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Thanks Jim...that's a very nice thing to say. I am happy with how it's turning out and I'm very excited to see the rows getting shorter....but the lion's share of credit goes to Eric. He's the one who makes crooked things fit and ugly things pretty. I'm just happy that he let's me piddle on the mechanical bits.

...speaking of, it was good to see your thread heat up again today. Cool update. Your thread is the tent pole of the Blazer build forum. I look forward to your updates.

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Hi Brad,

I am glad the supplier took care of your oil pressure gauge for you. The cluster looks very nice by the way. I think that is what has made my business as successful as it is. Taking care of a problem after the sale is very important to my customers and me and there have been a few. It is part of the deal. You are correct with your thought on the oil pressure gauge. Of all of them, it is the one that will hardly ever fail.

Speaking of Pete, what a great guy and what an asset to the forum. I absolutely loved his K20 build and he has been an inspiration for my to get my own K20.

You and Eric are doing great work there and I look forward to the finished product. 1970 is my favorite year also.

Take care,
Tom

Thanks again Tom...you do well because you do good work. I couldn't help but follow and be impressed by your efforts.

You're right, there are some stars on this board that help a lot of people and Pete definitely has elevated himself to the short list of superstars. He has affected my build tremendously. Forever I kept a window with his build thread open in my phone for quick reference for assembly or finish or whatever. And like the majority on here he's quick to share information or encouragement. Part of what makes this site so cool.

Hopefully my new guage will work and you won't have to rescue me...and more importantly we'll be pulling her out soon under her own power.

PS...if you do build a K20. Go cab lights and pizza cutters for me...it's a classic recipe that can't be beat.
Posted via Mobile Device

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Seems like i only do paint and polish compared to your build, but does keep me busy. I ve quite a few problems i have to work thru, that is part of the game. Would ve been nice to have an Eric around here, but its just me, and my body is wearing out. I would ve loved to pull the whole rear axle, but i don t have the strenght for those big bolts. I think the last TIA took its toll on my right arm. So much for crying in my milk, gotta get back to restoring
Take care, and keep piddling

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A few pics for the sake of posting pics. My tailgate latch bolts were pretty ratty. I may have been looking in the wrong places or not hard enough but hadn't run up on truss screws that matched the factory hardware. Ordered these stainless steel numbers through Fastenal and with a little massaging on the grinder they ended up a pretty nice profile match...now just a little paint to finish them off.

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The masking begins in earnest. This is THE week(she gets painted)...not to be confused with THE week the engine got started and THE week we pull her out for the first time and THE week we're actually done.

PS...can't believe we don't have a "fingers-crossed" emoticon. We've got a monkey that scratches himself and eats a banana and a smiley face that flushes himself down the toilet...while I have legitimately had the corresponding emotions to those animations, I could have used a fingers-crossed one more....just saying

:mrt:

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Congrats, how about the sumo wrestler, kinda fits the way you knocked it outa the park:sumo:

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Thanks Jim :splat::bo2::bike:

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Not sure a resto is ever totally done...or maybe I'm just completely obsessive.

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...No I hear ya. I've got our list, that is getting shorter by the day, that when we get to the end of it we'll all celebrate and high five and call ourselves done...but of late, I've got a little secret secondary list that'll probably keep me perusing the parts boards long after we've put a period on the build thread.

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Gotta totally agree with Pete, we will always find something that has to be freshened up, or you will something cool on the boards.....

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Good Luck! You might have mentioned this is previous posts, but what color?

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Thanks...It's the same silver that you see on the interior/jams. I was going to do Cortez Silver since it's an actual 1970 GM color...but when we did a couple of test shots, the flake was just a little too big to me...and I realize that's the way the metallics were...but we looked at some others and ended up going with GM's contemporary truck/Tahoe silver...Sheer Silver Metallic.

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Well played lawn mower. Well played. Enjoy it while it lasts...I'd encourage you not to hang any pictures.

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Hi Ho Silver Away....base on today, clear on tomorrow.

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Congrats!

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Ironcanine,
I sat down this evening and read through your entire build. Hats off to you and Eric for exceptional work and attention to detail! Really enjoyed every page and picked up lots of good ideas too. Thank you for documenting and sharing. Will be tagging along for the rest!
Doug

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Thanks Pete.

Thanks Doug. I'm glad you're enjoying it. It means a lot coming from you. Your work is outstanding. It is very exciting to be this close to the finish line.

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Color looks good on it, congrats!

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Thanks. I like it too....though without the clear coat on there it kind of looks like an iBlazer.

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She's cleared...tomorrow starts the buffing/polishing.

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Beautiful work! Looks awesome!

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Thanks Mike. I am very pleased with how it is turning out.

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Looking very nice and I think the color fits it well.

Can't wait to see it finished with the trim.

Take care,
Tom

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Thanks Tom. I can't wait either.

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Real nice! I love the color!;)

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Thanks...it's what all the cool kids are doing;)

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OK...so as you know the inner "factory appearance" 1970 reproduction inner grille that is available is not factory correct. It is a hodge podge that is sold to replace both 69 and 70 inner grilles, both very different grilles. You all know that the inner grille for the 69 is egg crate and all silver, while the 70 is often described as having "Seven black vertical stripes". In actuality the 70 grille is a black "egg crate" with six columns of raised horizontal ribs that are painted silver...I'm assuming the silver is screened on at the factory. (I've seen one that looked like it had little silver runs at one end where the excess dripped a little...more experienced members chime in). Pending my internet connection tonight I'm going to post a few pics on how I painted my inner grille...since I haven't seen a whole lot on here about the 70 version...maybe I missed it.

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Between the raised columns there obviously ends up being a black notch (which are the "seven black vertical stripes"). The reproduction inner grille has all of these except the ones that separate the outermost vertical columns and their immediate inner neighbors.

First pic is a factory notch.
Second pic is a reproduction notch.
Third pic compares the area where the repro piece lacks a notch.

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As an aside, aren't the headlight bezels originally black for 1970?

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My original inner grille was obviously trashed (multiple breaks). NOS grilles are hard to come by, are very expensive, and can still have issues of their own. While you all aware of my repro fitment issues...the grille CPP makes is the only "factory" option we have right now and still makes sense for me. Since the inner "crate" is already silver, I elected to mask that and respray everything black. I initially started masking with pin striping tape, thinking that would be quick and sized appropriately...but it was actually a pain and took much longer than regular masking/trimming. What's more, after more time than I'd care to admit masking the lower section...this is what it looked like when I returned to it in the morning.

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So with just some 3M tape and a few razor blades, I masked everything I wanted to stay silver.

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Since almost all the notches are on the reproduction piece, the masking is pretty straight forward. The notch that you have to measure to cut is between columns that are different widths. All the columns except for the outermost columns are 7 inches wide. The outermost columns are 7-1/8 inches wide.

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Then it was just a little satin black plastic/trim paint. Hopefully I'll have a pic of it on the truck soon. She's buffing out very nicely. Hopefully some assembly next week.

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Yep. They're raccoons.

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Awesome work, Brad! Masking is definitely a PITA.. I remember it took me almost 3 hours to mask my engine to touch up parts that didn't get good coverage from the company that built the motor. Can't wait to see if all put together.

Side note - The first Blazer I owned was a 70.. This was before cell phones had cameras but, I might be able to dig up some pictures of the inner grille if it's any help. Looks like you have it figured out, though.

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Thanks Mike. I can't wait either. Hopefully a big week of assembly ahead. Post whatever you've got of that Blazer, especially if it was an original truck. The site always needs more reference pics. You're making great progress too. Hope the header situation works out easily.

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A few quick pics. Didn't get to spend as much time putting shiny stuff on this afternoon as I would have liked. Heading out of town tomorrow. Hopefully some real exciting progress pics this weekend.

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Few more.

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Just for fun....