Left for dead: 72 2wd blazer build

[Ol Blue K20]

Looks Great!! Looking forward to some updates. I love the color by the way...

[HuggerCST]

Nice work!

[1956cameo]

NewType72, Thank you! It is turning out better than I thought it would.

Ol Blue K20, Thanks! I will keep the updates coming.

HuggerCST, Thank you!

[1956cameo]

Last weekend I made a little more progress on the blazer. The entire drivers side of the body is now smooth and polished.

Here is the sanded down quarter panel.


After a little buffing. This was originally the rough side of the blazer!


A close up!

[Groyd]

That's looking good.
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[Ol Blue K20]

Lovin' it!!!!

[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.

[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

[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.

[jjzepplin]

I bet the guys who built these things would be jealous of your work. Schweet!

[1956cameo]

swamp rat, Thanks!

jaros44sr, Thanks! This will probably end up being the longest project I have done before. At least until the next one.

hgs_notes, Ha! If I have the rest of the body panels finished by Christmas I would be happy. Now that the blazer is starting to look like something my wife is bugging me about how long it will be before she can ride in it.

jjzeplin, Thanks! You definitely get a connection with a vehicle that you build that you would never get if you bought it, but I wouldn't mind getting one that is done someday.

[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