Black Hills blazer build

[turp mcspray]

I made up a new one and welded it in. Now I can get back to mounting the body.

[turp mcspray]

Body mounted.

[turp mcspray]

A few pics of pieces before they get removed, and some more rust that needs fixing.

[turp mcspray]

A little more rust that was under a tub, and some shots of the original Ochre, on the bedsides. Did I mention how much I HATE ochre? LOL!!

[turp mcspray]

Got the rear floor pieces welded in. Also found some rust in the bottom of a floor rib, and the hat channel that is welded underneath of it. I figured I had better remove it, to get rid of all the crust.

[turp mcspray]

Epoxy on the bottom of the floor, and rocker boxes.

[turp mcspray]

I also sealed all of the seams and undercoated.

[turp mcspray]

I found a little pinhole in the cowl. After cutting out a small spot, I decided to remove the whole area. I'm glad I did, because it wasn't pretty. Water had gotten down in between these two pieces of metal, and caused a good deal of rust to form. I ended up also removing the inner support brace, so I could blast it completely clean, as well. One wheel tub needed a corner replaced, due to a little rust.

[turp mcspray]

Finally made it to the booth, for some epoxy! Another milestone for my build!

[turp mcspray]

Few more booth pics.

[turp mcspray]

I'm going to let it set overnight, and then spray a little primer surfacer on tomorrow.

[swyfor5]

Wow, looking good! Nice pic's of your progress!

[BLUE THUNDER]

Wow!!!! You are goin all out on this build.

[thor]

She's gonna be too nice to wheel!

[turp mcspray]

I made it to the shop Sunday, and got the rest of the primer sprayed. My goal is to spray the bottom side next weekend, and hopefully the firewall and inside, the next weekend. We'll see what happens. I'm REALLY excited to see some color!
I'll still take it out in the woods, but no more rocks. At least not any big ones! LOL!

[Jdubs71]

Just went through your build thread nice work. I noticed you used a later model rear axle. I did the same thing and have been waiting to re weld the spring perches. Any advice on the perch widths and pinion angle when rewelding the perches.
Thanks
Posted via Mobile Device

[turp mcspray]

With my lift, I had to use some shims to set the pinion angle. So when I set up the new rear, I set the perches at the needed angle to not need any shims. If your blazer is not lifted, set the angle same as your original ones were. I also boxed in the ends of my perches, to add some strength, since I have bent them in the past. Ideally your pinion angle should match the angle of your transfer case. Unless you run a cv joint, then the pinion should be the same angle as the driveshaft, minus a couple to allow for axle rotation.

[Jdubs71]

Yeah I guess I need to wait until I mount my transfer case to make sure I have the propper angle. Do you know if not having the body on the frame will affect pinion angle once it is set down on the frame? My body is off getting painted and I'm trying to get this chassis rolling before its done.
Posted via Mobile Device

[SeventyOne]

Does the weight of the body need to be on before measure driveline angles and welding in the perches?

[turp mcspray]

Yes, you need to have the weight on the chassis, or it will change. Before I took my blazer apart, I took a measurement from a hole in the side of the frame, to my rear end. After the body was removed, it changed by several inches. When I set up my new rear end, I compressed the chassis and rear with some ratchet straps, to the old measurement, set my pinion angle, and tacked welded the perches.

[SeventyOne]

Originally Posted by turp mcspray

When I set up my new rear end, I compressed the chassis and rear with some ratchet straps, to the old measurement, set my pinion angle, and tacked welded the perches.

Genius!

[turp mcspray]

Originally Posted by BLUE THUNDER

Wow!!!! You are goin all out on this build.

It started out as a simple engine swap, and drive it for awhile. But I couldn't stand the thought of having to look at that Ochre dash. (no offense!). I figured I could spray the dash and inside with some black epoxy. One thing led to another, and here we are!

[turp mcspray]

Yesterdays progress.

[turp mcspray]

As long as the dash and firewall sand out ok, I'm hoping to get the firewall and inside of the tub, painted next weekend!

[hgs_notes]

Looks like a brand new part from GM.