My 88 K5, as you can see was the second total restore project for me. And with this one the only thing not used from the frame down was the drive shafts and the spindles & Automatic Hubs. I bought this truck from West Texas, like yours, mine had no rust at all but it took 2.5 hours to flush out the fine Texas dust from the doors and tailgate. This truck came with the quad suspension up front and the steel fuel tank guard, but I wanted to go just that extra step while staying as close to what came from Flint MI. So I did all new springs, shocks slightly oversized stabilizer bars and while we where in there, I got one of the frame support kits from LCM and we welded it in just back of the steering box. I also left a 1" axle lift block on each side. It gives the truck a little raked look.
Above the chassis, we power washer the frame and went through a case of spray bombs of rubberize undercoating. Then I put in all new body mounts, (the front ones right behind the splash panels are a nightmare to get to, cut out and replace with a new bolt and bushings. I got the whole body kit from LCM as it was way cheaper to just buy the whole thing and use what I wanted. We also lifted the body up 2" and replaced the body/chassis webbing. And as I said I went ahead and installed the rear stabilizer kit and finished off with 4 BFG LT white letters out, I'm 65 and I don't care what anyone thinks, I like em. I got a lot of parts off Ebay, but these old square body's are getting scarce.
Then. . . we spent 3 months in the body shop, 134 hail ball hits skimmed and a new hood ( It's cheaper in man hours with a new hood) and a beautiful, beautiful 2 stage urethane paint work. It took a month of spraying and body wet sanding, and the truck came in Beige with Gold sides, but I picked the colors that was on the 1988 K5 Blazer brochure with #72 red. But. . . I did get a break as the interior came with a tough, tough set of seat cover and floor mats and the interior after a 5 hours wash and clean looks like it's still 1988.
Lots and lots of work, but I got the best reward, a killer $1800.professional sound system and best of all, The title has my name on it. Five years ago, I did the same on my 1990 Chevrolet 1500 Silverado 2WD pickup, but I put a new engine, transmission and a posi unit in the rear differential. But it too, is and rides rock solid.
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach