Jeep Trailblazer SS

[Ol Blue K20]

Looking good.

[Palf70Step]

Nice work on the filler. Enjoying watching you go thru this. Did you get it so the anti-theft would let it start again yet?

[gottattooz]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Nice work on the filler. Enjoying watching you go thru this. Did you get it so the anti-theft would let it start again yet?

Not yet. I pulled out all of the computers and ecus while I'm welding so I don't burn anything up. I think it's a little more in depth than just cycling the key. I lost power to the front seats and everything. It might be a ground issue.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

My new aluminum double cross flow radiator came in today. If you'll notice the inlet and outlet are on the same size. Novak-adapters.com makes radiators for jeeps with ls conversions. Coolant goes from right to left in the top half, trickles down the left side and them goes left to right on the bottom half. And they make brackets so it fits in the factory Jeep location.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

Well the new radiator didn't fit. It's 2 inches too wide. I was trying to mock everything up to see how close the radiator is to the water pump and go from there, but that's on the back burner for now.

Instead, I welded up the wiper cowl panel and painted it.

-Josh

[Ol Blue K20]

Sucks about the radiator but the cowl is looking good.

[gottattooz]

Well, novak admitted they sent me the wrong radiator and stepped up. They sent me a return label to ship back the wrong one, and then sent me the correct one very quickly. It's so pretty!

I finally got motivated enough to make another cowl to cowl cover. I took my time this time and did hundreds of tack welded to keep the warping to a minimum.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

There were a couple spots around the windshield frame that were rotted away, so I did my best to patch and repair those sections.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

I mounted the dash speakers. I used a hole saw just a little bigger than the magnet, plugged it in and secured it through the pad into the bottom plastic support of the dash pad. I also mounted the drl light sensor between the defrost vents.

I had to cut of the Mount tabs on the back of the wiper cowl grille because i had to weld up the holes. So I made new mounts to maintain the proper mounted height of the grille.

I squared the body up where I wanted it and I welded the cowl to cowl panel in permanently. We have a few tubes of Sikaflex sealant left over from building the garages, so I used it to seal the seams where I welded the covers. I thought the sealant was black, but it's very gray. I'll paint it black later.

-Josh

[Ol Blue K20]

It's coming together!! Looking good.

[gottattooz]

I painted the cowl cover with epoxy paint. Then it's on to the inner rocker panels.

But first, i had to get the Jeep out from between the posts of the lift. I couldn't open the back doors but a few inches. I can't put the transmission in neutral without battery power, and I've got the ecm and tcm out So I don't fry anything when I'm welding. So, summit racing to the rescue. I bought a set of wheel dollies to push it around the shop.

I drilled holes in the lip of the top off the rocker panel so I could weld the inner and outer panels together. I got the top rail and the bottom of the rocker welded up on the driver's side. I need to weld the floor Pan to the rocker and then repeat the same oh the passenger side.

-Josh

[Scott2]

Originally Posted by gottattooz

I painted the cowl cover with epoxy paint. Then it's on to the inner rocker panels.

But first, i had to get the Jeep out from between the posts of the lift. I couldn't open the back doors but a few inches. I can't put the transmission in neutral without battery power, and I've got the ecm and tcm out So I don't fry anything when I'm welding. So, summit racing to the rescue. I bought a set of wheel dollies to push it around the shop.

I drilled holes in the lip of the top off the rocker panel so I could weld the inner and outer panels together. I got the top rail and the bottom of the rocker welded up on the driver's side. I need to weld the floor Pan to the rocker and then repeat the same oh the passenger side.



-Josh

If you can get underneath you should be able to disconnect the shift cable and shift your trans manually? I’ve done it on my 4l80e and you probably have a 4l60e which should be the same.

This is a cool project! I’m doing an LS swap into a ‘79 J10.

Question - the cowl is farther forward - firewall too? How does everything fit at the radiator and grill then? Seems like things are pushed forward a lot but probably I’m not understanding it all yet. Regardless, impressive work!

[gottattooz]

[QUOTEQuestion - the cowl is farther forward - firewall too? How does everything fit at the radiator and grill then? Seems like things are pushed forward a lot but probably I’m not understanding it all yet. Regardless, impressive work![/QUOTE]

The trailblazer cowl actually hangs over the back of the engine. It's not wide open like on the older cars. I lined up the wheels in the front fender well and I was amazed that the front seam of the front door openings lined up perfectly.

After cutting the front core support for the trailblazer off, i had to trim back the inner fenders about 2 inches to fit the Jeep core support. I haven't fitted the front end with the new radiator yet, so I don't know the specifics of upper and lower hose lengths or how close the radiator will be to the snout on the water pump, but I'll make those adjustments when I get there. It's definitely a lot tighter than the trailblazer core support.i cut off a few inches of the front frame so it wouldn't stick out past the grille. I'll post my findings and solutions when I get there.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

The Inner and outer rocker panels and the floor pan are all one piece now.

-Josh

[Scott2]

Originally Posted by gottattooz

I painted the cowl cover with epoxy paint. Then it's on to the inner rocker panels.

But first, i had to get the Jeep out from between the posts of the lift. I couldn't open the back doors but a few inches. I can't put the transmission in neutral without battery power, and I've got the ecm and tcm out So I don't fry anything when I'm welding. So, summit racing to the rescue. I bought a set of wheel dollies to push it around the shop.

I drilled holes in the lip of the top off the rocker panel so I could weld the inner and outer panels together. I got the top rail and the bottom of the rocker welded up on the driver's side. I need to weld the floor Pan to the rocker and then repeat the same oh the passenger side.

-Josh

Duplicate

[Madkidd007]

Technically it’s a 4l70e but all the same geometry. As far as not being able to get it out of park. It’s just the interlock mechanism locking the shifter itself, pop the trim around the shifter up and there is a button beside the shifter itself you can press and it will release the shifter as long as you are pressing the plastic button. I’m sure you can YouTube it.

[gottattooz]

Thanks for the transmission cable info. My other issue is that the front wheels point outward after replacing the front suspension. I can roll it about 2 feet and it'll roll back a foot when I let go. I was going to loosen the lower control arms and use a ratchet strap to pull the front of the wheels in a little to correct the alignment, but I haven't gotten to it yet. But I am stoked about the progress once been making.

-Josh

[Ol Blue K20]

Looking good!

[gottattooz]

I welded in the right rear fender well filler panel today. I think it came out really well.

-Josh

[Ol Blue K20]

It's going to be sealed up soon.

[67ChevyRedneck]

This is coming out so cool. You're going to have such an awesome/fun driver.

These things have gone nuts in price. A clean, nice paint 80's-91 that's ready to drive goes for 15-20K, that's just a nice driver quality one.

[gottattooz]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

These things have gone nuts in price. A clean, nice paint 80's-91 that's ready to drive goes for 15-20K, that's just a nice driver quality one.

Yeah, they were pretty iconic in their day. If you watch movies like sixteen candles where the family had a really nice house with a great paying job, they always had a grand Wagoneer in the driveway. Of course mine's going to drive like a trailblazer, but with 395hp/400 tq, awd 4-wheel disc brakes and the fattest sway bars I've ever seen, I'll be ok with the aggressive handling versus riding on a cloud luxury of the Wagoneer.

-Josh

[67ChevyRedneck]

The one that got me was "Problem Child". That beautiful medium blue one John Ritter's character drove.

I remember telling my dad he should buy one when I was a kid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgRYZBc4NM0

[gottattooz]

I finished the left fender well and the stinger on my welder broke. I guess the wire sleeve is trying to come out the nozzle, so i ordered a replacement.

I went to Wal-Mart and Lowe's with the piece i cut out for the fuel door to try and match the blue paint. In the picture, the light blue is what Wal-Mart came up with. If you look just to the right of my thumb, there looks to be a blister in the paint. That's actually the Lowe's paint. I dipped the handle of the brush in the paint and dabbed it on the metal. When it dried, it took me a few seconds to find it.

I scuffed and painted the fuel door. I set it in place for the picture. It's definitely in the realm of "close enough for now". I also painted the wiper cowl because i burned the paint welding the mounting tabs on it.

-Josh

[Ol Blue K20]

The blue is pretty good match.