Re: Project: '72 Family Hauler
 

Nice rig, I will keep watching!

I know this is not what you have planned, but if this was my rig I would cut the dash the rest of the way and put an aftermarket radio in it. If you have ever pulled the radio out of one of these trucks you will know why, there is not much room up there (especially with A/C). However if you have your heart set on a factory style radio I would recommend trying to fix the existing sheetmetal. Would be good practice, and if you screw up, you cut it out and weld the new one in.

Re: Project: '72 Family Hauler
 

I have learned that the one thing I am not is a metal fabricator. But all in all this has been good practice. With a little more grinding and shaping around the holes I think it will be good enough. Part of me would like to just paint the radio section and blend it in with the original paint, and part of me would like to just go ahead and paint the whole dash but I’m concerned the shiny paint won’t quite fit the rest of this project.

On a happier note, the headers came in and they fit quite well!

Re: Project: '72 Family Hauler
 

Finally finished up the dash repair. It’s ready for a skim coat and some paint.

Re: Project: '72 Family Hauler
 

Nice work, little paint and know one will ever know

Re: Project: '72 Family Hauler
 

Solid work!

Re: Project: '72 Family Hauler
 

What did you use to grind your welds down in the small space like that. Id have grind marks all over if I tried that. You did a really nice job.

Re: Project: '72 Family Hauler
 

Thanks guys. Hope to have some paint on it soon. Also rebuilt the steering column while it was out. Ready to start booting this thing back together and start running some wires. For the welds, I used a small roloc style flap disc on a die grinder. They worked surprising well for this application.

Re: Project: '72 Family Hauler
 

How difficult was it to rebuild the steering column? I'm thinking of redoing mine, but curious how much it costs in time and parts. I think 70shortfleet rebuilds them and is pretty reasonable on pricing, so I'm weighing the options.

Re: Project: '72 Family Hauler
 

It was not overly difficult. I downloaded and printed the pages out of the service manual and followed those for disassembly and reassembly. The only special tools I bought were a deep socket to remove the nyloc nut that holds the steering shaft into the tilt housing and a couple of machine screws to use with a socket as a puller for the tilt pins. I reused the original bearings, but obviously greased them generously. I replaced the pointer, indicator dial, nss, firewall grommet, dash grommet, lower bearing retainer and shift arm for a total of $125 or so. I’ll take a couple pictures tonight of the finished column.

Re: Project: '72 Family Hauler
 

👍🏾 Thanks for the info! I found the service manual and it does seem relatively straight forward. Looking forward to seeing how yours turned out!

Re: Project: '72 Family Hauler
 

Ever get a chance to take pics of the column?

Re: Project: '72 Family Hauler
 

Making a little more progress. Installed the steering column and working on putting the dash back together. Should start wiring within the next week or so. Also searching fuel system options. I used a Boyd tank previously and it was good but I’d like something with a little more capacity this time around. Considering the 87-91 31 gallon Suburban tank. Anyone with any experiences?

Re: Project: '72 Family Hauler
 

I should have taken better detailed pictures but here’s what I remembered to take.

Re: Project: '72 Family Hauler
 

Looks like it turned out great!!! Keep plugging away at it!

Re: Project: '72 Family Hauler
 

I put a 40 gallon tank in with no issue. There are a couple of threads on here that talk about it. I just moved on of the frame braces back to line up the filler neck and put in a new piece of angle iron up front for the tank straps. if i can figure how to get the pictures of it on here i will.

Re: Project: '72 Family Hauler
 

whoops

Re: Project: '72 Family Hauler
 

ok pics below

Attachment 1994179

Attachment 1994180

Attachment 1994181

Attachment 1994182

Re: Project: '72 Family Hauler
 

That's perfect! Thank you for the pics. I ended up ordering the 31 gallon tank yesterday. I'm going to swap out the fuel pump to something in the 250 LPH range and roll with it. More pics to come soon.

Re: Project: '72 Family Hauler
 

Where did you guys get your 40 and 31 gallon tanks? Or at least what year and model truck they came out of ... Thanks.

Re: Project: '72 Family Hauler
 

I ordered a fuel tank kit for an 87-91 blazer through rockauto. It came with the tank, sending unit, fuel pump, and straps for $163. I’ll purchase another high flow fuel pump to swap in. It is already baffled for fuel injection and should only require moving the crossmember to make room. I’ll update as I complete the install.

Re: Project: '72 Family Hauler
 

Gas tank (40 gal, 82-91 burb), got it off ebay for $115, it is internally baffled which is nice.

Re: Project: '72 Family Hauler
 

I’ve taken a break from wiring to work on the fuel system. I have everything needed but just need to make it fit and put all the pieces together. It looks like this 31 gallon tank should fit well. I also bought an Aeromotive Stealth 340 to swap into the Blazer tank stock sending unit. While everything is apart l, it seems like the perfect time to install the Deadend Garage c-notch that I’ve had for way too long now. The Burb was lowered when I bought it so I’m not quite sure what size drop springs are on the rear. They feel pretty sloppy with the added weight of the Burb over a truck. I’m considering going to a taller spring (4” drop) and using a lowering block to make up the difference and allow for more spring travel. Does anyone have recommendations on a coil spring now that ECE is no longer in business??

Re: Project: '72 Family Hauler
 

I originally had 5" truck rear springs and it rode terrible. Cpp has a 4.5"hd spring ment for the suburban, swapped to that and rides great now

Re: Project: '72 Family Hauler
 

That’s good to hear. Are the HD springs thicker than the regular drop springs or are they just taller? The pictures from their website all look the same.

Re: Project: '72 Family Hauler
 

I knew I had a pic somewhere