'79 Blazer 2wd

[motornut]

Not sure what your looking for but i have some pics of the back in my thread below or show yours
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[J Lee]

Thanks John, those pics were what I needed. I also found a pic on CL of a Jimmy tailgate with a cap like you see on the top of pickups tailgates so I am sure it should be flat all the way across the top.

[J Lee]

I have been tinkering with the Jimmy some lately and today unfortunately I hit a major setback, the left framerail is pushed back about 3/4". I guess if I am going to keep going on this thing I WILL be doing a frame off. I am kinda pissed at myself for not looking further into this when I noticed something didnt look right about the crossmember but oh well.

A question for you guys. Are the 2 and 4 wheel drive chassis truly the same and do the 4wds have the mounting holes for the 2wd front crossmember already in them so long as its a 76-80 frame? The reason I ask is the 4wds are still fairly common around here. What I am thinking is to find a donor frame and swap all my stuff to it.

Here's a couple pics as to what tipped me off to the problem

[KatFish]

I'm pretty sure there the same.
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[J Lee]

Anybody know what the newest year frame I can bolt my front crossmember will bolt directly to? I have been looking and I found a frame for a good price but it is an 81 or newer.

Jeff

[Liddy71]

I am not sure but I think 78-80 will work and if you are using the 81 up front clip then 81-91. you have to drill the holes for the front cross member to bolt in on the 4x4 frame other than that and rear spring hangers are longer but if you are doing a flip you may want to leave them from what I have read they raise it back up some .

[J Lee]

Ok, I was under the impression that the 4wd frames already had the holes for the 2wd crossmember. I am doing a flip in the rear so to that end I have been looking for a 4wd frame.

[J Lee]

Is it 78-80 that I am looking for? I have found a 76 2wd but cant remember what year they changed the floor and frame. Its the earlier bodies will fit the later frames but not the other way around correct?

[J Lee]

Its been awhile since I have made any progress. I was unable to locate a donor frame so I sent the truck to a good friend of mines body shop to have the frame worked on and got the truck back today all straightened out! Time to order some suspension parts! The truck has some kind of drop springs in the front now but I dont know what they are so I am going to replace them with stock height springs with one coil cut and 3" drop spindles. I will be putting a flipkit in the rear and will adjust the height from there. Stay tuned hopefully I can get rocking on this thing now!

Jeff

[Liddy71]

sounds good let know how the flip works out. I have to bring mine back up its to low .I dont want to cut the floor

[J Lee]

I know I said I was going to start the suspension but I figured since I had already started on the body I would go ahead and finish that before I start on something else. In these pics you are seeing the new aftermarket gate I picked up. I have it trial fitted it before doing anything else so I know I can get it to fit properly after paint. The last pic is of course where the filler piece should be but mine was wasted so I have been kicking around the idea of sectioning the frame to tuck the bumper up closer to the body. The biggest problems I see in getting it to look right are going to be A: my ability, B: the licence plate box not allowing the bumper to be moved close enough to the body. Has anyone out ther tried this? Got pics?


Jeff

[J Lee]

I'm slowly making a little progress(very little!). I have the lower rear quarter cut off and the new one welded on and am working on welding up a few pin holes above the wheelwell.

On another note does anybody have an idea what the paint code is for this blue? I am told its medium blue but a code would be awesome as I am ready to have a little base mixed up so I can do some trim out on the tailgate and a few other pieces.

Jeff

[ctouchet]

Where did you get the replacement tailgate? How does it fit?

[Liddy71]

Is it the same gauge steel

[motornut]

blue like this?

[J Lee]

I bought the tailgate from Keystone automotive. This one is not the one that sells performance parts but does crash parts. The fit is ok, although some of the workmanship leaves a little to be desired. I had to do some grinding to get the latches to fit half way decent and some of the welding looks like it was someones first attempt. The metal seems to be about the same guage as it's as heavy as the original gate.

Motornut if that Jimmy is a non metallic blue it looks about right.

[motornut]

metallic blue, yes

[J Lee]

I've made a little more progress on the Jimmy. I took the rear brakes and suspension apart and cleaned and painted everything. While I was there I replaced the bushings in the springs and shackles with new polyurethane and also did a flip kit using brackets from Specialty Retail here on the board. I replaced the shocks with Monroe gas magnums and used a set of Western chassis shock extenders.

Jeff

[J Lee]

I got started on the front suspension, firewall, and engine/trans. The A-arms are with a friend of mine who is replacing the bushings and lower ball joints for me since he has a press. The suspension is going to go back together with DJM drop 3in. drop spindles and 2in. drop springs, all new brake parts, new ball joints, and new inner/outer tie rods. I found a little dissapointment with the engine in that it was supposed to be a 350 but turns out to be an 84model 305. At least it appears to be in good shape the compression check was good and for some reason someone spent some money on the heads as they have screw in studs, poly locks, and pushrod guide plates. The one thing I can't figure out is why in the world they put a single plane Edelbrock intake on it. My plans for the firewall are to smooth it and paint it.

[J Lee]

A few more pics.

[J Lee]

I've had time to work on the Jimmy lately and I have gotten the front suspension and frame cleaned up, painted, and reassembled minus some of the brake lines. I used DJM 3" spindles and 2" DJM springs for a 5" drop on the front. I also have stripped the firewall and removed all the HVAC system from under the dash in preperation for the arrival of a Vintage Air gen IV kit. When I figure out what holes I need to leave for mounting the Vintage air setup I will be smoothing the rest of the firewall. I do still need to cut the old headers off as they aren't the correct headers for this truck, on the drivers side one of the tubes sits against the lower A-arm. I do have a set of stainless shorty headers for the 88-98 body style that look like they will work so I'm hoping I'm good there. Does anyone know for sure that they will work?

Jeff

[motornut]

nice,lookin better every day

[68Timber]

Looking good.

[J Lee]

Thanks for the compliments guys. I do feel I am finally making some progress. Other than the brake parts I need and finishing the steering the chassis and suspension are basicly done. I forgot to mention the transmission is also being rebuilt at this time. I had my fingers crossed it would be in decent shape but when the guy tore it down in front of me no dice as usual, Complete rebuild needed.

Jeff

[J Lee]

With the chassis and suspension done I have turned my attention back to the body. I am starting with the floorpans and inner body and as you can see in the pics there is plenty to do. I have the driver side done and though it doesent look totally factory it will work. The passenger side is much more of a rotted mess. I have all the major rot cut away and am waiting for the inner rocker to arrive from Brothers. In the meantime I will start making the patches that I can and get them welded in.