71 Blazer "Finishing Touches"

[sourkraut]

looking great! what kind of liner did you use on the tubs?

[VA72C10]

Originally Posted by sourkraut

looking great! what kind of liner did you use on the tubs?

It is the duplicolor version. The tub was done by Line-X according to the PO. I only had the four inner fenders left to do so I didn't want to buy a bunch. Lays down nice with two coats. I am really happy with how it looks and it is very elastic. The little circles of liner from the holes I taped over on the inner fender are nice and flexible. I will hopefully get the camera and be able to post the pictures tonight.

[bigblazerboy]

looks good man. who did the weldin of the body pannels?

[VA72C10]

Originally Posted by bigblazerboy

looks good man. who did the weldin of the body pannels?

the PO did the ones we took out

Jason of Pop's Chop Shop did the welding and is helping with the rest of it including the body work, paint and final assembly. He's a small shop now but has turned out a nice hot rod and some nice bikes and parts and overall is just a great mechanic. Very glad I found him off craigslist.

[sourkraut]

Originally Posted by VA72C10

It is the duplicolor version. The tub was done by Line-X according to the PO. I only had the four inner fenders left to do so I didn't want to buy a bunch. Lays down nice with two coats. I am really happy with how it looks and it is very elastic. The little circles of liner from the holes I taped over on the inner fender are nice and flexible. I will hopefully get the camera and be able to post the pictures tonight.

cool, i had gotten one of thise duplicolor bed armour kits. so i am glad you liked yours, thanks

[VA72C10]

Well, catching up to where we are today....July 1st came and went....but we're not too far away from being completed....

shot of the tailgate "guts" to go in my new gate....original had more rust than we originally thought once we started cleaning it up....



picture of the interior now...seats are at the upholstry shop....


Jason did some final welding on the repop door that was cut down...since these pics he's filed these down but they looked so nice just welded....

[VA72C10]

Started working on cleaning and painting the interior and small latch parts. It continues to amaze me how nice this truck and its' parts are. Hardly a hint of light surface rust on the seat tracks for almost 40 year old parts in a vehicle that has a removeable top and is 4x4....crazy.....

[VA72C10]

After paint





Seat backs were coming out great.....



Until I decided I wanted one more coat for durability....I waited 24 hours...but not the 48they recommend.....so I got to sand them back down and will wait a day to be safe before spraying them because of this.....

[VA72C10]

wow, sorry for the poor quality pictures...the rest of the parts are super smooth and glossy....the seat backs are a wrinkle finish

Here's the shift boot for the 205 transfer case shifter... in progress.... from raw steel with machine marks...




to current....machine marks gone...just finished up with 600 grit and going to start polishing it up....

[VA72C10]

Here's the other parts I did....they all came out nice. Metallic silver to offset the blue and black...

[VA72C10]

And finally how it sits now....waiting for primer...

[VA72C10]

I got another coat of the bedliner on the front inners so they are done along with the rears....will get pics of that soon. Came out very nice!

Now to paint the engine side of the inners in a gloss black to match the rest of the underhood parts. Then they will be installed and taped off with the rest of the engine bay before paint.

[mcbassin]

Very nice progress! you are rocking on this one!

[bigblazerboy]

Originally Posted by VA72C10

the PO did the ones we took out

Jason of Pop's Chop Shop did the welding and is helping with the rest of it including the body work, paint and final assembly. He's a small shop now but has turned out a nice hot rod and some nice bikes and parts and overall is just a great mechanic. Very glad I found him off craigslist.

wheres he located incase i find a first gen?

[VA72C10]

Originally Posted by bigblazerboy

wheres he located incase i find a first gen?

I'll send a PM to you. You're welcome to stop by and check it out.

[VA72C10]

couple minor update pics from tonight....

Sanded down and repainted the metal seat backs

Here's the inners with the bedliner inside....going to paint the outside gloss tomorrow or Monday.

Got PVC to build a temporary paint booth....put it together and the size is perfect....but the 1" PVC is about at its' strength limit now and once we add the plastic any wind would be trouble, so I went out and bought 2" PVC pipe and fittings. I will take some pics and do a brief writeup on it for others considering this. Should have under 150 in it and will be able to re-use most of it.


Painted parts
I think there were some paint fumes hanging around


Here's the inners

[VA72C10]

So the inners have the bedliner on the inside....now the outside needed done....

Finished those up and sprayed the new hood hinges.....

scuffed up primer vs painted...


half way painted

done


and dry after the dust settled....

[VA72C10]

got the last of the small parts painted tonight....

as I mentioned...this truck continues to amaze me...no surface rust on any of the seat or seatbelt bolts....





then touched up the last undercarriage parts that I wanted with bedliner
This is the very rear of the truck....like I said...I continued to be surprised on how nice this thing is...

[VA72C10]

well, that last pic doesn't actually do justice to how clean the underside is...it's a little dusty right now but amazing shape...

the big project for the evening was getting the paint booth together...the first attempt was 1" and just not sturdy enough...



Ended up getting 2" PVC. Used 11 pieces and cut three in half at 5' tall. Combined with the 45 degree fittings the peak is at 11 1/2 feet. It's a little over 20' long and about 15' wide.
Here is the assembly process....ended up gluing the main joints....can always cut and use couplings later to re-use this.


One end


Center fitting


Used old cat litter containers filled with sand for the base for stability....put the lids on and cut the holes slightly smaller for a tight fit. Has worked great so far.


This thing is BIG

[VA72C10]

Started applying the plastic sheeting


Good old duct tape





And here it is awaiting the ends and a door....did I mention it is BIG

[sourkraut]

that is a nice paint booth! i plan on doing the same in half of my garage when ever it gets to that point??? is the truck in the back ground yours also, looks nice!

[oldblue1968chevy]

wow lol HUGE!

looks nice, im suprized you of all people dont have the hookups to a paint booth? I cant wait to see the blazer in color! Love the longbed in the back.

[mcbassin]

I like the paint booth! I actually just finished setting up my friends booth in my shop. It is somewhat flimsy, 3/4" pvc. But, since it's inside I think it will work out okay, I will find out early in the morning. Laying paint on the 86 project.

Hope to see some color on your blazer pretty quick too

[VA72C10]

Originally Posted by sourkraut

that is a nice paint booth! i plan on doing the same in half of my garage when ever it gets to that point??? is the truck in the back ground yours also, looks nice!

Thanks...we were going to do it in the garage, but the lift is just too much in the way to give good room to walk around it.
The truck in the background WAS mine....now It's Jason...the guy who's helping me with the blazer. Check out the link to the LWB patina build in my signature line below. I will keep updating the thread as he/we continue to work on it. The cool thing is he said I can drive it whenever I want still.

Originally Posted by oldblue1968chevy

wow lol HUGE!

looks nice, im suprized you of all people dont have the hookups to a paint booth? I cant wait to see the blazer in color! Love the longbed in the back.

Thanks...I checked but no open booths....know a couple guys but the companies just invested in new booths for water based paint and aren't allowing side work any more

Originally Posted by mcbassin

I like the paint booth! I actually just finished setting up my friends booth in my shop. It is somewhat flimsy, 3/4" pvc. But, since it's inside I think it will work out okay, I will find out early in the morning. Laying paint on the 86 project.

Hope to see some color on your blazer pretty quick too

Plan is primer tomorrow and then block sanding....then sealer, paint, and clear Thursday. We'll see.

Painted a few more small pieces today and got a good part of the truck taped off. Jason's going to finish taping it in the morning and then shoot it with primer.

[Slick67]

Wow! It's been a long time since I looked in on this one. You rock!! It is really looking great, wish I lived closer so I could come by and give you a hand!