Joanne's '72 Blazer Project

[Joanne]

Hi all,

I wanted to take a minute to introduce myself and start sharing photos of my ’72 Blazer project. I’m Joanne and live out in Las Vegas. I’m old enough to remember my Dad’s red ’69 4x4 Blazer. Then he sold the ’69 and ordered a ’72 white 2wd Blazer. (I’ll bet he never envisioned what a gold mine he was driving…) Anyway, ’72 was the first vehicle I ever got to drive and I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for them.

A couple of years ago I decided that I wanted to revisit my youth and buy a ’72. As so many online deals turn out, I overpaid for his overpromised Blazer. Although it is plain worn out, the vehicle was stock and hadn’t been thrashed and abused like so many that I see. So in the end it has moved from sunny Phoenix to even sunnier Las Vegas.

After closer evaluation “couple spots of rust” turn out to be a bit worse than I initially thought. Both floor pans have spots where they have rusted through. The bottoms of the A pillars are completely rusted. Of course the inner and outer rockers are gone. Lastly the passenger’s side kick panel is rusted through. After spending a few weeks on this forum I found that most of this is pretty well to be expected unless the previous owner stored it under cover.

It seems quite appropriate that my daughter “claimed” the Blazer before my son had even thought about it. (He has a ’66 Mustang and a ’79 Camaro). From a build standpoint, I’d like to put together a nice 4x4 that stays true to the original design. I’ve purchased original front seats, console, and a rear seat. The dash hasn’t been cut, so I’m going to buy one of the new “stock looking” radios that have all the current features but look like it may have been a factory original. The drive train will all get freshened up, with a 383 power plant. I thought about upgrading to a modern engine, but I really want to stay a bit closer to the original engine. I’m thinking that 33” tires and a 4” lift would be just about right.

I explore old abandoned mines and ghost towns, so this will be my primary exploration vehicle. It doesn’t need to be a rock crawler, but it does need to be adequate to get me to the remote areas that I live to visit.

Anyway, enough rambling… Now some pictures.

Doesn't look too bad...from a distance...


Current state of disassembly.


Ahhh yeah, the rust.


Slowly cutting away the rust so I can see what needs to be done.



Oh yeah, I want to pass along a BIG thank you to those who have posted detail photos of your restoration efforts. They have given me the confidence to tackle this project. I know it can be a lot of work to photograph and write the narrative on your work, but it is SO valuable to those of us who are trying to figure it all out for the first time.

Joanne

[jaros44sr]

Welcome to the boards, as you found out, lots of useful info. on here...first question, are you doing the welding, or putting it in a shop?

[Joanne]

Originally Posted by jaros44sr

Welcome to the boards, as you found out, lots of useful info. on here...first question, are you doing the welding, or putting it in a shop?

Thanks for the welcome! To answer your question, I'm going to give it a try myself. I learned to weld when I was young and my dad sponsored my cousin's race car. I've done quite a bit of welding through the years but have never tried body work before. Spent a lot of time reading and watching videos. I'll cut up some old sheet metal and weld it back together before starting on the truck. If I get in too deep I'll pull the plug and trailer it over to a shop.

Joanne

[jaros44sr]

Sounds like perfect plan....set up your welder on the same thickness sheetmetal, then you wont ruin expensive patch panels. Welds should come out looking like a somewhat dehydrated pea. Take your time, and you should be able to save a labor rate....good luck

[docstheman]

Hey, Looks like a great project. You are a bit further along than me. I will be checking in because sounds like we will be going through the same things. What is that wood project beside the blaze in your pics? Good luck!

[Joanne]

Originally Posted by docstheman

Hey, Looks like a great project. You are a bit further along than me. I will be checking in because sounds like we will be going through the same things. What is that wood project beside the blaze in your pics? Good luck!

Thanks for the welcome. I'll be posting up pictures as I move forward. It may be a couple of weeks before I can make much progress. I have a part time job and will be working two of the next three weekends.

The project in the background is my roommate's teardrop trailer project. She isn't sure that she wants to complete it so it may be turned into a utility trailer.

Joanne

[mcmlxix]

Welcome...
I also have a 72 K5... I just gave it to a shop to finish the project... I'm actually moving out of Vegas in a couple weeks...

[docstheman]

Well it looks pretty awesome. Hope she finishes it. Welcome to TX MCMLXIX! There are a few blazers around here. Look forward to seeing your progress here Joanne. I work a couple jobs and it slows things down but if you keep at it you will see things get to where your dreams match reality.

[Joanne]

Originally Posted by mcmlxix

Welcome...
I also have a 72 K5... I just gave it to a shop to finish the project... I'm actually moving out of Vegas in a couple weeks...

I just read your build thread. It would have been neat to see it in person. Texas' gain is our loss.

Joanne