GRIZZ’s ‘79 - 2WD BLAZER Challenge over in London, England. “~It’s not a Project~”

[LT7A]

Sally's crafts turned out nicely. It looks like we are getting a lot of the same type weather that you have, but you are getting more blue sky days. Good job getting out there in the cold to get a few things done. I'll bet having the carport helps with that.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by LT7A

Sally's crafts turned out nicely. It looks like we are getting a lot of the same type weather that you have, but you are getting more blue sky days. Good job getting out there in the cold to get a few things done. I'll bet having the carport helps with that.

Yes, weather is very similar.

Small jobs, all need doing.

Carport makes me smile a lot, especially having built it too.




Some of you will recall my friend Kevin who lives a kilometre from me was building this Rolls Royce based replica.

Jaguar 4.2 engine……

CLICK LINK for VIDEO

https://youtu.be/lBQyUQN34oY

Completed and on the road.

Not bad for a guy in his 70’s who never built a car before.

Things like the bumpers, created from basic flat stock.

The rear wing stone guards, bashed out of flat aluminium sheeting and polished to a high sheen.

So many individual, hand made parts on this car that the most people would not notice.



So to celebrate, he went out and bought himself a new Aston Martin Convertible.



I love it when a man works hard and plays hard.

[Grizz1963]

Busy week and weekend really.

Just got back from the Thames river, collecting pottery shards and river glass with Sally, also spent a couple of hours working on my end of year review which is already 33 pages long, may end up a bit longer by the time Monday afternoons review comes along. It includes sales and performance graphs, but is a long cumbersome thing to creat for an hour long grilling by two managers.


Weather forecast is for 12’C tomorrow.


So the plan is to make time to get back down to the garage and start on the rear end reassembly, though I have not yet bought the wheel studs needed or the shallow nuts to hold the rear adapters in place.

Which are needed in order to see how it all comes together on the lower, shorter parts.

[Grizz1963]

Mate Craig found a guy to move his Mk1 Golf Cabriolet and the 1950 Chevy 3600 truck he bought his wife to the new place in Shropshire.



130 small hedge plants delivered and planted to replace the hedges he had removed or new ones being established.

Planning.



And this little waggon worked hard.

Not easy to see, but new hedge plants are right into the fence in order to grow into it and incorporate a dog and vision proof hedge

Muddy path will be remade once all the heavy vehicles stop going through.

With his neighbour building a complete new house next to him, and a shared drive…….

It may take some patience.



Plan is to move driveway over 450mm toward the lawn and new Laurel hedge.

[Grizz1963]

Update on the weekend activity later when I get time to sit and write.

Just a quick lunchtime note while I have cuppa soup and buttered bread.

Before my 3.00pm end of year performance review, not looking forward to it, never do.

Yesterday @nickwheeler and I spoke about the valve dust caps I ordered when I saw the magnificent items @etypephil was trying to give away……..

Remember these?



Well, Nick is the kind of guy who “gets it” but would never attach suck tackiness to any car he owns, hell, the man likes a silenced hotrod.

Anyway, the wheels I have need a few more bits to make them fit onto the car, and wheel adapters, including 15mm deep spigot rings for the front, some wheel bolts for the rear to go with the front nuts. And about 8 15mm deep wheel nuts on a 17 hex head. Ohhh, and centre caps for the steels.

This is where Nick really got clever, another reason I love having other guys here when I am out back playing…… the amount of silly stuff, and also very clever stuff that gets shared is amazing, and often improves what we build, or prevent costly mistakes. Plus stuff gets done quicker.

So Nick suggested crown style centre caps to mimic the valve caps.

GENIUS I SAY.

This morning I woke to a PM from him, not dissimilar to the stuff @peteh1969 would whip up while making a cuppa tea.

You guys amaze me with your design skills.

Anyway,



BEHOLD !!!!!!






And mocked on a steel wheel.






Now this will divide us like the red sea, but that is OK, because people can be wrong.


@craigRK is too busy to print them for me, but at least we know it needs to be done.

[Grizz1963]

Dodgy style, or on all fours, who knows what innuendo I may be playing at.

Sunday was partly spend doing winter yard work and maintenance.

And partly spent with @nickwheeler over here allowing me to make him coffee, pick his brains and have a really good time.

Rear axle was going back in.

Old vs new shortened springs thanks to @kevins



So we got going, and the first job was to make up new fresh brake lines for the rer in before even rolling it under the raised chassis.



This is what you call a perfect fit.



Rolling Rolling, I am Rolling…..



Old 16” FWD alloy wheels on the rear, just to roll the chassis about.

Note how close to the chassis it sits.



Then decided to try out the look, using the one 17mm hex M12x1.5 - 15mm shallow nut to bolt the rear adapter to the hub, just to get to see the look.

I need to buy 8 of these and a few other nuts and some double sided threaded studs to change the adapters to Nuts rather than bolts.



From the front.



And then checked out the amount of missing hub studs……. 3 needed to get the full compliment bacl on the hubs, front amd rear.



Very pleased with himself there, Mr Wheeler.

And so he should be.

We now have a rolling chassis.



After this we stood discussing just how much of the MX5 can be transferred to the Rockit in order to save money.

Quite a bit it seems.



Another great afternoon of playing out back.

Next job, according to Nick could or should be removing the engine, gearbox, wiring loom, radiator and some more spares needed to the conversion.

Making up some engine mounts to seat the heavy bits in the chassis and then body on top to get an idea of the look.

Though not going as low as the dream, I am happy for the effort put in so far.

Even @pauly should be happy.

I am off work between 25 December and 9 January so any visitors welcome.

Kettle on most of the time.

[Grizz1963]

Off to Nuts n Bolts Fastener guy, followed by Small Ford Spares breaker guy in a bit.

Need to sort my nuts out.


Still trying to figure what my minimum width front tyres will be on the 8” wide steels.

Especially the front.

I am thinking a 195/50 - 15 should work and show enough side wall up front, and not look like it is stretched the way the 175’s that are fitted, do at the moment.

And out back, possibly as much as a 225/60 - 15 to create some visual rake to the whole thing and fill those massive arches a bit, to enhance the lowered look, seeing as the lowering has not happened as extremely as planned originally. I wonder if a 245/60 - 15 would fit on the rear rims.

Guys like rich tend to have this tyre, wheel and combo stuff bouncing around in their heads mostly.

For me it is much more guessing and testing.

My eyes are constantly open for almost new/part worn bargains on FB Marketplace’s parts sections locally.

Mostly…… not happening, and tons of 16” tyres that are no use to me.

[LT7A]

Good progress. No problem at all putting a 245 on an 8 inch wide rim. Guys put 275 60 15s on 8-in wide rims quite often.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by LT7A

Good progress. No problem at all putting a 245 on an 8 inch wide rim. Guys put 275 60 15s on 8-in wide rims quite often.

Good evening buddy.

Thank you, I am pleased so far.

The 245 on the rear should look quite nice with a decent sidewall height.

Filling the arches a bit.
And 215/225 out front should work, on a 50 profile, in order to create a bit of visual rake.







Another Jeep on a Q plate, seen on FB.

Looking at the DVLA site, it seems it is another Eagle, so possibly some re-bodying has gone on here.

And I like it a whole lot.


Does anyone have any other photos of it from different angles, or know what spec it runs?


Fresh, unhampered MOT tests the last three years too.

EAGLE
Check another vehicle

Colour
Green

Fuel type
Petrol

Date registered
27 April 1987

MOT valid until
5 April 2022






In other news…..


Remember this logo I found out on the web originally?




I got a PM from @Peteh1969 last night asking if I could use a couple of 3D printed badges for the cr when it is together.

10mm deep amd 75mm tall

Looking a bit like this.


Of course I said yes please.

These little touches make it even more fun to do the build and consolidate all the ideas and input from everyone who has a share in the Rezin Rockit.





I think silver chrome paint could make it look decent.


Speaking of which……


Nick played a bit more on his PC overnight and refined, detailed the possible centre caps a bit more.

I am liking that.



Soon now.

Maybe.

[Grizz1963]

Popped out to go find some 15,, deep wheel nuts, a few tall, black domes wheel nuts and so e hub studs yesterday.

After stopping at two local suppliers, one could not supply, and one lot offered the nuts at £2.40 each plus a £10.00 shipping fee if they ordered them in, I decided to go to the third place, 10 miles from home where I knew I would get all the bits I wanted.



But they came at a cost.



£50.00 for the lot, and then that would not include getting 8 of the studs to fit the rear adapters.

Remember I am going from 4x108 to 4x100 and these were not easy to find.

They can be fitted to the rear hubs, using the shallow 15mm “Ford Transit Connect” style nuts that recess inside the adapters.

BUT…….. Then the chromed wheel bolts that came with the adapters are a different size and pitch to the front set, and wheel studs @M12 x 1.25mm vs originals @M12 x 1.5mm so I had planned on either drilling the threads out of the adapters with a 12.5mm drill and punching the studs through from the rear after removing (bodger alert &#128680 recessing collar/foot and then tack welding them from behind. Stop screaming, it would work, even if not conventional. The alternative would be to ask @nickwheeler to machine them correctly in an engineering way for me to allow me to use the Black domed M12 x 1.5mm threaded wheelnuts that the rest of the wheels have fitted, as I like that look.
So when I proudly got to Nicks place to show and ask, he gently but firmly pointed out that I was being an idiot…….. yup, straight and honest, the way I like it.

He had previously searched and found double ended threaded studs of the M12 x 1.25mm thread pitch that would screw into the adapters, allowing for the use of some chromed domed wheelnuts of the same size to be used.


[quote author="@nickwheeler" timestamp="1639415630"]M12x1.25 double ended studs    [a href="https://www.rallydesign.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=2040_2239_738&products_id=4725"]LINK[/a]

M12x1.25 nuts                            [a href="https://www.rallydesign.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=2040_2239_734&products_id=4657"]LINK[/a]

matching M12x1.5 nuts              [a href="https://www.rallydesign.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=2040_2239_734&products_id=4656"]LINK                       

[/a]

Which just leaves the short nuts to attach the adapters[/quote]


The hope is still to find a set of 8 black, tall, domed wheel nuts to match the front ones somewhere out there in the wide world, who knows where.

Anyway, he suggested I return the studs and three black domed nuts I had bought, for a refund minus the 20% handling fee and order the studs from Rally Design, plus some chrome wheelnuts to go all the way around, or some black domed wheelnuts off EBay or a seller to match the fronts closely.

[quote author="@nickwheeler" timestamp="1639496642"]How about [a href="https://wheelpartsdirect.com/products/nuts/65?gclid=Cj0KCQiAnuGNBhCPARIsACbnLzpUorSMYUVEJOO3KR7sxUsEPPHs7idkhex0HbLDgLR9SqyEayt6CzwaArEoEALw_wc B"]THESE [/a]or [a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/113901899723?epid=28010254865&hash=item1a85150fcb:g:zskAAOSwCmlbdWm7"]THESE[/a]?


Bolts seem to be a lot harder to find[/quote]


So I took back the parts I did not need like a naughty schoolboy.


I will order the studs at some time, as well as some black nuts.



Changing direction completely, I was watching Guy Martin’s latest programme last night.

Been thinking about crazy paint and graphics that may create the illusion of both rake and lowering the car visually and saw this.

Certainly not necessarily what will happen, but made me smile.

This is not an important part of the build, but rather nice to just play with ideas.

Photoshopping is a cheaper alternative at this point.




Back to the day job.

Work to do.

[Grizz1963]

Recognise this ??


I love the colour combination.

And think that with a bit of thought out design, it will work on the RR





Also popped down to my favourite tyre shop this afternoon, to see if I could get a pair of part worn tyres in a decent size, fitted for the mock up and planning of wheels and tyres.

Planning to remove these 175’s stretched silly over the 8J rims.



There were none in the scrap pile today.

But typically, the guys were very interested in what I am building, and very quickly we had about 8 different tyres of differing width, wall height etc paid out in various combinations.

I like the idea of the front and rear wheels being different to create some rake. Agreed with @nickwheeler who is much more of an authentic hot rodder than me.

Also differing width.

So here we have 195/65 - 15 on the right and 195/55 - 15 on the left.

Imagine them front and rear.



Then we also looked at different widths

In this case 195 - 15 and 225 - 15 together.

Though I think more than the 195 up front and more than the 225 out back on the 8 inch wide steel wheels can work very well.



Late afternoon @pauly and I were having a chat and it turns out he may have a pair of new, unused 205’s to sell off Woody, his C10

Watch this space.

[Grizz1963]

Remember Molly the cat that came here last year who loved the garage but had to go back to the yard she was living in?

Photo taken at the time.



This morning George came around and I took this pic of him.



How close do they look like each other.

George now sleeps here most days and often walks in when I open my door.

[Grizz1963]

Amazing what you can get done in an hour.

Cleaning the carport and paving at the garage.

Moving the Rezin Rockit body up the drive and starting the donor MX5 which happily started up and moved around under its own steam.




Then washed the fiberglass body with chlorine bleach gel and a soft broom.

Its amazing how dirty it got over the last year or so, grinder dust, sawdust etc.



Once rinsed.

It looked better.



And finally all the bits moved into place for the next phase.

@nickwheeler and a few others like @westbay, @kevins @jimi @pauly and the whole team of contributors should smile at the next few days planned actions.

First thing is to find a bit of time to unpack the big shed, where the engine hoist and engine stand are stashed, along with a few other reserve tools.

Once unpacked they can go into the carport area.

Keep in mind engine gets a full service, cambelt etc.

My holidays will be well used I suspect.




Progress is Progress.

[Grizz1963]

Dark

Dismal

Wet

Foggy

Cold

Day………..


All the good intentions shoved firmly under the carpet.


I had planned on using my “lunch break” to go unpack the shed and get some tools out.


Failed dismally as it was wet and drizzly down there.


Mate Fil “Sparkplug” did do a quick photoshop early morning.


Remember the cracks on the bonnet/hood.??





Well, I gave it some thought and came to the conclusion that a pair of stickers may make life a lot easier.

Final design still open to editing and suggestions.

But you get the idea.



Weekend weather is forecast to get colder, so maybe not as much fun as one would like.

But hey………..…..

Keep hoping.

[Grizz1963]

So Today has started thus.

Foggy, cold, wet outside, even under the carport it looks like it has been raining.




Usually these are the temperatures that sees the likes of @pauly and the indestructible Super Fiesta®️ ( and of late @nickwheeler )make an appearance to spanner for a day on an American V8 of some sort that I may have bought wearing rose tinted spectacles a few weeks into winter.

Like the Not a Project Chevy Blazer.

This guy has always got a smile, even when things go badly wrong, he just grins and says something like “well, let’s think about it, we just need to get on and do this thing”







Well, I am still indoors because the fog is thick, wet and cold outside.

But I spoke to Paul earlier while he was walking his dogs in a field, and for the first time ever, I heard him say it was cold outside, despite wearing gloves.

So maybe I am not as soft as I thought I had become.

I will be outside ny 11.00 to start unpacking all the treasures from the big shed though, as I really need to keep the momentum going, both for the build as well as my head.

Later.

[Grizz1963]

This Mazda MX5 continues to impress me.

After a long discussion with @pauly about all sorts of things this morning, one of the things discussed was the imminent death for rebirth of the Canary.

I had already driven it up to the farm and checked all functions, finding it is as good as it promises.

68000 miles or 112000km is not a lot for one of these.



So,I started it up, again the engine fired up like a typical bit of Japanese engineering. Immediately.

I then allowed it to run for a while to get up to temperature and tested all functions.

It worked as needed.

Temperature, Oil pressure etc.

Video:


https://youtu.be/7xjSytc9uKM


One of the thoughts to consider is using the MX5 clocks as it is all matched up to the car and wiring.



And it needs to somehow replace the centre console mounted instruments and still be functional.



A conversation with @redratbike Mark resulted in this screen grab…..

So maybe it can be done, with a bit of sensibility and finesse



I think it will be an interesting challenge.

Like a lot of things.


I still had a load of things to try get done, but the chill was bone cutting with the fog thrown in.

More in a while.

[Grizz1963]

Behind the scenes discussion with @nickwheeler today resulted in a message that included the following advice.

It would be useful to have a list on a board of what's needed, although Sharpie on the bonnet also works....

Here's a start:

Engine, gearbox and engine loom
Radiator and plumbing
Propshaft, although you probably won't use any of it
Fuel tank and fittings
Pedal box, or at least the clutch pedal and master cylinder
Column stalks, or the whole steering column
Instrument cluster
Throttle cable
Body wiring loom


Stuff that will help:
selection of boxes and bags
tags for labelling, although masking tape works
angle grinder, cutting and grinding discs
several pairs of axle stands
chain for the engine - seatbelts also work

So the services, advice, guidance have been reserved.

It drove the rest of my day after I had started up and checked the vitals of the car one more time.

So I started buy rearranging and clearing a load of stuff in the one side of the garage.

Does not look like much happened in the before and after, but I did manage to find some 18 new, unused M12 x1.5mm thread silver anodised closed end wheel nuts.

Similar to the black ones fitted to the wheels.

Next job will be to find 8 for the rear in a 1.25mm thread pitch and similar style in case there are some cheapies around.



In the end I swept out both garages, cleaned the drill press and all the sharp swarf off the floor, ending with a decent space to lay out parts, including the wiring looms as they get removed from the MX5.

Before.



After.



Trust me, it is an improvement.

Next job………


The one I was dreading, because I knew it was chaotic and needed to get done.

Or else no progress.

Unpack the large shed and get right to the back of it to unpack the engine hoist and also the engine stand.

I did discover my full sized traffic light that I bought a few years ago (for sale now)



Assembly



Ready to rock and roll.



Plan is to check and service the motor on the engine stand and give the transmission a check over and refresh too, before fitting and bolting down.

Makes a lot of sense.

Thanks to all the helpers remote and nearby, advising and guiding on even this part of the build.

Trying to get it right first time out the gates.


Remember the list Nick suggested we work to on the strip down……?


Thought I would get arty-farty and start a list.




Weekend over it seems.


Again.

[Grizz1963]

Quick update.

Added and duplicated some of the suggestions made by the build team yesterday after I posted on the bonnet/hood.

Plus the law according to @jimi which resonates with most of us.





Mate Kevin popped over from Maidstone around lunchtime to collect a kitchen table I had stashed in the garage.

Of course he wanted to see what the progress looks like in real life.

Once down there, he noticed the headlights and how faded they are.

So asked how I had done the lights on the Galaxy before, so I fetched the G3 compound and 5 minutes later…….

From this.



To this.



I guess that means I have a set of front lights to sell to anyone who needs to buy a pair.

Or trade me for some modern headlights for the Rezin Rockit.


.

[Grizz1963]

Popped down to my favourite tyre shop this afternoon after work to see if they had a couple of part worn tyres to sell or fit on two of the rims for me.

Weirdly, the last four they had replaced on a car were 195/60 - 15’s

The 175/45 - 15’s fitted to the 8” wheels were a bit resistant to remove, but came off.



Then the first one would not seat the bead, despite all sorts of actions.

So Jacob went on to the next one.

Easy peasy, and back to the first one…..

Resorting to fire.

Except it would not ignite….. so no spectacular photo.

Still, more bouncing, and an upright airing saw it pop on eventually.



£20.00 paid for the quick change, and I had a set of tyres to use for the mocking up that may just stay on.

Compared to the stretched tyres fitted to the wheels, the 195’s are taller and wider of course.



And enough tread on there should I decide to run with these.

Though the sidewall profile at 60 is quite tall.



Ideally I would like 225 wide on the rear.

Cold weather forecast for a couple of days this week.

[Grizz1963]

Mate Martin sent a screenshot from his phone.

Seems my old Blazer, repainted for a job, has been sold on EBay.



I do hope the new buyer is happy and enjoys it.

[LT7A]

I sure do hear you on the weather. Although we did have some decent weather today - just cold. I'm still waiting to find out why Stranger Things needed a Blazer in England. It seems that if they were doing something there for the show, that they would use indigenous vehicles.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by LT7A

I sure do hear you on the weather. Although we did have some decent weather today - just cold. I'm still waiting to find out why Stranger Things needed a Blazer in England. It seems that if they were doing something there for the show, that they would use indigenous vehicles.

I was in the garage , well out on the drive in 5’C temperature most of the day.

I think the Blazer was possibly used in one of those open air, immersive events, or a series.

Regardless, the guy who bought it, must have made his money. ,

[Grizz1963]

@nickwheeler spent the whole day here.

Simply put….. A Hero in my book.

We worked from 10.30 to 5.30 with a 45 minute lunch break.

It was 5’C out on the driveway and under the carport.

Dry and no wind meant it was not a bad day.

After a coffee and a chat……

The shopping list bonnet was removed off the MX5, and the chassis and body both pushed up the drive and out the way.



Then we got going.

Nick tore into the front end, engine compartment with a gusto, removing plastics, filters, ducts etc.

I started at the rear, marking and removing all electrical cables, the loom, all in one piece, both of us figuring it out as we went along.



An hour or two later it started to look a bit messy.

The cold was not helping with the hard, brittle plastics.



On and on and on we went.

Nick systematically removing parts, creating piles in order of importance and function.

At some point the cooling system was drained.



Then raised up to be able to crawl around underneath and remove more parts.



There………







Some people have asked why I am chopping up a lovely looking car like this.

Or why not restore the car.

A few pics may give an idea.








Eventually we got to a point where the engine hoist could be brought out and wheeled under the car, attached to the engine and the engine mounts unbolted.



The combination of stretch on the lifting strap, and the fact that the hoists hydraulic ram was not fully extending, having been in the shed for 5 years, and possibly needing a bit of attention, meant that we could not lift the engine and gearbox out of the engine bay.

So I pulled out the grinder and made some space



I also strapped my one strip light to the boom in order for us to see clearly what we were doing.







RESULT….!!!



Knackered, Happy, the pair of us had won round one.



Which left us with a large hole, and as Nick said, thankfully we do not have to refit it all.



And big holes if you look, throughout.





At this point we decided to close the shop as it was dark, cold and 5.30pm which meant hick had to get to Rochester Cathedral.


So a final pic from day one…….


Heart ripped out

[Grizz1963]

Rezin Rockit Donk anyone?




And the graphics moved up slightly on the hood.



And then the quickest, dirtiest colour change.

I like some orange, but this is too much right now.

However, masking and added detail could work too.

And the pig was moved to the side of the hood.



Long time before any of that happens though.

[Grizz1963]

Long day for Nick and I Today.

Started before 10.00 and finished by 18.30 in the dark and cold.

Started like this, and it got better, but not much.



Will post update in the morning.

Tired.