New to classics, Blazers and site. Lots of Qs
 

Hey all,

I have raced and worked on porsche 944 and boxsters in the past, so im OK with a wrench, but I started seeing these blazers around and just couldnt help myself. I picked up this 72 Blazer with a Vortec 6.0. Thus, im out of my league on both fronts and will prolly be asking a lot of questions.

https://c8.staticflickr.com/9/8728/2...cdfc24b9_n.jpg https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8745/2...0b1d819d_n.jpg

Here goes the first few Qs...

The steering wheel isnt straight. I need to get a puller to get this aluminum piece off, right? Then pound it back on so the wheel will be straight?

https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8207/2...b4e6f480_n.jpg

Then, a bit more importantly, I don't think the fans are coming on. When at idle the temp gets hot 220+. If driving, temp drops down to around 180 or less. Is this image a sort of old school relay? It seems there is no elec to the fan red wires. However, there is elect on the yellow wires that come from always hot, and a green wire goes to the vortec computer, I assume for telling fans when to kick on due to temperature of engine? I did check fans manually, and they work with electricity. When should fans kick on? What temp?

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7578/2...1a730149_n.jpg

Front seats and belts. Ughh... These are pretty garbage after market seats with 4 point harness. I dont need such for taking the wife & dog to the beach. Any suggestions on some good seats with integrated belts?

Thanks in advance to all the gurus out there...

TJ

Re: New to classics, Blazers and site. Lots of Qs
 

Welcome to the wonderful world of Blazers. You're going to love it.

First question: You may or may not need a puller. Sometimes you can just wiggle the wheel loose once the nut is off. Definitely no need to "pound" it back on. Let the nut do its job.

Second question: That's a starter solenoid that appears to be used as a relay. It should work, but in my opinion it's overkill for the amperage draw. I'd hook it up and see how it works.

Third question: There are many late-model seats with integrated seat belts you can use. In my opinion, one of the best choices is a second-row seat from a Tahoe or Suburban, because they flip and fold to allow access to the rear.

Nice looking Blazer, by the way.

Re: New to classics, Blazers and site. Lots of Qs
 

I would use a puller on the wheel it looks like the original column and it is 45 plus years old the puller may be easier on parts. There make an adapter kit so the steering wheel will look like it belongs there or they also make repops of the original. There is a forum member I think his user name is lsnova but he should be able to help you with any ls questions.

Re: New to classics, Blazers and site. Lots of Qs
 

I have a grant wheel on mine. You just buy the adapter. I have the original wheel but it's huge and I like a sportier feel. You can get a cheap puller set at harbor freight. It works on my Chevelle and blazer. As far as seats I have a set of best top seats in mine. They are pretty confortable and can be ordered from summit or eBay or whatever. I envy the 6.0. Although I have a nice stroker small block I want to eventually go with the newer tech for drivability.

Re: New to classics, Blazers and site. Lots of Qs
 

How off is the steering wheel? could you maybe adjust the drag link a little?

As for the fans, it all depends on the tuning as to what temp the fans come on. I'm not sure what gauge you have but you might want to use an app like torque with an ELM27 reader to monitor the temp the pcm is seeing, and find a good tuner to make sure things are tuned correctly. If it is tuned improperly you will just be spinning your wheels. You are in a good place there is a lot of LS knowledge here. By the pic it looks like you may have a 411 pcm so I have added a link that might give you some help as far as figuring out your fan relay etc. http://ls1tech.com/forums/conversion...swap-faqs.html

Re: New to classics, Blazers and site. Lots of Qs
 

2000 to 2006 chevy truck seats have the integrated shoulder belts. I like the flip and fold mentioned above but heard there is no sliders.

Re: New to classics, Blazers and site. Lots of Qs
 

Forgot to mention the bestop seats don't have integrated belts but you could mount the shoulder strap to the roll bar. I personally just use the lap belt but the shoulder belt would be nice for extra protection. I rolled a jeep 3 times doing 50mph about 15 years ago. Came out without a scratch with just a lap belt. The roll cage was the saving grace. The jeep was destroyed but that cage held up no problem.

Re: New to classics, Blazers and site. Lots of Qs
 

I have mine mounted to the roll bar. The position is perfect.