Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

It's alive !!
https://youtu.be/BcFMoWSBBdk

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

Sounds great! Perfect start

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

Nice!

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

Big step...sounds sweet. Congrats.

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

Thanks Guys !! Definitely a huge hurdle overcome. Getting kinda burned out working on it and looking forward to the end.

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

9 seconds of fun !
https://youtu.be/RJJc1oGZ-Yc

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

Woohoo!!!#brrrr

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

Very exciting!

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

Cool. Were you sitting on a milk crate.

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

HAHAHA !! No, I bolted the seat in. I've driven cars in the past sitting on milk crates and I know what can happen. I'm older and wiser now !!:lol::lol::lol:

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

Very nice

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

Today was paint day. I let the high build sit for almost 40 days before blocking it with 500 dry. I put 2 coats of grey sealer, 3 coats of base and 3 coats of clear and will color sand it hopefully this weekend. Turned out pretty good.

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

Nice work Hemi43!!! Looks great!!

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

Thank you !!

I buffed the 1/4s today, and must say it's a bit nerve racking putting a D/A on a freshly painted panel. It's been a few years since I cut and buffed, but after a few minutes my heart rate went down and was able to finish without a hitch.
Amazing how well it came up considering I'm using old products on this thing. Believe it or not but the date code on the bottom of the high build urethane primer is 1997 and the clear is 2002. If products are kept in a cool dry place and have been unopened, they should last indefinitely. Some base colors like white don't last too long though.

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

i need some paint lessons from you!

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

Looks great Dan! You're in the short rows now.

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

This is the best part of a build, putting new parts on !
I should be painting the rest of the panels but got carried away installing the bling. Putting the 33"on sure changes the look of the truck. Hopefully I'll get the trims rings soon, because they've been on back order for some time.
I was also able to put the Peel&Seal down on the floor. Not sure how much noise this will get rid of considering I'll be driving a tent on wheels.:lol:

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

Very nice, tires fill up wheel wells nicely, great work so far

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

Dan, truck is looking great. Would love to see a full side shot of it to see the tires and stance next time your in the shop with your camera.

Did you buy new bumpers or refinish ?

FYI, I have read a few posts from others who have exhaust straight out the back. They reported getting a lot of suction of fumes back in to the passenger compartment with the top down.

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

The exhaust is a big concern. My thinking is if I drive fast enough, the fumes wont reach me !! ;) To be honest, the top wont be taken down very often. I live in Canada !:lol::lol:

I'll get a side shot when I pull it out of the booth, but I still need to raise the back about an inch to match the height of the reworked front springs. I think I'm also going to move the rear axle back about 3/4" so that it's a bit more centered in the wheel well.

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

I had a CJ-7 with exhaust out the back and it was a very stinky ride. My 72 has it out the side and is much better. I get more exhaust fumes with the soft top on than off. The tent is noisy! Much nicer with the top off.

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

Almost done painting. Still have the hood and tailgate to do.

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

Awesome build. I was wondering who you got all your patch panels through and also for the rear bed half, I'm assuming it was meant for a truck so was the only modification making the holes for the gas tube? Thanks

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

I got everything from Bill's trucks. Best part is that he's 10 minutes away and has everything in stock. The bed floor is for a truck and I had to add the holes for the rear seat as well as the gas tube hole.


Truck is coming along great and I can see light at the end of the tunnel.
I had to machine some lift blocks for the rear to level out the truck after getting the front springs done. I lifted it 1.100" and it's now perfect. This was a good time to move the axle back .625 so that it fits the wheel opening a bit better.
It should ride better now with the longer wheelbase !:lol::lol:
Now that it's sitting level, I'll check the U-joint angles and will taper the block if need be, then I'll powdercoat them.
Panels fit pretty good, but I wished I had more of a gap on the cowl sides. I think I'll have to live with it.

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

Strong work Dan.

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

Thanks!! I was looking at your build today to see how well your cowl fit and it looks great. Mine is extremely tight side to side and I won't be able to have the same size gap as the hood. My fenders are bolted on with no shims which is probably one of the reasons, but that's where they need to be in order for them to line up with the doors. I'm crossing my fingers that the hood doesn't give me too many fit issues. I'll find out soon enough.

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

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.

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

Been following your build from the start. Amazing craftsmenship!

Question - Did you use repro inner fenders? If so, where did you get them?

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

I love your build. One thing that caught my eye was you said you waited 3 days to paint over the epoxy. Epoxy has a cure time that you cant exceed or the top layer will not stick. HOpe that doesnt come back to bite you.
As for the sand marks, thats not necessarily true either. If you use the correct sanding stages the shrinkage you speak of will not happen(or better yet wont be seen)

Cant wait for more updates.


** I posted this before i had reached the end of your thread. That thing came out amazing. Using a 19 year or urethane seems a bit sketchy, but holy hell it came out perfect. Do you have a paint code for that
tank color you used?****

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

Epoxy primer MUST be cured 72hrs before applying Featherfill which is polyester based. The epoxy was sanded before I applied the Featherfill because it was outside it's recoat window.
As far as urethane primer, it will always shrink regardless of how well the substrate is sanded. I agree fine sanding scratches probably wouldn't show up, but why take a chance. If it was a daily driver I was painting, I would sand it the next day.
The paint code for "Tank" is 2014-2015 NGK(Jeep only). Don't paint a Blazer this color because it's already been done !! ;););)

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

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.

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

looks great from here!

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

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.

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

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

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

Very impressive!

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

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 :metal:

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

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.

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

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.

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

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 :lol:

Re: Hemi's 70 Blazer build
 

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.