94 6.5L Blazer, what's it worth?

[scottm]

First post since 2013. How have you been getting along without me?

In 2014 I came across a deal on a 94 Blazer 4x4 not running. It has been sitting in my yard untouched ever since. Rats chewed up some wiring and vacuum lines. It is missing some things but I'm not sure what. I have never tried to turn it over with the starter, so I have no idea how healthy it is. It can't be too healthy or it would not have been parked. I'm debating whether to sell it as is or spend possibly months and big $ working on it. It is a rare combination - Wiki says only 4/10s of 1 percent were ordered with the diesel. I have seen them go for over $20k on ebay, or at least they did 3-4 years ago.

So what to do? This weekend I'm going to pull the oil plug and hope there's no water or chunks. Then hook up a battery and spin it. If it has compression then I keep going. I'm just worried about getting all the solenoids and relays and crap hooked back up right. My question is what do you guys think it's worth. 216k miles, paint is typical mid-90s flaking-off white, interior is complete but dry rotting. First year of the electronic Stanadyne injection, OBD1. With this many miles, it is past due for an injection pump and injectors, at the least.

Value:
As is
Barely running and driving
Running and driving well, still needing paint/interior

Scott

[DmaxMaverick]

10 years is a lifetime for a vehicle that doesn't move. Actually, a death-time. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE the older trucks, but without constant attention to details and proper care and storage, they deteriorate very quickly, and often permanently. As much as I would like to restore my 1985, it isn't going to happen. That's a tough one for me to take. 600K+ miles, it's lived a long and productive life, but it isn't coming back. I owned it since new, so here it sits.

As-is or barely running, donate it and take the tax write-off. Donate to a kids hospital or veterans, if you do, please.

It won't be running and driving well, before you spend more than it's worth. I'm not sure I would even try, as-is. If you see evidence of rats/rodents, it's done. Short of a complete wire harness and every piece of soft material they can reach, and what you can't see, you're just as likely to set it on fire when you put power to it. Been there. Done that. In my driveway, 20' from my house. They will have been in the HVAC ducts, and if there is ANY evidence they've been in the cabin, that will double your efforts and expenses. Most parts you will need you will get from someone else's wreck that's been sitting for who knows how long, if you find them, at all.

Like any similar resto job, the end product will cost far more than what it will be worth. If you want a similar Blazer, spend whatever you might have on a restore job on a working vehicle w/o all the baggage. You'll be money ahead, and minus the headaches. If there's someone else, whose doing something similar (paying for a vehicle that will be worth 1/3 the investment), and needs your parts, get what you can out of it, and be happy as it's hauled away.

....Or, entertain the romance of a resto, and throw in your wallet, as well as a chunk of your retirement savings.

[Yukon6.2]

If the body is rust free then everything else can be replaced reasonably...
If you do it slowly
If you are in a rush then the costs can spiral to very expensive quickly.
Up here parking a rig for 10 years does nothing to them,unless you get some rodent damage.
Being in Arizona you have a dry climate as well, so i would not write it off.
Wiring and vacuum hoses are cheap items to replace if you do it yourself.Lots of information as to where the hoses go and wiring is easy with a solder gun and heat shrink to do it properly.
My brother has a 86 Chev 1/2 ton pickup he bought new. 400K KMS + on it . It sat for over 10 years,he rolled his truck and got a broken neck out of the deal.He needed a st of wheels so i put a good battery in his truck checked the fluids and hit the key. After a bit of cranking it fired on the old gas and never looked back. Aired up the tires and had to change one which would not hold air. He drove it for a bout a year and half before he bought another truck and parked the 86 again.
I would not give up on a truck i bought new unless there were rust holes through it

[arveetek]

First post since 2013. How have you been getting along without me?

In 2014 I came across a deal on a 94 Blazer 4x4 not running. It has been sitting in my yard untouched ever since. Rats chewed up some wiring and vacuum lines. It is missing some things but I'm not sure what. I have never tried to turn it over with the starter, so I have no idea how healthy it is. It can't be too healthy or it would not have been parked. I'm debating whether to sell it as is or spend possibly months and big $ working on it. It is a rare combination - Wiki says only 4/10s of 1 percent were ordered with the diesel. I have seen them go for over $20k on ebay, or at least they did 3-4 years ago.

So what to do? This weekend I'm going to pull the oil plug and hope there's no water or chunks. Then hook up a battery and spin it. If it has compression then I keep going. I'm just worried about getting all the solenoids and relays and crap hooked back up right. My question is what do you guys think it's worth. 216k miles, paint is typical mid-90s flaking-off white, interior is complete but dry rotting. First year of the electronic Stanadyne injection, OBD1. With this many miles, it is past due for an injection pump and injectors, at the least.

Value:
As is
Barely running and driving
Running and driving well, still needing paint/interior

Scott

As is - $500 to $1500
Barely running and driving - $1500 to $2500
Running and driving well, still needing paint/interior - $4500 to $6500

As a 2 door owner myself, I've watched the market as well. It's coming back down fast. For a while, I couldn't find ANY 2 doors for sale (gas or diesel) for a reasonable price in my area. Now I see a bunch of 2 doors for sale, ranging in price from $1500 to $15,000. They key to the higher priced models is flawless paint and interiors. Even the hard to find diesels don't fetch much more unless the body and interior are immaculate.

Sorry, but I don't think you can make money on this deal. If you want to fix it up for the heck of it, then by all means go for it. You will not be able to fix it up and make a profit... of that I'm sure.

Casey

[More Power]

My daughter's 6.5TD Blazer sat in the garage for more than 11 years before we finished the engine rebuild, made other repairs, then made it drive-able. No rodents, no sun/weather and no road de-icer made the vehicle a rust-free time capsule. What they're worth depends on many factors. If stock, pristine and not modified, it'll be worth a lot, but most nowadays are not pristine. The thread for our 1994 Blazer has info about values.
https://www.thedieselpageforums.com/...Blazer-Project

[scottm]

Thanks everyone. The rats didn't get into the interior and they didn't totally destroy the wiring. Just some wires that were out of split-loom and the small plastic vacuum tubing. There is a bracket with 3 solenoids on top of the manifold in the 5-7 cyl area that are chewed up a bit. I think my plan now is to verify it will crank and generate compression, then clean up the engine bay and interior. I live in Scottsdale. The Barret jackson crowd shows up around new years, and about then ads on craigslist and whatnot for collectible cars explodes. I'll put ads on CL and marketplace after Christmas and see what happens.