saving for some type of square body wich one?

[Liberty]

Supposedly THE biggest complaint during the square body run for K5 Blazers was...
They drove... poorly. I'm assuming due to their height and weight distribution they had a tendency to dance a bit.

That being said, I got my 82 C10 when I turned 18. Its my truck and I love it, but it is a b*tch. The A/C was broke, the alternator died, all the seals went out, the transmission seals have been replaced multiple times since I've owned it because it likes to leak every 2 years. My radiator busted, my t-stat housing leaks, my heater hose burst and overheated the engine killing my engine seals again, it sucks in the rain, the brakes suck in any weather not dry, the cruise control in these trucks are finicky, my window motors have both seized up at some point, the list goes on and on.

Naturally I fixed all that... and it hasn't been cheap.

These are AWESOME trucks, and like I said I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Truck, but as others have said you cannot be lazy with these. The newest square bodies are nearing 28 years old. Just about all of them are going to need a significant amount of time and money to keep going.

That being said, as long as it isn't going to be your main car with no backup, go for it.
My 82 is my main transport vehicle, and hasn't really let me down too much. But the wife has a corolla for everything else.

As a side note, don't make a lot of short trips, I don't know about anyone else... but my truck hates small trips. It likes to drive!

As far as engines go, you really cannot go wrong with the 350. It has more than enough power for these trucks without completely killing you on gas,
although I get 8 City 10 Highway.

[DustyNova]

Originally Posted by Liberty

Supposedly THE biggest complaint during the square body run for K5 Blazers was...
They drove... poorly. I'm assuming due to their height and weight distribution they had a tendency to dance a bit.

That being said, I got my 82 C10 when I turned 18. Its my truck and I love it, but it is a b*tch. The A/C was broke, the alternator died, all the seals went out, the transmission seals have been replaced multiple times since I've owned it because it likes to leak every 2 years. My radiator busted, my t-stat housing leaks, my heater hose burst and overheated the engine killing my engine seals again, it sucks in the rain, the brakes suck in any weather not dry, the cruise control in these trucks are finicky, my window motors have both seized up at some point, the list goes on and on.

Naturally I fixed all that... and it hasn't been cheap.

These are AWESOME trucks, and like I said I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Truck, but as others have said you cannot be lazy with these. The newest square bodies are nearing 28 years old. Just about all of them are going to need a significant amount of time and money to keep going.

That being said, as long as it isn't going to be your main car with no backup, go for it.
My 82 is my main transport vehicle, and hasn't really let me down too much. But the wife has a corolla for everything else.

As a side note, don't make a lot of short trips, I don't know about anyone else... but my truck hates small trips. It likes to drive!

As far as engines go, you really cannot go wrong with the 350. It has more than enough power for these trucks without completely killing you on gas,
although I get 8 City 10 Highway.

What kind of cam do you got?

[DustyNova]

one thing ive noticed is where i live autozone parts suck around here not sure why but then when you order from like oreily its alot better

[Liberty]

My engine is just a stock 350 Crate.

Funny you mention Autozone and O'Reily's.
I've had better luck with Autozone's Duralast brand.
My worst luck by far has been NAPA parts.

[DustyNova]

Originally Posted by Liberty

My engine is just a stock 350 Crate.

Funny you mention Autozone and O'Reily's.
I've had better luck with Autozone's Duralast brand.
My worst luck by far has been NAPA parts.

autozone has good batteries around here maybe its just the factory here idk Napa is ****ing expensive

[tucsonjwt]

Stock rebuilt quadrajet on stock 454 with SM 465 granny 4spd, 2WD 3/4 ton, 4:11 rear. So, pretty much could not be worse for fuel economy. Best ever was 11 mpg city, 13 mpg highway with a leaky carburetor. With a rebuilt carburetor, now 8 mpg city, never drive highway - go figure?

If you only live 1 mile away from work - why do you need a truck?
I cover 5 miles on my elliptical every morning.

As others have said, these old trucks will always need work. When you finally think you have fixed everything, the things you fixed first need replacing again.

An old truck means you will have to be prepared for breakdowns and frequent repairs. Some here will say, as I have always heard, "I bought that truck for $500 ten years ago and never put a penny into it - never let me down - doesn't leak a drop of fluid - get 20 mpg. in town, 28 highway, starts and runs good every time, ....." These are the people that should buy a lottery ticket every day - and probably do, along with a 12 pack.

I have probably owned 30 old vehicles and as many new ones. If you really want an old square (Blazer or Pickup) be prepared to spend at least $2000 in basic repairs like brakes, shocks, tires, fixing leaks, A/C, electrical(stuff like wiper motor, heater control, starter, alternator, etc.) Then you have an ugly heap that will run (assuming that the drive train is OK.) A cheap set of tires (which you will not like) are going to be about $500.

I don't want to change your mind - just want to enter the real world.

The guys posting here buy and keep these old trucks for no good reason. Some, like me, just bought an old beater and gradually decided to fix it up because a new or newer truck made even less economic sense. In my case, I can haul junk with it and not worry about getting it banged up. I even had a dump hoist conversion installed for a couple big landscape projects.

[Skunksmash]

Originally Posted by mattcrp1

If it were me, I would start with a running, driving vehicle. Figure out what you eventually want, and build towards it. Projects can go sideways and get expensive quickly, if you have a plan it can help keep it on track.

Good luck,

This. I'm a bit biased, but I say get you an 87 model. Fuel injection will give you a much easier time at your age. You can mod it out later.

[DustyNova]

Originally Posted by Skunksmash

This. I'm a bit biased, but I say get you an 87 model. Fuel injection will give you a much easier time at your age. You can mod it out later.

Yeah why not and maybe put a 73-79 front clip on it or an 88-91 front clip it just looks cooler