Ratchet's Blazer - 1970 2wd with Original paint

[smbrouss70]

I've got drip pans, but the real benefit is that I've already been able to identify a couple of leaks. It's so much easier to see when you're not crawling around on your back.

[lolife99]

Any chance you’d want to sell the original lid you removed from your Wilwood m/c?
Just thought I’d ask.
I know you can buy them, but I want to modify one so I’m cheap. Ha.

Love your blazer!

[darkhorse970]

Originally Posted by gringoloco

Man, that thing looks good from every angle. If I’m bottom bunk, we’re gonna need to address bed wetting (oil leaks)

Bottom bunk should be a preferred spot...but, you bring up a good point!

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by lolife99

Any chance you’d want to sell the original lid you removed from your Wilwood m/c?
Just thought I’d ask.
I know you can buy them, but I want to modify one so I’m cheap. Ha.

Love your blazer!

I’d sell you mine, but I plan on poking big holes in it for pressure bleeding. Jeg’s has them pretty cheap, if you don’t want it to say wilwood on it:

https://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/631520/10002/-1

[smbrouss70]

Originally Posted by gringoloco

I’d sell you mine, but I plan on poking big holes in it for pressure bleeding. Jeg’s has them pretty cheap, if you don’t want it to say wilwood on it:

https://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/631520/10002/-1

Great minds think alike! That's the exact same thing I am planning on doing with mine!

[lolife99]

Originally Posted by gringoloco

I’d sell you mine, but I plan on poking big holes in it for pressure bleeding. Jeg’s has them pretty cheap, if you don’t want it to say wilwood on it:

https://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/631520/10002/-1

Originally Posted by smbrouss70

Great minds think alike! That's the exact same thing I am planning on doing with mine!

Thanks for the Jegs link.
That’s exactly what I’m doing.
Building a pressure bleeder lid.

[gringoloco]

Hey, what’s happening over here?

[Palf70Step]

What he said.

[smbrouss70]

Unfortunately, not much for the Blazer. I went on Hot Rod Power Tour again this year. It was supposed to be Dad in the GTO, Gringo in his truck, and me in Ratchet's Blazer. I needed to make sure 3 vehicles were ready. Right after I purchased the registrations for 3 vehicles, Dad got diagnosed with Cancer. I decided that I would leave the Blazer home and Dad and I could ride together in the GTO that he bought brand new in 1967. Then Gringo couldn't make the tour, so I focused on getting the GTO ready. Dad progressively got worse and it ended up that he couldn't make the trip even as a passenger. He wouldn't let me cancel my trip because of him though. I made the Long Haul in Dad's 67 GTO with him following me on Glympse and talking to him on the phone almost the whole way. I had the group that I was with sign Dad's Long Hauler plaque and I brought it to him before I went home. He loved it and really wished that he could have made the trip.

He wanted me to put an exact reproduction exhaust on the GTO before he passed away, so I did, while he watched. I worked all night to get it ready to take him on what would be his final ride in the GTO on Independence Day, which he thought was fitting.

Ten days later, I get a call that Dad might not make it through the night, so I drove straight past my house to get to Dad's from working in TX. He made it 5 more nights after I got there before he passed away peacefully in his own bed, surrounded by family, and most importantly, on his own terms. I owe him a lot. He is the one who nurtured my obsession with old trucks and cars, probably more than he wanted me to get. Watching him and Mom, taught me how to Love one woman with all of your heart til your dying breath. Thanks Dad, I am who I am because of your and Mom's example and guidance.

RIP Dad
7/13/43 - 7/19/22

[smbrouss70]

Dad passed away on a Tuesday, and on Saturday of the same week, I had to make the decision to put my beloved Ratchet down. He was 16.5 years old and was my best friend in the world. I really needed him to comfort me after I lost Dad, but I couldn't be selfish and make him suffer any longer. He will always be the true owner of the Blazer as far as I am concerned.

BTW, Ratchet's Blazer's "I don't want to sell it" price just went from $100K to $1 Million.

A very good friend made the video for me, and I can't stop watching it, and crying. Ratchet's video

RIP Ratchet, I will miss you forever.
1/30/06 - 7/23/22

[IronCanine]

Steven...I am so sorry to read these posts. My deepest condolences. What a great dad. These old cars and trucks really can be a thing that connects dads and sons and brothers...and very good dogs. That is how it has been in my life. Here's to your dad (and Ratchet)...they'll always be a part of you.

[Palf70Step]

It still makes me sad thinking about them both. Always here if you or the boss needs me.

[LUV2XCLR8]

Sorry for your losses Brother. Your Dad (and Mom) were both awesome,
and Ratchet was just an unbelievable one of a kind Dog. Prayers for ya.

[youngrodder]

Man you have had a rough go of it. My most sincere condolences to you and your family.

Very touching story and tribute about his GTO.

Marc

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Just finished reading this thread from start to finish. Sorry to hear about the passings and beautiful blazer.... Btw did moser ever take care of you?

[smbrouss70]

Thanks. I never did send the axle back to them, so no, but it was my fault. I haven't had any issues with the replacement though.

[smbrouss70]

Wow, I haven't updated this thread in a really long time. After Dad and Ratchet passed away, everything got real stressful for me. I gained Dad's dog "Lucy" who needed to have some cancerous mammary glands removed. Dad made me the executor of his estate, so I had to learn about a lot of stuff that I didn't know. Family decided to show their true colors. I had to clean up, repair, and sell a house QUICKLY, because Dad had a reverse mortgage on the house, and they don't give you very much time to pay it off. BTW, if anyone you know is considering a reverse mortgage, try and talk them out of it. They are essentially a legal scam preying on older people. If I ever get to meet Tom Selleck, I will be on the news for sure.

Anyway, the hot rods haven't gotten much attention lately, until I decided that Ratchet's Blazer was going on Hot Rod Power Tour this year. I have some upgrades slated for it, but to get it ready in time, I'm just going through maintenance items for now. i went through the brakes and changed pads to try and alleviate some of the excessive dusting that I was getting, hopefully it works. I knew my clutch was slipping so I upgraded that. I'm going to finally get my Detroit Speed wiper setup installed, and I will tweak my alignment to make it a little easier to drive.

I was never happy with the first clutch and flywheel that I put in. It didn't seem to have enough clamping force for the weight of the Blazer. When the throwout bearing started making noise, I figured I would just change it all out to something much better. Check out all of the hotspots on that flywheel after only 5,428 miles!!! Yeah, it wasn't doing its job... I upgraded to a much better quality McLeod setup for everything.

[smbrouss70]

The upgrades that are coming in the future are finally finishing the interior off with the parchment seats, door panels, side panels in the bed area with a custom Blue carpet that is as close of a match to the exterior paint as I could get.

I also started down a long road of acquiring and modifying parts to put a 2x4BBL crossram on the engine. I couldn't afford to get a real one from a 69 DZ302, so I ordered an Offenhauser copy that "might" get delivered in July after ordering it in September. I am going to use 2 Terminator X Stealth throttle bodies, so hopefully the Fuel Injection will be less temperamental than carbs. I was able to confirm that a repop DZ302 air cleaner does fit on the Offenhauser intake, so it will have the look that I want with that big oval air cleaner canted at a 45* angle. Those crossrams like a lot of velocity going through the intake, which is accomplished on the 302 by running them wide-ass open at high RPMs. The other way to get velocity is to increase the CID of the engine, so I'll be ordering a 406 short block from Smeding when I go to install the intake. I'll probably be upgrading the clutch again due to the probable 100+ HP increase.

[litebulblsc]

I have a twin disk Mcleod clutch in one of my cars, I like it.

The intake sounds cool. Glad to see one not getting an LS.

[Palf70Step]

Nice Steven. I guess Lucy is giving her approval on the carpet.

[396ci]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

[smbrouss70]

Originally Posted by 396ci

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Thank you! I haven't been on here in a while, sorry I didn't see this earlier.

[smbrouss70]

Gringo flew in this past weekend to pick up his truck. We went to a local show on Saturday, where he won a "Long Haul" award. He may have used his Germany address. As he said, "If you're not cheating, you aren't trying hard enough." He then drove his truck home to his new base in Alabama on Sunday. I don't expect him to be making any big changes on the truck since he should only be there 2 years, but hopefully he'll get the truck out for some shows and road trips.

With the extra room freed up in the shop, I intend to blow the Blazer apart and freshen it up a bit. It'll get the new 406 that is sitting on an engine stand, completely re-wired, lizardskin throughout the interior and finally get the carpet and the rest of the interior installed. I'll also detail under the hood by repainting all of the black bits to make it more pleasing to the eye. I'm hoping to have it done so I can take it on the GM Tailgate Tour again in March of next year. After some overdue maintenance on the daily drivers, I'll get started on the Blazer, and hopefully I'll remember to update this thread as I go along.

[Palf70Step]

Glad to hear Gringo's back. looking forward to the updates on the Blazer.