Hello all,

My dad picked up a 2005 Chevy Blazer LS 4x4 with 124k miles on it to keep at our cabin. The truck was in pretty good condition as it was maintained by AT&T in its previous life. We split the purchase in that he bought the truck and I'm paying for all the repairs. I run a shop so labor is cheap (relatively speaking) and parts are at cost. You may find that some of the repairs are overkill but we don't want to need repairs for this truck as it will be a backup that we actually rarely drive besides taking out for some backcountry exploration and runs into town for supplies. It might get 3000 miles per year. Maybe.

Attached are before/beginning pics. The truck is not totally pristine on the outside, but the interior is almost perfect.

 

The first order of business was to address the very expected thrashed front end.

It wasn't as bad as expected, as AT&T maintained the truck well. They put in a new Jasper transmission at 80k, a new water pump, battery, and did a few other small repairs. We did a whole lot more at my shop though. Here was the shopping list:

Idler arm, pitman arm, all 4 ball joints, front brake pads & rotors, spark plugs & wires, distributor cap & rotor, sway bar endlinks, left-front axle seal, fuel filter, fuel pump (preemptive, it was likely original), and new oil for the differentials and transfer case.

Good starting point to make sure this thing doesn't need major servicing for the next 10 years (assuming 3k or less per year).

 

There were a few cosmetic flaws on the exterior. My mom refused to drive in the truck unless it "looked nice."

For reference my parents have a 2016 Explorer Platinum and a 2011 Regal GS, so she's used to nicer cars.

Bumpers were easy to source in black, which I felt would look very nice against the white exterior. The wheels had major clearcoat failure so I had a buddy refinish them for me. I decided on a satin finish with black pockets and machined faces. It turned out amazing and definitely a big upgrade even from factory silver/gray wheels. I don't have the rear bumper and end caps in yet but the front bumper and wheels are done. The tow hooks were rusty so we cleaned them and painted them with Chevy red/orange engine paint. They turned out great enjoy pics of the front bumper and wheels.

The grille was broken so I ordered a new kit... pics will be available tomorrow, but maybe the headlights give it away...

 

Looks like a nice clean ride!

 

Today we got the front end dialed in. The factory grille had a few broken tabs, and all 9 of the metal clips were rusted severely. We replaced all of the clips, as well as the grille, bumper, and valance. The bumper was clearcoated to hopefully prevent future surface rust. The headlights came as a set with the grille. A new old stock bowtie emblem in en route to complete the new look.

 

Nice!

 

Looking good!

 

Your headlights are installed wrong. Reseat them making sure the locating tab on the bottom is fully inserted into the pocket on the core support.

 

Didn't even notice that! Good call... that Wouldve been fun at night

 

Thank you for pointing that out! It's funny after I posted these pictures I noticed they looked pretty out of whack. I figured they would look better once adjusted but I happened to Google "installing S10 headlights" and came across a few articles about the tabs.