Left for dead: 72 2wd blazer build

[1956cameo]

Groyd, Thank you!

Ol Blue K20, Thanks!

[lks dcvn]

Wow - that is incredible. Nice work.

[Wasted Income]

The paint looks great!

[1956cameo]

lks dcvn, Thanks! It's been a lot of work.

Wasted Income, Thanks! It's not perfect but its the best I have ever done so far.

[Muleman100]

Now on to the hood,fenders and tailgate.

[1956cameo]

I finally finished sanding and buffing the body. Washed all of the dust and compounding residue off and took a few pics of the paint in the sunshine.
















The next step is to get the hood, front fenders, tailgate, inner wheel tubs, glove box door, and numerous miscellaneous pieces painted before the long assembly process can begin.

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by 1956cameo

The next step is to get the hood, front fenders, tailgate, inner wheel tubs, glove box door, and numerous miscellaneous pieces painted before the long assembly process can begin.

Sooo, sometime this fall then? j/k

Looks outstanding. Once paint is done the rest ain't bad. I had my C-10 drivable within a month of the paint getting done.

[swamp rat]

Nice!!

[jaros44sr]

Wow, amazing work!! Had to go back to the beginning of your build, just to see how much time and work you put into the truck to get it to this point...well down, paint came out flawless,

Wish i could do that

[smbrouss70]

Any progress on this one lately?

[1956cameo]

smbrouss70, Not really. Since my wife and I are getting out of debt progress is going to be very limited for the next year or so. I have taken small parts to work and sand blasted them and put them into primer. I am also going through bins of parts and sorting out what I have and what I need. Definitely tasks that need to be done but not worth noting on the thread.

[VA72C10]

Looks great!

[hgs_notes]

Alright, you out of debtors prison yet so you can get back to work on this thing?

[1956cameo]

Hey hgs_notes! I wish. It certainly feels like prison. We still have about a year to go. My wife and I have a lot of student loan debt to wipe out. Already have the cars and small debts knocked out. We want to get the house paid off as well but we are going to spend money on our hobbies while we work on that. I have done a few small and inexpensive tasks on the blazer since my last update but nothing worth mentioning (painted steering column, painted front fenders/tailgate, sand blast and primed tons of small parts/ bolts/nuts, etc..).

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by 1956cameo

Hey hgs_notes! I wish. It certainly feels like prison. We still have about a year to go. My wife and I have a lot of student loan debt to wipe out. Already have the cars and small debts knocked out. We want to get the house paid off as well but we are going to spend money on our hobbies while we work on that. I have done a few small and inexpensive tasks on the blazer since my last update but nothing worth mentioning (painted steering column, painted front fenders/tailgate, sand blast and primed tons of small parts/ bolts/nuts, etc..).

Congrats on making progress on the debt. And it sounds like the only major body part left to paint is the hood, so congrats on that as well.

[1956cameo]

hgs_notes, Thanks! I was working on a hood that had oil canned and finally decided that nothing would get it back right. I ended up buying a mint oem hood at a swap meet a month or so ago. Planning on sanding it down and painting it over the Christmas holidays. Might post some pics when I mock up the front end.

[1956cameo]

So I am nearing the finish line of my debt free plan. I am not sure if I am more excited about no more bills or the fact that I can start working on the Blazer again! Either way it was definitely worth the wait.

Since I am starting to save up money to get the project back on track I am trying to nail down a few details before buying parts. I have decided that I am going to go with a crate engine. Nothing fancy, just a GM replacement engine. Unless someone suggests a better vendor I have decided to get my engine from Jegs. They seem to have the best prices on GM factory replacement crate engines. A year or two ago when I went on their site they had a GM replacement engine from 1969-76. Now when I look up their engines it appears as though they are not offering that engine anymore. The closest thing that I can find is a factory 1973-85 replacement engine.

Here is my question to anyone who is reading this thread that is familiar with GM crate engines. I want my engine to appear completely stock and I want to use all original components. Does anyone know if the GM 1973-85 Factory replacement engine will allow all of the original 1972 brackets to bolt up to it? I would hate to get this engine only to find out non of my original brackets work. The engine I am talking about is Jegs parts # 809-10067353

[hgs_notes]

Glad your nearing the debt free goal. Not something I will be able to brag about any time soon. In fact I will be adding substantially to my debt load next week, but it has to be done in order for me to move on to my next chapter in life.

As for your engine, I'm not the expert but I can't think of any reason it wouldn't work. They typically added more options for attaching stuff to the engines in the later years and you may need to block off things you won't use for the older style emissions of the blazer compared to the smog motor stuff of the late 70s and throttle body EFI that came later. When you say you want it to look stock does that mean back to factory fresh show room restoration style? That can be a headache to accomplish.

[jjzepplin]

Yeah the engine will be fine. Just use everything off your old engine. I think Jegs puts one on sale on ebay for $1299 free shipping. Can't beat it. Rebuild your carb and get a new HEI or points conversion to electronic if you want to keep it stock looking.

[1956cameo]

Thanks for the information guys! That's what I was thinking but wasn't sure. I guess I wanted someone else to reassure me of my assumptions.

hgs_notes, Sorry to hear about that. Hopefully it will be for the best and I wish you luck on your next chapter. I am not necessarily trying to go back to factory fresh, but I would like to use as many 1972 components as possible (except I do want an HEI the points have gone bad on my suburban 3-4 times in 7 years).

jjzepplin, Thanks for the information. I haven't seen the jegs prices on ebay but they sound like they might be even better than what is in the catalog. The deal I am thinking of getting is the brand new 350 engine long block with rebuilt 350 auto transmission, with torque converter, flywheel, and maybe a few other small items for $2,600 with free shipping. I will look on ebay and see if it is even cheaper on there.

[1956cameo]

So I have another technical question that I am hoping someone can help me with. While working underneath my blazer I noticed that one of the previous owners took out the transmission cross member. No problem I thought, I have a parts truck with one in it I will just take it out of there. So I unbolted the transmission cross member from the parts trucks frame. Unfortunately all I am able to do is slide the cross member forward or backwards about 1 foot. I am have no clue how to actually get it out from between the frame rails without cutting something up (which I refuse to do). Does anyone know how to take the cross member out without cutting something up? I see cross members for sale on the forum all of the time so I know it can be done.

[hgs_notes]

Big hammer. Bang away at one side. It will force the frame rails to spread and come out. But getting it back in the other frame isn't easy either. You can grind the corners down to help it slide in better. Maybe a bottle jack putting some outward pressure on the frame rails will help too.

[SeventyOne]

I had a similar problem when I tried to put my trans crossmember back in, the frame rails were too tight - too narrow.

I took a regular scissor jack from any car and a 4x4 piece of wood. use the jack on the inside of the frame rail, open it up using the 4x4 to span the distance and it will spread the rails with little effort.

[1956cameo]

Thanks for the information guys. I guess I have nothing to lose trying those strategies on the parts truck. Depending on how well that goes I can do the same thing during the installation. I really wish they wouldn't have removed the cross member. Pooching the frame out has me nervous. I guess if they got my old cross member out I can get the new one in.

[jaros44sr]

Originally Posted by 1956cameo

Thanks for the information guys. I guess I have nothing to lose trying those strategies on the parts truck. Depending on how well that goes I can do the same thing during the installation. I really wish they wouldn't have removed the cross member. Pooching the frame out has me nervous. I guess if they got my old cross member out I can get the new one in.

I don t remember having that hard of time getting it out....i ll have to look tomorrow and see. Are we talking transfer case crossmember?