Left for dead: 72 2wd blazer build

[Muleman100]

I am proud of the work and progress. I think this one will probably get finished.

[1956cameo]

Jeffs70, Thanks!

Muleman100, Thanks! There is a first time for everything!!

[wholio]

1956cameo you wouldnt have a spare cab layin around would u?

[1956cameo]

Wholio, Unfortunately I don't. All the cabs to my parts trucks are either already planned to be cut up for future projects or or are junk. What are you needing?

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by wholio

1956cameo you wouldnt have a spare cab layin around would u?

Originally Posted by 1956cameo

Wholio, Unfortunately I don't. All the cabs to my parts trucks are either already planned to be cut up for future projects or or are junk. What are you needing?

I wouldn't buy a body part from him, it would probably be delivered a few square inches at a time with pictures of how to weld it back together...

[1956cameo]

Think of it as a really cool 3-D puzzle!

[alsriv2]

Originally Posted by 1956cameo

Thanks for the comments Al! Send me the pics of your rust issues and I will see what I can do to help you out. If your rust isn't too bad then there is a good possibility I can help. I think you can send the pics thru PM, if not you can post them on here.

I apologize for the delayed response! Things have been really busy at work and I am getting ready to deploy overseas again. 72Arizonaburb has a cab that he is ready to send to the scrap pile but just so happens to have the inner kick panel metal with vent openings in good shape that I need for my repairs. I will be happy to send you some pics when I get back and start my repairs.

Take care.

Al
'69 GMC 2500 Custom Camper
'69 Chevy C10 396

[1956cameo]

alsriv2, I am glad you were able to find the parts you needed. Good luck with the build!


So I took a little time away from all the SuperBowl Sunday pre game action and worked on the blazer up until game time. By the way congratulations to any Packers fans! It was a perfect day to work on a blazer, it was 70 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.

I started by finishing the removal of the rotten rear bed pillar.



I thought I was going to use the rear inner part of the pillar that you see in this picture, but when I inspected it closely I found that the entire bottom of this pillar was thin and rotten as well. Fortunately it simply bolted to the bed floor so it was a breeze to remove. It is a good thing I went as far as I did on this rear pillar section, it was basically holding on by a thread.



The next step was to remove the donor pillar. This pillar was extremely solid, however it was a little more banged up since it was from a truck bed.



I was able to remove the pillar and part of the inner bed (top and bottom of inner bed on blazer was rotten) as one big patch panel. I was afraid I would have to cut it into a couple of smaller pieces to get it removed but the only thing I had to do was scalp the top part off (which will be welded back on later).

[1956cameo]

If this panel wasn't beyond repair before, it is now!



Heres the blazer rear pillar section after the inner and outer parts of the pillar have been completely removed.



All of the rotten metal that was removed from this section of the blazer alone!



Things don't look very different on the outside. I am not sure why the pillar was so rough, but the outer bed panel, bed floor (around the pillar), and the bed floor brace were all very solid.




To my suprise the donor pillar pretty much slid right into place! I wouldn't say it fits like a glove just yet, but it will when I get done. It was sitting a little high, but after I installed the six factory bolts that hold the pillar down to the bed floor it lined up almost perfectly.





I will admit I thought this patch replacement was going to be alot harder than it has turned out to be. Hopefully I will wrap this project up next time I work on the blazer, then it will be time to remove the back half of the bed floor!

[VA72C10]

That looks good!!! Nice job!

[hgs_notes]

With all of the other rust on that pillar, I'm amazed the floor under it and the area under the tail lights wasn't just as bad. The fact you think of it as easier than expected is partly from doing some nasty rust repairs already. Looking good, but if I were you, I'd just stop looking for rust, because you seem to find it everywhere you look.

[1956cameo]

VA72C10, Thanks! I appreciate the encouragement.

hgs_notes, It is amazing because all the surrounding metal didn't even have a single rust pit or bubble. I was thinking about all the hidden rust that I have found and replaced and was wondering; "Is my truck really that much worse than everyone elses or are everyone elses rides still hiding that much rust?". If I had to guess I would think a combination of both.

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by 1956cameo

"Is my truck really that much worse than everyone elses or are everyone elses rides still hiding that much rust?"

I'm pretty sure that yours is worse than average of what's still being driven on the road or in a rebuild process. Of those that are as bad or worse than yours, they are mostly made into razor blades or toyotas by now.

But you are doing a heck of a job on this. In the end, you'll either decide that it wasn't so bad and be willing to take on a very rough project, or you'll say, that's enough of that, I'll never do that again.

I tend to be a bit lazy and look for short cuts. It's my nature. It's why I swapped bodies on my Jimmy and swapped cabs on my truck. It didn't eliminate all of the work, but it definitely made it more manageable. Too many people get into a project and find themselves overwhelmed by how much work it really takes. They don't realize that it can be broken down into a lot of little jobs, like you have done here, and give up in frustration.

Your doing great though. Time for me to get my lazy butt out to the garage and sand some more.

[1956cameo]

hgs_notes, You are propably right, but I hope it will be better than average when I am done. As far as future rough projects, I am ready for them! I love a good challenge.

[1956cameo]

The wife gave me a "Hall Pass" to do whatever I wanted for the afternoon yesterday; so naturally I worked on the blazer. The good news is I made more progress, the bad news is I found even MORE rust!!

As alway we pick up where I last left off. I got the replacement bed pillar trimmed up and tacked in. I had to make a simple home made patch to fill in the stake pocket since the rear pillar/bed patch was from a truck and blazers don't have stake pockets.



I don't know why but I could get the donor top bed panel to fit up to the original outer bed panel except on the rear curve. I thought that I had just cut the donor piece out too short, but when I put the original blazer top bed piece on it fit even worse. So I slit both panels and made them line up to each other.



So while my Muleman100 was welding in the donor bed pillar I was grabbing the top of the drivers side bed panel right behind the door. I felt something very familiar under there; MORE RUST! I looked solid from the top.



However from the bottom you can see a different story. I checked the complete underside of both the drivers and passengers side bed rails after this discovery and this is the last of the crusty rust hiding under the top bed rails.

[1956cameo]

So I cut out the outer skin over the troubled area. It looks like I will need to cut some more out later. This is all I did on this part of the project because I was working at night so therefore wasn't able to get any donor patches off of the parts trucks. We will have to come back to this project later.



I knew my bed floor was in pretty lousy shape from the wheel tubs back. This is because somewhere along the line a previous owner thought it would be a good idea to take the rear hatch off the blazer, bust out one of the side windows, but still leave the carpet in place. I was thinking I might knock all the scale off of the troubled areas of the bed floor and then just weld in the rust holes then rust treat the bed floor. Then I came to the conclusion that they are just too far gone to save. Besides why do this much metal work then not do the bed floor.



Here is a close up of what I am working with from the center of the wheel tubs back.



Aeren't the stars beautiful tonight? No, they are not! That's because that is the light shining thru the bed floor from a shop light that is under the blazer. If that picture would have been taken after I knocked all the scale off it would have looked like a close up of the Milky Way Galaxy.



After taking a few measurements I removed the first section of the blazer bed floor. Since I am getting the donor floor from a long bed truck I will be replacing the bed floor in two sections. Once this section is welded back into place I will remove the rear section. I made my cuts over the bed floor braces, that way the welds wont be visible from the underside of the truck, and thus making it like nothing ever happened when I get done.



By this point in time it was well after 11pm, I had an hour drive to get back home, and the temperature in the shop was 38 degrees and dropping fast, therefore that is all the progress I have to show for now. Hopefully the next update will be very soon.

[hgs_notes]

I told you to quit looking for rust or it'll never end. Make sure you check the rear body mounts under the very rear of the bed floor. My frame was rotted out in this area also.

[1956cameo]

hgs_notes, I know. I know, but I can't help myself. Actually everything on the bottom side of the bed floor was in great shape. Most of these rust issues appear as though they were caused by water getting into the cab due to the busted window and missing hatch and not because of moisture/salt splashing up from underneath.

[wholio]

Originally Posted by 1956cameo

Wholio, Unfortunately I don't. All the cabs to my parts trucks are either already planned to be cut up for future projects or or are junk. What are you needing?

basiclly everything in red in one piece, not to much worried about the floor nor the roof or back wall, im going to cut my blazer in half again n do it myself this time

[1956cameo]

Thats what I was thinking you would need. I was hoping it would be smaller pieces. The only parts cab I have that is complete enough to give you everything in red is completely rotted out in the cowl area. I was really hoping I would be able to help you but at this time it doesn't look like I will be able to do much for you. I will let you know if something changes though.

[PD1292]

Wow, This is one of the projects I was talking about that made me feel better about my rust problems.... Doing a great job on this, amazing work..
Mabe if we ever get back in the area of Houston Ill have to come by and see it in person. We lived in Katy about 10 years ago before we moved back to West Texas.. Keep up the good work..

[Firebirdjones]

That's makes at least 2 of you now that have cancerous trucks in Texas.

How does so many people wind up with rusty vehicles in Texas??

[1956cameo]

PD1292, Thanks for the encouragement! It has definately been an ambitious project. If you ever make it back into town I would love to show the blazer off for you, along with the dozens of other vehicles my family has. Of course once this thing is driveable I plan on doing ALOT of driving in it, so you might actually get to see it in person in your part of the state.


Firebirdjones, This blazer is rusty because it has only been in Texas for about a year. I got it from a board member in Louisiana and he got it from Georgia. That is the state it has been in for the majority of its life. I also have a 54 suburban from Virginia that is even rustier. However there are plenty of Texas vehicles that are rusty as well. Most people think of Texas as a desert but the eastern 1/3 of the state is very rainy and green. I live in Houston and it is much more resembling of New Orleans than it is El Paso. Here the rain, humidity, and fallen leaves from trees team up to rust vehicles out from the top down instead of the bottom up like is seen in most other parts of the country. If you get Texas vehicles from the San Anonio, Dallas, Austin areas and westward they are usually very rust free. I have a 72 suburban that spent its whole life in Austin until I bought it in 08 and it doesn't even have a single pinhole in any of the floors or rockers.


I wasn't planning on updating until I had made more progress but since the thread has been brought back to the top I guess I will show the latest work.
As you can see we got the donor patch on the bed rail welded into place.


A view from the underside.


The only other progress I made was getting the donor bed floor out of the parts truck. It hasnt been trimmed down yet and is only laying in place with no welds at this moment.




That is all I have for now. Hopefully there will be some more updates soon.

[jwgeorge]

Hey! I met you last night, Friday, April 08, 2011, at the Homey Depot during the rod meet. I have the 68 Chevy truck, I caught you right before you left. You have done a completely amazing job with the metalwork on that Blazer, but I can see why A two-drive Blazer is an extremely valuable truck! We'll have to talk more at the next event!

[denny5625]

That's a lot of work but it will be worth it in the end. You're doing a terrific job.