"Slowly but Surely" Big J's build thread...

[Big J]

couple more pics. The last one is of Saluke, the shop mascot. Thats his chair, he'll make you move if your sittin' in it when he comes in.

[jaros44sr]

Nice work on the dash...the problem I see, or don't see is the step up. There is no metal behind the 'B' post. That looks more like a rip than a hole.Possibly at some time that 'B' post was shoved to the outside of the vehicle, maybe an accident? How did your doors line up?
I had to replace the metal behind it, but I have no idea what it was supposed to look like since mine was gone. Where I cut my 'B' post there are still spot welds to a 3/4" flange that is attached to the step up. What you can't see in the pic is a very small offset to the front, it makes that area alot cleaner for lining up to the 'B' post

How does it look from the back side?

Possibly like this

[5150]

Great song, but then again everything on that show makes me about run off the road.

Donnie Baker is my hero Swear to god he is.

[Big J]

I think my favorite song on that show is "have ya ever had one of those days"....

[Big J]

I got some work done tonight. Cleaned up the inside where the dash bolts up and sprayed some paint on. Did some trimming on the new dash and it fit like a glove. Welded it up and ground it down...... Done! Now onto the drivers floor.

[Big J]

Finally felt like working on the Blazer today. I figured since I can get to the inside of the box it was time to mount up the seats. I still need to weld some nuts to some plate then to the under side but I've got the hard part done. Getting them situated and holes drilled, lol... I'm going to go ahead and make up some mounting plates for the roll bar and weld those in too. I finally remembered to take out my sun visors too, lol. I've been meaning to do that ever since I started but for some reason kept forgetting. They came out easy, NO stripped nuts thankfully. Someone was wondering what else we worked on in the shop so I'll post a couple pics of those too. I also got a new toy for Christmas, well it was more of a gift card that got spent on what I wanted, a 14" metal chop saw I took a pic of the drivers seat slid forward with the back tilted up. I didn't try but does it look like enough room for someone to squeeze through?

[Big J]

Some more pics.

[Big J]

Fabbed up some seat mounts today. I just took some big flat washers and welded a nut to one side, then drilled some holes in the floor surrounding the bolt hole for the seat. Then I bolted the washer/nut in place and welded it to the floor. Turned out pretty sweet. I still have a little more grinding to do but it doesn't have to be perfect. I'm coating the floor in rubber.... I filled in the other holes too. Lots of holes, lol.

[5150]

yeah, by Paul Thorn. Great Song.

When you coming back down to Bowling Green??? Got your money built back up yet??

[Big J]

Originally Posted by 5150

yeah, by Paul Thorn. Great Song.

When you coming back down to Bowling Green??? Got your money built back up yet??

Nope, no dough, Christmas has tapped the feed the Blazer fund. lol.... I do have some deals that I'm working on, if those come through then I'll have the money for paint and the rest of the parts I need, hopefully. It'll be a few months before we make it back down that way. I'll be sure to holler at ya before we make the trip.

[Alvin]

Looks good Jason! Glad to see you're making some real progress.. I just bolted wheels on mine

[Big J]

Originally Posted by Alvin

Looks good Jason! Glad to see you're making some real progress.. I just bolted wheels on mine

Yeah, progress rocks.......
I checked it out, looks sweet with those wheels, gotta love it!

[Big J]

I feel like crap but I couldn't stay away from the garage, lol..... I say again, being sick sucks! Went over for awhile last night and this morning. Got some metal cut out and a piece ready to weld in. I cleaned out the rocker box too. The rear part had 2" of dirt just crammed in tight. I had to take a screw driver and bust it up before the shop vac would even touch it. I'm thinking about putting some kind of filter or screen over the holes before I close it all in to prevent dirt from building up in there again.

[Yukon Jack]

Your progress continues to look great!

[DURRTY]

Nice work. progress is fun stuff!

I don't know about welding with a magnet in the that close to the joint but they are right over the joint so it looks like they are just to hold them in place to tack. Tacking them in place with a magnet is fine, thats what those particular magnets are for. I have used them for years at work and at home.

The welding arc creates its own magnetic field so having another magnet near would likely pull the arc out of place. I'm going to get the answer though I'm interested to know.

[Big J]

I'm getting close to finishing up the drivers side floor and outer rocker. So I had a few minutes last night and cut up those nice truck doors I got from Alvin. Its not to hard to turn a truck door into a blazer door, just a few cuts. I may do a quick how to thread on it.

[Big J]

Got some work done. Brushed on some Por-15 inside the box. Welded up the cab/floor support, outer floor, kick panel, front pillar, the big square support/plate that goes under the floor and on top of the floor support. I still have some touch up to do but alls well. I got ahead of myself and tossed the door on. Everyone knows how easy that is to do by yourself. I wanted to see what the outer rocker looked like with the door. Well the door hinges are of course worn out so tomorrow I'll be pullin' the door to rebuild the hinges. I should be able to finish up the floor too. Maybe even finish turning the truck door into a blazer door......

[jamie72]

looking good j, keep it up i want to ride in it!!!!

[Big J]

Originally Posted by jamie72

looking good j, keep it up i want to ride in it!!!!

You'll probably be the first..... Maybe after the wife anyways, lol. None of this would've been possible if it hadn't been for you getting me started or her letting me start

Chevyman63 I hope I don't need anymore than J is sending but if I do I'll for sure holler at ya.

[5150]

you got any more money saved up??? coming to Bowling Green. I think I'm headed up that way this weekend.

[49m]

Lookin good

[Big J]

Worked on it a little today. Took my seats out and put them back upstairs. I got my bed metal from jaros44 this past week so now I can start on the bed floor. I welded in the patch behind the drivers door. It came out good, although I can't find my sanding blocks so the skim coat will have to wait. I shot some primer on for now. I've been working on the front grill cover for neighbors allis for awhile now. It was in 3 pieces, lol. We fiberglassed it back together then I put a thin coat of filler on it. The only rattle can color we could find was chevy orange...... It came out ok... I was going to spend some more time sanding but neighbor said, "paint it, I'll probably break it anyway", lol...

[jaros44sr]

Nice work, how'd you like working with those clamps, any easier? Does everyone have an old plastic milk crate in their workshop?

[Big J]

Originally Posted by jaros44sr

Nice work, how'd you like working with those clamps, any easier? Does everyone have an old plastic milk crate in their workshop?

The clamps rock! They hold the panels nice and even. I got them on Ebay cheap, way cheaper than eastwood. 4 sets of 4 for like 40 bucks shipped, I think. Yes, I love the milk crates. They make great crap holders/transporters, step stools, paint stands, etc. I've probably got 5-10 of them laying around. Oh I forgot, they make a great seat in our trucks when oem isn't available, lol.... I drove mine several times sittin' on one.

[Big J]

I had a few minutes tonight to do some rust removal. Something funny, kinda..... I was cutting across the floor toward the passenger door using a new 4" disc that I picked up cheap. It seemed ok for a second then it just wasn't cutting worth a crap. Real slow progress,lol... Talk about a brain fart. I cut into the bracing under the floor...... All the way through and across the top,lol. No big deal as I'll just weld it up, funny stuff though. Turns out the new cheap wiz wheels are ok...... I guess ya had to be there but I actually was laughing out loud. I mean I stopped cutting, checked out the wheel and the die grinder and was like what the fudge is wrong with this thing . Then looked down at the cut and said wtf, lol.... Oh well, heres some pics...