HIGH 5

Like many of us, Kent Walters had dreamed of one day building his very own custom K5 Blazer to share with his family and friends. His quest for the perfect restoration project dates to the late 2000’s. In 2010, while looking through several for sale ads, Kent came upon this 1972 K5 Blazer and had a gut feeling this was the one. The purchase was made, and he had himself a super clean, stock K5 to take home to his family. 

Kent spent the next 10 years making his K5 a dependable driver to take on outings with the family. Through those years, Kent found out that his purchase turned out to be a hidden gem with how well taken care of it turned out to be. The body had held up throughout the years and showed no signs of its body panels needing replacement due to rust. Being a midwest truck, the salt and sand from the winter months can take a toll on body with rust. 

Starting around 2020, during the down time of Covid, Kent began to fix a couple items that he had been putting off. Like most little fixes, it all turned into one big project after Kent and his son, Justin, along with Kent’s grandson, Waylon dove into working on his K5. 

Kent’s plan for the restoration was to give his own interpretation on how he thought a K5 Blazer should have been built back in 1972. Starting with a healthy Z28 power plant and a two-tone paint job, which was something that was never done by the GM factory. The interior received a sleek blue plaid Highlander interior. To top off his vision for the K5, a set of larger than stock wheels and tires to give it the ultimate stance it much needed. 

The frame was the first thing to come out and was all prepped to be sent out the powder coater to give it a fresh coat of satin black. While the frame was out getting freshened up, the body was next. A mix of factory GM colors were selected for the repaint. Kent and Justin began to spray on PPG Dark Blue and Bright White colors to give the two-tone paint job he was looking for. 

With the frame and body finished, it was time to reinstall the two back together again and send the Blazer off to SMS Fabric in Canby, Oregon. While in their hands, they installed the new GM Highlander pieces as well as reupholstering the seats with a custom blue plaid material to give the whole interior package a truly unique look and feel.

Once the interior shop was done, the Blazer went back to Kent’s shop where they spent nearly two years hunting down as many OEM parts as he could find with the addition of Hickey Enterprise time period accessories to finish out the restoration. 

Looking back at the finished product, Kent feels he has achieved what he set out to accomplish with a custom K5 showcasing all the style cues he had dreamed of. Kent would like to thank his wife Marla for all her support, as well as Justin, and his son Waylon Walters for helping him complete this journey with him. It will truly be a memorable family heirloom he will never forget.