Left for dead: 72 2wd blazer build

[1956cameo]

No. Just a standard 2wd cross member. My blazer was originally a 350 v8 truck with a turbo 350 automatic transmission; that is what I am planning on going back with. One detail though is that the parts truck was a 3/4 ton big block truck with a turbo 400 automatic transmission. Not sure if that makes a difference or not on the cross members?

[Justin@EntropyRad]

Paint turned out great..love the color

[1956cameo]

SeventyOne, I might ask this question in the trucks section. More people on there are used to dealing with 2wd trucks than there are in the Blazer section.

Justin, Thanks! Now if I can keep from scratching it up during the reassembly process I will be set.

[jjzepplin]

I took a grinder and rounded the corners of my cross member a bit and that made it much easier to install. Keep in mind you may never remove it again though. The one I put in my 2wd is actually made from a 4wd member and is 3 pieces. The center section is removable. I did this because I'm cheap and it will make future clutch changes much easier.

[1956cameo]

jjzepplin, Okay. I might try to find a 4wd cross member if it comes in 3 pieces. Did you need to do any modifications to make it fit up properly to a 2wd set up?

[jjzepplin]

Yeah it's pretty modified. I used the two top braces as the side and then cut the center section out of the other piece and drilled some holes in it to mount to the sides. A little cutting reliefs and bending on the two sides. They still need the reliefs welded back up.

[smbrouss70]

Are we talking about the auto trans (@ the tailshaft) x-member or the manual (@ bellhousing) x-member?

[1956cameo]

jjzepplin, Okay. I might see about getting an aftermarket trans member if the transfer of the stock member doesn't work out.

smbrouss70, 350 Automatic Transmission (At the Tailshaft).

[Justin@EntropyRad]

just wrap it in masking film or paper to help reduce body damage

[1956cameo]

Thanks for the advice Justin. It will definitely be taped up once I start bolting everything back on.

[1956cameo]

Well, I don't have much progress to show but I figure that it is time I gave you guys something. First, I moved the blazer from my Dad's shop to my house about an hour away. The walls have closed in on the blazer since these photos were taken. A lot more parts in the garage right now along with a 1957 Chevy Truck that one of my neighbors gave me.







With my wife and I rounding 3rd on this debt free plan my interest in working on the Blazer has risen sharply. I have started making lists of parts needed to finish the truck, and I have also been picking up used parts from a few local sources. I also re wired, painted, and installed my tilt column that I bought off of the parts board a few years ago. The steering wheel is a $15 swap meet special.

[1956cameo]

The only other thing that I have to show for now is an authentic 1972 Texas license plate that says Blazer. I figure there can't be more than one more of these floating around! Right now I am not sure if I want to go ahead and use it on the Blazer or just put it on the wall with the rest of my collection. Currently my plate collection is around 1,000 plates. I have all the states a few times over, most of Canada, and a lot of Mexico. Old plates from the teens-forties, an almost complete collection of U.S. Bicentennial plates, and now I am trying to get a complete U.S. and Canada set of 1972 Plates.




The wall next to my Suburban.




The wall behind my Suburban. Not filled up yet.



The wall of old timers. Pre 1955.



Crates of plates that I haven't put up yet or am selling at swap meets.

[bk04z66]

Blazer looks good and that plate is awesome, I say run it!

[smbrouss70]

I would DEFINATELY run that plate if I was lucky enough to find that in a Louisiana plate. Can you run it in Texas if you don't have the matching plate? Can you have another one made, if you need to?

[1956cameo]

bk04z66, Thanks! It has been a lot of work but it should start taking shape pretty soon. The plate was definitely one of my coolest swap meet finds yet. Some lady had a table full of old Personalized Texas plates from the 70's and I about fell over when I saw it. When I asked how much the plate was and she said $20 I couldn't pull the money out fast enough.


smbrouss70, I want to run it but if I go antique plates (which in TX is just one plate on the back) I could run this or whatever plate I wanted on the front. Just don't know if I want such a cool plate catching all the road rash. If I had the matching pair and they were both in the same shape as this one (not torn up) I could do a normal registration and run with both of them. I will probably use the plate. Whats the point of having it if I don't!

[Xeen]

I just went through this entire build in one shot, I just couldn't believe all the carnage.
You did some very solid repair work and I gotta say man great job, that's how you do it!
You resurrected a Blazer that had 2 wheels in the grave and turned it into a real beauty and on the cheap too what a transformation, in my opinion this is one of the best builds on the board.

[1956cameo]

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I have been saving up money for the blazer but with a new baby it has been a bit slow. I have a decent amount saved up and should be making a big purchase soon so more progress is not far away. I appreciate everyone's patience.


Houses28, It would be a good idea to replace the rocker boxes first if you have enough solid floor and rocker metal to weld it to. If your Blazer is rusty like mine was you have no choice but to weld some braces in and replace all of the floor, rocker, and door jamb metal first and then weld the new rocker box into all of the new solid metal. If anyone that has more experience or if someone has a different perspective feel free to chime in, but that's how I would do it again.

tim's68gmc, It is always great to meet someone else who is into old plates. It started off just being a little side hobby to give me something to look for besides truck parts and now it has spiraled into a serious collection. I will check out your link.

twp1, Thanks! I thought I was thru the hard part, but I found out that now I am in the hard part; coming up with the money to buy all the new parts for it!! To answer your question, no I don't have any extra 2wd frames. Unfortunately before I knew that 2wd blazers were desirable I gave a 2wd chassis and body to my buddy for scrap metal. I regret it now but I just didn't know. Back then I thought if it wasn't 4wd no one would have a use for it.

Xeen, Wow! Thanks for the huge compliment! I am glad people are liking it. I have seen some phenomenal builds on this forum and to be ranked in the top echelon in some readers opinions is truly a great feeling! If you liked how I brought this one back wait a few more months. I am going to be starting on a 1969 factory short fleet big block truck that is going to make the blazer project look like child's play.

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by 1956cameo

I am going to be starting on a 1969 factory short fleet big block truck that is going to make the blazer project look like child's play.

You're gonna have to change your signature line to:
I don't always restore trucks; but when I do I prefer rusty basket cases. Stay rusty my friends.

[1956cameo]

hgs_notes, Exactly! I don't know why I do this to myself. I can drive 4 hours south, west, or north and get all the solid projects that I want and somehow I always end up working on the "junk! I guess that's what I get for wanting factory original stuff. The sad part is I usually part out pretty solid vehicles that are low factory original options for the junked out projects that had a lot of factory options.

[Xeen]

I will be tuned in for your pickup build.

[jakesblazer]

Wow great build bud!! I'm building up my 2wd blazer and it has almost the same rust but a little less severe. I'm working around the panels that need patching.. gotta be done soon though. Love your rig!

[1956cameo]

Xeen and Jakesblazer, Thanks for the comments! I am hoping to significantly pick up the pace of this project very soon. Maybe even have it running and driving by the end of this year. Most likely I will wait until after the Pate swap meet and then start making parts orders with the money leftover from Pate.

[1956cameo]

Well it's time to revive this project and thread. Over the last two months I have been acquiring thousands of dollars worth of parts, and I am hoping to get a lot more at the Pate swap meet next week. If all goes as planned I should have the Blazer running by the end of summer!

The first order of business was to get a new windshield installed.
[IMG][/IMG]

We tried about half a dozen times with around 4 different types of weatherstripping but we could just never get the trim to stay in the weatherstripping. I did a bunch of research and found that this is a common problem with reinstalling the stainless trim windshield weatherstripping. I tried OEM trim, repop trim, and I tried weatherstripping from all the companies that people on the forum swore would work but every time the trim would pop out in the corners. Finally we gave up and just installed the non stainless trim weatherstripping. It killed me to do it but I was running out of time and options.
[IMG][/IMG]

[1956cameo]

The dash during installation of windshield.
[IMG][/IMG]

It is hard to tell in the picture but I have now installed the jute padding, inner firewall pads, the dash pad, the ignition, the main wiring harness, and a few smaller wiring harness.
[IMG][/IMG]

I installed a tilt steering column. I am not sure if I will put a tilt column in my other projects because the best position for me it when the column is straight just like on a regular column.
[IMG][/IMG]

I bought a brand new gauge cluster with tachometer. Unfortunately when I went to install it I found out that I need to drop the recently installed steering column to put it in. So for now it sits in the box.
[IMG][/IMG]

[smbrouss70]

Looks Good! There are always good parts at Pate! Look us up if you have time, I'm sure you still have Wynne's number to find out where we are at Pate. I'd like to meet the man that built a Blazer tub from scratch.