Holy crap this column is hacked. Broken plastic piece of the top, locking plate cover is bent, and it just all looks terrible

 

I will have to find another column to transplant some parts

 

That sucks. I’m sorry. It might be easier to just switch out the whole steering column with one from a junkyard.

 

Maybe a little too invasive for my liking.. I guess... Having to do it on a ranchero is already difficult. I think all I need is a locking plate cover(its the metal piece) And i'll have to ignore the broken plastic piece on the column collar, which bothers me WAYY more than it should.. I'll take some pics and show whats hacked

 

Having any broken plastic on it would bother me a lot too. You might be able to find something to cover it up with, if you don't want to replace the entire column. I know I wouldn't want to do the work to replace it either. You can actually take the locking plate off altogether if you can't find a replacement. When I first got my '88 S10, my brother mangled the lock plate trying to get it off to replace the ignition cylinder, so we just left it off, and it was fine.

 

Look in the first gen tech help thread under "general tech help" it's called "locking plate won't come out!!" I took pics of what is bent. Whatever it is is keeping me from removing the locking plate. And I was actually lucky enough to find a repair kit for with broken on the column. It's only $24

 

Got the dang cover off. Found the torx screws holding it in. Replaced ignition and it runs now. Little smoky.. maybe bad pcv valve or worse. Everything went together fine. Now to remove the alarm completely and address the transmission leak. Transfer case is also hanging. Will definitely need some help from here with that

 

UPDATE!:
Ok, I figured that I would give everyone an update on the Blazer... As of now, it is back in the shop because the starter died on me. HOWEVER, I have gotten the ignition and door locks switched out, transfer case and transmission have been rebuilt, oil and fuel pump changed, I will be doing LIM gaskets and valve seals soon. I've gotten the interior cleaned up, and it looks like new!(I've also given the radio a facelift with the chrome buttons and shiny faceplate from a '89 Cutlass) 4WD seems to work well, but tires are way too big to work for that truck. It has a 5-inch lift, heavy duty springs and shocks, and plenty of other off-road upgrades.... I will be getting the registration on the truck as soon as I get it back. I'm reluctant to put many miles on it, considering its just barely at 150k, but it will be my daily driver. I'm also planning to begin paint correction and undercoating the body...

 

 

I plan on using something by Mother's or Meguiar's. But I have to take it to a commercial car wash first because I've already washed it 4 times and it still looks like the day it did when I first picked it up... (covered in dust) A car wash near me has an extremely effective wash soap, and I can also shampoo the carpets and shine up the engine bay