My super quick Blazer Facelift

[Martyeth23]

Hey there, after finally getting my first blazer about a month ago ive finally had the time to start putting together a stockpile of parts and found a good guy to do all the paint and body work. So far ive just jumped up in tire size from 35x12.50's to 38x15.50-15 that made a big difference! Right now its at paint and body i'll see if i can swing by every few days and get some pics to post. It's going to be Laguna Blue that is used by Acura and i believe honda.... hopefully it will come out nice its sort of a metallic blue on the dark side. While its getting painted the entire inside is getting rhino lined, then i'm going to install the carpet myself, the roll cage is coming out, the black grille gaurd and bumpers are coming off and new factory chrome ones are going on, also replacing the chrome door handles, chrome side view mirrors and new side marker lights. Hopefully it will be all finished up in a week or two and i can get some pics posted, then after that i need to tackle some new shocks and maybe new leaf springs to improve the ride a bit..Any helpful info or suggestions feel free to send my way, this is my first classic truck so everything is still really new to me!!

[bouncytruck]

Sounds like a good plan. Are those bigger tires rubbing at all?

Keep the pictures coming.

[29od1]

Good plan and welcome!

You may look into a zero rate leaf for the rear from the link below. It'll let you move your rearend back 1" to 1-1/2" to gain a little more clearance from the front of the wheel well and center the tire a bit better. Just make sure and check that the driveline is long enough before doing it.

http://www.offroaddesign.com/catalog/Zero%20Rates.htm

[tubbedII]

Looks good with the big meats...does look like it'll rub though but hopefully 29od1's recommendation will work for you. Glad to hear your going with the sport bumpers on this one. I just googled Laguna blue too and looks like a pretty cool color. How long is the sentence supposed to be in paint prison?

Mine was supposed to be about a month, but I guess it was being really bad cuz it's been about 7 now and it's still not done...lol

[Martyeth23]

Thanks for the suggestion 29od1 thats an awesome idea!! I had heard of those before but didnt understand exactly the purpose, thats a great piece of info right there, man i love this site, there is so much i don't know about this stuff. Before now my only experience was with newer gas trucks and a couple diesels. The tires are great so far although i only got to take it out of paint and body for a day to put them on, the first two pics are with the 35's and the bottom pic is with the 38's, no rubbing at all just driving around and turning in and out of parking spots, its got a 4 inch suspension lift and 3 inch body lift so about 7 in total, with some cutting on the front fenders. And yeah to tubbedII... is that normal lol the guy told me 3 weeks total...its been 2 1/2 weeks now and they havent touched it yet...so guessing this could take a while.....although it is a good friend of a friend and i got a really good deal on the price so i can't complain too much...but here in Texas the weather is only nice a couple months out of the year before its over 100 degrees everyday so i want some nice time to drive it before it gets crazy hot! What color did you decide on? I've looked up images on google for the Laguna Blue but the pics are all over the place from super light to super dark blue so who really knows whats its gonna come out like, i was just going by the one square inch sample on the sheet at the body shop...so kinda hard to picture an entire vehicle in my head. I figure anything is better than that orange!!! Iv've seen some great orange ones on here but this was like spray can orange....doesnt feel so cool driving a 4,500 pound traffic cone!

[tubbedII]

From what I've read, it's pretty normal for the paint process to take longer than expected. Mine is a little ridiculous, but it's my friend doing the work and actually showing me how to do it. It's all been done in my garage by hand (no air tools since my compressor can't handle a DA), and in his spare time. I don't complain because all I have to do is provide beer and sometimes food when we work on it. I've always hated body work, but the better I get at it the less of a PITA it is. I still suck, but at least now I'll be able to say I've done it all with the Blazer.

The paint I bought is off the new Lexus IS and is called Nebula Grey Pearl. It's not a true pearl since it's just a 2-stage paint, but it's got some nice color changes on the body lines.

I was actually pretty suprised you were getting rid of the orange. Funny because in all the pics you posted of it, I think the color is pretty bad a$$...but maybe in person things are different..that 4,500 pound traffic cone comment did make literrally lol though.

[Martyeth23]

Heh yeah i love to see the orange when its fresh but this was not! Mid-way through the painting process and the paint and body guy says its not even car paint lol its this stuff they use to spray tanks and heavy machinery at job sites....apparently it eats through 80 grainn sand paper like nobody's business, so its been a bit slower process than normal. Luckily the guy whose shop i took it too is a friend and does amazing work, the previous owner used the paint to cover up a a lot of half assed repairs which are now being redone properly, he's getting through it pretty quick now so i stopped by the shop to take a few pics, apparently in its 42 years its been red, silver, orange, and now ive decided on high performance red with a little metallic added in. Hopefully it will be all finished up within a week or so and i can post a few pics with it all shined up but for now, lets see if these load.... adding on new bumpers, side mirrors and side marker lights, door handles and maybe new headlights, and still thinking about the front grille, i Love the 70 grille and its in almost perfect shape but thinking about going to the 72' style grille.....

[hilljob26]

comin right along..lookin good

[BLUE THUNDER]

Get ready, I'm going to put a San Antonio K5 rally together soon!

[Martyeth23]

awesome let me know for sure man

[Martyeth23]

well the blazer is about 80% done, paint and body have been completed, except for the small piece that goes between the windshield and hood is still being completed, so ive been driving it around for a few days before i send it back to the shop on monday to have the entire interior rhino lined and the seats upgraded to leather ones from a recent Chevy Tahoe, i have all the emblems ready to install as well, so its nearing completion as far as looks go, next up will be some new shocks, exhaust, and then getting the sound system updated, then thats about it for a while....or so i say as usual...gonna try and post a few pics, the new color is high performance red, three coats with 5 coats of clear,still needing its last good buffing to really shine though, but it looks way way better to me! This thing has turned into my favorite vehicle that ive ever had the pleasure of owning

[Martyeth23]

a few more

[Martyeth23]

last one

[Mint68]

Looks great and a super fast turn around also!

[Tom Vogel]

Like that color way better!

[teamradrz1]

looking great!

+1 on changing to the 71-72 grill

[BLUE THUNDER]

Looking good!!!! Can't wait to see it in person.

[craigger007]

That thing looks slick. Makes me want to take off my wood strips and go with a clean side. Very nice!