Priceless

[Yukon Jack]

Bottle of Crown Royal for using friends trailer = $23.95

Blowing trailer tire on I-35, finding a guy coming out of his apartment who was willing to go get his cutting torch to cut piece of trailer fender well that cut and destroyed tire = $20.00

Walmart spare tire = $33.95

Tipping Walmart employee willing to put us at head of 1 hour 15 minute waiting list to mount tire = $5.00

Gas money = about $100

Owning a 1970 Blazer = PRICELESS



Headed down to Irving, Texas yesterday at 4 a.m., picked up Barn9 in Winfield and made good time arriving in Irving, Texas at about 10:30.

The Blazer is better than I could ever have hoped. Owner confirmed it is a Texas truck, he was the second owner if you don't count the car lot he bought it from.

Very little rust. Both rockers need to be replaced but that is really all I have been able to find. The floor is in like new condition, at least from looking under the Blazer. It has carpet in it so haven't looked under it yet. There are some dents and some visible old bondo under a couple areas but that is no biggie. Top appears to be in very good shape, no visible cracks. The rear hatch opens and stays up. It has a tire carrier on the outside of the rear of the truck.

Both bumpers are in good shape, the front one is in excellent shape. The grill is in better shape than the grill I bought to put on my 69 K20. I would say the grill is in just about new condition. Only one of the black plastic inner grill pieces is broken.

It did have the Dana 20 which was damaged. The owner didn't have it, it was at a friends but I didn't want him to ship it to me as I will just go with an NP205. Rather than a three speed, it has the 4 speed manual which is great as that is what I would have put in the truck.

Engine is definitely a 400 sb and I really think it will just need an oil change, new plugs, wires, distributor work and a fuel pump to get it going. He said it will turn over. There is a small 2 barrel carb on it right now, it has a 4 barrel carb in the back of the Blazer, unknown type, I just saw it back there.

The owner says the rear drive shaft is at another friends and he promised to try to get it and send it to me. If not, well we will see what I can find.

Tires are definitely trash, they lost air very quickly. They don't have a height size but can't be any bigger than 31's or 33's.

The rear has a lift block that appears to be about 4" so I think he was wrong on it having a 6" lift. No problem, I won't stay that way anyway. No steering correction either.

Brakes aren't working and the power steering puked some fluid when we were dragging the Blazer out of the guys back yard.

It has a few years worth of trash in the rear of the Blazer which I am eager to get out. Haven't been able to really inspect the interior yet. Has all three seats but is missing a center console.

Body mounts are about nonexistent.

Roll bar does not look very strong.

All in all I am very pleased and think I got an extreme bargain. The body alone is in such good shape that it is worth more than $600 in my opinion.

I will get some more pics and post them on Monday.

As for my plans, I want to get a transfer case back in it, get the rear driveshaft problem addressed and get the truck running. I have depleted my project funds pretty much with my 69 K20 so this one can just stay as is for a while. I have some mud tires that I can put on this Blazer if I can find some 16" 6 lug rims around here. Future plans will probably center around better tires and rims, better axles and lots of enjoyment. Oh yea, a soft top is in order. I don't think I will worry about paint for a few years - makes them more difficult to enjoy is you get a nice paint job.

It was a great adventure for Barn9 and me. Was nice to have someone to talk with on the drive and sure needed the help with the trip. Barn9 is a great story teller and has been on stage with Ted Nugent I have learned. Introduced Barn9 to some new music - I think he has a liking for Kid Rock now. Really seemed to enjoy track two on Kid Rock's cd, Stereo.

Having a blowout on I-35 was a bit much, Barn9 could have done without that.

Ended up not driving into the ice storm - by the time I got home the temp had risen and melted the streets. Only found ice when I turned off onto a dirt road to my house and it was pretty icy there.

Gonna get the Blazer unloaded today and hopefully get some better pictures tonight.

Here are a couple pics of the 1970 K5 Blazer.



Here's the filthy 400 small block with what appears to be a 2 barrel carb.





Pretty bare options sheet



Tire carrier - stock?



Grill and bumper in very good condition - stock push bar?

[miket]

Congrats yukon...aside from the fun trip sounds like a great score for ya!

[Kid]

And thought Barn9 was a perty good ol boy, till I read the part about Kid Rock (just kidding) sounds like quite the trip. Sounds like you picked up a real good base for your next project

[Longhorn Man]

The only thing better than roadtrips, are roadtrips with a new friend.
And the only thing that can make that better is getting a truck on the other end of that trip.
Sounds like you guys had fun, and the tire thing is nothing but a minor set back. Besides, knowing you'll get there and back takes all the fun out of a roadtrip!

[teeitup]

Hey Mark, sounds like a interesting trip, also sounds like a great buy!!! I got some 33 tires and wheels up here I'd deal with you on if interested. Have fun with the blazer!!! I'll have one some day.

[griesel72]

way to go mark, i think you got a really good deal, and it shouldn't be a problem to fix the list of problems it has. I would hold off on the body work for a while, you can't have as much fun when you are worring about new paint and putting a dent in her.

Can't wait to see some more pics

David

[krue]

Have fun with it!

[Mudder]

ok i'm jealous
Going to go get me a trailer.....

[barn9]

LOL at Kid! Don't worry man, I won't be buying any Kid Rock CD's, although I wouldn't mind a copy of that one song, hehee!
It was a long day, but we had a good time. The blowout on the trailer was a bit stressful, being stranded in heavy traffic is not fun IMO. After that ordeal and the delay in finding and waiting for the spare to be mounted, we had the worry that we were driving into an ice storm, but calls home gave us hope that the roads weren't too bad, and as it turned out, everything was OK. I stayed up for the hour it took Mark to get home, I had told him to just call my house and let it ring once, that way I would know he made it safely. After that one ring, I was able to relax, and I hardly remember my head hitting the pillow. I'll let Mark tell the story about what we ran up against in preping and loading the Blazer, it is a story in itself, not void of a few instances deserving of laughter! He got himself a good score, and that grin on his face all day was worth the price of admission. And best of all, another of these great trucks has been saved!

[junkyardjohn]

CONGRATS YUKON... FIRST GEN. BLAZERS ARE GREAT. SOUNDS LIKE YOU PICKED UP A SUPER DEAL , & YOU & BARN HAD A GREAT TRIP. THERES NOTHING BETTER THAN A ROADTRIP TO PICK UP A NEW TRUCK WITH A GOOD FRIEND. JOHN

[PanelDeland]

"Male Bonding Rocks"

[barn9]

Bonding with dancing girls is more fun!

[Palf70Step]

Congrats Yukon! Glad it went OK. be looking forward to seeing move of the Blazer!

[Hooter]

what do you mean by the roll bar not being soo strong?

[barn9]

Hooter, the roll bar appeared to be a cheap bolt together model, not of very heavy tubing. Mark will know more once he gets some of the junk and crap out of the inside (thrown in by the PO at no extra charge), which will allow a better look at it.
By the way Mark, where are those pics? And I bet you STILL have that big ol' grin on yer face, LOL!

[Warbones]

Congrats guys! Good times and good friends are priceless!