Re: 1969 Blazer - 507 Light Blue
 

Looking forward to getting to the point where it looks like a truck again. People don't really get the vision and the $$$ on said vision when they see a pile of parts laying there on the floor. body mounts are all brand new. I think new body mounts make a significant difference. The top has been test fit, but all the nuts were just spinning inside the top so you couldn't quite get an accurate read on the fitment. The metal guys came up with a cool solution to fix a lot of the deficiencies found in the double wall tops.

Re: 1969 Blazer - 507 Light Blue
 

No relation to the metal guy... but I think my parents have realized I am not going to be able to move out till this blazer is done lol. Being a one year only colour on the year with the lowest production numbers makes it that much cooler to see another one out there. Now if I could only get my hands on a factory 69 517 maroon blazer... Thanks for following along!

Re: 1969 Blazer - 507 Light Blue
 

A few photos of tailgate fitment. I was pleasantly surprised with the fitment of all the reproduction swing panels.

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Re: 1969 Blazer - 507 Light Blue
 

The only reproduction body piece that required significant modification was the drivers side front fender. With that being said, the fitment issues were mostly located in the front section where the grill meets the fenders.

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Re: 1969 Blazer - 507 Light Blue
 

This was the final piece of metal work that was needed on the body. Even when comparing this side to the point where the original grill meets a NOS passenger fender, it is clear that this was likely a weak spot for panel fitment on the original trucks. Super happy with the outcome here.

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Re: 1969 Blazer - 507 Light Blue
 

The passenger door had the top frame cut off shortly after these photos. Besides some minor tweaks to the cowl this marked the end of the metal work on the body.

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Re: 1969 Blazer - 507 Light Blue
 

Nice progress. Keep the pix of the progress coming!

For the torsion box install - any idea how much was cut out of them to line them up?

I will need to get a set in the future, but wasn't aware I would need to do that much massaging to get them to fit.

Any plans to coat the torsion boxes on the inside?

Re: 1969 Blazer - 507 Light Blue
 

Thanks! There wasn't anything cut out of the torsion boxes length wise. The issue was that they curved up too much towards the b pillar. This is why that giant cut was made in them, so that the portion of the rocker box towards to b pillar could be moved down a bit to correctly line up with the mounting location under the bed. I don't think this modification has been required on all people replacing their torsion boxes. It could be that I got a bad set of repro boxes or the fact that the b pillar area on my blazer was spliced together from pieces belonging to three different blazers.

The plan is to undercoat the underside and the floor of the blazer tub in line-x. The underside with be the regular black coating and the floor colour-matched to the body. When the rocker box end caps are taken off it should provide sufficient access to spray line-x inside. This would all be after primer, etc.

EDIT: It was only the drivers side that required that modification to the torsion box. See passenger side below.
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Re: 1969 Blazer - 507 Light Blue
 

Looks great - thanks for following up!

Re: 1969 Blazer - 507 Light Blue
 

Can you share some of the repairs on your top? I have a few spinning nuts as well.

Re: 1969 Blazer - 507 Light Blue
 

Late to the party...but on board. Fantastic work.

Good for you 1) For saving this truck. I love to see this type of truck get resurrected...they all deserve it. 2) For some outstanding metal work. I don't know what to say, other than I wish this was a TV show....I'd DVR it. Metal work of this caliber is the cornerstone of a real restoration. And 3) For sharing.

I will enjoy this follow. Keep it up!

Re: 1969 Blazer - 507 Light Blue
 

Thank you. I am down to the high hump transmission tunnel, the center of the dash and the b pillar area as all that is left of the original sheet metal. My goal is to repaint an extra glove box door that I have in the 507 blue, and have the original one that came on the blazer clear coated with the patina still on it. I don't know which one I would end up using, but at least I would always have a reminder of where the project started!

Re: 1969 Blazer - 507 Light Blue
 

I have a lot of photos to share of the top repair so bare with me. The top I got was supposedly a really clean example of a double wall top, and while I haven't seen any other tops to compare it to, it had a lot of rust issues. On the bright side the top has no sagging in the middle. Here are some rusty areas hidden behind the fiberglass. This is where the bottom of the hatch is and the top hold down bracket that mounts to the end of the bed sides goes.

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Re: 1969 Blazer - 507 Light Blue
 

As I had mentioned earlier on in the thread, there was some pretty awesome metal work done to the top. Now that the truck wont be worked as hard as its early years, this stuff should hopefully last 100 years without rusting!

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Re: 1969 Blazer - 507 Light Blue
 

The thought process behind this modifcation was that even if we repaired the loose nuts, they would eventually sieze up again and break apart the fiberglass. Instead, the area where the top meets the bed rail had a few cuts made out of it so that a metal bar could be inserted with threaded holes where the nuts would have been. This gives it a great deal of extra strength and alleviates one of the bigger probelms with a double wall top.

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Re: 1969 Blazer - 507 Light Blue
 

I cant tell with just pictures and comments, but to me it looks like the place you chose to do the work is really getting at it.

You hear story after story of body and paint shop prison. Have you had that at all? If not these guys are awesome. Awesome work and awesome at getting it done!

Re: 1969 Blazer - 507 Light Blue
 

Thanks for the info- thats exactly what I was thinking on the top hold down bolts-

Re: 1969 Blazer - 507 Light Blue
 

I am extremely happy with the shop that is doing the work on this project. These guys are crazy talented... To answer your question though, the metal work that I have shared was completed in two stages, the first portion last spring and the second one this winter. Both times they had the truck in and out in less than a month. The main guy always says that he is not in the business of storing cars. They move em out pretty quick!

Re: 1969 Blazer - 507 Light Blue
 

Any updates on this?

Re: 1969 Blazer - 507 Light Blue
 

I just found this, and I'm amazed at the great work. Thanks for saving this Blazer.

Re: 1969 Blazer - 507 Light Blue
 

Absolutely awesome resurrection. WOW!