I'm back... and with new plans for the Blazer

[ABLAZN]

I have not been around much for the last year or so, but I hope to change that. After my gallbladder surgery, I decided to start taking better care of myself. I have dropped about 30 pounds since then and gotten serious about fitness, so it sort of killed any time I had to spend working on the Blazer. Add in moving to a new house, and that took care of the rest of my time. So, after some thought, I have changed direction on my Blazer once again. Now the Blazer is going to be a 2WD. I talked to Early Classic Enterprises about the conversion parts, and it looks like it is something I can handle doing. The basic plan is to keep the 454 in there since it runs, plus add a Turbo 400 that is being given to me. I will need to sell off my 4WD drive terrain to buy the conversion parts, but I should come close to breaking even.

[lks dcvn]

Sounds like a good plan to me! Nice to hear that you are doing well and taking an active role in your health -

Welcome back!

[TonyJohnson]

Welcome back. 2wd BB sounds like fun.

[Thealien]

Curious as to an estimated parts cost on the 2wd parts? I am interested/considering this myself!

Thanks
Mark

[vtblazer]

Good to have you back!

If I could offer my .02...

Be sure to research your final gear ratio carefully, a 3 speed tranny can run out of gear fast on the highway, making for a 'not so great' driver.

[ABLAZN]

Originally Posted by Thealien

Curious as to an estimated parts cost on the 2wd parts? I am interested/considering this myself!

Thanks
Mark

Here is the brake down so far:

Center cross member and trailing arm kit......$650
Transmission cross member .......................$90
Engine cradle, A-arms w disc brakes............$50 (craigslist find)
Drop spindles ..........................................$270
Front and rear springs,..............................$228

There will be a few things like shock and a few other odds and ends, but that is the main parts. My 4WD stuff is not worth the total, but I am also considering that my lift kit need to be replaced, plus I would need to do some transmission work to keep it a 4WD

Originally Posted by vtblazer

Good to have you back!

If I could offer my .02...

Be sure to research your final gear ratio carefully, a 3 speed tranny can run out of gear fast on the highway, making for a 'not so great' driver.

I am already on it, I just need to figure out how tall my tires are going to be before I make my final calculations. I would love to put in a 5 speed at some point, but just to get it going, I may have to live with the Turbo 400 for a while.

[Thealien]

Thanks for the info!

Are you going to make your rear end work or are you getting a rear end from a 2WD?

Good deal on the cradle and A arms!

[ABLAZN]

I am going to go with a rear end out of a 2WD. My current rear end has 4:56 gears, which buzz the big block pretty good with 35 inch tall tires. Plus, I won't have to mess with mounting point changes.

[bouncytruck]

Welcome back. Here's an article Sport Truck ran on converting a 4wd to 2wd. http://www.sporttruck.com/techarticl...ion/index.html

[Thealien]

Thanks, adds to favorites!

[ABLAZN]

Bouncy, that is the article that got me to call ECE in the first place. Are you still thinking of turning yours into a 2WD?

[bouncytruck]

I flip-flop back and forth. I'd prefer finding another one and keeping the orange truck like it is.

[drunkbus]

Originally Posted by ABLAZN

I am going to go with a rear end out of a 2WD. My current rear end has 4:56 gears, which buzz the big block pretty good with 35 inch tall tires. Plus, I won't have to mess with mounting point changes.

I have a rear with 3.07 gears and posi that I'll trade you for yours with the 4:56 gears. If you have 4:56 up front I'd be interested in that also.

[Long Roof]

Have you put any thought in keeping the leaf spring rear rather than changing to coil? Just an option for saving some dollar bills.

Have fun and take lots of pictures !

[ABLAZN]

Originally Posted by Long Roof

Have you put any thought in keeping the leaf spring rear rather than changing to coil? Just an option for saving some dollar bills.

Have fun and take lots of pictures !

I thought about it, but the guy at ECE made a good point about the difficulty of getting the shackle placement right when the truck is lowered, plus they still won't ride as nice as the coil spring set up. One of the main reasons for doing this is to get a better ride so I actually enjoy driving it more. I have the title for a build tread picked out and will be posting it soon.

[Long Roof]

Cool, can't wait to see this get started. Will you try and keep a running total of the major parts $ ? You said you are trying to stay on a budget. I would like to convert my Jimmy someday. I don't think my back can take the bounce forever.