"The Bucket" project diary

[fun in dirt]

Good progress this week...thanks to my wonderful husband!
The crossover steering is finished (forgot to get a pic).
Transmission took to PTC in Muscleshoals, AL for rebuild.
Fabbed up rear spring hangers & in place.
Repairs done to rear frame , so could mount hangers & have sound snatch points & foundation for back bumper built.

[fun in dirt]

Long Memorial weekend made for lots of good progress.
Marked off lots of little items on the "things to do list"... repairing fuel line, wiring in back, new conversion u-joints in the rear driveshaft & painted up, mounted new flex brake lines, ect....But as I mark these off, constantly thinking of other things that need doing & adding to the list.
After finishing the rear frame tubing & POR on all that, made a back bumper & got that all welded in. As strong as this is I want be afraid to snatch & jerk those Super Duty Fords & Jeeps out.
Took the D60 front back out from under the truck to finish welding a few pieces & paint it up.
Yesterday rode to Muscle Shoals, AL & picked up the T400 had PTC rebuild along with a new convertor.

[fun in dirt]

Actually drove the Bucket down the road yesterday!
Got everything under the truck painted & lots of odd & end items finished. Then Friday put the frontend back under it for the final time. Spent most of Saturday installing driveshafts, shocks & working on the brakes.
Got the body trimmed so the rear tires don't rub; only lack trimming the front.
But it was good enough for a test drive!
First test was a few laps around the yard & all was good. The crossover steering setup is way better than the original steering ever felt. Then made a short trip down the road - it handles great!
From the ground to middle of the front wheel well opening was 37" before & now it's 44" high!

[fun in dirt]

Axles - Phase 1...COMPLETED

Hopefully by end of the week I can have everything cleaned up good & drive this beast to work Friday!
Looks a little tougher now than before.

[fun in dirt]

Top off, bikini on, everything cleaned up good & made a good test cruise down the Natchez Trace Sunday.

[chevy2racr]

Gotta Love those big slots! Nice truck you got there!

[Tom Vogel]

Very, very. Nice.

[fun in dirt]

So excited I figured out how to make a video!
http://rides.webshots.com/video/3045...03633124sTnenD

[swyfor5]

Real nice build! Awesome video too!

[jaros44sr]

well done, looks really nice! Would like to see more bikini pics...

[y5mgisi]

Looks great! And i just gotta say that its so strange to me that there are womens out there that not only tolerate the truck thing, and not only support it, but are actually into it too! Blows my mind i tell ya! Good job!

[swyfor5]

Man, you should meet my wife! She is the greatest, right beside me all the way, no matter what we do. 4X4 to the core, helping with funding for the resto, etc. No hijack intended here, great pic's- funindirt! Keep em coming!

[fun in dirt]

Originally Posted by jaros44sr

Would like to see more bikini pics...

Well my bikini doesn't fit me as good as it used to so I'll show you these instead
A Besttop came with the Blazer when I bought it, but most of the windows were torn out & alot of the hardware was missing. So when we built the full cage, I had the idea to cut the old softtop up & add some d-rings into the cage for it's tie down points. Went to Walmart & bought some black straps; had them sewn to the top & also some of the edges where I cut it sewn. I kept my eyes open & eventually found another complete good used Bestop on Craigslist for cheap for wintertime use. That way both tops use the same windshield snaps. It all worked out great!

[fun in dirt]

Time to start on PHASE 2
A friend has good running 350 that he is willing to swap us for some work on his 4wd. So since this is a budget build kind of project, gonna go that route instead of a crate 383 for now. This "new" motor is out of a 91 1ton & TBI, but plan on just getting alum intake & carb instead of the hassle with sensors & such. My current 350 has gotten so weak & occasionally only wants to hit on 6 or 7 cylinders, in addition to a qt of oil every tank of gas. But then again it has been doing this for 6yrs, is still running & never left me stranded on the side of the road
First things first - wiring - my favorite thing (for real)! When got this Blazer I was surprised it hadn't burnt to the ground driving it home. After replacing several wires, splicing & lots of elec tape it was no longer scary, but still a hacked up mess; major pet peeve. Installed an American Autowire Classic Update harness in a '67 Chevelle a few years ago & worked great. So got me the Builder 19 version yesterday...can't wait to get started!!!

[Blazer383]

Originally Posted by fun in dirt

Since so close to having both axles finished, we decided to take advantage of the long Easter weekend to start disassembly. Our neighbor is very gracious & lets us use his tractor at will... this was extremely helpful in getting the Bucket set up on the "operation table".
The stock springs are shot so torching them was the quickest way to get it all out. The 12 bolt & D44 look so little (and are) after fooling with the 1 ton stuff the past few months.
After several hours of scrapping old mud & grease, 1gallon of industrial Greased Lighning, and 2 cans of oven cleaner, the underside was ready and got the pressure washer. Needless to say a long shower was priceless that night.

Please talk to my wife and convince her to come out into the garage and help build our Blazer. I will be watching this build and keep up the great work.

[bk04z66]

Very nice project! You might want to try and find some cheap 96+ vortec heads to replace the TBI heads on that engine. The TBI heads are really, really bad.

[fun in dirt]

Originally Posted by bk04z66

Very nice project! You might want to try and find some cheap 96+ vortec heads to replace the TBI heads on that engine. The TBI heads are really, really bad.

Glad you said that! My bro-in-law just pulled the motor out of his '97 truck cause a rod knocking & going to replace it...maybe I can get his heads

[fun in dirt]

Brought what was left of '91 truck home & got the motor out of frame. Put on the stand & took off all the extras & intake to see what we really had to work with...looks good & clean on the inside!!!!

[fun in dirt]

Started working on my center console. Truck currently has SM465 that will be replaced with the new turbo400 that's been sitting in the shop floor. So need a good place for the auto shifter to be mounted. I've always wanted to have a cool console with all sorts of switches & cubby holes!

[72blaz]

very creative center console.. I really like your build so far....

[fun in dirt]

Progress on the console....thanks to a wonderful husband!

[fun in dirt]

Still gotta cut out slot for transfer shifter & few other finishing touches, but I really like how it all turned out!

[fun in dirt]

Took off work Friday to try & make some progress on disassembly. Front clip off & everything unhooked Friday. Engine, trans, & transfer out & all press washed off Saturday.

[Tom Vogel]

Darn! That was quick. It really is one slick Blazer. You are doing a beautiful job.
Posted via Mobile Device

[fun in dirt]

Some progress...Got the motor cleaned up & some new parts installed (oil pump & screen, timing chain set, waterpump, rear main seal & all new gaskets). Bought a used Edelbrock Performer intake for $60, that was just down the road. And sold the worn out 465/205 that came out...I love Craigslist!
Saturday it was actually sunny & 65, instead of raining, so got the motor painted & all put back together.
Next step will be the hydroboost brake system!