1972 Build thread.

[Spf79]

Originally Posted by Lieferson

Nice to see fellow Washington blazer coming along, taggin along for this one!

Thank you for jumping on board!!!

[DeadheadNM]

The reproduction aluminum woodgrain inserts aren't too far off the mark - these use a pinstripe of paint where the originals have bare exposed metal but otherwise look the part. I'd go that route before I'd try to refurbish an OEM set. Cheyenne Superman sells refurbished inserts on eBay that are also nice.

Good buy on the console.

[Spf79]

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

The reproduction aluminum woodgrain inserts aren't too far off the mark - these use a pinstripe of paint where the originals have bare exposed metal but otherwise look the part. I'd go that route before I'd try to refurbish an OEM set. Cheyenne Superman sells refurbished inserts on eBay that are also nice.

Good buy on the console.

Good information! Exactly what I was wondering about the inserts. Thank you sir! I was amazed at what the consoles were going for on Ebay when they were in poor condition. I have had an eye out for a few months locally and had not come across anything worthwhile. I figured I would jump on this one. I am excited to get to the wiring stage, I want to hide some charging ports inside of the console. I may try to cut the bottom of the ashtray out and then hide a USB port under the ashtray lid.

[Spf79]

Purchased all of my brake parts last night. I was suprised to find that my local parts shop did not have a hardware kit with the brackets that hold the shoes in place. When i tore the rear end down i found that both axle seals were bad in the rear end so I just dumped all of the drum brake brackets in the scrap pile at work, I didn't want to deal with the mess. Lol, I had to go and fish them out & then clean them up tonight. I got one side painted... waiting for it to dry to coat the other side. This is the first time I have done brakes on a loose backing plate. Might be nice... might be a PITA. Looking forward to next week, my brake lines from inline tube should arrive along with my gas tank. Hopefully my gears and differentials show up as well. Fingers crossed.

[Spf79]

I haven't had time to do the brakes, the wife's honey'do list ramped up.
I did receive my hubs though. I went with the superwinch hubs because the remind me of the old Spicer hubs. I have to finish the brakes this week so I am ready to assemble the axles once my gears and differentials show up. Hopefully I will have some progress by the end of the month.

[Spf79]

Superwinch

[kehstr]

cool build subscribed!

[IronCanine]

Nice work. I'm on board.

[Spf79]

Originally Posted by IronCanine

Nice work. I'm on board.

Thank you! I'm glad to have you!!

[Spf79]

Originally Posted by kehstr

cool build subscribed!

Appreciate it! Thank you for following alonng!!

[My3Sons!]

Looks great, glad to see another local Washington build coming along nicely. I'm in Redmond.

[Spf79]

I finally got some time in the garage yesterday. I'm almost ready to get my carriers installed.
I ordered the Ratech install tools for the pinion depth. I hope to have those this week and then finish installing.

I have never installed bearing races before. Not very fun, but it is cool to learn how to do this stuff. The axle bearings and seals on the 12 bolt were easy. The inner seals on the dana 44 made my eye twitch. Lol. The inner pinion races are the devil. Smashing my hand with a 4lb sledge hammer didn't help my opinion on the inner races.

I finished up my dummy inner pinion bearings, and.... I was finally able to remove the bearings from the old pinions gears. I had to remove the bearing cages that held the roller bearings in place. This allowed me to get a good bite on the inner bearing housing. A couple weeks ago I broke part of my bearing puller when trying to remove the bearings from the outside of the cage.

[Spf79]

More pics...

I do need to point out that I bought the cheapest race instalation kit and bearing puller off of Amazon. Worth every penny.

[Spf79]

Last week I picked up my 205 transfer case from the mechanic that rebuilt it for me. $312.
The guy broke it apart, checked everything, replaced the bearings/seals and installed my new twin stick shifting rails. He even painted it! Special note! The mechanic was very impressed with J&B twin stick kit.

Have you ever not bothered telling someone something because you thought that there was no way someone would go above and beyond?

I was going to tell the mechanic not to bother painting the case because I was going to take care of it so I could keep the aluminum raw and not painted. I didn'the bother saying anything because there was no way he would paint it... right? Yup, that guy bead blasted and then painted it. so now I am in the process of stripping paint. Lol.

[Spf79]

Here is a funny one I thought I would share.

I had a guy tell me that I should put my races in the freezer before I install them. He said it would make it easier because they shrink when cold. The first race I installed was not cold and it was not going in for anything. I took a break from that one, had a beer and put all of the other races in the freezer. Once they were in there for a bit I tried a cold one, (not beer) and sure enough it went right in. I left the first one for last, once I came back to it I was still having a heck of a time.

I ended up using a can of compressed air, the stuff you use to clean out computer key boards... upside down so that it would spray cold. I did this twice and that thing popped right in easy peasy. The down side is that I got a mouthful of the gas, tasted horrible for like 20 mins.

[Spf79]

Originally Posted by My3Sons!

Looks great, glad to see another local Washington build coming along nicely. I'm in Redmond.

Thanks buddy, I'm in Vancouver!

[hemi43]

The only difficult part about doing diffs is setting up the pinion depth. Actually, it's not difficult at all. You don't need any special depth setting tools or gauges because all this will do is over complicate things.
It looks like you damaged the original inner pinion bearing taking it off, so buy another one because they are cheap. Take this bearing and hone out the bore so that it slips on and off fairly easily on the pinion. You can also use an abrasive flap wheel to do this. You can now use this bearing for your setup to determine the shim pack needed for getting your proper pinion depth. Once you get a nice mesh pattern, take off the setup bearing and press on the new bearing that you got in your kit. Take your time crushing the collar until you get 15-20 in/lbs of resistance, then reinstall the carrier and set the backlash. I've done it like this for years and it makes the job so easy.

[Spf79]

Originally Posted by hemi43

The only difficult part about doing diffs is setting up the pinion depth. Actually, it's not difficult at all. You don't need any special depth setting tools or gauges because all this will do is over complicate things.
It looks like you damaged the original inner pinion bearing taking it off, so buy another one because they are cheap. Take this bearing and hone out the bore so that it slips on and off fairly easily on the pinion. You can also use an abrasive flap wheel to do this. You can now use this bearing for your setup to determine the shim pack needed for getting your proper pinion depth. Once you get a nice mesh pattern, take off the setup bearing and press on the new bearing that you got in your kit. Take your time crushing the collar until you get 15-20 in/lbs of resistance, then reinstall the carrier and set the backlash. I've done it like this for years and it makes the job so easy.

Yes sir, same page! I did just that, I bought two extra bearings and honed them out in order to have dummy bearings. I have been watching YouTube videos like crazy and a couple guys swear that you have to have the proper depth on the pinion, and you have to have a gauge tell you. The ratech depth tools I bought are made for each specific axle. They measure of of the face of the pinion to the bottom of the carrier bearing seat. I found them on sale for $24 each, I figured it couldn't hurt. I am glad that you have been doing it with the dummy bearings with no problems, that makes me feel better. This is all new to me, so I need as much feedback as possible. Locally it was $600 to have a shop do the install per axle. I couldn't bring myself to do that so I figured this was a good time to learn.

[hemi43]

Most likely the shim thickness that you took out of the original pinion will be within a few thou of what you need. At least that's been my experience in the past. I can't recall if you mentioned that you were reusing the original gears or buying new, but my first choice is Yukon. Richmonds are a bit cheaper, but I guess you get what you pay for because I've had some sets squeal like a stuck pig even though the pattern was dead on. Good luck and keep posting pics.

edit; I guess I should have read your previous more thoroughly because I now realize you already made a setup bearing !

[Spf79]

Originally Posted by hemi43

Most likely the shim thickness that you took out of the original pinion will be within a few thou of what you need. At least that's been my experience in the past. I can't recall if you mentioned that you were reusing the original gears or buying new, but my first choice is Yukon. Richmonds are a bit cheaper, but I guess you get what you pay for because I've had some sets squeal like a stuck pig even though the pattern was dead on. Good luck and keep posting pics.

edit; I guess I should have read your previous more thoroughly because I now realize you already made a setup bearing !

I had read the same thing about the original shims getting you close enough. I have those shims in with the new pinions and dummy bearings awaiting for me to dump the carriers in place. I am going with new gears, I got rid of the original 3:07's in favor of 4:11's. Not sure if the original shims make a difference at this point since it is a different set of gears? I guess I will find out shortly. I went with G2 in the front and Motive in the rear. Hopefully they are of good quality. I have read good and bad about all brands... the problem is that you never know who to trust & the Internet is always right... right? Motive had a couple different grades of gears I opted for the more expensive set that had some kind of heat treatment since it was going in the rear. Probably a gimmick, but I own them now.

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by Spf79

I had read the same thing about the original shims getting you close enough. I have those shims in with the new pinions and dummy bearings awaiting for me to dump the carriers in place. I am going with new gears, I got rid of the original 3:07's in favor of 4:11's. Not sure if the original shims make a difference at this point since it is a different set of gears? I guess I will find out shortly. I went with G2 in the front and Motive in the rear. Hopefully they are of good quality. I have read good and bad about all brands... the problem is that you never know who to trust & the Internet is always right... right? Motive had a couple different grades of gears I opted for the more expensive set that had some kind of heat treatment since it was going in the rear. Probably a gimmick, but I own them now.

My understanding is that Richmond and Motive are one and the same, but you'll have no issues. It's difficult to find out what's "best" by asking on the net because you never know who's giving you the info.
I also went from 3.07 to 4.11's to go with my 12.5X35 tires. I have a 5.3 with a 4L60E and couldn't have picked a better gear, because the truck is very responsive and gets excellent fuel economy.

Edit;FYI, I just checked both the Richmond website, as well as the Motive website and they are infact the same company. I recall a supplier telling me that the gears even come off the same manufacturing machines.

[Spf79]

Originally Posted by hemi43

My understanding is that Richmond and Motive are one and the same, but you'll have no issues. It's difficult to find out what's "best" by asking on the net because you never know who's giving you the info.
I also went from 3.07 to 4.11's to go with my 12.5X35 tires. I have a 5.3 with a 4L60E and couldn't have picked a better gear, because the truck is very responsive and gets excellent fuel economy.

Edit;FYI, I just checked both the Richmond website, as well as the Motive website and they are infact the same company. I recall a supplier telling me that the gears even come off the same manufacturing machines.

I am glad to hear that about the 4:11's, I almost went 3:73's so I could save money by not buying a new carrier for the front end. Everyone I talked to said 4:11's, so I let them twist my arm into a tru-trac locker for the front lol. I don't think I will get jack poop for mileage. Going old school 383 with a built th350 behind it... shooting for 9 m/g! Yes!!!

That is funny about them coming from the same manufacturing company. Thanks for the info, I just ran into this with Timken bearings and SKF seals being the same manufacturer. Seems like a waste of money from the marketing standpoint? At this point as long as I don't screw up the install and they don't go bang in the next ten years I will be satisfied.

Back to the 4:11's with 35's, how are you at 70mph? What is your RPMS?

[Spf79]

I'm still compiling parts that I am not ready for!

I picked up these stainless steel headers for my small block. Cheap at $250, they came with aluminum press style gaskets and a cheap set of header bolts.

I'm happy, the head flanges appear to be pretty thick compared to some of the cheap headers I have bought in the past.

I picked them up from a small auto shop in downtown Vancouver, Wa called "Line up and sound off" very nice people to work with.

Line Up & Sound Off (360) 906-8514

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by Spf79

I am glad to hear that about the 4:11's, I almost went 3:73's so I could save money by not buying a new carrier for the front end. Everyone I talked to said 4:11's, so I let them twist my arm into a tru-trac locker for the front lol. I don't think I will get jack poop for mileage. Going old school 383 with a built th350 behind it... shooting for 9 m/g! Yes!!!

That is funny about them coming from the same manufacturing company. Thanks for the info, I just ran into this with Timken bearings and SKF seals being the same manufacturer. Seems like a waste of money from the marketing standpoint? At this point as long as I don't screw up the install and they don't go bang in the next ten years I will be satisfied.

Back to the 4:11's with 35's, how are you at 70mph? What is your RPMS?

Why did you have to buy a new carrier for the front? 4.11's are available in a "thick" version that would bolt right in.
At 70 MPH I'm around 2100 RPM, but don't forget I have a 4L60E which has a 30% overdrive. I get a true 25 MPG (imperial) with my Blazer, and that's one of the reasons I used the 5.3
You won't screw up the gear install ! If you have a nice contact patch and the proper preload it will be perfect. Just take your time.:-)
BTW, I really like the item you used for reference to show the thickness of the header flange. That was very Canadian of you !!

[Spf79]

Originally Posted by hemi43

Most likely the shim thickness that you took out of the original pinion will be within a few thou of what you need. At least that's been my experience in the past. I can't recall if you mentioned that you were reusing the original gears or buying new, but my first choice is Yukon. Richmonds are a bit cheaper, but I guess you get what you pay for because I've had some sets squeal like a stuck pig even though the pattern was dead on. Good luck and keep posting pics.

edit; I guess I should have read your previous more thoroughly because I now realize you already made a setup bearing !

Thank you for taking the time to comment, I'm kind of flying blind here and reliant upon others knowledge and advice. I'm glad you are reinforcing the information I have picked up so far, it is reassuring.

Thank you again!