My Latest Toy - 72 K5 Blazer CST

[dutchmanz]

First, a little back story........ I have wanted a first gen Blazer since I can remember. It started early because I remember driving thru town with my mom as a small child and seeing one parked beside a garage every single time we went by. That lasted till I was a teen and it disappeared one day. I had planned to stop that Friday after work to try and buy it. I was too late. Fast forward to 5 years ago. I spot another Blazer behind a house in the weeds. It took several weeks of riding by but I stopped and eventually tracked down the owner. It was his project that came from California. He was a military man and left it at his granddads place while he stationed in another state. He gave me a crazy price and I decided it wasn't forsale. 5 years of looking at it sit untouched were killing me. I looked at it every day on the way to and from work. I tried to find others but no luck. I decided to call the owner again. He remembered me since I called several times over the years. We discussed price again and I liked this one. I put my Impala SS up for sale and a few weeks later.... I own a first gen Blazer AND it's Hugger Orange!!

More about the Blazer. Its a 1972 with the CST package. It has a GM 350 HO crate engine with less than 1000 miles. After the new engine swap, the trans gave up so the PO bought a TCI and started the swap. He got stationed several states away and never finished it. He was doing several things at once too. It has a almost completely installed Painless wiring harness and a mostly installed 37 gal steel fuel tank (fortunately it never had gas put in it). My time so far has been spent finishing those 3 major items and cleaning, lots of cleaning! My plan is to get it running and enjoy it. The rockers are shot but that's really about it for rust. The rust will get fixed, but I don't want to paint it all over. I like the character it has. The Blazer came with 2 totes and a cab full of parts. I also have a Kayline soft top for it that looks new. Here are a few pics after pressuring washing it in the rain the day I got it home. Figured I was going to be wet anyway...

[GhostTown]

What a great truck. Perfectly optioned. Wish I could find those door panels as a reproduction.

[dutchmanz]

Thanks Ghost. I love the wood grain door panels myself. Anybody know if the dash bezel would have had the wood grain or was that only the Highlander trucks? I know it's been replaced because the complete Manual throttle is tucked behind the dash and there's no hole in the bezel, yet.

[GhostTown]

My PO put vinyl wood grain on the dash of my truck. I hate it. Mostly because it wasn't applied very well. Also because I don't think it's very original and looks like you're trying to hard to be cool. I personally like the standard black bezel with the chrome edge. I plan to switch that out someday soon. He also put the wood sticker crap on the glove box door and the ash tray.

[Sacramento70]

Originally Posted by GhostTown

My PO put vinyl wood grain on the dash of my truck. I hate it. Mostly because it wasn't applied very well. Also because I don't think it's very original and looks like you're trying to hard to be cool. I personally like the standard black bezel with the chrome edge. I plan to switch that out someday soon. He also put the wood sticker crap on the glove box door and the ash tray.

those aftermarket wood grain kits are crap, i put one on my truck like an idiot and have regretted it since. I know your pain

[mcmlxix]

Originally Posted by GhostTown

What a great truck. Perfectly optioned. Wish I could find those door panels as a reproduction.

I am pretty sure they just started make the metal inserts w/ wood grain. I think the plastic door panels are available as well... check the vendors area.

[dutchmanz]

So... no woodgrain... Glad I asked. I did see the door panel inserts in LMC.
More cleaning including a cowl vent full of leaves and other stuff. Fortunatally, I dont see any rust thru. I was able to get the engine to fire. Changed the oil, pulled the dist. and used the oil primer just to be safe. Had to replace the starter too. Only ran a few seconds because I was just putting gas in the top of the carb. I picked up a set of rally wheels on Craigslist for $120. Not perfect but they match the Blazer. I needed 2 tires so ordered them and swapped out the others. Those rusty wagon wheels were just ugly! I'm much happier with the look now. Fuel system is on this weekends to do list.

[jaros44sr]

Great looking truck, looks like you did alot of work already with just the addition of the wheels.....

But, if you want to keep it, i would get rid of the glass fuel filter while your working on the fuel system. BIG fire hazard!

[dutchmanz]

Spent most of the day working on the Blazer. Flushed the fuel tank and lines and replaced all the old hard rubber lines. Jim, I tossed the fuel filter in favor of a solid metal style. I have always hated those glass filters. They are dangerous! Didn't think I would ever get the fuel pump to prime. After some investigation, the pump was shot. I replaced it with a new one and it ran on its own for the first time. I think every exhaust gasket on the headers are leaking but it ran. Finished up the trans install and put in the rear driveshaft. After filling with fluid, I tried backing it out....nothing either way. I'm fairly certain the PO didn't install the torque converter correctly and broke the pump ears. I had no fluid flow in the cooler lines and I made sure they were clear. I tried sliding the converter back and it won't move. I'll pull the trans tomorrow. Blah!

[madkmart]

Great start nice find

[jjzepplin]

I rebuilt my trans myself and tried to back it up and nothing. Slept on it and found the transfer case was i neutral the next day.

[dutchmanz]

Yesterday was fun. Pulled the trans and knew what the problem was right off. This is what happens when you don't fully seat the torque convertor. These are the trans pump gears and you can clearly see the broken pieces. Only took me 6 hours to get it to finally move on its own. Thats not counting the 2 hours chasing down trans parts to fix it on a Saturday. I'll work on exhaust leaks today and then road test it. Fingers crossed!

[dutchmanz]

Replaced the header gaskets today but didn't have chance to road test it. One of the trans cooler lines is leaking. When I started it up after the leaks were fixed, it blowed out all kinds of stuff from the exhaust. Including pecans, acorns, fibers and even a live mouse. Evicted! No pics but it's still on the lift. I'm going to replace the 3 bolt header flange with the newer ball style. I'll snap a few under the Blazer then.

[mcmlxix]

Good progress. What's on the passenger side inner fender. Round. Looks like maybe a knob on top of some sort?

[dutchmanz]

Originally Posted by mcmlxix

Good progress. What's on the passenger side inner fender. Round. Looks like maybe a knob on top of some sort?

That's a battery selector switch. You can select battery 1, 2, both or off. Mainly seen in marine applications. Since it had the factory dual battery setup, this is how someone chose to operate the second battery.

[GhostTown]

Originally Posted by mcmlxix

I am pretty sure they just started make the metal inserts w/ wood grain. I think the plastic door panels are available as well... check the vendors area.

I have the new plastic ones. They don't fit very well. LMC does sell the wood grain inserts, but they only work with original door panels, which they don't sell. lol....

[dutchmanz]

Made even more progress this week between ball games and practice. Actually put a few miles on the Blazer. The alternator wasn't charging so I had to rebuild it. The trans shifted great so I worked on the transfer case. Dug out the shifter and had my wife help me. I asked her if she would polish my knob.... She laughed until I explained I meant shift knob! The gauge cluster came next. I disassembled it, cleaned it and painted the bezel. Under the hood is about the same except for a new edelbrock carb.

[briank]

She gonna make it to the beach to pick up the seat, id like to see her in person? Need anything else brought down?

[dutchmanz]

Originally Posted by briank

She gonna make it to the beach to pick up the seat, id like to see her in person? Need anything else brought down?

It may make it that far... I'll have to see what it does the next few days. I think I'm pretty good for large parts. I'll make a list before you ride tho.

[dutchmanz]

Put around 120 miles on it. Seems to do fine except for some rear axle noise. The buffer got a workout yesterday while I had some down time at work. Today's project is fix the fuel gauge and speedo.

[Ol Blue K20]

Nice truck...do you have any idea of where in CA it's from? Looks a lot like one I used to know. ..

[dutchmanz]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Nice truck...do you have any idea of where in CA it's from? Looks a lot like one I used to know. ..

One of the old DMV receipts says Canoga Park, CA

[dutchmanz]

So the speedometer problem is a driven gear that looks like an apple core. The biggest problem is finding a replacement. I'll keep searching.... The fuel gauge ended up being a bad gauge. Of course I figured this out after I pulled the tank and checked the sender. I had a spare in the shop. I serviced both the axles too. Turns out they both have 3.73's and the rear has what looks like a new Auburn posi. The temp gauge was an issue too. The old sender was 1/2 NPT. The vortec heads are 3/8 NPT. I had the new sender machined down and rethreaded. It worked perfectly!

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by dutchmanz

One of the old DMV receipts says Canoga Park, CA

No, the one I was thinking of was in Dixon CA....

[dutchmanz]

More progress tho it was unwanted. Had the alternator belt shread and almost wipe out the upper hose. So.. Replaced both belts and all the hoses. Had a rattle that was getting worse. Turns out, all the poly bushings in the Rancho shocks disintegrated. They rode terrible anyway so I ordered a new set of Monroe. Also ordered a new master cyl. since it is leaking out the rear seal.