1972 Blazer CST Frame off Project in NC

[raggedjim]

Great job on this, the paint is amazing!

Rg

[72K5CSTDarkOlive]

Awesome! I bet you are stoked to have the paint finished.

[jaros44sr]

are you still looking for the long piece for the e brake?
nice build luv the paint

[UGAK5]

Originally Posted by jaros44sr

are you still looking for the long piece for the e brake?
nice build luv the paint

No - I found a reproduction from Inline Tube that worked. Wasn't Blazer specific, was for a mid 60s GTO, but worked out great.

[UGAK5]

Hey guys - -

I have the T Case installed. Custom Torque Converter is ready and the Crate Engine arrived, so I am gonna tackle getting that back into frame before I take it over to get the tub put back on.

2 requests:

1) Any tips or suggesting on that? No body is on, T case is in, so thinking I'll do tranny and engine simultaneously.

2) Anyone have some good pics of the motor mounts and how they go on? I found tons of posts on taking engines out and BB swaps, but nothing much on putting a SB back in. You all may recall the engine was already out when I got this from the PO.

Appreciate any help!

[UGAK5]

Ok, had a pretty productive morning! This took 4 hours and had one friend helping with a few of the tasks.

I purchased the Chevrolet Performance SP383 Crate Engine and it was delivered last week. Its dyno numbers are 435 HP and 445 Ft-Lbs of torque. I mated it up to a fully rebuilt TH350 that was rebuilt by a local transmission builder and installed a 2600 stall torque converter custom built locally as well.

Very happy to be at this stage!

[turp mcspray]

Looking good!!!

[CJM72]

Looks great! Bet you are getting excited to get it driving down the road now that spring is here.

It seems like my projects are never ready when the nice weather hits. Always jealous of those guys out cruisin around this time of year.

[UGAK5]

Thanks guys - - I couldn't have gotten to this stage without all the help, information and pics of those on the site who've done this before - - its all truly appreciated!

Now don't jinx me - - I'll be lucky if I go for a ride by October!

[UGAK5]

A tad more progress this week

[prorat56]

looks awesome!! question for ya what size tires are you running?

[ochre1971]

Chris, been radio silent for awhile, what's new?

[UGAK5]

Originally Posted by ochre1971

Chris, been radio silent for awhile, what's new?

Hey Banks - thanks for checking in.

Mostly, waiting for final paint work. My painter is a perfectionist, which = sloooow. Headed to his shop tomorrow evening to help him get the truck in the booth for the final dusting of color to insure every panel perfectly matches. Then a bunch of wet sanding and clear coats. Hopefully have the truck back in 2 to 3 weeks.

In the meantime, I have gotten my wiring harnesses together from M&H Electric, have my headers in from Stan's Headers (Triple Ys), awaiting rebuilt hinges from Hood Hinge Repair in Virginia, and misc engine accessories from Summit. I'm starting to sound like a NASCAR driver when I try to describe my truck!

Also doing some research on aluminum radiators (my truck didn't come with a radiator) and tilt steering columns. Really leaning towards the Entropy radiator due to the construction and great wiring harness - simple plug and play with nice customization options. Found a 'local' (he's in Pfafftown) stock steering column expert - 46 years doing it - talking with him about a tilt upgrade. As usual on the truck, I found issues with the current non-tilt column that it came with, so, if I have to repair, I may as well upgrade.

While I am posting - - anyone have first hand experience with non traditional coolants, like Water Wetter or Evans Waterless? I will probably go traditional, but all my research has made me curious about them.

Oh - and working with JB Fabrication to modify my twin shifter setup on the NP205 - - turns out I needed some custom angle to get the shifter to properly align with the tranny hump hole. 28 degrees at the bottom and 35 degrees at the top. I love redoing stuff I thought was finished!

[ochre1971]

Just wanted to be sure you weren't goofing off. Doesn't sound like that is the case.... You seem to have a knack for local expert sourcing. Keep it up.

[UGAK5]

Ok - who wants to play 'name that body part' - the G rated version!

Was over at the body shop getting a few odds and ends sorted and ran across this part, and its mirror image twin. I THINK it came from near the rocker boxes, but no idea.

Any one know what this is?

[ochre1971]

it goes in the rear wheel wells. towards the rear. I believe the intent is to prevent debris from being thrown back to the rear bumper. I had to remove mine recently to replace some gas tank vent lines and it was a PITA to remove one bolt specifically. I think the lowest bolt has a captured nut on it that was spinning, in my case...

[UGAK5]

Thanks Banks - - Appreciate the speedy identification. Ordered 2 new ones from from Southern KY Classics today.

[UGAK5]

So, I've been busy - too busy to post - but the good news is I have been busy putting my blazer back together!

I got it back from my painter on June 28th and have been slowly getting it together. The good news is this is the fun part. Its certainly not the fast part!

So, i'll try to get a lot of pics up over the next few days, but thought I'd start with what I did on my original steering wheel.

I had 5 cracks, mostly around where the wheel and the spokes connected. I drilled them our with a dremel, sanded to 80 grit, sprayed it with a 3M adhesion promoter, then used a 2 part 3M epoxy. After it cured for 24 hours, I sanded it with 220, than 400. Then my painter painted it and clear coated it. It may last, or it may crack again, but I like it better than the $300 replacements and thought I'd give it a try.

[UGAK5]

So this was home coming day. I took the front clip back off after we finished the paint to make it easier to get all the under hood elements back in. Also, in a last minute audible, I decided to repaint the dash a semi gloss black, rather than the body color red. Should help with windshield reflection.

Ive also included a pic of the transmission hump so you can see the bedliner that I sprayed the entire underbody with and the heat and sound deadener that I am using on the interior and firewall.

Speaking of firewall and applying a dynamat product - has anyone that done it have any tips? Any areas I should avoid or advice? I wasn't sure if I did everything that all parts would go back in ok - like the brake pedal assembly, e brake assembly, etc.

[72K5CSTDarkOlive]

Speaking of firewall and applying a dynamat product - has anyone that done it have any tips? Any areas I should avoid or advice? I wasn't sure if I did everything that all parts would go back in ok - like the brake pedal assembly, e brake assembly, etc.[/QUOTE]


Trucks looking great!

I used a similar product "Second Skin". Here are the install steps they have on their website.

Make sure to clean the metal with denatured alcohol. If you use a degreaser you will need to clean the film left behind off with soapy water and then wipe down the surface with denatured alcohol for best adhesion.

Trace out the area you are applying the product to with cardboard or paper and then transfer that to the butyl Damplifier sheets to cut out a perfectly fitting piece (or freehand it).

Place the piece in the desired location with wax paper still on the butyl sheet to make sure it will fit, as the butyl is very sticky and once the wax paper is removed it will adhere to surfaces for a permanent bond.

Now, remove the wax paper and place the butyl sheet down upon the surface, working your way from one side to the other or from the center out to the edges.

Once placed down, take your wooden hand roller and push the butyl sheet to the metal to form a nice bond over the entire sheet. If you have a concave, groove, and/or ridges you want to work the product down and up those valleys with the wooden roller or the back side of the wooden roller for the smaller dips.

[raggedjim]

Great work on the steering wheel, and the rest of the blazer!

Rg

[UGAK5]

Originally Posted by raggedjim

Great work on the steering wheel, and the rest of the blazer!

Rg

Thanks Roger!

[UGAK5]

After installing the body on the frame, there was NO WAY my twin shifters for my modified NP205 would work. I realized their angle was way off from the factory shifter, so I sent them back (and the stock original) to the fabricator that made them, and he made me some new ones. I still had to take them on and off 12 times and modify the heim joint hardware pretty significantly - but finally got there. Nothing like spending 5 hours on that!

I was also able to get the carb on, built my own fuel rail for the primary and secondary out of a bunch of earl's performance parts, a russell filter, a holley regulator and some aluminum black anodized fuel line I found. Also used an AED throttle and kick down bracket.

I got my headers on - Stan's Headers - ceramic coated.

Lastly, I installed my serpentine system, with a classic auto air AC compressor with adapter brackets, so i had to use a piece of electrical wire to figure out what length my new belt should be.

[ochre1971]

Looking great! Keep the pics coming.

[DeadheadNM]

Mine are buried in the rafters so to speak but I'm happy to dig if no one can post a quicker pic.