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Old 05-14-2019, 11:06 PM   #1
Steve Cole
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New to the Blazer side!!!

Hey guys,
I have owned a 67 & 68 c/10 for 20+years but never a Blazer! I am super stoked about the possibility of owning a 69-72 Blazer but I know NOTHING about what to look for, and what to avoid. I would like a 2wd as I plan to lower it a bit so could you guys tell me what the problem areas are? I know where a 72 is with the floor area near the rear hatch is completely gone due to rust. I'm guessing this is common? I know the problem areas of the c/10's, but what are the problem areas unique to the Blazers? What are the pros/cons of a single wall vs double wall top? Which one is more desirable? I am not a fan of the soft tops (sorry), so I need to be able to identify a good hard top. Any advice or tips you can provide will be most appreciated! I don't care what it is, help educate me on the Blazer. TIA!!!
Steve.
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Old 05-15-2019, 09:19 AM   #2
BIG ORANGE
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Re: New to the Blazer side!!!

Hey Steve,
Hope all is well with ya, from what I have learned with mine and help from Ed ( Fabman) is the torque box area's and the windshield frame are important area's as the normal stuff as the trucks. I'm building a roadster and have built up the bedsides with old tops of door's that were shot. I'm not running a top so I cant saying anything about that. I'm getting real close to paint. Did you use the 5.3 you got from me?
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Old 05-15-2019, 11:45 AM   #3
Terrysch
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Re: New to the Blazer side!!!

Agree on the windshield frame. Extremely hard to find a good used one if you but a Blazer that needs one.

The other unique challenging area and parts are the hatch parts. Not the hinges or the struts.

The center handle mechanism and the side latches. But rippen, Dwayne, is THE member resource for all of the hatch parts. Great guy. He even rebuilds these parts.

The other most difficult part is the steel internal support. It is inside the fiberglass hatch. The handle mounts to it with the weld nuts on it.
Almost all of them are rotten. If you have to replace it you have to split the hatch. Which is a Big Dang Deal. No repops or good used ones to buy. I am having one fabricated.

The other part that is almost always bad is the center mechanism cover. It is at the bottom of the hatch. No repops or good used ones. But not hard to have one fabricated.

On the side latches, a lot of times one of the 2 weld nut breaks loose, inside the hatch, so then it is a major pain to remove the side latch then, I wrecked the side latch bracket removing on of mine.

The other challenge with the center mechanism and side latches in finding a place to re zinc coat them after stripping. Our low volumes for this process is the challenge.

I just went through all this on my 72 Jimmy. My resources were a friend who does restorations, and rippen Dwayne. A lot of this knowledge is from him. I gave Dwayne the credit.

Terry
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Old 05-15-2019, 11:48 AM   #4
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Re: New to the Blazer side!!!

Dwayne's correct forum handle is 1rippen6
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Old 05-15-2019, 11:56 AM   #5
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Re: New to the Blazer side!!!

Your posted threaded was a great idea.

A recommendation for you before you try to buy a blazer.

Search the forums for knowledge, pictures of the hatch parts I wrote about.
These parts are small but very challenging. I had not known about them and their the challenges. Painful for me. But all ok now.

I get the impression some of the forum members don't mess with fixing their tops and the hatch. They just remove it and set it aside. Only use their Blazers as convertibles. But keep the top in case they ever sell their blazer.

Last comment. One of the challenges of the Blazers and Jimmys is their much lower volumes versus the trucks, when it comes to getting the unique parts for them. But the forum will still come through for you!

Good luck! That's all folks.
Terry
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Old 05-15-2019, 12:13 PM   #6
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Re: New to the Blazer side!!!

Oops. Forgot two items.
Parts that are very hard to find and expensive.

the "vertical" bed mount spare tire carrier. Goes behind the bench seat. Due to the huge tooling cost it would take to reproduce this part there are no repops. So the originals are like gold. I got lucky and got one for $360. But that is the low end! Others selling for 400 to 500. Due to Blazer design you cant use an under bed carrier. I didn't want an outside tire carrier. Ugly to me. Personal taste.

The leveling mats for the bed. You will want them for under your carpet or mats. I was not going to use them or carpets/mats in the back.
But after driving Jimmy since September figured out I need them for sound insulation, especially from the exhaust.
Again no repops due to tooling. They are large parts.
Not as expensive as the tire carrier. But shipping is really high due to their weight.
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Old 05-15-2019, 12:39 PM   #7
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Re: New to the Blazer side!!!

Other unique parts.

side hold downs, catches and bumpers for the hatch. can get repops for bumpers, not the other two. The 3 go together. need for both sides.that

there are long top metal mounting strips that go on each side on top of the fiberglass. Where the top mounts to the top of the bedsides. No repops.

There is a steel strip that goes on top of the tailgate, that the bottom of the hatch closes against. But repops for this. One is LMC Trucks. Jimmy came without one. Did not even know I needed one until the Forum educated me.

A good resource for me to find out if I was missing some of the parts was LMC.
But not all parts since LMC does not sell a number of the unique Blazer parts, probably die to low volumes. Verified I need the tailgate top strip by looking at LMC diagram. But only buy repops as a last resort, use originals whenever I can.

If you needed a hatch handle/lock there is at least one repop available. Mine was shot, plus no keys.

Terry
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Old 05-15-2019, 01:47 PM   #8
raggedjim
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Re: New to the Blazer side!!!

I'd add in the filler neck attached to the gas tank. The repop gas tanks don't have the correct neck on them, so if you have a bad original tank, don't throw it away without first removing the filler neck!

Good luck, Rg
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Old 05-15-2019, 08:52 PM   #9
litebulblsc
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Re: New to the Blazer side!!!

Main thing to consider with single vs double wall top is if you run rear interior panels, you have to remove them to access the bolts on a double wall top. Double wall top, bolts go up through the bedsides and screw into the bottom of the top. On a single wall top, the bolts go down through the top and thread into the bedsides, so side panels can stay put.
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Old 05-16-2019, 08:39 AM   #10
Steve Cole
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Re: New to the Blazer side!!!

Thanks for the reply litebulblsc, that makes sense.
Maybe the double wall version was used in the ones that came with rear interior panels? (just guessing here)

Is there a significant weight difference between the two tops?
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Old 05-16-2019, 09:24 AM   #11
litebulblsc
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Re: New to the Blazer side!!!

I don't believe there is much weight difference. Both are quite heavy and hard to remove with just 2 people.

You get dome lights with the single wall top, but I doubt that is a selling point to anyone...
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Old 05-16-2019, 12:47 PM   #12
lks dcvn
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Re: New to the Blazer side!!!

Lots of good info so far...

Single Wall top was a 1 year (1972) model item - it also sounds like it might be limited to the Flint, Michigan production plant.

Single wall tops are harder to come by and, as noted, include 2 additional lights for the inside of the truck.

Unique spots for rust on Blazers -
  • just below the hatch on the rear cargo floor is common (there is a complete replacement cargo floor now that can be swapped without removing the bedsides so that is an easier fix now)
  • B-pillar - behind door and in lower blazer bedside. there are several pieces of metal that come togehter and rust from the inside out
  • windshield frame (above glass) and down into A-pillars - the tops don't seal that well so the water gets in and rusts it out
  • torsion (or torque) boxes under the body that hold the integrity of the truck when the top is off - those can hold debris/water and rust out.

Here is a post I did that breaks down all the blazer patch panels - http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...5&postcount=18

Missing from this list is the newly released blazer cab floor with bucket seat bracing.

Finding one with low rust from the start will save you money in the long run.

Spend a few hours reviewing the blazer build forum threads and you will see the same spots that get impacted.

if you have your eye on one - post up some pix here and we can provide our feedback or check one out in person to see what you are working with.

Good luck in your search!
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Old 05-16-2019, 01:14 PM   #13
Steve Cole
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Re: New to the Blazer side!!!

Great info Iks dcvn! Most helpful. There is one right up the street from me that I am going after. I have not been able to assess the condition of it yet but I know there is a basketball sized hole from rust at the back of the cargo floor, like you mentioned. If that can be replaced without pulling the bedsides, it may not be too bad. I will start studying build threads like you suggested, (great idea!) to see the problem areas and know what to look for. I already know twice as much about them as I did yesterday! If I do get a chance to go see it, I will take and post lots of pics. I don't even know if he will sell it, but I am hoping he will.
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Old 05-17-2019, 08:36 PM   #14
Steve Cole
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Re: New to the Blazer side!!!

Well guys, bad news. The owner of the Blazer I thought I could buy has declared it is not for sale. I am currently in the middle of a LS swap into my 68 SWB stepper so I don't really need a project anyway but I thought I could buy this at a reasonable price. Oh well, I will keep my eyes open for another deal. If I can find one for the right price I will jump on it, otherwise I can wait.
Thanks for all the input. I will continue lurking and learning.
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