Another OLD BLUE Build Thread - 71 Chevy

[OldBlue71Chevy]

Guess that wasn't the last of my lame update.

Assembled one of my breather/overflow cannisters. The only problem is, it is kinda tall, so it will take some thought on where to mount it.




The Wife's mom brought over a bunch of useless crap from their house that was the Wife's when she was a child. Needless to say I scored a sweet set of fuzzy dice and the rest went in the trash :mr-t:




/2nd lame update

[OldBlue71Chevy]

Well, that brings us up to date for the past year. Hope some of the info helps somebody out.

If any of it doesn't make sense, you can see the full build thread HERE

[OldBlue71Chevy]

Unnecessary-ness


Waay more clearance under with the hitch gone. I plan on integrating a receiver when I rebuild the rear crossmember.

Guess I should have let it get a little more empty :homer:


Temprary relocation. I didn't get it fastened down yet, got rained out a couple of times.


Picked up my switches from a local electronics supply co. total cost ~$10. Gotta go get some really small bolts now.


I didn't realize how freakin big that fuel tank is, it takes up half the bed. I'm going to have to look into other options, either a smaller tank or put it back under but re-do the brackets so it sits higher up in the frame.

[Tinkermc]

COULD not help but notice you did not mention where you are located and how many post from the 19th? Truck is comming along nicely. I like the idea of driving it while you fix a lot of stuff and you deserve KUDOS for the wiring nightmare that you got through. I did think the customer service on the wiring kit was awesome.will check in later

[bonnieclyde100]

try some pop rivets for that switch

[OldBlue71Chevy]

Originally Posted by bonnieclyde100

try some pop rivets for that switch

Got some little brass bolts from ACE Hardware. Didn't get a chance to install them yet.


Ol' Blue went to her first car show yesterday. It was just a cruise in, but if there were awards given I think I could have gotten "Worst Paint" and "Tallest Vehicle" :homer:


The Ol' lady and the Mistress (I won't say which is which)




Finally got around to installing new carrier bearings and replaced one u-joint for the D60. The other joint was already a Spicer and in pretty good condition.


Finally sold my ProForm carb, soooooooooo I might have just ordered one of these for the 14 bolt:


4wheel parts is having a weekend sale of 20% off until monday, it is a pretty good deal.

I was going to use the money on some ruffstuff leafspring perches/plates etc... Guess I'm going to have to build it all now

[OldBlue71Chevy]

No updates on the truck but Gertrude helped me build a cart for my tig/stick/plaz yesterday. I still have to add the bottom shelf and something to hold the bottle a little tighter.

[OldBlue71Chevy]

Added a custom skid plate in case I encounter any harsh terrain in the garage :homer:

The valve setup makes it so I can switch between argon and compressed air without any tools.


Worked on the D60 some more. Installed my new Bobby Long HDPE spindle bearings.

I did notice though that the OD of the bearing is 1/8" bigger than the original copper bearing, which makes the lip of the metal dust cover hit on the bearing.

Should I just run it as is and let the plastic get a groove in it or should I take the time to grind down the metal dust cover?

[OldBlue71Chevy]

Just got off the phone with Bobby and he told me that there was a small batch about a year ago when I ordered these that had the wrong OD on them. They are supposed to fit inside of the lip on the dust cover.

He offered to send me a new set, but since these are fine in every other way, I will just stick'em in the bench grinder to knock the extra 1/8" off.

Thanks for the quick response and great customer service.




So this is completely unrelated but too cool not to share.

The Gumball 3000 stopped in KC over the weekend. I managed to get pics of the cars before they rolled out this morning :smokin:









Supposedly they are headed to New Mexico today

[OldBlue71Chevy]

Well, another lame update.

I finally finished my MBA classes on Wednesday after almost 2 years. It is a really weird feeling not having homework looming in the back of my head all the time :rasta:


My locker from 4wp is backordered indefinitely. Not sure yet if I am going to cancel the order, but I am not very happy about it.


Ordered a new sleeve for my Hobart 180. Last time I was welding, the lead had to be almost straight for the wire to even come out. I originally thought I had to buy a whole new gun assembly ($130+), but the sleeve is on ebay for $12 + shipping


Hope to get some wrench time in this weekend.

[OldBlue71Chevy]

Since I no longer have school occupying a large part of my limited brain capacity and time. It is amazing what I can get done in a normal day now.

Most of the stuff I worked on was on the house so no fun there.

I did drive the ol' girl around though and decided it is time...for her to go under the knife :evil:

I hate to cut up a classic, but you only live once. Aftermarket sheet metal is readily available :flipoff2:

Came across this sweeeet cage build on a '67 race truck. I only wish I could do as good of a job as he did. Sweet '67

Before pics:

19" to the bottom of the t-case

23.5" to the bottom of the frame under the pax door on 37's (I pulled out the old CrAzYBlAzE pics and the blazer was 24" to the bottom of the frame on 40's with a flat belly)

Hope to lose ~3" at the frame and gain ~3" at the bottom of the t-case.


~39.5 bottom of tailgate


~12.5 from top of axle to bottom of frame

Rides like a brick...check out that leaf pack...


My helper wanted in on some of the action. This shows how many holes and sketchy brackets are on the part of the frame that I want to cut off.


Hopefully if the truck ends up lower, it will have better driveline angles front and rear. I also hope to raise the rear of the t-case to be at least even with the bottom of the frame. The t-case/tranny could go up a good 5-6" and still not contact the bottom of the body.

The exhaust is pretty much has got to go. But, by raising the t-case, the exhaust will be able to route up higher and will fix some of space conflicts.


There is definitely some trimming in order...




Lots of potential here






The plans:

1. Cut off frame a little behind the rear axle :grinpimp:
2. build new rear frame out of 2x4 C or Box (haven't decided yet)
3. Remove rear 14 and put it under the knife (welded tubes,truss,locker, beefed diff cover, new shock mounts)
4. Mount and install Chevy 63's
5. Make some Uber bling flat biller desert racing shackles
6. Sweet bump stops (sweetness depends on budget at the time)
7. Move rear springs up front
8. Throw locked D60 up front
9. Sweet tube/plate rear bumper
10. Reinstall fuel tank under rear frame (since the new frame ID will be wider, the tank will fit up higher)
11. Super bling tank skid plate
12. Ummm, didn't get that far yet

The plan is to lower the truck, give it more flex, make it ride better, and allow me to beat the crap out of it without breaking. Simple huh?

[67cheby]

Great progress !
Posted via Mobile Device

[OldBlue71Chevy]

Think I'm in over my head? ...naaa



What about now? ...maybe :flipoff2:



Now? ...I think so





Taking a lunch break now. It is getting HOT real fast. I am going to close the garage doors and open the a/c vent while I am making all of the brackets that I should have made before I cut anything off...

The tail end of the frame is going to end up being 2x3" box by 3/16" wall because I have 25ft of it in the garage already. I couldn't believe how much the factory frame flexed when I was beating on it trying to get the spring bolts out (which still aren't out yet).

I knew this day off from work was going to get me into trouble

[OldBlue71Chevy]

I am WORN OUT!



Relief cuts


Old and new. I will cap the ends off when I build the bumper onto the new frame.




KISS Method. Simple and light.






If I would have bought premade brackets the springs would already be done, but of course I had to choose the hard way.

I gotta pick up some new u-bolts and stuff. Hopefully I can work on it again sometime soon.

[OldBlue71Chevy]

Got new bushings in the 63's, and am about half done spending entirely too long feathering the ends of the leaves.



I'm curious to see if it helps out at all



~3" lower in the rear and almost out of BGTL. In this pic it is sitting on the 63's but I have not made the front hangers yet.


Still have A LOT more to do but at least it is almost sitting on its own weight.

I am super excited now, it should turn out sweet.

[OldBlue71Chevy]

Bunch of updates....




I did something today! WooHoo

ORB of traction



Leaf spring brackets and reinforcements. The plazma saved A LOT of time on this one.





Not quite as pretty as some, but I would say it will probably work.



Gettin closer...

[OldBlue71Chevy]

Nothing too exciting, but I did get a lot more done today.

With it sitting on the springs it is 3.25" lower at the bottom of the tailgate and 2.5" lower between the axle and the frame.


I'm ready to go to Cali :mr-t:



I was about to tack up my leafspring brackets and didn't even get one tack out before I ran out of wire :homer:

My WFO stuff just shipped today, looks like I won't get it until friday

[OldBlue71Chevy]

Originally Posted by DMANbluesfreak

I can imagine welding a giant steel ball would be extremely satisfying. How long did the fugger take to cool?

I have no idea how long it took. I waited for it to cool enough that I could drop it back into the differential and bolt it together. We did use the IR temp gun on it though, and at the point we measured it the whole ball was over 700*



Progress today:



Part of the reason that I post small achievements are because it is good to realize just how long projects take. I worked for about 2 hours today and only got a couple of things measured and some leaf spring brackets cut out that still need another hour of cleanup/grinding/welding before they are ready to weld to the truck.

The posts that show a stock truck in one picture and a couple of months later it is a full tube rock buggy are cool... but for the rest of us, it takes years.

[OldBlue71Chevy]

Got a couple more hours in today





Gotta make mini-skid plates for the bottom and they are ready to weld onto the truck.

[OldBlue71Chevy]

Got almost everything welder'd up. Thanks to Jadon coming by and helping yesterday, we got a lot done.

Got all of the leaves feathered and painted with graphite lube on all wear surfaces. Gotta build some spring retainers though.






Now I just have to finish building the axle, shock mounts, limit straps, bump stops, etc...

[OldBlue71Chevy]

Got some stuff done today. Those welded on cast leaf spring mounts are a bugger. Check out the pile of grinding dust No black boogers though, respirators work.

Also shaved the diff almost flat. My grinder was hating life today.



Not my proudest weld ever, but I think it'll hold. There was some undercoating or something down in the crack that I couldn't get out with the grinder and it kept getting into my weld.



Pre heated, welded, Post heated and tucked in for the night


Leaf mounts, truss, pinion guard, etc are going on next.

[OldBlue71Chevy]

Diff shave, even shaved the WFO pinion guard




Made some leaf spring retainers. These are exactly what I had on the blazer and they worked pretty well.



I made a set for the front, but due to it being kind of close to the frame I decided to wait to weld those on until I flex it a couple of times.

[OldBlue71Chevy]

Worked about 12 hours today and got pretty much done.


The WFO axle kits are awesome. Went right together.



I got some s10 bumpstops from a buddy but did not get the cups that they go into... so I made some.


Bend the tabs in to retain the bumpstop




Had some old f250 front shock brackets from the blazer when I cut the frame off. So I cleaned them up and re-purposed them. I think it came out pretty well, the first hole always hurts the most :flipoff2:


These were the same shocks that were on it. They originally only had 2" of shaft showing. Once I took them off and measured them, I found out that they are actually 13" travel. To get the full use of them, I had to make some modifications...






I'm ganna put the exhaust on tomorrow and take it for a spin. Open headers on this thing is nuts.


The only things I didn't get done were the limit straps because tractor supply only had 24" straps which are waaay too long. I usually try to use axle straps and weld washers inside of the rings so I have a bolt hole, it is much cheaper this way.



I also need new bushings for my shocks, but apparently the only things you can buy at the autoparts store anymore are LED's and air fresheners...

[OldBlue71Chevy]

Didn't get a chance to put the exhaust back on or drive it today.

I did spend 3 hours sweeping up grinding dust and organizing the garage though...

I still need to build some kind of crossmember in towards the rear. I still need to decide if I am going to try to put the gas tank back under it.







I think it might fit in the garage. Now all I need to do is throw the d60 under it that is in its parking spot.

[OldBlue71Chevy]

Just got back last night from a week in Costa Rica :smokin:. Awesome, but I was ready to do work.

Cut the side pipes off so the mufflers dump just before the axle. It sounds completely different, and in my opinion better.

Took it for a drive and the difference in ride quality is amazing. Night and day from what it was before. The front is still stiff, but it is next on my list.

Proof that it actually left the driveway:







Love the welded rear so far. It was raining and the truck couldn't hook up to save it's life in any gear. These tires might not last very long :homer:

No wheel hop so far, we will have to see how it does when it is dry out. The blazer never had a traction bar in the rear with the same setup and rarely had hop.

To do stuff:
Buy SRW d60 hubs (ouch)
Raise/build new transmission xmember and build new engine xmember (hopefully flat belly)
build new spring mounts and throw the d60 under the front with the 52's
Bump stops/limit straps for the front suspension
Limit strap the rear suspension

Future to do stuff:
Huge tranny cooler
E-fans
Trans temp gauge