Build Thread - 1971 4x4 Ochre Blazer

[docstheman]

Intro: I have been looking for a 1st Gen Blazer for about a year and seriously shopping for about 6 months before finding the one for me. Purchased this Blazer a couple months ago through Craigslist in Dallas after stalking ebay and craigslist for what seemed like an eternity. I am on a tight budget, but I want to do it the right way. I am a bargain shopper though. After all the reading I have done on this forum, I know a lot of you have that in common with me. Thanks to everyone for all the awesome posts and threads that have really helped me get the confidence to get started.

About Me: I live in Whitehouse, TX which is a suburb if you will of Tyler TX. Work a couple jobs, have 4 dogs, a swimming pool and love to ride my motorcycle, go camping, hiking, geocaching. I make my own mead/wineand I have a 1976 Corvette Stingray that I have had for over 10 years and will be tinkering with as well. This is a fun way to say I have a lot going on, but I have the Blaze as a priority. I've wanted one since a kid. I have worked on some things and pulled some dents and I restored my Stingray about 10 years ago, but I am not really a mechanic or a body man. This is a big project and I am looking forward to learning a lot.

About the Blaze: 1971 Blazer 4X4 Ochre bought in Dallas Texas. Original rims, bucket seats, A/C (I need a compressor and some other goodies). Rear tailgate mount spare (I just like the way they look), original 350 engine (I think anyway. I need some help on how to determine this)

The Good: Seems to be pretty tight and the Engine starts as soon as you touch the ignition. Sounds good and I have driven it around a little bit. It came with a bunch of goodies: Super Awesome Rhino-lined Gas Tank with skid plate, a suburban gas tank (not sure what to do with it), a brand new mechanical fuel pump which they installed, Brand new windshield (haven't picked up from the seller yet), Long wheel base side body panel, wheel well and bed floor from a c-10 ( haven't picked up from the seller yet), a glove box insert- I can't believe they are cardboard, an HEI, LH and RH rocker panels, front floor supports, LH and RH floor boards, a gallon of ochre paint and the stuff to mix it with etc (I don't know much about paint) and last but not least - a crawfish sane. IDK why it was in there, but it is mine now

The Bad: Rust in all the usual places, dented split rear passenger panel, No top, seats need new foam and covers, no back seat, smokes just a bit when you first crank it (I hear that is pretty common), Needs: Battery, A/C Compressor, headers,

Recently Purchased: a top (Needs a rear hatch, but I have the hinges), a 4" suspension lift, a set of 4 chrome 20's with 35" tires - (I really hope they fit) and an aluminum intake.

The Build: Rust Repair, Install the gas tank, install the lift and wheels Freshen the Engine (New seals and gaskets, heads resurfaced, aluminum intake, HEI and headers) original ochre paint (Maybe with ghost flames or wide blue racing stripes), Lift, Aftermarket rims and tires, bikini top and a restored hard top for the winter, reupholstered buckets in the front and a rear bench seat, working A/C, replace windshield.

Possible Adds: custom front and rear bumper with tow hooks and maybe a winch, modified roll bar with flip up lights, upgrade the rear end gears, maybe some doors made from tubing.

Where I am at now: I need to get someone to help me put the top on so that I can finish the rust repair and see if the lift will keep the rearend from sagging from the weight of the top. I need to install the lift and re-install/finish installing the gas tank. Right now it is hanging but it isn't as secure as I would like and the skid plate is not installed. After the lift is installed I need to see if the rims will fit. The rims I have are Incubus Recoil 20x10 with 35X12.5R20 cooper discoverers.

Are there any 1st Gen Blazer Owners near Tyler? I only know of one that is in town and they never drive it. I have seen some posts from Dallas and Shreveport.

[docstheman]

Here are the rims I purchased to put on the Blaze. I have to get 1 more matching rim and tire so I will have a spare to mount on the tailgate. The Wheels are 20X10 Incubus Recoil with 35X12.5R20 Cooper Discoverers. I will find out how they fit after I get the 4" lift installed.

[docstheman]

I also recently purchased a really straight tailgate to replace mine that looks like hammered damnit. lol Here is a pic of some of the rust repair that I have started. I cut the passenger rocker off and cleaned out the lower box (Pic is before I finished). Someone had sprayed foam insulation in there and it was a mess to get it all out. More pics and updates to come!

[70-K5]

Wow, that's a hell of a project you've got yourself!

[swyfor5]

Welcome, and good luck! I feel your pain!

[docstheman]

Thanks guys! I think it will be worth it when I am done. I picked up a long wheel base c10 side panel to make rust patches with and a new windshield Tuesday night in Dallas. On the way there a speeding car lost control and hit my daily driver pickup. Luckily I was able to kick the fender and bumper out enough to where it doesn't rub and I limped my truck to Dallas, picked up the parts and safely made it back home. More to come!

[99-LS1-SS]

Welcome and good luck! Your rockers look like mine did when I started.

[docstheman]

Thanks! Hope I can get em cleaned up. I'm just learning so I really appreciate all the build threads. The passenger door was really hard to open in shut. The driver is too... But the passenger door was really bad. I found a really bad crack near the hinge. I took the door off and will keep posting pics as I get this figured out.
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[docstheman]

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[docstheman]

Trying to do this from my phone. I have to load pics one message at a time. I saw another thread where a member fixed a similar door. Is this common?
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[docstheman]

Here is a pic of the repaired door. Spot welded the hinge back to the inner bracket then seamed it up. After grinding a little primer was added. looks way better. Hope it fits well.

[docstheman]

Ok, so I gave you a sneak peak the other day about the rust damage to the passenger side rocker. I have seen worse on this forum, but I am not as good at this as they are. Here are some better pics with the rocker completely off and some pics of a new rocker that I trimmed to fit hanging there. I haven't tacked it in yet as I have to fix the inner rocker. There is a space between the top of the rocker and the "hump" that needs to be filled in = New inner rockers. Looks like they are pretty cheap on LMC. I need a spot weld drill bit. I don't have a harbor freight here, but I do have a northern tool. they said they haven't ever heard of one. Lowe's and Home Depot doesn't seem to have them either. Any suggestions? I drilled this out with a regular drill bit. It took forever. Lol. Also - what rust chemical do y'all recommend? Any help would be appreciated.

[mtully79]

How do your torsion/rocker boxes look? It may be worth your while to replace em while you're at it. Yours look similar to mine, I had to replace panels, front cab supports, boxes and end caps on both sides.

[docstheman]

still debating on that. They look ok and don't have any holes that I can tell. I have new front cab supports and floor pans. I will post some more pics, but I think I really need to clean them up and see what I have. Any recommendation on a rust eating chemical that I can buy a bunch of pretty cheap. I have used a few but they aren't concentrated or anything and I use the whole thing in a small area. Also some of the stuff hates paint even if you wait til it dries and rinse it off. Any help would be appreciated.

[Ole Beater]

Here they are. You can order them. I would buy at least 2 of them though. They work good and you can flip the cutting blade over and use the other side when one side get dull. Make sure and center punch the spot welds.
http://www.harborfreight.com/3-8-eig...ter-95343.html

[docstheman]

Wow! Ole Beater, Thanks for the link! That is way cheaper than anywhere I have looked. We don't have a harbor freight here in Tyler but we do have a northern tool. They are 2 for $15 there. Every little bit counts. I also ordered some Oxalic acid on ebay. Hope I get some decent results.

[docstheman]

lks dcvn turned me on to mastercare rust prevention. From everything I can find it looks to be superior to POR 15. (Just from the research I have done. If you are a POR15 fan than please feel free to let me know your thoughts.) I ordered a quart to get started. I shopped around a bit and got it for $32 with free shipping and no tax. I ordered the harbor freight spot weld drill bits (Thanks Old Beater) and am going to order some shocks today too so I can put my lift on. Friday I ordered the blue prints for the tubing bender I want to build at gottrikes.com The guy still hasn't emailed them to me though. I guess they will come in when he checks his email. Looks like I am in the money spending stage lol. For a miser like me I would rather be seeing results in the actual project.

[docstheman]

So yesterday my shocks, oxalic acid and a set of spot weld drill bits came in. After much shopping online and reading reviews etc. I decided to go with skyjacker shocks. They aren't Bilstein's but they were a lot less coin and they seem better than the pro comp. I found them at autoanything pretty cheap. I was really surprised. I got them next day. I was worried because they make them for my blaze with a 4" lift for the front but the back they only had 0-2.5 and 5-7 lifts. The sales guy at autoanything called Skyjacker and they recommended the shorter stroke. It seems to have enough travel so I guess/hope/pray that I am good. I have the back rims off and installed both rear shocks and installed the passenger rear 4" block for the suspension lift. I couldn't lock em' down though because the ubolts that came with the lift were round and I need square. I picked up some at the parts store today and will try and get the rear lift finished and start on the front. I have a "new" set of leaf springs for the front as well as new shocks. Does the new springs go hump up like the factory ones? Or hump down. I guess I will play with it and see what works. I wonder how the ride will change. My shocks were shot on the factory suspension and it rode like a log wagon. With new shocks maybe it will counter act the roughness of the lift? I guess I can live with it riding like a log wagon. Just not a log wagon with a bent wheel lol. Speaking of rims, I am going to take one of mine to discount tire and see if they can order me a wheel lug insert. the lug holes in the wheels are pretty big and with those 7/16 studs I would like some steel spline inserts for the new lug nuts to sit on. this should make the wheel way more secure and I am all about safety and not messing up the project that I am spending all this money on. Pics will come soon. I will take some tonight and post them tomorrow.

[Ole Beater]

docstheman, take it slow when using those bits and use lots of cutting oil like wd-40 or something. You will still need a chisel to help separate the metal.

[docstheman]

Good advice Ole Beater. I learned the hard way when I was pulling the rocker off the passenger side. I have been using wd-40 now... They have the actual cutting/drilling oil at northern tool but it isn't in a spray. I need one of those little oil cans if I am going to use it.

[docstheman]

Here is a pic of the rear showing the new shocks and the 4" block installed. Really easy so far. a little hand soap really helps those bushings pop in to the shocks. lol The studs on the u bolts are a little long. I will cut em' off with my die grinder when I get it on the lift. I ordered lug nuts for my wheels yesterday. Can't wait to see the blaze with the new 20s.

[stellarmishap]

Nice progress, thanks for all the pics!

[docstheman]

I ran into a bit of a problem and I apologize for not posting lately. I bought a 4 inch suspension lift and the back was easy as pie as you can see. The front however posed to be quite an ordeal. I bought the lift used and it supposedly came off a 1972 blazer, however the front springs definitely do not fit. I took the leaf stack that I bought apart and took the factory leaf springs off and have fabricated a single stack that I am experimenting with to create the lift that I am looking to add. I had to drill out the hole on the factory leaf spring to match that of the others. I got it all back together on the front passenger side last night but the bolts aren't tight yet. I just want to test the ride height and see how it looks. I might have to add additional springs or take some out. I will post pics as soon as I can though. Goal is to work on it tonight and come up with a suitable leaf configuration and then get everything tightened back and show you some pics tomorrow.

[Ole Beater]

How are things going with the springs? I noticed in the pictures of the rear you still have the emergency brake connected. I have a 4" lift on mine and there is no way I could leave the cables connected. Actually I was able to leave it connected until i put the 1" spacer on that also moved the rear back 1/2". When i did the front springs on my truck i had a hell of a time also and that was with the correct fitting springs.

[docstheman]

Thanks for the reply Ole Beater, What all did you have to do to the ebrake? I have had quite a time on the front. Tried about 5 different configurations to the front spring stack. I think I have it pretty close but it looks like it might be a bit more than 4" of lift. I may have to add a leaf in the back to raise it up a little as well so it doesn't look dumpy in the back. If it is a little tall in the front a heavy custom bumper with a 12000 lb winch should pull it back down. Think I will have problems with the steering or any other moving parts?