1970 4x4 Blazer/Jimmy - Thinking of selling

[JimmyFloyd]

Well, I have been giving this a lot of thought, and I am really considering selling my blazer. I have always wanted one, and finally bit the bullet and bought a project figuring I would be able to build it myself the way I wanted and drive it. When i bought the truck I was very naive when it comes to older vehicles and what to look for, so it turned out to be more work that I had anticipated (what old car/truck doesn't) and I have not been able to get everything I needed in place to begin the project, and it doesn't appear as if I am going to be able to in the near future (Unheated garage in NY, single 14-2 for power/lights, Lack of space within the garage, Lack of time, etc) I also want to start doing more personal and professional development projects to help stay current, and am beginning to plan for a family in the next 3-7 years (I'm getting married in July)

So with all that, I am really thinking that trying to tackle this project right now is not the most sensible thing for me to be doing. I have collected most of the items that I would need to finish it, including a welder, most panels, and even extras. The only other consideration I have is that if I do sell this now, i probably won't be able to get another "toy" until after whatever children we have are grown up, or we decide not to have children, as financially for us, those seem to be the only two responsible options.

So I am fairly certain I am making a good decision here, and will still dabble and read up on these trucks, as I would someday like to get another. I also need to figure out what I should sell the truck for and in what order.


Here is what I have amassed so far:

1970 Blazer 4x4. Originally a 6 cyl, 3 spd. Currently has a rebuilt 1970 Full size car 350 with some upgrades. Transmission is a SM465 with new Heavy Duty clutch, NP205 transfer case. Front end was swapped for disc brakes, and new pads, rotors, and lines were used. Brake booster and master replaced. 3.73 gears front and rear, open diffs. Body in decent shape, but needs work. Floors, Rockers, Kick panels, Quarters and rear floor replaced or patched, but not very well. Most just needs the welds cleaned up. Front floors need body seam at firewall fixed. Quarters replaced with half patches Welds need to be cleaned up, and bondo was put on a little thick over the welds to cover up the splatter and stitching. Not a huge deal, just time consuming and dusty. Doors are ok, but there is bondo in the front corners. Couple pin holes under the driver's seat that need to be fixed. The windshield frame looks decent, but has a couple pin holes on the inside, and the passenger side outer corner is rotted. Dash is uncut and dash pad is nice. 3 spd column is there, non-tilt. I have a Title that matches the frame and Glove Box door. The VIN on the body was missing, but grease pen writing on firewall matches Glove Box. I also have a Vin plate and title for a 71 GMC Jimmy as well for the body. Right now it has nice newer Rally wheels with good tires on them, but I may keep those if sold since they were given to me by a close friend. There are no rocker boxes in the truck either. PO cut them out stating they were unnecessary and only collected dirt and rust. Firewall is in nice shape with no rust holes in it or the ends of the cowl. There is a double wall top, no hatch on it, that needs a little work around the front edge and the rear corners. Side glass is good.

Now, that is the truck itself. For it, i have collected the following:

1. 1970 Blazer utility buckets, good foam and frames, all brackets including floor latch piece. good rear panels.
2. Regular Bucket seats and rear seat. No brackets. Material shows age, but could be used as a driver. No major tears, but might be some small ones. Have arm rests for rear seat. Might be from a newer truck, or recovered. They are red vinyl outside, with a (dirty) white center.
3. Passenger side Custom Deluxe black blazer bucket seat. Includes rails and floor latch piece. Excellent shape.
4. 2x 73-78 blazer Cup Holder Consoles. One is more parts, but could be used. Other is in nice shape, but needs a small amount of work.
5. 1970 GMC Front clip. Whole clip including hood, fenders, core support, inner fenders, grill and hinges. Fenders need cups, inner fenders have some rust through by the core, but overall good shape. Grill in eh driver shape.
6. nice passenger side chevy fender 69-72 with C/10 emblem
7. Rebuilt Van Tilt Auto Column
8. original California take off Rocker Boxes. Removed from a 1972 2wd blazer that a guy parted.
9. Original 2wd 1972 blazer rear floor sections. Sections from rear to juse infront of the rear wheel wells. cut into 4 pieces for shipping. small spot of rust, but great shape otherwise.
10. Rust free Rocker Box end Caps
11. Rear seat mount brackets. includes the front and rear.
12. 4x Rear seat hold down brackets. these are the repop ones. 2 sets
13. 3x gas filler necks
14. 2x Gas Filler Neck covers
15. 1 rear hatch in GREAT shape. does need a little fiber glass work to be perfect, but it's the best one I have personally found.
16. 2x rear hatch glass. Both decent with gaskets (might be usable)
17. 4x upper windshield top bracket sets.
18. 1.5 sets of rear top brackets.
19. 1 set of rear tail gate side weather strip pieces
20. 1 rear tail gate upper strip
21. 1 rough chevy tail gate. Parts and scrap in my opinion, but works.
22. 1 decent GMC tail gate. Little bit of rust through on the bottom, but overall nice and decently straight.
23. 1 beautiful 1968 grill. No dents, rust. Needs paint. Hoops are white and present and in great shape. Parking lights good as well.
24. 1 1976 350. Appears with a carb rebuild that it could run. Fluids removed were very nice.
25. 3-5x V8 power steering setups, couple 67-72, couple 73+
26. TH350 with Fairbanks Shift Kit
27. NP205 from auto
28. Non-tilt Auto Column
29. Front and rear suburban Drive Shafts
30. New repop gas tank and sender, painted
31. Original gas line from front to rear
32. 2x NOS Emblems
33. 2x NOS tail light trim
34. various windshield trim
35. Couple alts
36. new floor, floor support, kick panel, LWB wheel arch, Rocker and inner rockers
37. 2 windshield frames. One rusty, but couple needed parts. Other cut in half, but pretty solid.

There is more to come later.

The big question, is if and when I do sell it, how should I sell it? I was planning on basically how it is broken down here, but then part of me says bull the motor and trans to sell seperate, and sell the body cheaper.

[72gmguy]

If you can swing it, I would keep the blazer and get to work on that body. If your doing the body work yourself it should not cost alot of cash and will keep you occupied for a long time. Then sell off a lot of the parts. You seem to have a bunch of stuff you dont need to atleast make your blazer a driver and that stuff all has great value. Dont give up on your blazer, I've heard too many people say they would get back into the hobby only to never be able to come back and everyone of them regrets it. keep in mind the value of these trucks should continue to go up and if you need the money at a later point you could always sell. Plus complete the bodywork using your own time as labor and your blazer will be worth more than one that still needs body work. Don't give up until you have too.

[JimmyFloyd]

The problem i have is, that to do body work, I have to wait til the summer. It would cost too much to fix, insulate, and heat my garage. The only other option is wait til the summer, which right now, is full as I am getting married as well as a couple good friends, and my brother's wife will be having their first baby in june, so this summer is really shot.

Unfortunately, after reflecting on it over the holidays, i have decided that I am going to sell the truck and unload most of the parts. With the wedding coming up, I would really like to go into it with no Credit card debt, and more of my car paid down, so I can focus on other things. I really want to focus on some personal and professional development projects that will help increase job security, and also make me more marketable should we decide to move away from the area.

I will still stay active, and I am always pulling parts for people when trucks come around, so i will be involved. I will also be willing to lend a hand to anyone close by who needs one. Plus, the wife said if we decide not to have kids, that I could get another vehicle or two, so that's always something to consider (Wait for the "Should I buy a truck or have a kid?" thread in 4-6 years)

So for now I guess I need to start inventorying all my parts so I can get them posted. Please don't ask for parts listed here in this thread, as I don't want the rules broken. There will be a thread when the time comes.