Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

Thanks for your quick response, that looks great....do you have anything on file for chevrolet

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

I am pretty sure I have a few different ones. WHat did you have in mind

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

Well, my presents came two days earlier than expected. FedEx as usual appears to have played soccer and other contact sports with the packages. All 3 boxes were busted up and it looked like parts should be missing. I started opening the boxes and he guy asked me what I was doing........I said duh......if you think I am signing for this without checking to make sure everything is still here you have lost your mind. He says well once you open the boxes you can't send them back. I felt like smacking hiim on the forehead and sayin hey stupid unless ur blind the boxes are alread open caused by you and FedEx. I told him I had no intention of sending anything back but if it was missing parts we would be filling out some paperwork before I signed anything. Looks like both of my floorpans are bent but not unuseable. Suprisingly everything survived. I now have a wall full of parts that I can use to start rebuilding the green machine. I hope to get a start on it tomorrow night. I have my work cut out for me but I think it will be worth it. Originally this was going to be a quick rust repair, get it running and drive but since I scored the really nice floor looks like it will end up frame off. Oh well may just go get that rotisserie at Greg smith. Sure will ake the rocker work go easier. I will be able to tell more tomorrow night I hope.

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

UPS also has adopted the customer is stuck with it policy. I got a radiator damaged with 2 holes in the box and core damaged, I refused delivery and was told damaged was not an option. Our UPS girl took it back to the office sent it back with other comments customer not home... Buyer beware..delivery in good condition optional...OH YEA NICE COLLECTION OF PARTS.

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

Seems like everyting is going full circle. Used to be fedex and ups were the quickreliable and damage free shippers, now it seems usps takes the lead again.

BTW Ed, how you making out with yours? Any progress since u got the top off?

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

Hey Richard at the rate I am going you will be done 1st....I got the windshield out...doors off...dash torn apart ...cleaned drip rail ...primed -floor, dash, jambs, and windshield. Used Sika 1a polyurethane caulk for seam sealer and drip rail. tore 1 door apart started to prep for paint.... New door hinge pins. , I need a book (Rebuilding old blazer 4 DUMMIES). Lots of details. putting it all back together could be interesting...Ed.

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

Do you have anything in this type, and thank you for taking the time. Youve got to be anxious to get your new parts on. Subscribed

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...424_121134.jpg

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

Jim,
I will look and let you know later today
Richard

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

Well got a chance to spend a few hours on the blazer tonight. Original plan was to do the rocker boxes and supporting pcs. first then tackle the rear floor, then the driver windshield pillar. My line of thinking was to keep the doors closed and the top on until the rocker area was done. After getting the rocker box out I see that it aint gonna happen that way.It appears to me that I am going to have to take the top off and rear quarters and get the rear floor replaced first. The wonderful engineers at GM made it so you cant get to two of the bolt heads to remove the inner panels unless you remove the quarter panels including the B pillar. looks like I may as well go ahead and tear the whole rig down and start from scratch. It i the only way I see to get to everything and do it right

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

isnt that amazing, all that work couldve been saved, IF you had access to those bolts. if you cut an access door in the B post, above the rear floor, you may get to them. nice work....

wish i lived closer, but it looks like you have things under control

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

If I was not going to replace the rear floor anyway, I would have cut the bolts from the bottom side and welded the new panels in. Having never worked a Blazer in this area I was unsure what I would find. Now that I have opened it up I can adjust my thinking :lol::lol:

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

I just got done most of the same build your going to do. I left the top on and did the A pillars, floors, inner rockers and boxes before removing the bed and quarters. I removed the cover on the B pillar to get to those two bolts hidden in there and also fix the step/floor support. Here's my photobucket link for lots of pics.
http://s47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...zer/?start=all
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...blazer/046.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...azer/006-4.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...azer/002-4.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...r/DSCF0930.jpg

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

Thanks for the link John. Are you interested in the aluminum rims we were talking about when you were down?

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

I'm going to go with the factory steel wheel and hubcap look, I picked up two 16.5x9.75 kelsey hayes wheels from Duallyjams.

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

Hey Richard ...Are you going to put new mounts on then work up from there..Here is the link to body bolt replacement...and a photo from LMC on the pieces required....Ed......http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=439583[/url]

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

To answer your question I think my set came from N. Carolina 15 years ago Energy suspension #3.4110 or 3.4110R (for Red) double check make sure that's it. Lots of places on-line seem to have these for under $100.....Ed.

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

Thanks Ed,
I remembered seeing the ones on your Blazer and knew they were not originals then when I saw the ones on Ebay it got me questioning myself LOL

I ordered my por15 today so I can coat the inside of all the panels good and I am going to order all new bolts & bushings in the morning so hopefully I can get it all together to replace everything next weekend. Once I get all that in then I can finish tearing the rocker area apart.

Richard

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

Well got my bushings and bolts ordered so hopefully they will come in this week.

While trolling Craigs list last night I came across an add for some rallies with new center caps for a decent price I called the guy this morning and set up to meet him this afternoon.

He also had this sweet set of polished slots complete with centercaps & lug nuts I picked up for possible installation on the 68' panel.

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

did you get the slots and rallies from the same guy? Nice haul!

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

Actually yes I did. Story is he went to Carlile and picked up a set of vette rallies for the 69' shortbed Fleet he just bought . He did not know about this site so I invited him to stop on by. Told him anything he may need or need to know he will find right here.

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

Well i am hoping to make more sense of the assembly of the truck when the time comes. I went ahead and purchased a factory assembly manual off of Feebay yesterday. I have heard others talk about them but this is the 1st time I have seen one for sale. With 600 pages I hope it has something useful in it.

Richard

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

Great ref. matrl., just hard to find what your looking for. Service manual is another great source, but you have all these knowledgeable guys that can help you out faster. Best forum around, bar none....

Good luck on your reassembly

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

Well I think that the black Blazer will end up getting parted out. I have been robbing parts off of it for the two other ones so I think it will be better off utilized as a permenant donor. I will be posting it up on the parts board when I make sure I have everything I need off of it.

Glad it has finally cooled off some here hoping to get some work done soon.

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

Not to say I have been procrastinating but I finally got to pull the black 71 in the shop tonight and start the full dismantl. Did not get a whole lot acomplished since I had to soak most everything with blaster. I did get the front clip completely unbolted ready to lift off tomorrow along with the front bumper. !st thing I dd was get all four wheels off it and lower it to the drums/rotors so it was easier to work on. The more I looked at it the more I was convinced it had a 6" spring lift and not a 4". I got the tape measure out and set the weight of the truck back on so I could get an accurate measurement. I measured from the top of the axle tube to the top of the frame in the same exact place on all three blazers. The red one and green one measure 14" and the black one I am taking apart measres 20". So I guess that settles it having a 6" lift. I am almost sure I could have put 44" tires and they would clear. The 38's looked small. I am getting to old for that much lift so I will most likely get rid of it. I hope to get the top off tomorrow as I have a near local member asking about the windshield frame and need to check the hidden part for rot.

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

Good stuff Richard. Glad to hear you're making progress. We will be in Fruitland Saturday. I will text you if I have time to come by.

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

thats cool I should be around.You will be driving yours right?

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

Right… :lol:

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

Well just about have the black one striped to the tub. Still have several more things to remove but I may pull it back out for now and cover it up. A buddy of mine stopped by this afternoon and got my green one running. Still have some tuning to do but I have to get the gas tank down and get it cleaned out. I am running out of 5 gallongas cans and rope :lol:. I did move it around to make sure the transmission and transfer case functioned correctly. My goalis to have it running good enough to take it to the truck show along with the panel 2nd Saturday of October. Once I get it running decent Iam going to get started back on the metal work.

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

Well got the black parts blazer off the lift tonight and got hte green machine on the lift. Transfer case leaks, transmission leaks rear seal on engine leaks and have brake fluidleak somewhere. other than that it is dry as a bone underneath :lol: Now that I can get it up in the air 1st thing onthe list is to drop the tank and get it cleaned out or replaced and get some fresh gas in it so that I can get the can off the grill. Before I put it on the lift I drove it up and down the driveway a few times just so I could say I have driven it under its own power. With all the leaks and all now I need o decide if I amm going to leave it a 3ott or if I am going to change it out to something more sturdy. I have another SM465/205 setup and I also have several TH350/205 setups. The radiator has been changed out at somepoint with an automatic radiator so no expense there. I might just go ahead with the automatic. time will tell.

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

Well finally got back to work on the green blazer. Had a man come by and work on the points distributor a while back and got it running. It lasted for a couple days and quit getting spark (something in the distributor) I got tired of it and yanked it out yesterday and put an HEI I had laying on the shelf. Ran power wire to fuse box, hit the key and she fired right up. Just getting it running again has put me back in the mood to work on it again. I am going to tear back into the sheet metal and get all the panels put in. then will see where we go from there.

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

Finally got something accomplished. Got the new (to me) gauge cluster assembled and put in and everything works except the gas gauge (no gas tank in truck right now. Now to get back on the metal repairs.

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

Very nice Richard. Keep it goin!

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

two cans of SEM super white and a few squirts of Krylon 1910 blue :chevy: and the console is ready for DD use. Did not spend a whole lot of time on it but it turned out pretty nice. It has a couple small holes on the side of it but once between the seats they will not be seen. This is actually the black one that came out of the black Blazer. I think I am going to build some adapters that fit in the seatbelt slots for holding my drinks. Should be fairly simple to accomplish out of aluminum.

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

looks great Richard, thanks for the product info. Guy before me used the wrong paint, so I have to do a respray

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

So... I bought another blazer floor to help to out with getting the green blazer back together. It has some rust in the floor but all of the cross sills are in real good shape. I had a pc. of floor section here that I got from Warbucket some time back and decided to get started on getting it repaired. The good thing is the underside of this floor must have been undercoated from factory/dealer/new which is what saved it a bunch from rotting out. First picture is what floor looked like when I got it

Attachment 1530187

The other four pictures are closer up of the rust

Attachment 1530188

Attachment 1530189

The pc. of floor I had is actually from the front of another floor and the stamping does not end like the rear does so it will need to be cut and modified to match. On the front of the floor the ribs stop short of the end, on the rear they taper flush to the end.


Attachment 1530190

Attachment 1530191

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

Today I got all of the cutoff bolts and body bushings off the bottom of the bed. Next I started cutting out the rear section that was rotted.


Attachment 1530195

Attachment 1530196

The last two pics show relief cuts to bend the tail sections down. I left the original metal on the very back on this side but I think it ended up being more work.

Attachment 1530197

Attachment 1530198

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

Since the rot was worse on the drivers side I cut the entire pc. out. I did not give enough thought before cutting and forgot the one rib is narrower than the rest as it comes around the back corner of the bedside.



Attachment 1530200

Attachment 1530201

Because of the radius on the rib I elected to fix my mistake but cutting it out of the pc. I cut off and piecing it back in.

Attachment 1530202

Attachment 1530203


Thankfully I have a a 10' metal brake and a 4' box and pan brake here so I can bend the metal pretty easy. The narrow rib on the left was full width on the start.

Attachment 1530204

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

This is where I am now, cutting and slicing the rear section for the rib taper. Hands are worn out for today and neck hurting from being bent over the table all day but feel like I got more done today then I have in a long time. After doing the Mothers day thing tomorrow I plan to come back out and work some more.


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Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

I am not going to weld any of it until I get all of my patches made. That way I can spot everything in and keep the heat spread out between all of the patches and not lose any time waiting.

Re: 71' Blazer Rust bucket build
 

Got some welding and grinding done between Mothers Day activities. I am glad I started back with metal repairs on this floor instead of body panels, I forgot a lot of things I used to do to make it go easier but its been 20 years since I have done any. It is slowly coming back to the front of my brain so hopefully by the time I get to the body panels I wont cost myself a lot of headaches. Hope to finish both back patches this week. After I get patches done I am going to get my neighbor to bring his diesel compressor and blaster home so i can blast several big parts including this floor.

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