Up until 2013 I had restored a 1990 Chevy Silverado I found here in PA. And it was right around that same time I had told a friend that it was great that the truck, and the only vehicle I would would be a 1975 to 1990. It was that week that I was just looking on Ebay just playing with the idea of buying a 29 year old 4X4. All the parts that could be shot, and anything even 500 miles near the rust belt, as the 1970-1990 GM vehicles were built out of low grade steel, and any rust in the chassis is a deal killer for me.

I looked at where the listing came from, which was in Wyoming, but I also never do anything financial without talking to the owner. I get to speak with the owner and he told me the K5 came from Texas, his mother bought it in 1988 and as she owned a large ranch in Texas, but she had passed, and he was no rancher, he was a CPA which I felt a bit as the price was $9.999.00. I called back and we talked for another 20 minutes, and I was convinced this guy was the real deal and I sent him the bank transfer.

Finding a legit automotive transporter which cost a little over $1100.00, I felt beat up after dealing with this trade of liers and con artists. Now I live in a small township just south of the Philadelphia Inter. Airport, actually too close. The Philadelphia airport, or 85% of it in Tinicum Township. But being small pays out sometimes, It took 12 days and it finally got here. The truck driver called me for final directions and I had him to bring the truck to a semi large Holiday Inn parking lot.

This is what it looked like sitting in my driver way. But my luck is I’ve made some very good and honest friends, who just so happen to own a Garage, and another one owns a Body shop. The first step was to have Howie put it on the life and see how her bones were.I knew coming from Texas the plastic parts would cooked to a crisp. But a week later Howie call and asked me to come down to his shop, Now I’m getting scare me. But as turns out this truck was actually in pretty good shape. It’s tight and there’s no evidence of taking it up dune bugging and had no leaks. So we put together a mechanical rehabbing of the truck. I called LMC and started ordering. we did a end to end inspection and either replace with OEM or buy heavier duty. I lost count in my 67 year old mind. But I had done the 1990 Silverado pickup. so I knew what was in the net, but then I had to decide wither to do a cheap facial face-lift and I have always been adhered to General Motors cars, this one make it 17.So that was to take about 9 months to get all the 1988 parts. Many times I’d call a company and they ask what year it was and when I said 1988, they hung up on me. this was year one and we replaced all the suspension and we cleaned the chassis pretty good and it was sealed the mechanical undersides we got a coat of top quality sealant.

The next stop was at Century Collision where the next 5 months worked on. Bobby had his crew pull off everything and we lifted the body mounts I had got from LMC. Fit like a glove. Oddly enough It took 3 hours to flush both doors and the tailgate of all the Texas dust. It was yellow and looked like a spring had opened up under the truck with Texas dirt came out. Almost all of the parts I needed came from either LMC or Ebay. Then we had to decide on paint. . . I found a 1988 sales brochure and as soon it got here I knew what colors we were going to paint it. At birth it was beige and gold sides, but we painted it just as it was on the sales brochure and one finished I had a pin strip on it, small 1/8″ and it was painted in 9 coats of paint and their had hours and hours and hours of block sanding. John the shops owner did the painting, and since he’s done this it showed it. When you paint a car after it’s left the factory it needs to be painted in Polyurethane and it took the full 5 months and once done, and winter coming I put her into the garage to “Cure” for 4 months so it still needed a some new odds and ends and I have a friend who is a retired electrical engineer and I took to the best audio shops in Philadelphia, and while there they sold me on a totally new sound shop. So the truck cost me $9.999.00, $1340.00 in the alarm and sound system and about $7500.00 in mechanical work including a special kit that LMC makes to reinforce a weak spot on the chassis. so . . this is what she look like in my driveway, and then. . . it goes to a main line detail shop and they have a that is an artist with a carnauba wax and a proper buffer.

She’s covered by Grundy’s insurance for $30.000 but she isn’t a garage queen, we go out ever weekend to let it be “All she can Be”.