[hemi43]

IMO, I would steer clear of the black one, because the bubbling of the paint would be a red flag for me. Is it truly a rust free body? What about the bubbling? A rust free truck shouldn't have bubbling due to rust. If the bubbling is not because of rust then it's because it has a poor paint job and the whole truck will have to be stripped.
I would rather start with an original truck even if it has some rust because what you see is what you get. Sure you'll end up with the same amount of money as the black one when it's all done, but I think you'll have a better truck in the end and it's built to your particular taste. Just my opinion.

[truckman5000]

Thanks Hemi.
That is what i was thinking, but the truck dose look rust free every were else.
The gold one, looks like it was sitting in a field for 20 years...
What do you think money wise? Both guys initially wanted 3k more

[truckman5000]

Needs 2- front floors. Rear floor were the tailgate is.
Some body work rust repair.

[craneboy72]

I see u are from ma. there was a guy in Lancaster ma selling a 72 CST not sure if it is still foe sale. it had the usual floor rust. if u want I can find out if it is still for sale.

[Chad22873]

Based on the pic of that floor, you need floor pans, outer rockers, rocker boxes, rocker box end caps and most likely an A pillar patch and perhaps a B pillar patch. All of that being said, I would still buy the gold one. I am 100% with Hemi on everything he said. You will have more work in it but in the end you will have what you want and have something that is worth more money. With all of the changes to the black one, thats about all its worth and rust bubbles scare me. I would just as soon see a hole as I would a bubble. A bubble most of the time means whoever painted it made short cuts to save time or money or both. Buy the gold one. Its probably worth 6-8k in my opinion.

[truckman5000]

Originally Posted by craneboy72

I see u are from ma. there was a guy in Lancaster ma selling a 72 CST not sure if it is still foe sale. it had the usual floor rust. if u want I can find out if it is still for sale.

Thanks, ill let you know. Ive been bothering the guy with the yellow one for awile, so i may buy this one thanks

[truckman5000]

Originally Posted by Chad22873

Based on the pic of that floor, you need floor pans, outer rockers, rocker boxes, rocker box end caps and most likely an A pillar patch and perhaps a B pillar patch. All of that being said, I would still buy the gold one. I am 100% with Hemi on everything he said. You will have more work in it but in the end you will have what you want and have something that is worth more money. With all of the changes to the black one, thats about all its worth and rust bubbles scare me. I would just as soon see a hole as I would a bubble. A bubble most of the time means whoever painted it made short cuts to save time or money or both. Buy the gold one. Its probably worth 6-8k in my opinion.

Thanks Chad, i agree. Im into the yellow one alot more. I just read a post of yours on the floors.
Do you have a build thred.

Ive done some body work, and replaced floors in a olds, 442. The 442 floor boards were "easy".
Looking at pic's these trucks look like a pane to do the rockers/ floors ect.
Is there a you tube video floating around? Or a build thread showing all the steps?

[Chad22873]

I do not have a build thread but thinking about starting one. I have plenty of pics from the start in order to do so. I am at the point now where I have the body on the rotisserie and working on the frame currently. Hemi43 has an excellent build thread as well as jaros44sr. I have seen a few others as well. I recall one by iron canine that was excellent. I would check in with those first and maybe in the next couple of weeks I will start one but it wont be much different than the great work that these guys have done. Mine may include a few more rocker pics and particularly bed floor work, only because mine were complete toast. In the meantime, if there is something specific that you want a pic of, let me know.

[truckman5000]

Thanks Chad,
Ill look at those, you think with the rust the yellow one is worth 6-8k as is.
The guy sais he drives it, and he bought another one that he likes better. Lifted 4 speed.
He had the engine rebuilt and did brakes and some other stuff, he sais it drives like new.
Everything is original, so this is the one im going with. As long as i can buy it of coarse.
Im new to these trucks. So mainly i didnt want to over pay.

I know it depends, aprox. how long dose it take to do the floors in one of these? Is it "easy"...
I can do body stuff, just never worked on a truck's rust. Looks like theres cross members on the floor, im amusing these rot out also..

[67swb72klb]

that rust looks like it could be a big can of worms...check it out so you don't get a surprise

[truckman5000]

Originally Posted by 67swb72klb

that rust looks like it could be a big can of worms...check it out so you don't get a surprise

Yah. Im looking at it..the guy is at 6k for it.

[Chad22873]

I am from the Midwest and out here 6k would be a good price. IMO if you are going to buy one of these you just have to decide that in the end it will cost more than you ever thought it would but in the end it's worth it. As jaros once said its a sickness that we call a hobby. There is a bunch of rust in that floor pic but it's still not that big of a deal. All those parts are easy to get. It is somewhat time consuming to replace it all but not too bad. Take measurements in about every possible direction before you cut anything out and ask a lot of questions here if you need help. These guys are awesome.

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by truckman5000

Yah. Im looking at it..the guy is at 6k for it.

That's a good price ! If you were in the market for a Blazer and were all in at 6K, I would tell you to walk away from it. It sounds as though you're willing to have around 15K into it when done, and that is realistic as long as you're willing to do the work yourself.
These are a great truck for someone to tackle rust work because all major panels are available at a very reasonable price. Most of us on here have done the typical rust repairs that Blazers need, so you wont be alone when tackling it, because I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say we're here to help. I only bought my Blazer a few months ago so I had no idea what I was getting into, but this place has helped tremendously and I have no regrets.

Edit; LOL, looks like Chad and I posted at the same time, and say almost the same thing !!

[truckman5000]

Thanks,
Stupid question..
Are the torsion boxes under the front floor pans really needed?
Ive scene some trucks without them

[truckman5000]

Originally Posted by hemi43

That's a good price ! If you were in the market for a Blazer and were all in at 6K, I would tell you to walk away from it. It sounds as though you're willing to have around 15K into it when done, and that is realistic as long as you're willing to do the work yourself.
These are a great truck for someone to tackle rust work because all major panels are available at a very reasonable price. Most of us on here have done the typical rust repairs that Blazers need, so you wont be alone when tackling it, because I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say we're here to help. I only bought my Blazer a few months ago so I had no idea what I was getting into, but this place has helped tremendously and I have no regrets.

Edit; LOL, looks like Chad and I posted at the same time, and say almost the same thing !!

So 6k is good? i tried beating the guy down. But he originally wanted 8.5k

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by truckman5000

Thanks,
Stupid question..
Are the torsion boxes under the front floor pans really needed?
Ive scene some trucks without them

The reason you've seen trucks without them is most likely because they were rotted off.
Yes they are needed. Even with them, these Blazers/Jimmys
will still flex and twist. IMO 6K is an excellent price.

[tjsblazer]

I too like the Ochre one better than the Black one for the same reasons as others have posted.
That one pic you have posted shows it has some major rot though. I would go over the entire thing to make sure you know what you are in for. Usually there is more rot than what you can see before you get tearing in to it. You also mentioned the windshield frame has issues. And yes for sure you need the Torsion boxes.
There is some major restoration ahead for you on that truck. If you have the skill, time and patience then go for it. But there is certainly quite a bit of money and time required to make that thing right again.
I personally would continue to look for something a little more solid but I don't do body work myself.

[Chad22873]

Again 6K is a great price. I agree with the others, you seriously need the rocker boxes. They are not that big of a deal to put on and make a big difference. There are too many things that these boxes tie together to go without them. Tjsblazer makes a good point. The rust in that pic is why I originally listed several of the parts that you would need. If you dont have the ability to do the work yourself then by all means look for something more solid. If you can do the work, its not extremely difficult, parts are easy to get and you have plenty of help here. It is however time consuming. To me the most difficult thing to fix is the windshield area. If you have a bunch of rust there as well as the firewall then in my opinion your are getting into things that can definitely be fixed, it just takes more skill to do it.

[truckman5000]

Thanks, I should be able to handle it. Im a plumber by trade, and can do pipe welding. And ive done allitle car body.

My only thing is i dont want to do a full body off restore.
Im ok with the floors.
But i need to look at/ research the bed floors.

The guy sais the rear rust is alittle below the tailgate. Witch if thats the case great.
But if there is that much floor rot in the front. I would think the bed would be not so good also. Whatcha think on this?

[craneboy72]

There was a 72 Boston Craigslist for 5k a blue one did I see it?

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by truckman5000

Thanks, I should be able to handle it. Im a plumber by trade, and can do pipe welding. And ive done allitle car body.

My only thing is i dont want to do a full body off restore.
Im ok with the floors.
But i need to look at/ research the bed floors.

The guy sais the rear rust is alittle below the tailgate. Witch if thats the case great.
But if there is that much floor rot in the front. I would think the bed would be not so good also. Whatcha think on this?

As far as the rear floor goes, and this is just my opinion, replace the whole thing . Sure it will cost more than patching it, but the extra few hundred spent on an entire new floor is worth the hours of aggravation of patching, and you'll have a much better result.It's more or less all bolt in, and could be done in a day or so. Life Jeff said, I would draw the line on restoring one of these trucks is if the rot has eaten away at the firewall and header. Those areas will be a PITA to repair. As long as you're OK with spending around 3K for panels, and are confident that you can do the work, I would go for it. Really, what's your other option? These are difficult to find, and the chances of finding one with no rust will almost be impossible.
If you could post more detailed pics of the firewall and header, it will help us determine the condition of the truck.
Dan

[dubds10]

What about looking out west. Here's one local to me that needs nothing but a driver for $14,500USD but I'm sure $12-13g USD would take it.

http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rch/cto/5327587543.html


$6g for a rusty K5 is too much in my book. I can get rust free K5's in the $6-8g range, but your location is the main issue. Everything is over priced, but there are lots of these K5's out there still for sale.

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by dubds10

What about looking out west. Here's one local to me that needs nothing but a driver for $14,500USD but I'm sure $12-13g USD would take it.

http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rch/cto/5327587543.html


$6g for a rusty K5 is too much in my book. I can get rust free K5's in the $6-8g range, but your location is the main issue. Everything is over priced, but there are lots of these K5's out there still for sale.

That's a nice looking truck, but used vehicles with shiny paint scares me. Lots of Bondo buckets for sale.

[truckman5000]

pic of windshield, supposedly upper isnt rusted, top bolts up fine, windshield pilers arent rusted...supposedly


Biggger pic next