Another OLD BLUE Build Thread - 71 Chevy

[OldBlue71Chevy]

Got some stuff done today. Those welded on cast leaf spring mounts are a bugger. Check out the pile of grinding dust No black boogers though, respirators work.

Also shaved the diff almost flat. My grinder was hating life today.



Not my proudest weld ever, but I think it'll hold. There was some undercoating or something down in the crack that I couldn't get out with the grinder and it kept getting into my weld.



Pre heated, welded, Post heated and tucked in for the night


Leaf mounts, truss, pinion guard, etc are going on next.

[OldBlue71Chevy]

Diff shave, even shaved the WFO pinion guard




Made some leaf spring retainers. These are exactly what I had on the blazer and they worked pretty well.



I made a set for the front, but due to it being kind of close to the frame I decided to wait to weld those on until I flex it a couple of times.

[OldBlue71Chevy]

Worked about 12 hours today and got pretty much done.


The WFO axle kits are awesome. Went right together.



I got some s10 bumpstops from a buddy but did not get the cups that they go into... so I made some.


Bend the tabs in to retain the bumpstop




Had some old f250 front shock brackets from the blazer when I cut the frame off. So I cleaned them up and re-purposed them. I think it came out pretty well, the first hole always hurts the most :flipoff2:


These were the same shocks that were on it. They originally only had 2" of shaft showing. Once I took them off and measured them, I found out that they are actually 13" travel. To get the full use of them, I had to make some modifications...






I'm ganna put the exhaust on tomorrow and take it for a spin. Open headers on this thing is nuts.


The only things I didn't get done were the limit straps because tractor supply only had 24" straps which are waaay too long. I usually try to use axle straps and weld washers inside of the rings so I have a bolt hole, it is much cheaper this way.



I also need new bushings for my shocks, but apparently the only things you can buy at the autoparts store anymore are LED's and air fresheners...

[OldBlue71Chevy]

Didn't get a chance to put the exhaust back on or drive it today.

I did spend 3 hours sweeping up grinding dust and organizing the garage though...

I still need to build some kind of crossmember in towards the rear. I still need to decide if I am going to try to put the gas tank back under it.







I think it might fit in the garage. Now all I need to do is throw the d60 under it that is in its parking spot.

[OldBlue71Chevy]

Just got back last night from a week in Costa Rica :smokin:. Awesome, but I was ready to do work.

Cut the side pipes off so the mufflers dump just before the axle. It sounds completely different, and in my opinion better.

Took it for a drive and the difference in ride quality is amazing. Night and day from what it was before. The front is still stiff, but it is next on my list.

Proof that it actually left the driveway:







Love the welded rear so far. It was raining and the truck couldn't hook up to save it's life in any gear. These tires might not last very long :homer:

No wheel hop so far, we will have to see how it does when it is dry out. The blazer never had a traction bar in the rear with the same setup and rarely had hop.

To do stuff:
Buy SRW d60 hubs (ouch)
Raise/build new transmission xmember and build new engine xmember (hopefully flat belly)
build new spring mounts and throw the d60 under the front with the 52's
Bump stops/limit straps for the front suspension
Limit strap the rear suspension

Future to do stuff:
Huge tranny cooler
E-fans
Trans temp gauge

[OldBlue71Chevy]

Took it for another drive today, it was dry out and she still has problems hooking up. I can pretty well smoke them through first and on some occasions second. I do still think it needs a bit of professional tuning though, it has a slight off idle stumble if I give it too much gas at once. I know there is more power to be had.

Got some work done on the front end parts. Got the 52's mostly prepped. I was disappointed to find one of the bottom leaves cracked, so I am debating on if I should just leave it out or cut down some other leaves I have to make up for it. In the end it just depends on where the height ends up.






Got the bottom of the D60 cleaned up, I wouldn't call it a full shave just a smoothing. Got the diff cover ready for some reinforcement before I lost motivation and had to go for a drive.



It *almost* fit in the garage. It would if I took the garage door opener down, but hopefully after the new front suspension it will fit like a glove.





I don't think the 'ol girl has seen the inside of a garage for a good 10-20 years, too bad the paint is already toasted.

[OldBlue71Chevy]

I got a couple of hours to work on it today and took a leaf out of the front passenger side leaf pack. It looks like somebody added the bottom leaf anyways because it did not match the rest.

While I had the leaf pack disconnected, I took the shackle off and lowered the bottom bolt hole by 3/4" to get the spring to stop hitting the frame.



Overall it lowered the front passenger side about 1 and 1/4". It will probably even go down some more when I get the u-bolts back on and tightened down, and get the driver side bottom leaf out.




In the end the front will need to go down at least another 2-3 inches to be even with the rear. I don't feel like dropping 1g right now on D60 high steer arms, steering box, tie rod, wheel hubs, etc. right now. At least this way I will be able to beat on it a little harder without the springs hitting the frame and the front end up in the clouds.