Blazer Chalet #0661

[lowbrow454]

Work has started on the Chalet so I figured I should start a build thread too.

Backstory: My wife and I were looking for campers a few years ago, something small like an R-Pod. During this time I jokingly (not jokingly) threw out "We should get a Chalet" to which I got "You're just trying to justify buying another truck." She did like them and the more we looked the more she started to compare everything to a Chalet until she finally said "Let's get a Chalet."

After about a year of searching and a lot of help from some other owners and the Chalet Yahoo group we found #0661. This one is a '77 model Blazer with a '76 model camper from the factory (left over from previous year?) and orange instead of the typical brown. The guy who owned it is the same guy in this thread that bought 12 of these and flipped them. I shot him an email and asked in the off chance he still had any and he had this one he wanted to save for himself. He said since he hadn't done anything with it and wasn't sure he would have time to he would sell it for a take it or leave it price. After about 9 months of back and forth and sending pictures (did I mention I live in Alaska?) we decided this was the one we wanted. We probably paid more than it was worth but it was worth it to us.

The Plan: We shipped it to central Oregon where my mom and step-dad live. They have a shop and since it won't fit in our garage we decided to work on it down there and drive it back up to Alaska when we are finished. (Are they ever really finished?) We want to keep it mostly original. There is no SPID so we can only speculate what was factory from other Chalets. The engine is not original so that's fair game. We plan on doing some upgrades/updates as long as it's not taking away from what it is. Things like bumpers might get swapped out for newer stuff but originals will be kept. We want it to look "period correct" or like 1977 threw up on it. Modification and accessories to look like they came from 1977. Mickey Thompson tires, Hickey accessories, Warn 8274 or sidewinder winch, ect....

Couple before pics: First pic is the common one that is floating around the internet. Dont let the shinny paint fool you, there's a lot of mud and really crappy body work done to it. Second is one from way back and last two are from when it arrived in Oregon and we cleaned it up.

[Whamo]

I'm'a gonna follow along here....

[lowbrow454]

Chalet is in and set. Ready for tear down.

[lowbrow454]

As expected with anything over 40 years old there was some rusty bolts hiding underneath.

[daddyjeep]

This will be cool. I will follow along.

[lowbrow454]

I knew the windows leaked a little but I wouldn't have guessed there was this much rot. Easy fix though. Might need a new cook top too.

[Palf70Step]

Very nice ride. Looking forward to seeing it refreshed. Those things are so kool!

[Katrina/10]

I always thought Chalets were very cool. I used to see few now and then 25 years ago. Good luck with the project!

[lowbrow454]

Couple shots from the removal set-up. We popped the windows out and ran a 4x4 through on the lift. Then put timbers on the 4x4 and raised it up against the inside camper frame. The back was jacked up a little each side stacking blocks and supporting the rear as we went till it raised off the Blazer.

[LT7A]

Stoked to follow along.

[lowbrow454]

We slowly started to lift up on the camper but I don't think the camper had ever been off. The weather stripping was surprisingly holding it down quite a bit. After a little persuasion it finally separated.

[lowbrow454]

Thanks everyone for following along. I should have mentioned this earlier but this build might be a little sporadic. I work in the oilfield in Alaska on a 3 week on 3 week off rotation where it can be difficult to get time for posts and updates. That and the fact that I have to make a special trip to Oregon to work on it.

[ElGracho]

This is one I'll be watching for sure. What is the plan that needs the camper removed? Rust repair?

[cadillac_al]

This is my dream vehicle. I would have over-payed for it too. Sometimes you have to pay more to get exactly what you want. I'll be following this. Best of luck on the restore.

[lowbrow454]

Originally Posted by ElGracho

This is one I'll be watching for sure. What is the plan that needs the camper removed? Rust repair?

Thanks! Yes mostly rust repair. It looks like it has had bad body work done at least twice before. There's a ton of bondo underneath. Neither time the camper was removed. Lots of bad tape lines and over spray.

Originally Posted by cadillac_al

This is my dream vehicle. I would have over-payed for it too. Sometimes you have to pay more to get exactly what you want. I'll be following this. Best of luck on the restore.

Thanks! It definitely was worth it to us. These are uncommon as it is but this one was orange, which are even more uncommon and with the mismatched camper we knew we would probably never get a chance at this one again and would kick ourselves if we passed it up.

[lowbrow454]

We have lift off.

[lowbrow454]

Couple more of the camper.

[Zoomad75]

So I'm going to take it there are no plans on using the lift until the Blazer is painted?

That being said it looks a lot more stable than the camper jacks I used for my FWC camper on my Blazer.

Still, way cool to see one of these get worked over.

[lowbrow454]

Originally Posted by Zoomad75

So I'm going to take it there are no plans on using the lift until the Blazer is painted?

That being said it looks a lot more stable than the camper jacks I used for my FWC camper on my Blazer.

Still, way cool to see one of these get worked over.

Sorry for late reply. I've been trying to sort out my pics and turning out sideways which has been a pain to fix on my phone.

We put the camper on the world's second smallest trailer and stuffed it in storage for now. Plan is to take to a fiberglass shop to sand it down, repair stress cracks and anything else and repaint back to original color.

Blazer is at the body shop now and strip down pics should be up soon.

[Zoomad75]

That's one hell of a process. Good work.

[77blazerchalet]

Following now. Managed to miss the start of this thread 'til now (so many other distractions, so little time to keep up with hobby stuff.

Originally Posted by lowbrow454

...Plan is to take to a fiberglass shop to sand it down, repair stress cracks and anything else and repaint back to original color...

Still makes my skin crawl that whichever intervening owner between the classic car dealership in Boise and the guy in Indy who had all these Chalets (or else it was that Indy owner) yanked the stripes off and incorrectly repainted the camper unit. I can see the overspray where the forward camper area meets the truck cab. Makes for a ton of extra work for you to correct that, but at least you have it documented that it was that way in the first place. Here's hoping the camper paint comes off easy.

Do you see any factory markings (greasepencil) in the areas previously hidden from view? I see what looks like "CFA" on the forward left side of the camper. One junkyard Chalet truck was spotted with the word "Chalet" in greasepencil where the lower back tailgate area is (it was camperless at that point with a tailgate installed), and another pair of separated camper units I've seen had the camper serial numbers marked on the lower forward camper area.

[lowbrow454]

Originally Posted by 77blazerchalet

Do you see any factory markings (greasepencil) in the areas previously hidden from view? I see what looks like "CFA" on the forward left side of the camper. One junkyard Chalet truck was spotted with the word "Chalet" in greasepencil where the lower back tailgate area is (it was camperless at that point with a tailgate installed), and another pair of separated camper units I've seen had the camper serial numbers marked on the lower forward camper area.

Attachment 1850855
Attachment 1850856

Yes there is grease pencil on both sides of the camper. Nothing on the Blazer that I saw. I was on a tight schedule getting the Blazer to the body shop and getting the camper out of my stepdads shop before I left and didn't get any good pics of it them. I'll make it a point to get some next time I'm down.

[lowbrow454]

First couple pics from the body shop. Lots of bondo. I knew there was some bad bodywork but it was way worse than we thought.

[77blazerchalet]

Originally Posted by lowbrow454

Yes there is grease pencil on both sides of the camper. Nothing on the Blazer that I saw. .... I'll make it a point to get some next time I'm down.

Much appreciated!

[LEEVON]

Ugghh, sorry about the oceans of bondo. What's wrong with people!?