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Daily Driver: 1987 Chevrolet K5 Blazer

When a vintage vehicle becomes a daily driver, you have to be willing to make a few sacrifices along the way. The premise is exciting – you get to drive a vehicle that doesn’t have many competitors in the commuter lane for the coolest rig on the highway – but you will be more prone to unexpected mechanical issues that might delay your arrival at work. The seller of this 1987 Chevrolet K5 Blazer listed here on eBay seems to think it’s ready for prime-time as someone’s daily, and it may very well be – but you’re going to have to do some homework first before signing up for spending a lot of time in a vehicle that’s already decades old.

This premise is top of my mind for me at the moment as I work to prepare my ’97 Lexus LX450 (Land Cruiser) for daily use. Fortunately, it’s new enough that all it really needs is a modern radio for it to be an enjoyable long-term cruiser, but there’s still a very lengthy list of maintenance performed to ensure it gets me to work on time. At the moment, the engine is actually coming out for a headgasket job that turned into a timing chain job that turned into an oil pan job – you get the picture. This Blazer likely has far fewer of those issues to worry about given it has under 85,000 miles on the clock, whereas my 80-Series truck has 250K. The interior is in nice shape with clean buckets and a large center console.

There’s always the chance the odometer rolled over, but I’m not seeing any evidence of that in the overall condition aside from the headliner that needs to be replaced. The seller doesn’t tell us much about the truck in the description, but I would assume you’re not getting much in the form of records. Assuming there’s no deep paper trail, I would count on refreshing the cooling system and ignition components as a matter of preventative maintenance. The listing doesn’t mention whether the air conditioning still works, so that may be another expense if you want to use this like a modern vehicle.

Now, of course, with a 5.7L V8 under the hood, your fuel economy is going to be a bit of a joke. These days, however, commuting may not mean the same as it used to, so you you be driving 10 miles to the local coffee shop to plug in. The background of the photos would suggest he or she knows their trucks, and would also be able to share a bit more info in person about its history. At the end of the day, if the mileage can be verified, the sub-100K reading and the lack of rust indicates there’s a good truck underneath, but we’re still a few dollars away from the $14,000 Buy-It-Now.

Comments

  1. David

    Although the details are scant and the seller doesn’t have an established history, I think someone just got a steal. I’d happily have paid that amount, knowing the potential work that’s lurking.

    Been owning and working on K5s for nearly 30 years and have yet to meet a challenge I can’t overcome within very reasonable resources.

    Like 9
    • Big Bear 🇺🇸

      David.. somebody stole it! 😂 It’s gone. Looking at the pictures. The hood needs a repaint and a new head liner I hope the new owner is happy. 🐻🇺🇸

      Like 2
  2. John B

    I drive a 1992 GMC K1500.FOR it’s age the vehicle is very reliable. The 4×4 works most of the time and the AC needs recharging but otherwise I have no complaints. Compared to today’s trucks tis quite simple to work on.I’m not hating on newer trucks but this OBS has my heart….John

    Like 2
  3. Maggy

    I had an 80 4×4 and it was a great truck.The only reason I wouldn’t buy it is because where I live they use lots of salt and these trucks disintegrate. When I get out of here I’d pick one up.

    Like 4
  4. K. R. V.

    Not sure, but looks like the original owner took decent care, with pride of ownership. However the paint looks like they had no time for gentle hand washing that metallic paint and rough textured roof, but instead ran through a long list of automatic car washes, back in the day they did more damage than cleaning, when it came to metallic finishes. Which is a dam shame the original paint is not in the same condition the truck is in.

    Like 3
  5. mikeh

    I had a 1990 K5 that I drove in bad weather on a regular basis. The body was nice, but one day when I got in and pulled on the seat belt, the retractor came flying up at me with a piece of rusty floorboard attached and whacked me on the head. So, that was the end of that.

    Like 1
  6. tim hahn

    I’ve got a rust free one in Montana for sale.

    Like 1
  7. Bill Hange

    How can a person find the Montana unit for sale?

    Like 0

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