Black Hills blazer build

[turp mcspray]

And a few more. Got the front axle in and mostly assembled. I need to paint the rest of my front end and steering parts next.

[turp mcspray]

And the last few. I just got done welding up my drag link, and tie rod. They will need paint next.

[turp mcspray]

Time for a few update pics. I had to ream out my pitman arm to fit the large tie rod end taper. Getting front end parts ready to paint.
(Note to mods,since this has evolved into a build thread, feel free to move it to that section)

[turp mcspray]

More parts in the paint stage.

[turp mcspray]

I'm doing POR on all my chassis parts, and then topcoating that. The satin black is some urethane that once cured, is very durable. It is unfazed by brake fluid, so I figured it should hold up well in the rain,snow, and street thawing chemicals that get used here locally. Because believe it or not, I'm gonna drive the the wheels off this thing when it's done! I did the hubs and rotors in "cast blast" and the dust cover with a stainless paint, both with flat clear on top. I'm not trying so much for correctness, I just like the detail of some different color, instead of all black.

[turp mcspray]

Going back together. I probably should have cut off the old tie rod arms from the knuckles. I may not be able to live with them sticking out there, doing nothing. The front end is back on wheels, and sitting on the ground. What a feeling of progress!

[turp mcspray]

I bought a th400 and matching 205. I'm going to rob the 205 to 400 input shaft, and adapter, and put it in my original 350 205. The donor case has been rebuilt before, but I found traces of having sat with some water in it, and some iffy looking things once I opened it up. My original was very nice inside, so I decided to use it, with an input shaft swap.

[turp mcspray]

All tore apart, cleaned and blasted for paint.

[turp mcspray]

Painted, assembled, and installed. Next step is to build a rear end.

[rsavage]

Looking good!

[turp mcspray]

I've been falling behind on my blazer thread. Since my build got started on the 4th of July, I figure I should post a few pics today.
I scrounged a different rear end from my spare pile. The original had a bent spring mount, and one tube was broke loose from the center. It is a late 70's rear, so I had to remove all of the brackets and mounts.

[turp mcspray]

I borrowed a truing bar from a buddy, so I could straighten the housing after welding on the new perches and brackets. As you can see, they are far from straight, as they come from the factory. I welded on new spring perches, shock mounts, a traction bar bracket, and welded the tubes to the center section.

[turp mcspray]

I had to make a cross member for the front end of the traction bar. Also decided to add a balance tube to my exhaust.

[turp mcspray]

I haven't decided 100% on my tailpipes yet. I,m leaning towards angling them to the outer corner of the body and bumper end area.

[turp mcspray]

I had a twin stick set up in my other blazer. I really liked it, so I decided I needed one again. I decided to use two factory sticks, for a somewhat stock look. I used some rod ends from Speedway Motors.

[turp mcspray]

A load of parts ready for some satin black.

[turp mcspray]

Misc. black stuff.

[turp mcspray]

Couple more satin black pics. Rear end is back under the chassis. A shot of the new gears.

[turp mcspray]

I added a fancy cover to hopefully add a little strength. I plan to beat on the big block for all it's worth! And a few pics of everything bolted up.

[turp mcspray]

It feels really good to see it setting back on 4 wheels again! Now I plan to get back to the body while I'm waiting for funds to build up for the engine rebuild.

[Pife]

It looks great! Keep up with the great pics and commentary.

[thor]

Looking good Turp!

[PHAT TONY]

I just came across this; better get on board!! LOL.

[hgs_notes]

I didn't know you had your own build thread going. Looking good. I was really surprised you could fit the newer blazer tank in behind the axle. I used the same tank on my C-10, but that is a longbed and clearance was tight for that because of the track bar. Did you use the 73 style crossmember for the front of the tank? And is the skid plate an OEM piece? And now I think I need to find another t-case shifter so I can twin stick mine like that.

[turp mcspray]

hgs...for the gas tank, I used the 73 up front crossmember, and I moved my original rear one, back as far as it would go. And yes, the skid plate is a factory piece.
I finally made some decent progress over the last several months. Here are some more pics. I went to mount the body to the rotisserie, and discovered that I had a rusty rear body mount thingy.