70 Blazer Frame Off

[IronCanine]

Well...it's official.

[IronCanine]

...Always with the surprises!

[Blown06]

Man that's some messed up frame rails, but I would imagine you can fix it. Just gonna take up a bunch of time.

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by Blown06

Man that's some messed up frame rails, but I would imagine you can fix it. Just gonna take up a bunch of time.

Gotta fix it...when we're done, I want something to be left from the original truck. Let's face it, since I'm married to her...she's got a lot of new, the bow tie will be blue, it's got a lot of stuff borrowed from other trucks...gotta have something old.

[Blown06]

Originally Posted by IronCanine

Gotta fix it...when we're done, I want something to be left from the original truck. Let's face it, since I'm married to her...she's got a lot of new, the bow tie will be blue, it's got a lot of stuff borrowed from other trucks...gotta have something old.

that's the spirit.

[IronCanine]

More teardown, and a fun surprise for a change...an easter egg under the dash pad.

[IronCanine]

For those of you hard core aficionados out there, you'll know what this pic means...YES, this is the one of one 1970 Blazer that was the test mule for the prototype 350 that became Chevrolet's workhorse for years 77-79. Though there are no actual period photos, luckily we have a few engineer death bed confessions on a cassette tape on top of the clearly vintage 1970 grease. Russo and Steele have not stopped calling me since the discovery.

[IronCanine]

Sometimes the mail is more fun to open than other times.

[IronCanine]

Back from the machine shop...and about 5 pounds lighter.

[IronCanine]

Running out of bolts to turn....final clean up and repairs and then off to powder coater tomorrow.

[Blown06]

Nice, it's sad that we get so excited over the mail. But they look so good!

[DeadheadNM]

Good deal!

[SpankyDozer]

what is your assessment of the reproduction rear panels? Are those the panels Southern Kentucky is offering? $700 each is a handfull.

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by SpankyDozer

what is your assessment of the reproduction rear panels? Are those the panels Southern Kentucky is offering? $700 each is a handfull.

They worked well for us. When we started pulling it apart, it became apparent that we really didn't have a choice. I did get them from South Kentucky Classics...mainly because I needed them when I needed them and they had them in stock and could ship right then. I saw some when they first came out at a swap meet in Moultrie, GA(different vendor). At the time I didn't think I'd ever need them and was on the hunt for OE patch panels. I feel certain the cash price at that swap meet would have been less than $700.

They're not a skin, it's the complete side. It has all the structure and they pre-fit pretty easily. The biggest problem we had with reproduction parts were a lower tailgate scrub (that took a bit to work out, maybe more yet) and mating the bed patch with the front of the rear deck. At the time the Blazer deck wasn't available and the bed patch was narrower at the wheel wells than the original.

...in short, I hate to give any reproduction sheet metal part a glowing endorsement because they can be so variable from case to case. But these worked very well for us...and were ultimately cheaper and less time consuming than extensive grafting.

[SpankyDozer]

thanks for the feedback. i'm gonna need a set as well but was hesitant because they haven't been on the market that long. You're the first that i've seen use them. Your progress is great. definitely subscribed!

[OLDYELLOW]

Can't wait to see some more pictures

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by OLDYELLOW

Can't wait to see some more pictures

Hopefully get some next week. Nothing too interesting right now. Spent the weekend taking apart the ends of the Dana so I could get the ball joints pressed out. Just waiting on things right now. Radiator, gas tank, transmission and transfer case in the shop. A load of stuff getting black phosphated or zinc-ed. Frame, rims and a boat load of other stuff at the powder coater. Motor is supposed to get here on Tuesday...brake lines, fuel lines, springs, steering...all hopefully here next week too. If we're lucky and things time out right(mainly the frame getting back from powder coat), it could be a productive week with a few fun pics.

[IronCanine]

Frame's not going to be back from powder coat until next Tuesday. Motor came in today. We haven't gotten it out of the crate yet...but can't wait. Lots of other parts boxes stacking up, so a lot on deck. I was able to pick up the powder coated rims today and hopefully will get tires on tomorrow and ball joints pressed in the freshly painted spindles. Then we should be ready for the frame when it does arrive. In the meantime...here are a couple of pics. Got the clear zinc and black phosphate stuff back today. One of the best values of the build. Awesome result, reasonable cost and fast turn around. I would definitely recommend Kaer coatings...this stuff looks even better in real life....I wish I'd sent them every nut and bolt we took off. One of the problems we've had is getting the correct size captured washer paired with the appropriate diameter and length body bolt (when buying new bolts).

[Blown06]

Those parts look fantastic.

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by Blown06

Those parts look fantastic.

I think so too...and could not be happier. Just to drive it home, this is what they looked like when I was boxing them up to ship out there. I took these pics to get the quote. The upper pic is obviously the zinc stuff and the lower pic is the phosphate stuff.

[DeadheadNM]

Nice!! Isn't that a great way to go! I'm tempted to harvest nuts/bolts from salvage yards to have re-coated in advance for future builds. I so wish I'd have done the zinc coating

I'll def have some zinc pieces done. You'll be pleased with the action on the hood hinges.

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

Nice!! Isn't that a great way to go! I'm tempted to harvest nuts/bolts from salvage yards to have re-coated in advance for future builds. I so wish I'd have done the zinc coating

I'll def have some zinc pieces done. You'll be pleased with the action on the hood hinges.

Oh, it's all very nice. Thanks for putting me on them Pete. They were fast and great. The black phosphate stuff was top notch, but the things that were the coolest were the movables on the zinc stuff...like the ball bearings in the ash tray, the spring and hinges on the hood latch...and my gosh all the hatch hardware. It looks better than new...and I sent em gungy stuff as you saw.

[IronCanine]

Look what a little careful dissection revealed under the firewall grease pencil markings designating the model and just below the factory RED paint....I got a fever and the only prescription is more factory grease pencil marks.

[IronCanine]

On the driver's side too.

[IronCanine]

Parts arriving everyday...got some good stuff from Wes at Classic Heartbeat today, but the weekend won't be quite as busy since the frame return date got pushed back to next week. How about some firewall trauma repair pics in the meantime. That patch panel came from the same selfless 1970 GMC 1500 long bed that offered up our frame rail patch.