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01-05-2023, 07:10 PM | #1 |
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2wd 1977 Blazer LS swap, mild drop….escalating
My wife and I decided we wanted a new project to update a bit before we jumped back into the 1948 Suburban build. My auto passion had taken a hiatus the last few years and has returned with a vengeance.
We started our search looking at several possibilities, only to be disappointed by untruthful descriptions from sellers. Then we saw this blue and white 2wd K5 on a Friday. The Blazer had spent its life in the San Antonio TX area, had one owner since 1977 and was very clean. The seller provided great pictures, video and honest information. By that Sunday night we had driven 10 hours one way to bring “Garth” home. |
01-05-2023, 07:16 PM | #2 |
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Re: 2wd 1977 Blazer LS swap, mild drop….escalating
Garth was as rust free and in probably a bit better condition than described. Guessing the first owner had been involved in the aircraft industry or hobby in some way based on the patch on the hat, aviators and unopened pack of Camel cigs left in the center console. I’ve noticed some of the fasteners have been safety tied like aircraft.
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01-05-2023, 07:21 PM | #3 |
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Re: 2wd 1977 Blazer LS swap, mild drop….escalating
Garth, named for the original owner, was loaded up and hauled back to our place in Illinois.
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01-05-2023, 07:22 PM | #4 |
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Re: 2wd 1977 Blazer LS swap, mild drop….escalating
Great looking blazer Doug..!!!
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01-05-2023, 07:24 PM | #5 |
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Re: 2wd 1977 Blazer LS swap, mild drop….escalating
And 10 hours later on that Monday night we pulled into our shop. These trips were much easier to do 30 years ago!
And we will have more updates on the project soon. Our simple plan escalated just a bit. Thanks for checking in! |
01-06-2023, 01:29 AM | #6 |
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Re: 2wd 1977 Blazer LS swap, mild drop….escalating
'77's are cool and yours is very nice based on the pics. Following along as a fellow 2wd square K5 owner. Interested in seeing an under hood and interior shot before you start.
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01-09-2023, 11:05 AM | #7 |
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Re: 2wd 1977 Blazer LS swap, mild drop….escalating
ditto! will follow along as well!... nice looking blazer!
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01-09-2023, 02:23 PM | #8 |
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Re: 2wd 1977 Blazer LS swap, mild drop….escalating
What a great start! Nice rig.
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01-09-2023, 02:34 PM | #9 | |
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Re: 2wd 1977 Blazer LS swap, mild drop….escalating
Thanks Greg! We are flying pretty fast on this one…..we hope.
Quote:
Thanks rodstored! Welcome aboard! Thanks Corts60! Your Burb is awesome. |
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01-09-2023, 02:41 PM | #10 |
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Re: 2wd 1977 Blazer LS swap, mild drop….escalating
We’ve had a number of Suburbans over the years though never a Blazer and are pretty excited about Garth. We put him on the lift to take a good look and determine the scope of the project / timeline we wanted to work within.
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01-09-2023, 02:59 PM | #11 |
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Re: 2wd 1977 Blazer LS swap, mild drop….escalating
The smart move would be to finish the 48 Burb project and for a lot of reasons my head and heart aren’t into that one right now.
So, with the years clicking by quickly we decided to take this one down to the frame and use reasonably nice parts to build Garth back with. Our aggressive timeline goal is to make the C10 Nationals in Nashville for 2023. We went last year in the 72 Burb and had an awesome time. Anyway going to be a challenge to make that we know. Will try our best. First step was to organize the shop and storage shelves. We did a little test on cleaning the hood. And Garth came with a replacement fender for the one that is bent, likely from a tire and wheel coming off when driving. Here is the only interior picture we have right now. |
01-14-2023, 04:43 PM | #12 |
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Re: 2wd 1977 Blazer LS swap, mild drop….escalating
With the extra help lifting the body and placing it on the body cart went smoothly.
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01-15-2023, 03:38 PM | #13 |
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Re: 2wd 1977 Blazer LS swap, mild drop….escalating
those outdoor pictures dont look like Illinois in Jan..!!!!
yall moving pretty quick on this
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Mongo...aka Greg RIP Dad RIP Jesse 1981 C30 LQ9 NV4500..http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=753598 Mongos AD- LS3 TR6060...http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...34#post8522334 Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4...http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...63#post8082563 2023 Chevy Z71..daily driver |
01-16-2023, 04:23 PM | #14 |
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Re: 2wd 1977 Blazer LS swap, mild drop….escalating
Nice work so far! having a tractor helps a lot, must say I'm jealous.
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http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=648459 https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=769441 1951 MG TD 1967 Jeep CJ5 1.9L TDI 33X13.5X15 Mud Grapplers. 1952 GMC 9700 p/u 7.3L diesel on air, dually |
01-17-2023, 02:36 AM | #15 |
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Re: 2wd 1977 Blazer LS swap, mild drop….escalating
Clean Blazer.. great find!!!
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01-18-2023, 12:58 PM | #16 | ||
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Re: 2wd 1977 Blazer LS swap, mild drop….escalating
Quote:
Quote:
Thank you! We really are enjoying this build with this solid of a start. Once we had the body off the frame we hauled it outside for a good heated power washing. Lots of Texas dirt, engine oil and what appeared to be tar or undercoating covered the frame and suspension. |
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01-18-2023, 01:18 PM | #17 |
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Re: 2wd 1977 Blazer LS swap, mild drop….escalating
We continued disassembly down to the frame and suspension crossmember.
Grandson helped us load components to run to neighbors farm to use their hot pressure washer to work on removing more gunk. He also helped remove some of the riveted on brackets and received a grandpa level class on how to do so. The original frame wax is in good condition. Then we dropped the frame off at the powder coaters and really didn’t like leaving it behind. |
01-18-2023, 01:36 PM | #18 |
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Re: 2wd 1977 Blazer LS swap, mild drop….escalating
G-kids sure have grown..!!!!!
I assume it's the same ones..
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Mongo...aka Greg RIP Dad RIP Jesse 1981 C30 LQ9 NV4500..http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=753598 Mongos AD- LS3 TR6060...http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...34#post8522334 Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4...http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...63#post8082563 2023 Chevy Z71..daily driver |
01-20-2023, 12:32 PM | #19 |
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Re: 2wd 1977 Blazer LS swap, mild drop….escalating
Nice!
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Evan B. |
01-22-2023, 05:09 PM | #20 |
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Re: 2wd 1977 Blazer LS swap, mild drop….escalating
Yep, same ones and they are really growing up. He is taller than me now.
Thanks Evan! After steam cleaning, the rear diff was better though needed wire wheeling which was done outside due to the continuing decent weather. The pinion seal was leaking so I ordered one from local Napa store. The replacement was designed “thicker” and placed the seal deeper on the pinion flange. Had me a bit concerned though that part worked out ok. Throwing me off was this video about the pinion seals I had viewed….. https://youtu.be/eX-1MUTVnQ8 What didn’t work so well was when retightening the pinion, I went past the locations marks I made on the pinion gear snout, pinion flange and case. This crushed the sleeve more and increased the pre-load on the pinion gear bearings too much. Bad on me…..and the Milwaukee battery impact…wow did it move the nut quickly. |
01-22-2023, 05:22 PM | #21 |
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Re: 2wd 1977 Blazer LS swap, mild drop….escalating
I ordered the crush sleeve kit and since I hadn’t personally done a differential since about 1980, I viewed a couple good video’s to brush up, then dove in. The shim driver I fabricated made reinstalling the new shims simple.
Basically I tightened the pinion nut until the pinion had a rotational torque of 15 inch pounds on the used bearings, placed the same thickness new shims back in beside the gear carrier bearings and verified backlash. Actually getting the pinion flange to tighten was a hurdle as there apparently was interference in the splines to the pinion gear splines. Multiple thorough cleaning and polishing with emory cloth resolved the issue. |
01-22-2023, 05:36 PM | #22 |
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Re: 2wd 1977 Blazer LS swap, mild drop….escalating
Threw the drum brakes back on, mounted the shop rollers and wife hit differential with a coat of paint.
I did explore using rear disc brakes from a late 2008ish Silverado. To make it work would require (I think) a new axle tube end and axle bearing flange in the tube….too involved for our timeframe. So I shelved that idea for another time or project. Interesting was the leaf spring pin on the right side wasn’t seated in the saddle on the axle tube properly, probably from when new. Garth must have been dog legging a bit. I didn’t address the deformation as the lowering flip kit will put the spring under the axle tube. |
01-23-2023, 04:40 PM | #23 |
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Re: 2wd 1977 Blazer LS swap, mild drop….escalating
Moving right along Doug. I can hear your AD Suburban swearing at you from here.
Marc
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01-24-2023, 10:08 AM | #24 | |
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Re: 2wd 1977 Blazer LS swap, mild drop….escalating
Quote:
We cleaned up the trans and gave it a painting too. |
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01-25-2023, 08:52 AM | #25 |
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Re: 2wd 1977 Blazer LS swap, mild drop….escalating
You guys work fast. Looking good, fresh painted parts a nice.
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http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=648459 https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=769441 1951 MG TD 1967 Jeep CJ5 1.9L TDI 33X13.5X15 Mud Grapplers. 1952 GMC 9700 p/u 7.3L diesel on air, dually |
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