1989 Chevy Blazer All Jacked Up

Major Progress on our custom build for a customer. Transferring his 1980 Chevy K-5 Blazer frame with a new Target Master 350 Chevy to a 1989 Chevy K-5 Blazer Body. the new body has all the body panels in very good condition, A/C and power windows. We also added a 3 inch body lift to get this project off of the ground.

De-wiring the computer was interesting but we were able to do it and keep everything working like it should. We had to remove about 80 wires from the harness and trim things back to look good but as it turned out we only had 6 wires left at the fuse box that we did not need anymore. The older vehicle needed a diode added to the alternator wire so the engine would shut off when you turned the key off.

There was an electric fuel pump wire going back to the gas tank we did not need because the 1980 engine had a mechanical fuel pump. That was simple to take out of the harness. We had to cut a hole in the floor pan for the manual shifter, transfer case lever and clutch rod. Not as bad as I originally thought.

We cleaned up the radiator support and front fenders under the hood, trimmed them out semi gloss black and gloss white. We also repainted his frame and axles before moving the chassis to the new truck.

We added a cowl hood from Classic Industries and with some tweaking we got it to fit the fenders and the radiator support. Although it was not a perfect fit we were able to make it look really good on the truck.

The roof was a solid sheet of rust and we had to strip the rust and old paint off, we cleaned it with a metal cleaner from PPG and primed it with a direct to metal acid etch primer. The front fenders and tailgate were stripped to bare metal and the dent repair was minor but those panels are in primer now.

The 2 doors and 2 quarter panels are left and although not a piece of cake they are repairable.

I will update this story after the customer authorizes the rest of the needed repairs.

The K-5 is going to be painted Red, White and Blue. Can't wait to get it completely done and back home to the customer!

Roof half stripped bad case of surface rust

Body mounted with 3" lift

Roof after strip and prime

Under hood finishing up the wiring

Another Poorly Repaired Vehicle Inspected

I was hired a few weeks ago to inspect a 2014 Hyundai Sonata. This vehicle was repaired at a large local Auto Body Shop that is owned by a large dealer in the City of Charlotte North Carolina.

The car had some obvious flaws from the outside, taillight not fitting, large panel gaps, rough paint work, over spray on panels that were not painted. As we looked further it got worse.

It appears that the shop elected not to weld the panels back on the car but they used glue instead. There is a tack weld at the end of the quarter but it is welded poorly at best.

Bolts were missing and left loose and the customer had taken it back to the dealer 3 times before she decided to seek us out to help her with her diminished value. We inspect other auto body shops repairs for our customers to make sure that they are safe. If you had your car fixed in the last three years, you can still have us take a look at the repairs and help you collect for your loss in value. A consultation is FREE. 

So don't take a chance if you notice anything that does not look , feel, or sound right. There can be allot of not so good repairs hiding under the shiny paint!

Bob Winfrey

Diminished Value Auto