help w/ buying a blazer

[skybluewaters85]

Hey everyone, I am a newbie. I am looking at taking the leap in to blazer ownership. In a couple days I will be going to look at a 72 k5. The owner says it has a 350 with an auto tranny. He started the restoration. He says the body is mostly rust free and most of it is in primer. There is rust in the floor, but I have no idea how bad. There is also some rust in the driver side quarter ahead of the wheel well. Help me know what to look for and pretty much let me know when to run from this potential project. he is asking $3500 and it comes with some new interior parts. Hopefully you can help me a little bit. Thanks.

[teamradrz1]

Check the rocker/torsion boxes under the doors make sure they are solid and not rusted out. Check to see if the outer rockers have been replaced, mine were but he barried the deeper problem of rust by just covering it up. another bad area is front inside of rear wheel wells. I'd take a jack and check out the 4wheel drive and suspension too. If you find a lot of issues you may be able to talk him down.

[teamradrz1]

Oh by the way if you buy it, I want the push bar in the front I've been looking for one of those!

[bouncytruck]

Windshield frames are huge issues as well as A, B & C pillar's, where they meet the floor.

If there is visible rust, the rule of thumb is to expect it to be twice as much to account for what is hidden.

[skybluewaters85]

Thanks for the input guys, I am heading out soon to look at it. We'll see what happens.

[skybluewaters85]

It turns out the blazer has spent all of its life in Minnesota. The driver side rocker box is completely gone. The pass. side is pretty rotten. Some of the floor is "fixed" with great stuff foam and the windshield frame is ok on the outside but rusty on the inside. The rockers have definately been replaced.
It seems like the drivetrain is solid. It comes with new front inner fender wells, new door panels, new rear side panels and lots of misc weatherstripping. I think I will be passing on this one. Hopefully another one will come along. If anyone is interested, it is on minneapolis/st. paul craigslist. thanks for all of your help, guys.

[Long Roof]

By your discription $3500 is way to much. Glad you passed. The great stuff is a horrible thing to do to a vehicle. It holds water like a sponge and makes things rust twice as fast. I wouldn't have walked away, I would have ran. Good luck on your search.

[swyfor5]

Keep looking, theres more out there! Be patient and you'll get what you want! Just dont rush into it, get something you dont want. K5 to stay alive!

[bouncytruck]

FYI, Shipping from outside of the rust belt is cheaper than repairing rust...