Buyer's Remorse?

[vancelot69]

I just bought a Jimmy this past weekend, Apr 15, 2017, and I can't shake this feeling of buyer's remorse. I was wondering if I could get some opinions, but I know I'm not supposed to make a "what's it worth" thread, but I don't want to say what I paid until I get some folks saying what they might have paid for it.

If that sounds like a "what's it worth" thread, let me know and I'll delete this. If it sounds ok, let me know and I'll add pics.

edit: it was one in the "craigslist finds" thread, but I didn't pay asking price, but he also didn't come down a whole lot either.
edit2: the craigslist finds, page 4, the one from Sacramento craigslist. It's not up anymore, obviously heh.

Thanks.

Ron

[jjzepplin]

Pics or it didn't happen....Pics man! How about a question regarding=is it worth my time?

[Maximus]

that post is removed, most of us never looked at it, can you provide some photos and details of the truck? no way of talking you through it without at least that much...

[vancelot69]

1. Front quarter angle
2. The SPID plate - to me that looks like it says it's a 1972, but the guy I bought it from swears it's a 1971, and that's what he titled it as.
3. rear axle skid plate / truss and gas tank skid plate
4. front axle skid plate / truss
5. rocker box. I think passenger side. I was told the brown is just dirt / sand.

<more> Is there a way to get more than 5 pics per post?

[vancelot69]

1. transfer case
2. passenger side outside windshield header
3. rear floorboard
4. driver side inside windshield header
5. more rear floorboard

<more>

[vancelot69]

1. passenger side rear top mount
2. driver side
3. driver side hatch (the thing that holds the hatch up, on newer cars it's like a shock absorber)
4. driver side again
5. passenger side front fender at bumper

he has gigantic clamps holding the top on. I don't know if the screw certs are in place or not.

<more>

[vancelot69]

1. that looks like a rally rim to me?
2. patch on passenger side rear
3. patch on passenger side behind door
4. another pic of the driver side top mount
5. head light bezels have some rust

<more>

[vancelot69]

It's not all bad though -
1. body mount - looks a heck of a lot better than the same mount on my previous Jimmy
2. shock / shock mounts - again, looks a lot better than my previous installment
3. an interior shot - tilt wheel, 4-speed
4. leaf hanger - again - looks a lot better than my last Jimmy

<more>

[vancelot69]

1. trim
2. A/C tag - doesn't work.
3. front skid plate
4 and 5 - he says the oil dipstick tube is loose and that's why there's wet oil on the exhaust. Just idling, don't notice it. Driving around town, don't notice it. On the highway, smoke is billowing everywhere!

[hemi43]

Unless you paid more than 10K I don't see a problem, and it also depends what you want to do with it. If you plan on driving it as-is then it might be an issue, but if you plan on doing a frame off restoration you've got a good candidate. Sheet metal repairs are no issue with these because most everything is now available.

[vancelot69]

I have more "good" pics if you want to see some.

Like I said, it's not all bad. The truck, starting off, is in a LOT better shape than the last Jimmy I had overall, not nearly as much rust, although I didn't take a screwdriver and poke at the windshield header to see if there was more than the pics I took The frame is in a lot better shape too, especially considering the shock mounts and cross members. Plus, the transfer case is dry whereas my old one was soaked from all the transmission fluid leaking into and out of it.

[vancelot69]

My plan was to not put a WHOLE lot of money into it. I mean, some is expected, I just wasn't planning to dump another $10k into it. The plan is to be able to use it as a daily driver if I want, and also be capable on the trails.

Since hemi43 said as long as I didn't pay over $10k, I'll go on and spill the beans. He was asking $10k, and I "got him down" to $8,800. So, it was within my budget ($5k to $10k), and while $10k was my ceiling, I was still hoping to spend less than I did. That right there is probably the biggest reason for my buyers remorse. I hope. heh

[Walter White]

keep us posted on the improvements--it will be fun work as opposed to work work.
others here know plenty more than i do but i think it's a 72. 72 door panels, can't see mirror but spid looks right with the ochre paint showing thru. i think the sixth digit in vin from left will be a 2 (as in 1972). can't see that number in pics
cool truck

[Maximus]

These trucks are not common, and are starting to fetch a premium. If I saw those photos and was guessing, I would have said something closer to $7,000, but thats not to say in your neck of the woods they dont go for a little more. Jimmy is alot less common, and while I like the chevy front end more, thats not to say the GMC may be worth a little more due to the lower production numbers.

Hopefully you come out happy with what you have. At the end of the day we all know these trucks are getting harder to find, and the cost of these old rigs is NOT going to be magically going down any time soon. If you wanted a K5 Jimmy, and didnt want to drop a 15-20k payment on a nice solid start, then I would not stress out too much.

I have also paid over what normal asking for items that were specifically what I was looking for (i.e. a Jimmy vs a Blazer to you might immediately be worth $1k more) and price is relative is you got what you were looking for. These rigs are USUALLY needing a little more than we though, but I assume you saw all the potential rust issues when you were buying, and are aware on what it will take to bring it back as far as you want to.

Only you know if your going to be unhappy with the buy, but any time I walk into my yard and see my K5 I think "holy crap I actually found one of these trucks" and am thrilled to even have the opportunity to own one. They made the 1st gen broncos for what, 12 years? They made these for 4. They are unique rigs and im sure you will get plenty of smiles out of the windshield time you spend in that old beast. Just think, that's used Honda Civic money, its not Rolls Royce money...

[Walter White]

Originally Posted by vancelot69

I have more "good" pics if you want to see some.

...

if you post em, i promise we will look at them

[vancelot69]

more pics. previous owner took all but the first one. I took that because I was impressed that it fit in his garage.

[vancelot69]

He said the hi-beam lights don't work. Not sure if they're both burned out, or a wiring issue. At the very least, the hi-beam on the low-beam lights engages when the switch is hit.

He said he spent a long time and however many dollars (I don't remember exactly) to find the OEM seats, recently spent six thousand on the transmission and transfer case. He said the owner before him had the engine gone through and he was told that it was put together "right" and that it can withstand higher RPMs... Also, it's a points ignition system that he said the guy spent hours getting it just right, but I plan to put an electronic ignition in, and he said the guy that set the points told him that an electronic ignition would be like night and day. I also plan to at the very least put a carb with electronic choke on it, but I would like to put a TBI kit on that will just bolt onto the 4bbl intake, if I can find one that won't break the bank.

The first thing I'm going to do though is see if I can find an oil dipstick tube and see if that fixes the oil leak. Looking underneath it, all of the passenger side of the engine etc. is dry, and on the driver's side, it's only wet from about the dipstick tube point back. The bell housing and flywheel were dry too, so that makes me think it's not a rear main seal.

At some point, I also want to get "04 Tahoe" seats with the integrated seat belts.

Some of the minor things I really like are that it has the ram's horn exhaust manifolds, and the rally style wheels, although I prefer chrome or polished over black. I like that it has a roll bar, even though it only has one bolt per corner, I can put more bolts in.

The main parts that concern me are the rust holes windshield header and in the rear floorboard, and the reason for that is because the last Jimmy I had was ate up with rust, and I don't want to be right back where I was, and having spent way more on this one. Any other issues are small potatoes imo.

[briank]

If 6th digit is a 2 then its a 72.

[raggedjim]

I felt like crying when I finally realized how bad the first blazer I bought was...

It was much worse than yours.

Good luck, Rg

[cleszkie]

It appears it has a single wall top, and the corresponding bed rail holes for a single wall top. That would indicate a late 1972 model.

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by cleszkie

It appears it has a single wall top, and the corresponding bed rail holes for a single wall top. That would indicate a late 1972 model.

Maybe it's the very last Blazer that came off the assembly line? That would be cool !!

[vancelot69]

I wonder if I post the SPID in it's own response if it will be big enough to read. The 6th digit is a '2', according to the SPID, the VIN plate in the door jamb, and the title, and the first digit is a 'T'. Like I said, when I parsed the VIN myself, I thought it was a 1972, but the previous owner swears it's a 1971, and he had it titled as a 71. I was wondering, if he had it titled as a 71, but it's actually a 72, will I encounter any grief if I try to get it titled as a 72? I don't think it's anything nefarious, but could it be? How would I know? Perhaps it's a 71 frame with a 72 tub and plates? He didn't say whether the tub was replaced. Could a 'T' and a '2' be a VERY late 71 model? heh

edit: no, the pic is still tiny... how did I (do we?) get the pic so big in the SPID thread?
edit2: trying it cropped - that's only slightly better...
edit3: comparing this cropped image to the SPID thread, it's the same size now. I thought they were bigger in that thread, but I guess I was mistaken.

[mrtoni]

Can you tell if it was originally ochre? Does the vin on slid match title? Just saying lots of glovebox doors get changed out

In fact, isn't the spid for a Chevy and you have a gmc?

[vancelot69]

Originally Posted by cleszkie

It appears it has a single wall top, and the corresponding bed rail holes for a single wall top. That would indicate a late 1972 model.

The previous owner said it was a double wall top. When I saw it, I thought it was a single wall top too, because of the courtesy lights and how you can see the lip of the top. I would assume if it was a double wall, he wouldn't have been able to get those clamps on it.

[vancelot69]

Originally Posted by mrtoni

Can you tell if it was originally ochre? Does the vin on slid match title? Just saying lots of glovebox doors get changed out

In fact, isn't the spid for a Chevy and you have a gmc?

Yeah, I can see splotches of ochre in various places.

Yes, the VIN on the SPID matches the VIN plate from the door jamb and the VIN on the title.

No, it's a GMC VIN. The first character 'T' indicates GMC, and that started in 1972. The fifth character '8' would be any year (69-72) Blazer, but GMC didn't use it for Jimmys until 1972. Same with the sixth character being '2', Chevy did it the whole time, but GMC didn't do it that way until 1972.