PO has me PO'd
 

Started to strip paint off of PS of truck, and this is what I found. This side was up against the shop wall so I haven't paid to much attention to it. I thought it was in pretty good shape since it had a new rocker panel hung on it. Why would you waste your time covering up all that rust? Oh well, deja vu. Here I go again on the PS

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...j/msoCBA72.jpg

Pictures are for ref. only, unsafe work practices, DO NOT attempt at Home or Workshop
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...j/mso289D1.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...j/mso525BA.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...j/mso28C9D.jpg




http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...j/mso9A363.jpg

EDIT: for index

Pages 1-8 rust repair

Pages15-23 changing 72 front clip to a 67-68 chevy
also hanging a floor pan on a chevy pick up

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

Always an ugly site.Not rare to see,though.

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

Wow, it's amazing to see the amount of rust that some of you guys start with. Luckily vehicles around Colorado don't tend to rust as bad. Good luck.

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

Dang, good luck getting that all back together.

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

I see "show trucks" that look great from the top side but have rusted out cab supports, floors, etc.

It takes effort to make it right, most people won't put that much effort into it.

Don't give up, do it as right as you can (It's hard to know when to stop...), and you'll have a better blazer than most.

Good luck, Rg

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

Always the biggest battles, rust and P/O's.

Good luck keep us posted on your progress.

Good pics BTW.

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

Hey James, visors are on the way ;)

FeDeX # 045740433140784

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

Thanks guys, its just so dang fustrating cause I spent amonth on the drivers side. Maybe this time I am truly done shoveling crap off the workshop floor, hehe I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and there is no rust around it.
Thanks Kurt, I just got it from my wife for my birthday, still learning how to use it. Alot different than my 35mm I had 30 years ago. While I have your ear, how did you make out with cutting your top in half? Curious? I might be headed down that road!
Thanks Luv, enjoyed seeing pics of the GQ, that is really sweet. What size tires and lift? I like the way it sits!

Time to start ordering pcs. from Goodmark, I should buy stock in 4 1/2" cutoff wheels, can't imagine how many I went thru so far:blah: :blah: :blah:

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

Thumb through this to see what it takes:

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jason_burkhart/my_photos

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

Thanks for the pics. nice work, someday mine will look that good if I live long enough! Jim

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

It took us 1 1/2 years and we still don't have the top finish. (it is my son's-orangeuavol-)

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

wow those boxes are long gone.

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

You sound like there should be some kinda boxes there, he he. Neither side had much to speak of, mostly just held up a bunch of mud and large flakes of rusty metal. I plan to rebuild with sliders to put back the rigidity i lost with the rocker boxes gone. I can't decide if the slider should have a urethane mount or not, since it is tied between the frame and the body??

I wasn't going to do anything, but a buddy was wheelin' with the same truck like mine and his doors became stuck shut on some of the steeper inclines. Got me thinkin...

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

I know how you feel, more rust than you were prepared to deal with....kinda gives you t hat sick feeling...but I just finished all the body work on mine Can't think of much I didn't replace...lol...pillar bottoms, door bottoms inside and outside, floor pans, kick panels, rockers, inside rocker panels, front fenders, and several floor patches in the bed.....blocking it off now, waiting on the money to paint.
JUst take your time, measure twice, tack it measure again.....good luck...if you need advice these guys are great....

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

Boy does that look familiar!

Good luck...you can do it!!

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

Sick feeling haha. It's a never ending battle, I look at the trucks where they spend lots of money on the purchase, and wonder if maybe I should have gone that route. Nah, I can say I built it when it's done. $700.00 was cheap, just don't let my wife add up the receipts

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

Visors arrived today, thanks for the deal. It's addictive I can't stay of the parts board.

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

Yeah, man! I've been there. Good luck with it

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

OK, here's my present progress. This side was alot easier as the PO hadn't added many patch plates. Every thing was cut out with a 4 1/2" angle grinder, channel locks and a pry bar. Once you pry up on the spot welds you can see the little detents and grind the metal till it gets blue, then you are almost thru the metal and won't damage the under layer your trying to save. Taking it apart I actually saw some shiny metal, what luck. Plan to spend a good couple of hours around the body mount to cab brace, they are really spot welded in well.http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...replace002.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...replace001.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...replace003.jpg

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http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...eplace00-1.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...replace006.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...replace007.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...replace008.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...replace009.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...replace010.jpg


Alot of my new sheet metal came in so I'll be cutting, fitting and cutting, fitting...

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

WOWSERS, Hope your keeping this pic's for reassembly later :lol:

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

I could only post up 10 pics, so maybe I can do it this way and re-reply. Hope the picture cops don't catch on! I've put a white dot where the spot welds are so in case yours are all rusty you can still locate them, I had 5 spot welds fail in the area of the spreader plate and that is where the most rust was!!

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...replace011.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...replace013.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...replace014.jpg

Any questions?? Jim

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

WOW, I wish I had the nerve to try that, I would have kept several
vehicles in the past if that wasn't so scary to me, nice work, cya ;)

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

Luv, I see this truck in my sleep after 4 years!!! What's that saying: some assembly required. This is the last piece of rust and crap pile on the work shop floor, I hope.

Rusty Parts has been my mentor thru this hole process, I thought if he could do it, well so can I.heh heh

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

I've done worse, used to cut english sports cars in half to put floorboards in those. Rusty pcs. of sh!t...

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

Wow...great pics!
Please keep them coming during the assembly process, they are very helpful. I will be working in the same area soon.
Thanks.

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

Nice detailed pics, brings back alot of rusty metal memories I thought I had finally put behind me. :o :lol:

J/K, great work, your on the 'fix it' side of things now.

One question I can't see from the pics, is the hard top on?
If not it really should be to keep those lower door pillars where they need to be.

I like this pic with the coffee cup...speakes volumes. :metal:
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...replace006.jpg

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

I have the cowl hangin' from a pipe that goes across my workshop, plus I have taken a diagonal measurement across the door opening. When I mount the door back on that becomes the final check, worked for the drivers side. I think that as long as you don't fool with brace/channel that connects the cowl with bed evrything should stay in place. Only do one side at a time, I think you said this? I usually give the winch 1 or 2 clicks up after I cut to prestress the metal. I guess there a lot of ways to do this.
Your green truck has always bin one of my fav. ones, although mine will never be that nice, I shot for that excellance
Sorry to bring back rusty memories, I think the cure is to buy a Arizona truck. Hope they realize how lucky they are!!

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

wow thanks for the pics. that looks just like my junk in 2000. be really careful about putting in the rocker panel. I set mine in a little high on the drivers side and had contact with the door. To fix it, I took a 5lb sledge and a piece of oak to "settle" the rocker. I didn't cause any visible damage but I'd rather not have had to do it that way. :banghead:

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

Sometimes newmetaltherapy is the only way to put that ole rust into remission. But it feels sooooo good to get rid of it.

Nice work.

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

Sounds like you have it covered.
Knowing is half the battle. ;)

AZ. rides definetly have an advantage but their not perfect by any means either.
I flew out to AZ. and drove my green one home because I was thinking along those same lines, cool adventure but not even close to rust free.
Not meaning to highjack and nowhere near your metal replacement but here's what my AZ. blazer was like. (yes, there was more on the other side too)

What color are you going to paint it when the body work is done?

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

Just make sure it lived it's whole life out there and when you get it home disassemble, clean and rust proof it!!

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

After looking at the green one, I thought it came that way and you just picked a clean rust free Blazer, had no idea you did all that work. Looks like an original one, nice work, I think we all strive for that level of craftmanship. I don't know what you do for a living, but sure could get into the restoration business.

Didn't know you were hijacking, lot to learn on this here computor.

I would really like to paint it two-tone, white panel w/dark green metallic to match my dash. I was going to use the early trim to cover up my eyebrows as they are still a little tatty. Maybe gun metal panel to be a little different...

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

Thanks Rusty, you know, right now I have air where the rust used to be and it still looks a hole he!! of alot better.heh heh

After working on these things for 35 years, I should have a BS degree if not a Doct. in rustymetalolgie.

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

Amen Brother, Amen.

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

Rusty, it must be beerthirty in Ol' Kentucky by now!!

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

OK, here's the last step of disassembly. Take your time on the seams as you don't want to destroy the sheet metal underneath. The method that works best for me is as follows
Pry up what ever you can get and pull back with pliers, it helps if you can wedge a small screwdriver on the other side of the spotweld, now when you use your cutoff wheel it will grind both sides of the spot weld, top and bottom, try pulling some more and you should see movement, if not grind some more. After it breaks lose, you'll end up with a 1" pc., cut that off and start on the next one. It's sorta like opening an old ham can. Channel locks work best as they have a rolled head that is helpful in the cam action that is required. BTW you should be cutting, grinding in the same direction that your seam is running! Once you see blue metal, you are almost thru the first layer of metal. Give yourself plenty of light, so you can see exactly what you are cuttin'
Here's some pics.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...replace016.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...replace017.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...replace019.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...replace020.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...replace021.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...replace022.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...replace023.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...replace024.jpg

BTW, your seams should be cut flat, like a ribbon, as any angle on it will only give it more strenght and you don't want that!!

As you can see in one of the closups, I had planned to just weld up the hole that looks like a sailboat, but after separating the seam the rust was hidden and it doesn't make sense not to fix it at this stage, as it will only bite you in arse a few years down the road.

OK new parts are here from Goodmark, time to cut and fit, cut and fit .....

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

Dude, that rocker floorboard is freakin' ugly, then I see a post elsewhere with a prestine orange painted floor and a blue cowl. What gives?

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

That would be a different project blazer currently under construction. :hm:

That pristine floor is original paint and the blue cowl is from a truck that I grafted a blazer windshield frame onto, it's about five different parts trucks being put together to make a blazer for my daughter. :cool:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=156022

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

Floorboard is in loosely, have to trim everything up to get it to fit right, I'll take pics. when I get back from salmon fishing in N.Y., truck still not ready for yet another fishing trip. Oh well, maybe for the spring trip!

Re: PO has me PO'd
 

Well here is my current progress, the kickpanel is a PITA, so I'll get into that later. BTW, pics. are loaded backwards

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...eplace02-3.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...eplace02-2.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...eplace02-1.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...eplace01-7.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...eplace01-6.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...eplace01-5.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...eplace01-4.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...replace015.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...eplace01-3.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...eplace01-2.jpg

Any questions?