Legacy build

[Dunenutt]

I've been lurking for a long time, gained tons of information, and have seen some realy nice trucks on here.

My restoration has been ongoing for almost two years, so it is probably time for some pics.

First of all, the story...

This truck was bought by my father, from a guy down the street in 1971. He was able to enjoy it until 1975. Labor day weekend 1975 was the last time he got to drive it. He suffered an aneurysm, which left him in a coma for an extended period. I was 10 years old. We he awoke, he was paralyzed, and his actions were that of a small child.

He lived until 2000, and was able to see his 3 kids drive it. When all is said and done it is still his, I am just the caretaker of it.

I drove it almost daily until 2003, then I parked it in the back yard. I decided that I would restore it in 2009. Little did I know what happens to a truck when you don't pay attention to it...

The truck,
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The surprise hiding inside,
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More,

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[Dunenutt]

For most of my life, I am the one that maintained this truck. I have rebuilt the motor twice, still the original block and heads! There is 400K + on the ticker! I felt that I have let it down.

It was apparent that major surgery was in order. But how far do I take it? Well, after careful consideration, the answer came in the form of an 85 Blazer!

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[Dunenutt]

What do you do with a $500 Blazer? You take it apart!

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All the way apart...

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[Dunenutt]

So now I have two of these,

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And one of these,

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Time to start hacking on it!

[Dunenutt]

Major surgery,

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Out with the old,

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Let the building begin!

[Dunenutt]

I, like alot of people wondered how hard it would be to convert a 2wd to 4x4. It's alot of work, but not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Most of the '85 parts ALMOST bolt right up. If you have a grinder, small welder, and a hand full of 7/16 drill bits, it can be done.

One part that needed modification was the left core support mount,

Before,
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After,
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Then the e brake cable indentions need to be smashed flat. Then I bolted up all of the blazer hangers, and installed the axle.

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[Dunenutt]

The next thing that did not quite bolt up, was the motor mounts. I am using all of the blazer cross members, and motor mounts. The frame isn't quite as tall as the blazer, so I trimmed it a bit.

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The cut,
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Installed,
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[mcbassin]

Looks like a great project. I will follow along. Great story too.

[Dunenutt]

Now with the engine in it, the front sat as expected, high. On to the rear...

Before,
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After,
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The Blazer axle has no track bar mount, so I made one,
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The longer track bar will probably be better, now that it sits a little higher.

[Dunenutt]

While I had the truck turned around, I dealt with this little gem,
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The frame is a little wider than the blazer, so I welded in the blazer cross members,
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And stuck in the tank,
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[Dunenutt]

It now sat raked to the front. So I ordered some 4" Rancho springs from streetsideauto and she sits level,
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[Dunenutt]

So once again, I re installed the bed for clearance checking. The crossmembers hit the tank. 4" cutoff wheels rock!
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While the bed was on, I located the filler neck and installed a Hagan door,
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[Dunenutt]

Sexy!
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[Dunenutt]

I took everything back apart, and freshened up the motor, trans, and t-case.
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[Dunenutt]

I assembled the motor to the trans, and stuffed it into the truck. It hit the floor really bad. My floor was no longer rust free (Thanks to leaky windshield rubber, and rubber floor mats), so I was not afeared to break out the saw!
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I was going to use a high hump, but thought the blazer shifter was kinda different in an old truck. So I modified the blazer tunnel a bit.
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Then Al's Liner'ed the bejesus out of the inside ( the pans and rockers were replaced, but we have all seen that before), it will never rust again!
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[Dunenutt]

So I took the cab off, blasted it, and fixed a little rust, I also welded up a bunch of screw holes for an old camper boot.
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[67chevy1series]

wow your doin i mean did a nice job! i love the chevy orange engine!

[Dunenutt]

Originally Posted by 67chevy1series

wow your doin i mean did a nice job! i love the chevy orange engine!

Thanks, I've re-painted that engine orange 4 times. It is .060 over bored now. When it dies this time, I'll paint it again, put a scoop on it and make a mailbox out of it.

[Dunenutt]

Paint!!!
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Chassis painted, motor in it for the last time, and cab installed (still has the goofy wagon wheels though).
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[Dunenutt]

More paint,
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[67chevy1series]

dang how long ago was this! it looks great! nice metal fab skills!

[VA72C10]

Love the build so far and such a back story for it. Keep on trucking with it!!!

[franky69c10]

Lookn good
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[mcbassin]

Man you're moving way too fast on this build!

[Dunenutt]

I started it in May 2009. I guess I should have started a thread earlier, but I did'nt want it to drag on that long. I am just catching up to present day. As you will see soon, I have a garage full of goodies to throw at it. There will be some custom tube work, and some billet goodies too! I am hoping to have the outside looking as it would in the 70's, but the inside should be 21st century.

I have been fortunate to have great friends, and teachers throughout my life. I have acquired tools for many years. It's therapy! There are many ways to do it right, hundreds of ways to do it wrong. I probably hit somewhere in the middle on most things.

Everything you see has been done by me, although sometimes I feel that there is someone helping me along. There has been a quiet solitude with this build, I can't explain it.

This is not my first rodeo, but unlike the others, they will bury me in this one!