Blazer restoration

blazerbrad · 07-31-2009, 12:53 PM

Since December '08 I've been in the process of installing new body panels on the Blazer. Still working on it as time allows (work + 2 young kids + pitiful garage at home = slow progress).

I was really planning on taking some pictures when it was still clean but decided at the last minute to run it in the Mud Run Obstacle Course at the fair on Wednesday and was rushing around buttoning a few things up instead. In any case, the mud hides any mediocre fab work!

Complete rear 1/4 panels replaced with parts cut off an old Blazer from Jet455. Also dovetained (tapered) the rear about 6" on each side. This was a lot of work (much more than I expected...replacing them in general, the dovetail part only added a couple more hours). Also sectioned in a new piece on the B-pillar where the door latch was that got creamed by that tree on Last Chanice last fall while in Slade.

Front fenders replaced. These cost me $40 to pull off an old Suburban in the junkyard and didn't take more than a couple hours start to finish including cutting them to fit.

As a side note, all of the body panels were OEM GM parts vs. the cheaper foreign crap. Both trucks the parts were pulled off of had been Ziebarted at some point in their life and thus they were relatively rust free considering they were 20 years old and sitting in Ohio.

Here is the overview. It went from completely clean to this in 31 seconds.

Here is the dovetail/taper of the rear body. Again, about 6" was cut out right at the rear of the floor. I probably would of gone a little further but that would have required completely cutting out the rear cage and redoing it. The top of the bed rails sit right against the down bars on the cage.

Kinda' hard to notice it from this picture. For reference the rear bumper was cut down about 4.5" on each side (intinially wanted it to stick out further from the body then before).
These give a better idea. For reference the outside of the bumper used to stick out just a slight amout more than the outside of the tire, and the bumper was pretty tight to the fender.

Did a few other odds and ends, like extended out the rocker guards and added some gussets to the rear portion of the cage.

__________________

JET455 · 07-31-2009, 12:56 PM

Looks good Brad very nice job!

94Dodge Truggy · 07-31-2009, 01:37 PM

Specs? Motor, trans, case, axles, gears, tools spare parts etc...

Looks dent free! You need to come wheeling. ;)

blazerbrad · 07-31-2009, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 94Dodge Truggy

Specs? Motor, trans, case, axles, gears, tools spare parts etc...

Looks dent free! You need to come wheeling. ;)

I'll post a "before" picture if I get a chance later.....but let's just say I was called crazy by several people for spending the time to put fresh sheetmetal on it.

1990 Blazer
6.2L diesel, 700r4, 241
110k+ miles (I've owned it since '94 with under 50k), engine never cracked open, trans never touched except for a cooler, t-case never touched) Been wheeled hard for 10 years.

D60 front, new non-neck Spicer inners, 35-spline Yukon stubs, flanges, Lock-right, 4.10.

14FF rear, welded, 4.10's, disc brakes, home-brew beefed diff covers f&r

4" lift springs in front, shackle flip with stock springs in rear

39.5" TSL's on 15x8 rims with 2.75" backspacing

Homebuilt front and rear bumpers, Ramsey 9k winch.

Rockers cut out about 6" high and replaced with 3x3 tube. Doors still fit but required 4" cut out along the bottom.

Cage, line-locks, dual batteries, 140 amp alternator, blah, blah, blah.

Normally have a large box, Hi-lift, shovel, spare driveshafts, 38" spare tire, etc... in the back.

jfiscus · 07-31-2009, 03:49 PM

how did you do at the fair???

Coppertop · 07-31-2009, 10:11 PM

Nice Rig! A diesel... Bet it sounds good in the woods.

Nice Job on the wrap around bumpers.

Nick

blazerbrad · 08-04-2009, 01:19 AM

The term "bark is worse than the bite" comes to mind with the exhaust. It has dual 2.5" 40 series flows that sound really good IMHO, but it is a 6.2 diesel. It did pull 2nd gear low range in the mud at 3,600 rpm governed speed and thus chuncked mud onto the roof. Engine mods including a J code intake and turning up the pump are coming this fall. Most people think it is a gas engine when under throttle.

Placed mid pack at the fair. I was 4th overall running and didn't get to see how bad the bumps were. Las year they are pretty bad and you had to hit them pretty easy to avoid breaking a stock suspension rig....this year they were much milder and I could have hit them much harder but didn't realize until after the fact, and you only got to run the course once. Think I got around 31 sec. and the winning time was mid-20's. I blew through the mud, but babied it on the bumps/jumps since it wasn't worth breaking it to me.

KargoMaster · 08-04-2009, 08:10 PM

clarifying question...

"new non-neck (down) Spicer inners"

I thought they quit making those, where'd ya find the good stuff??

Beautiful rig...

blazerbrad · 08-06-2009, 02:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KargoMaster

clarifying question...

"new non-neck (down) Spicer inners"

I thought they quit making those, where'd ya find the good stuff??

Beautiful rig...

The front D60 came out of a '77 K30 pickup that I had bought (the entire truck). Both inner shafts were neck-down and presumably the stock versions. After breaking an inner on Carb Hill I replaced both inners with new
Spicer shafts ordered from I thing Randy's?? (been several years). Chromo inners were not readily available at the time and any that were available were very expensive. After the replacing the inners, and retaining the newer Spicer u-joints, I started breaking the stock 30-spline stubs. Broke 2 stubs and found a 3rd severely twisted when replacing them with 35-spline Yukons....no breakage on anything since these replacementsl.

07-31-2009, 12:53 PM	#1
blazerbrad - CORE Member - Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 831 Images: 6	Blazer restoration Since December '08 I've been in the process of installing new body panels on the Blazer. Still working on it as time allows (work + 2 young kids + pitiful garage at home = slow progress). I was really planning on taking some pictures when it was still clean but decided at the last minute to run it in the Mud Run Obstacle Course at the fair on Wednesday and was rushing around buttoning a few things up instead. In any case, the mud hides any mediocre fab work! Complete rear 1/4 panels replaced with parts cut off an old Blazer from Jet455. Also dovetained (tapered) the rear about 6" on each side. This was a lot of work (much more than I expected...replacing them in general, the dovetail part only added a couple more hours). Also sectioned in a new piece on the B-pillar where the door latch was that got creamed by that tree on Last Chanice last fall while in Slade. Front fenders replaced. These cost me $40 to pull off an old Suburban in the junkyard and didn't take more than a couple hours start to finish including cutting them to fit. As a side note, all of the body panels were OEM GM parts vs. the cheaper foreign crap. Both trucks the parts were pulled off of had been Ziebarted at some point in their life and thus they were relatively rust free considering they were 20 years old and sitting in Ohio. Here is the overview. It went from completely clean to this in 31 seconds. Here is the dovetail/taper of the rear body. Again, about 6" was cut out right at the rear of the floor. I probably would of gone a little further but that would have required completely cutting out the rear cage and redoing it. The top of the bed rails sit right against the down bars on the cage. Kinda' hard to notice it from this picture. For reference the rear bumper was cut down about 4.5" on each side (intinially wanted it to stick out further from the body then before). These give a better idea. For reference the outside of the bumper used to stick out just a slight amout more than the outside of the tire, and the bumper was pretty tight to the fender. Did a few other odds and ends, like extended out the rocker guards and added some gussets to the rear portion of the cage. __________________

07-31-2009, 12:56 PM	#2
JET455 Your wifes pimp! Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Everywhere!!!!!! Posts: 548	Looks good Brad very nice job! __________________ if i am not currently offending you, i will be shortly.

07-31-2009, 01:37 PM	#3
94Dodge Truggy EX-Vice President Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Fairfield, Ohio Posts: 3,048	Specs? Motor, trans, case, axles, gears, tools spare parts etc... Looks dent free! You need to come wheeling. ;) __________________

07-31-2009, 10:11 PM	#6
Coppertop XJWHEELING Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Colerain Township Posts: 837	Nice Rig! A diesel... Bet it sounds good in the woods. Nice Job on the wrap around bumpers. Nick __________________ Just a 200 dollar cherokee that wouldn't start .. Ten years later same chrome grille ..

08-04-2009, 08:10 PM	#8
KargoMaster Cleaning off the rust... Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 1,009	clarifying question... "new non-neck (down) Spicer inners" I thought they quit making those, where'd ya find the good stuff?? Beautiful rig... __________________ brad 5.0L \| 435 \| 203 \| 300 \| 4.10 \| 39.5 Buildup BACK underway...

07-31-2009, 03:49 PM	#5
jfiscus Terrain Stomper Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Crittenden, KY Posts: 633	how did you do at the fair???

08-04-2009, 01:19 AM	#7
blazerbrad - CORE Member - Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 831 Images: 6	The term "bark is worse than the bite" comes to mind with the exhaust. It has dual 2.5" 40 series flows that sound really good IMHO, but it is a 6.2 diesel. It did pull 2nd gear low range in the mud at 3,600 rpm governed speed and thus chuncked mud onto the roof. Engine mods including a J code intake and turning up the pump are coming this fall. Most people think it is a gas engine when under throttle. Placed mid pack at the fair. I was 4th overall running and didn't get to see how bad the bumps were. Las year they are pretty bad and you had to hit them pretty easy to avoid breaking a stock suspension rig....this year they were much milder and I could have hit them much harder but didn't realize until after the fact, and you only got to run the course once. Think I got around 31 sec. and the winning time was mid-20's. I blew through the mud, but babied it on the bumps/jumps since it wasn't worth breaking it to me.

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