Land of the Lost

[itg]

Hello everyone,

Hi, My name is Ian, and I am an...idiot? I'll let you in on my little journey so far.

Back in February I sold my "daily" 2006 Tacoma @ 16mpg for a '97 Civic @ 36mpg, and at 40 miles/day it adds up. I really liked the Tacoma, and yes there are pros & cons of each, but it was prime time to sell it, seeing as I got almost what I paid for it, 4 years and 40k miles later. Now for the story.

About 10 or so years ago I had a '69 C10 and ended up having to sell it. Forward 10 years and the wife and I agreed that after I sold the tacoma, that I still needed a "truck" to haul stuff, as I do all of my own work on and around my house. I was on CL and ebay looking and checked out a few c10 trucks, when all of a sudden she decided that she would like a "hybrid" truck/SUV so I can haul when I need to and also have something to tow a trailer if/when we get one, while also having something to four-wheel the family around in in this beautiful state. When I realized I could combine my love for the 67-72 chevy styling with a utilitarian vehicle, there was no choice. Enter "the 69" BLAZER #1.



Let me start off by admitting that I jumped the gun on this one. I didnt do enough homework, and realized after the bought it, that I was in way over my head. Sometimes I think I can do more than I can. Let me also admit at this point that I am definitely a shade of green when it comes to vehicles. I can do enough to get by, but I surely have a ceiling on my knowledge... Enter ALL OF YOU. I have been a snooper (or whatever you call 'em) for a month or so now, absorbing tons of information all of you amazing peeps have to offer, and so far it has been very helpful.

After tearing into this baby, I realized that this truck could not and would not (under my power) be where I would need it to be, anytime soon. If it was just a project truck and I could sit on for 10 years, than this truck would have been fine, but I was looking for a fairly solid driver that I could fix as needed.

A long story short, not only does it have a serious amount of exterior body work, as you can see, both driver floor pans, rockers, doors, behind doors would need replacing. The three on the tree was removed, engine has been replaced and hooked to a TH350 that has no linkage, there was a good amount of oil in the coolant when I drained it (blown head gasket?). Not to mention the tranny mount bolts were hand tightened. I was just overwhelmed by amount of work that was visible, let alone what would need to be fixed that I havent found. It would be a doable project and especially worth it being a '69, but for what I needed currently, it proved too much. So at this moment, I am going to part a couple of things from it and probably eventually sell it.

Enter "the 70" Blazer #2.




A week or so before we decided that maybe I should look again for something a little more "driveable" and "put together," I noticed a Blazer on the local Denver CL that says "one owner, runs" for $3000. At that moment I wasnt in the market, and a couple of days or so later it was gone. Didnt think much of it. Maybe two weeks later I am on ebay and I see what looks to be the same Blazer with a Buy It Now price of $10k in nearby Golden. Im thinking "what the h***?" I see that someone bids it to $6500. A couple weeks later I see this on ebay with a Buy It Now of $12.5k:




I take a closer look, notice a couple things, and quickly realize that this is the same blazer I had seen a couple weeks before, except white, and black painted rims. I read the description which states that he "professionally patched" the rust holes behind the door, did some other body work and sprayed it in primer sealer. I "watch" it for the 6 days, and soon after I get home from work one day, I see that it is in its final hour and the bid is only at $5500. After considering what availability is out there, the fact that it has documented one original owner (my seller never signed over title), has protecto plate and original owners manual with it, numbers matching frame, engine, rear axle, and tranny to protecto plate, with working original stereo and original 4 speed manual with the granny, zero windshield rust, and what seems only to need to replace outer rockers from rust (I know, Im being optimistic, ok?) and some other minor body work, it seemed a fair price at $5600.

Anyhow, I won the auction and brought her home a month or so ago, now Im feeling her out, figuring out what she needs to be done to make her mechanically sound.






So far, since bringing her home, I realized that the "professional body work" done to replace the rust holes behind the door was actually a lap welded patch which Im not even sure he removed all the rust, and Ive notice some other body issues that I am a little disappointed in, but guess I can handle at the moment, im just annoyed. Ive replaced a loose water pump, replaced the fuel pump (after it stalled out on me in front of my house idling and then witnessed a dry fuel line going into the carb.) I swapped out the idiot lights dash in the '70 with the gauges dash and cab harness from the '69 (thanks to all of your information and knowledge.)

So that is it for now, Ive got a few issues that I could use help with but I will leave that for another time. Dont be too harsh on me in your comments, as I am harsh enough on myself, but I am definitely willing to take advice and constructive criticism as I move forward in this journey.