Does anyone have an original paint Blazer or Jimmy with painted door latches?

[DeadheadNM]

There's what appears to be a very nice survivor 72 Blazer on BAT now with paint on the door latches. Per the dealer handling the sale, paint meter readings indicate the paint is all original. The door latches are painted and appear to be medium blue. Listing is here: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...let-blazer-44/

Does anyone have an original paint K5 with painted door latches that would support a claim that these were indeed painted at time of assembly?

[DeadheadNM]

Flint 72 original medium blue. Not painted but door latch bolts are?

[DeadheadNM]

Early 72 Flint original ochre, no paint.

[DeadheadNM]

Uncertain plant (likely St Louis given the white rear top to bedside brackets) 72 medium olive, painted.

[DeadheadNM]

St Louis 69s (no door latch reinforcements), no latch paint

[DeadheadNM]

Late 72 Flint, no latch paint

[DeadheadNM]

Flint 72 no paint

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...let-blazer-20/

[IronCanine]

Perhaps a factory re-spray? I think I've seen Keith Seymore talk about fixes of assembly line goofs. Otherwise no reason for paint on these pieces. Body comes out of paint, door latches put on. But let's say either something gets damaged or dinged on the line or there's some other QC issue and they run it back around. Maybe you leave the latches on.

I went to BaT and looked...it's a tough call. It's got a pretty good wrinkle in the VIN plate under the Rosette rivets.

[DeadheadNM]

Originally Posted by IronCanine

Perhaps a factory re-spray? I think I've seen Keith Seymore talk about fixes of assembly line goofs. Otherwise no reason for paint on these pieces. Body comes out of paint, door latches put on. But let's say either something gets damaged or dinged on the line or there's some other QC issue and they run it back around. Maybe you leave the latches on.

I went to BaT and looked...it's a tough call. It's got a pretty good wrinkle in the VIN plate under the Rosette rivets.

Was just thinking of you while squinting at thumbnail images on Rust Free Classics. Good points. Maybe I can loop Keith into the conversation. I need to root out the original door latches from my St Louis 72 and see if there is any demonstrable factory paint. If I still have them.

[IronCanine]

But who knows what they were doing in St. Louis. They were cranking out basically everything GM made at the time. That's why there was so much writing on everything. You know they were having to have a lot of staff meetings because of something Robert or Harv kept goofing up. So finally they were like, "Look Harv, I know you aren't reading the build sheet...but geez, can you at least read it off the truck?!? We wrote the color and all the options right here on the firewall!! Help me out Pal! You know I'm catching it from the Corvette foreman at the plant picnics. We look bad over here...this is the third Blazer re-spray this month!"

[DeadheadNM]

Originally Posted by IronCanine

But who knows what they were doing in St. Louis. They were cranking out basically everything GM made at the time. That's why there was so much writing on everything. You know they were having to have a lot of staff meetings because of something Robert or Harv kept goofing up. So finally they were like, "Look Harv, I know you aren't reading the build sheet...but geez, can you at least read it off the truck?!? We wrote the color and all the options right here on the firewall!! Help me out Pal! You know I'm catching it from the Corvette foreman at the plant picnics. We look bad over here...this is the third Blazer re-spray this month!"

Funny. St Louis used two RH armrests on my rear seat and omitted one of the two horns.

Good point on the VIN plate for the Blazer in post #1 btw - how would that be creased like that? Factory damage = respray?

It seems odd that one plant for one year would shift the assembly process where a door component would be placed upstream from the paint booth leaving other components of door assembly to follow. I’ve seen low mile survivor original paint square body Flint K5s that do ha e factory door latch paint.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by IronCanine

But who knows what they were doing in St. Louis. They were cranking out basically everything GM made at the time. That's why there was so much writing on everything. You know they were having to have a lot of staff meetings because of something Robert or Harv kept goofing up. So finally they were like, "Look Harv, I know you aren't reading the build sheet...but geez, can you at least read it off the truck?!? We wrote the color and all the options right here on the firewall!! Help me out Pal! You know I'm catching it from the Corvette foreman at the plant picnics. We look bad over here...this is the third Blazer re-spray this month!"

Lol. This is probably actual audio.

K

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by IronCanine

But who knows what they were doing in St. Louis. They were cranking out basically everything GM made at the time. That's why there was so much writing on everything. You know they were having to have a lot of staff meetings because of something Robert or Harv kept goofing up. So finally they were like, "Look Harv, I know you aren't reading the build sheet...but geez, can you at least read it off the truck?!? We wrote the color and all the options right here on the firewall!! Help me out Pal! You know I'm catching it from the Corvette foreman at the plant picnics. We look bad over here...this is the third Blazer re-spray this month!"

If this conversation took place in Flint it would be "Arkie", or "Tex" that were screwing up.

K

[DeadheadNM]

Another St Louis 72. Paint?

[Tmend]

All original 72 ochre paint minus rockers and lower B pillar corner.. St. Louis on vin tag

[DeadheadNM]

Originally Posted by Tmend

Attachment 2088361

All original 72 ochre paint minus rockers and lower B pillar corner.. St. Louis on vin tag

Thanks for sharing. Can you add detail photos of both doors when possible? Is the blue LH door decal present and unpainted?

[Tmend]

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

Thanks for sharing. Can you add detail photos of both doors when possible? Is the blue LH door decal present and unpainted?

Forgive the dirty screw heads and abuse I drive this good 4 days out of the week.

[DeadheadNM]

Thanks for adding those! It's getting interesting.

[IronCanine]

Good on ya Pete...you've teased out another one. This seems like a for real thing. Fast forward to 9:52 on this 2016 video. St. Louis Blazer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS9Q3Ormju4

[richard2717]

72 Flint no paint

[simicrintz]

'71-not smart enough to know where it was built

Had not realized how dirty that is either......

[DeadheadNM]

Originally Posted by simicrintz

'71-not smart enough to know where it was built

Had not realized how dirty that is either......

St Louis (S in the VIN) - thanks. I’m thinking now the door latches are the least photographed component of a truck

Here are original paint yellow 71 and white 72 examples from St Louis and Flint respectively. Thanks Keith and Steve.

Still chasing more 72 St Louis examples....

[HAULIN' IT]

I dont have any direct info on Blazer/Jimmy's however I do recall when doing research for a '69 Camaro I did, that there was confirmed "oddities" like you are finding. I dont recall to be able to recite them but it was very similar...this plant, that plant, before this date/after that date, ect ect. There were some "for sures" that were either right or wrong but somewhere in there was some maybes. What I do remember was the basics. If the latches were painted, so was the striker. If the doors were painted, so was the trunk latch/striker, ect.

The one photo posed that I kinda have trouble with is the one Blue one with the painted bolts but not the latch...that would typically be a no-no. This would mean the guy on the assembly line put the latch in & then masked off the latch poking through the door or was already masked off, installed & then later peeled off (more likely). Now in a way the idea isnt completely wrong...we want the latch in place but someone realized that the paint will peel, stick the latch ect. so a masking operation was added. My Two Cents, Lorne

[john deere]

I have two flint 72 blazers, both grapefruit original paint with no paint on the latches. Sorry, no pictures.

[4x41971SWB]

Here is one of mine.
Original paint, 1972, and St.Louis built.