Crossbreed

[stangtjk]

Almost caught up with the present.. body did finally come off the frame. Built a wood jig to tip it on its side.

Underside was blasted, epoxy primed and coated with raptor liner. Still need to put the rocker boxes back on, probably get to that this weekend.

Inside floor has also been blasted and primed with epoxy.

[stangtjk]

Frame also got some love. Was tough dragging it from the driveway out back onto the deck but managed to get it up there on my own. Didn't want to get liner overspray on the neighbors vehicles.

Blasted, epoxy primer and raptor liner just like the body but I shot the raptor with an hvlp gun instead of the shutz gun supplied with the kit. Really like the way the texture turned out.

[stangtjk]

Currently working on converting the 14 bolt over to disc brakes. Grinded down the OD of the stock hubs to allow rotors to slide on rather than be staked to the back like most conversion kits. Did this so I could use stock rear brakes from a late model gm. Had to use rotors from a dually to get the backing plate to set far enough inboard to land on the axle tube.

I need to have some flanges made so I can weld them on and get everything bolted up. Anyone know a friendly machinist willing to do such a small job without charging a fortune? Tried several of those eBay machine shops that say no job is too small and can't even get a response for a so I assume it's not worth their time. I could probably get by with just a 1/2" plate plasma cut and not have the raised part.

[stangtjk]

Almost forgot about these pieces... Bent up using a vise, hammer, dolly and whatever was laying around I could pound on.

[stangtjk]

I didn't get before pictures of the hack job from whoever put on the 4" lift before I got it. It had 4" lift springs up front and 4" blocks out back.

The spring perches on the 14 bolt were space out about an inch too far on both sides. Whoever installed it just forced the springs out to match and you could see the shackles were in a bind. The axle had some aftermarket shock mounts but they were in the wrong spot as well. I cut off the sping perches and beat the shock mount off with a hammer. The had practically no penetration and some nasty looking welds. I assume they tried to weld over paint/dirt and whatever else was on the axle.

[lks dcvn]

very nice job so far!

[stangtjk]

Installed the rocker boxes today. Raptor liner sprayed inside and out, hopefully that will keep em from ever rusting out again.

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by stangtjk

The axle had some aftermarket shock mounts but they were in the wrong spot as well. I cut off the sping perches and beat the shock mount off with a hammer. The had practically no penetration and some nasty looking welds. I assume they tried to weld over paint/dirt and whatever else was on the axle.

It's frightening what people are driving on public roads. There's tons of stuff like that out there, where some backyard guy goes to Harbour Freight and buys a Chinese 120v flux core MIG welder and now thinks he's a professional welder. I've seen some homebuilt trailers with bubble gum welds that you'd wonder how he ever made it out of his driveway.

[stangtjk]

Had someone make me a set of flanges for the 14 bolt to mount the newer model disc brakes.

[stangtjk]

Starting to put stuff back together.

[IronCanine]

Impressive. Looking forward to more.

[tomtuna1978]

I'm hooked ... I need to do the same thing... I like the way you write ... I totally scrolled down and looked at that bell housing photo ... lol

[stangtjk]

Thanks for the compliments.

I set out to paint and rebuild the drive/axle shafts. Got everything apart blasted and primed. Just orders all new u joints to put them back together.

I got the u joint out of one of the front axle shafts using a hammer and socket... Set out to do the other side and couldn't get it to budge. Starting hitting harder and harder and I finally missed and caught my finger. After that I bought one of those tiger tools u joint presses. Should have bought it before I started.

[stangtjk]

Making a little more progress. Took the front axle apart and stripped and painted it. Same for the springs and shackles and I replaced the bushings with some red poly ones from
prothane. I also started mocking up the rear axle. Almost have a rolling chassis again.

[stangtjk]

Finished putting the front axle back together. Had a rolling chassis for one day before getting impatient and putting the tub back on. Probably have quite a few things left to do that would be easier with the body off but the ole lady and neighbors will be happy its not all torn apart in the driveway anymore.

[NorCal]

Looking good!

[stangtjk]

I call this shot the "illusion of progress" because it will all come back apart. Just needed to mock up the doors and fenders so I could line up and weld the rocker panels on.

Pay no attention to the door being tucked in too far, no latch or striker plate to hold it out at the moment. I will have to put shims under the hinges, both doors lack about 1/16" from lining up with the fenders.

I'm also contemplating re skinning the doors. I fixed the rust in the corners but lost a little bit of that subtle contour below the lower body line. I got some warpage when I welded the patches so i hit it with a shrinking disc to straighten it out... Got it a bit too straight as it appears I took out some of the curve. Wouldn't​ take that much filler to get it right so I'm undecided. The advantage to putting a new skin on is I'd be able to spray the inside of the door. There's also a few dents in the middle of the door that a new skin would eliminate.

[raggedjim]

Nice work, I think I have put on and taken the doors off of my jimmy 10 times each. I'm getting pretty good at it!

Good luck, Rg

[OLDYELLOW]

Nice build. Frame and underside look great. Subscribed. What size tip does the spray gun have that you sprayed the liner with and how much air pressure did you use?

[stangtjk]

Originally Posted by OLDYELLOW

Nice build. Frame and underside look great. Subscribed. What size tip does the spray gun have that you sprayed the liner with and how much air pressure did you use?

I used one of the cheap $30 guns with a 2.5 tip. I believe I had the pressure set at 40psi

[stangtjk]

As the title of this thread indicates this blazer has a bit of parts from a blazer, Jimmy, and 67-68 C10. It's got the 67-78 front clip but the PO kept the Jimmy bumper for some reason. Nothin a hammer won't fix.

[stangtjk]

Spent almost a full day turning large round holes into smaller square holes... A small detail that will be lost to everyone but me.

[stangtjk]

I've been neglecting my thread, but still working on the blazer.

I put the top back on and started making some fiberglass repairs. Still more to do and I have a plan to fix the saggy spots on top but I'll wait till after I'm done to share.

[stangtjk]

Stuck the engine back in, installed hydroboost with a wilwood master cylinder and adjustable proportioning valve.

Also installed a set of HMMWV wheels and 37" tires. With just the 4" lift the rear tire looked too close to the front of the wheel opening and the driveshaft was already too short. So I moved the axle back about an inch and got a new driveshaft. While I was at it I decided I'd just go with a double cardan driveshaft. I rotated the axle where it needed to be welded on the spring perches and disc brake brackets.

I also swapped out the stiff ass 4 inch lift springs (unknown manufacturer) in the front for some Skyjacker softrides to match the rear. They seem much better... With the old springs I could jump on the front of the truck and not get them to budge at all.

[stangtjk]

Headed out now to weld on the rear shock mounts. Afterwards I'll pull the axle out again and give it and the new driveshaft a fresh coat of paint. Underneath the truck is looking really good... Now just need to get the outside to match.