Hemi's 70 Blazer build

[IronCanine]

Our hood gap is obviously the largest of our gaps and thats as tight as we could get it and still clear the cowl on opening. As it was, we still got in the habit of putting a little traction on the hood on opening to ensure no rub. Our gaps were so jacked to begin with, we were pleased with our outcome. We didn't grind any gaps to make them artificially symmetrical (though we talked about it)...just did the best with could with the shapes we had.

[hemi43]

Put it outside today to see how bad my buffing was. Still some swirl marks to come out. Got the rest of the panels painted, so hopefully will get them on in the next few days. Kinda getting tired of working on it, and really should take a break from it but summer is just around the corner.

[grillzy]

looks great from here!

[72K5CSTDarkOlive]

You're right at the goaline! I'd encourgae you to get it done by summer, but I do know how you feel. There where times I felt like my life was being completely cosumed with trying to work as fast as I could to try and finish my build. I realized this and took a step back and gave myself some time to re-charge the batteries. I'm still a long ways out compared to you which is why I say go for it so you could have that beauty ready for summer.

[GMC-YA68]

Gotta keep working on it and finish now! That way you can drive it around a bit and work out any little kinks!!

[stick72]

Very impressive!

[Sacramento70]

push through and get her done. its finishing what you started that is most rewarding. your blazer looks tits man and i gotta say im a little jealous mines not there yet. im proud of you

[hemi43]

Here's a few items I've been working on;
I got the gas-can/sub done, and I'm quite surprised at how well it works. I line the inside of the can with 3 layers of Peel&Seal I had left over, and it really made it heavy and dense.

Another thing I wanted to do was find a better way of mounting the side bars that come with the Softopper. The little angle bracket that they send looks kinda crappy, so I machined some out of brass and use an existing mounting hole on the door opening weatherstrip. I still need to powder coat it.

I'm not sure if 71 and 72 Blazers use the plastic piece on the door just below the 1/4 window, but mine was missing one. I couldn't find replacement ones anywhere, so I also made these from brass and then powdercoated them satin black. I'm real happy with how they turned out.

[IronCanine]

Wow. Amazing fab. Especially on the door ferrules. You could sell those. It doesn't look like you're getting tired of working on it. You seem to be finishing strong.

[Sacramento70]

And just now jealousy sets in lol...great work . what exactly is the end result? You hope for a 4x4 rig that takes you anywhere or a restored mall cruiser

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by Sacramento70

And just now jealousy sets in lol...great work . what exactly is the end result? You hope for a 4x4 rig that takes you anywhere or a restored mall cruiser

It wont be a trailer queen, but I don't plan on going in the trails and bouncing it off of rocks either. My plan it to have a reliable, fuel efficient truck that I can drive everywhere. Cars/trucks are meant to be driven.
My last build was a 28 Dodge that made centerfold in Street Rodder magazine, and I drove the hell out of that car. Put over 25000 miles on it, and 10000 of it was pulling a camping trailer.
It will be no different than owning a brand new vehicle. After a few weeks and there's a few stone chips in it, the novelty will wear off and it will be a driver.

[DeadheadNM]

Originally Posted by IronCanine

Wow. Amazing fab. Especially on the door ferrules. You could sell those. It doesn't look like you're getting tired of working on it. You seem to be finishing strong.

x2!

[mcmlxix]

Originally Posted by IronCanine

Wow. Amazing fab. Especially on the door ferrules. You could sell those. It doesn't look like you're getting tired of working on it. You seem to be finishing strong.

X3 on the door ferrules

[Tomo]

Originally Posted by hemi43

I'm not sure if 71 and 72 Blazers use the plastic piece on the door just below the 1/4 window, but mine was missing one. I couldn't find replacement ones anywhere, so I also made these from brass and then powdercoated them satin black. I'm real happy with how they turned out.

Hey hemi would you happen to have a cad file for these ferrules? The 70 im working on is missing both - I have a small cnc and I'd like to make a set out of aluminum. Great work on your blazer - can't wait until mine is back on the road too.

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by Tomo

Hey hemi would you happen to have a cad file for these ferrules? The 70 im working on is missing both - I have a small cnc and I'd like to make a set out of aluminum. Great work on your blazer - can't wait until mine is back on the road too.

Sorry, I just machined them manually with no drawings.
Even with a CNC mill or lathe, these will have to be made out of two pieces. There's not too many parts that can't be machined by CNC, but this is one of them , even though it looks like a simple part.This part would be perfect to duplicate on a 3D printer.
The biggest problem is the surface that sits against the inner door panel. It's a curved surface that's at an angle, which by itself would be easy to machine, but the problem is the stub that fits inside the door.
It's difficult to explain in words.
I still have one original plastic one that I could take close up pictures and measurements if you wanted to make some?
Dan

[Tomo]

Originally Posted by hemi43

Sorry, I just machined them manually with no drawings.
Even with a CNC mill or lathe, these will have to be made out of two pieces. There's not too many parts that can't be machined by CNC, but this is one of them , even though it looks like a simple part.This part would be perfect to duplicate on a 3D printer.
The biggest problem is the surface that sits against the inner door panel. It's a curved surface that's at an angle, which by itself would be easy to machine, but the problem is the stub that fits inside the door.
It's difficult to explain in words.
I still have one original plastic one that I could take close up pictures and measurements if you wanted to make some?
Dan

Some photos and measurements would be great! I think it would be possible to make them with a "flip jig" similar to this:
https://youtu.be/dvGtw1Qk1F0

I agree 3D printing would be much easier. If I can make a 3D drawing of it then I may be able to find someone to print it - but I think I will prefer aluminum

[wannabefastcrf]

maybe i missed it, but did you modify the column for the 4 speed trans. I can see in a picture the indicator is a 4 speed

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by wannabefastcrf

maybe i missed it, but did you modify the column for the 4 speed trans. I can see in a picture the indicator is a 4 speed

I modified the detent plate at the bottom of the column so that the shifter would have a positive lock in park. The distance between "R" and "P" on a
TH 350 is much further apart than the 4L60E. That's the only modification I had to do. The "R" and "D" still use the originals Blazer's factory detents.
I did however remove the 4-speed indicator I had put in because it was nowhere near accurate. I put the original 3 speed indicator back in and all is perfect. The only gear that goes off the scale is 1st, which I don't care.
I'll take a close up picture later today.

[hemi43]

Here's a picture of the modified shifter detention plate.

[grillzy]

Very well done. Wont be long and we will be cruz'n

[hemi43]

Today was sewing day. I decided to keep the utility seats because they came with the truck and I actually like how industrial they look and they are comfortable. Unfortunately new foam and covers aren't available so I had to make everything. These have been recovered in the past and the foam was shot. I'm not sure if there was some sort of pattern molded into the vinyl originally, but I decided to put a beaded pattern on them so they didn't look so plain and boring. I powder coated all the hardware and seat backs, as well as repaired a couple broken springs. I'm real happy at how they turned out.

[East Tex]

Very clean

[IronCanine]

Ok...now you're just showing off. That looks great. Your skill set is clearly complete. Well done.

FYI you can still get the factory vinyl from SMS for the utility buckets. Check out asolde's red 69.

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by IronCanine

Ok...now you're just showing off. That looks great. Your skill set is clearly complete. Well done.

FYI you can still get the factory vinyl from SMS for the utility buckets. Check out asolde's red 69.

HA !! Not showing off at all, I'm just too cheap to pay someone else to do this for me.

[GPS1975]

Great craftsmanship on all of the items, nice work. I really thought that the Jerry Can Sub was a great idea, subtle yet effective.