1947 S10 4x4 Blazer swap

[msaintg]

week 40 cont. - I decided to spend the rest of the week chasing loose ends, so no more pics this week. I chased down the wiring for the speed sensor so now it shifts out of 1st gear.. yay! I FINALLY bolted the cab and bed to the frame. Wow, I reallly blew it designing the bed mounts to bolt from the bottom, facing the inside of the frame, to a captive nut in the bed. It was almost impossible to get the bolt up in there and find (and align with) the nut in the bed (all while holding the Blazer rubber and washer up in there), blind, shifting the bed around, contorting my old body...... whew, I am tired again just thinking about that ordeal. Anyway, DONE! Note to self, next time, run a bolt all the way through (like the cab) and call it good enough..... not that there EVER will be a 'next time'. This is a first and LAST build. Oh, I also mounted the rear bumper to test fit it before painting it.

[msaintg]

Doing some math this week…. I am now up to 424 hours (after 40 weeks), $4955 invested, and I haven’t bought my new wheels yet. Ya, I would definitely say I am going to go over budget on this one. I had spent $20 on parts to rebuild my door hinges, but when I went to work on them, I found that they were in worse shape than I had thought, so I spent $300 replacing them. I also spent $160 replacing the front headlight buckets for the same reasons. Oh well, it is not really a 'budget' as much as it is a 'guideline'

[msaintg]

I spent a lot of time this week cleaning up the grill and one of the rear fenders. I had to remove all of the rivets in the grill to get it apart, but it was the only way to do the body work on it. The fender was in such bad shape, it will take me another week to get it paint ready. I painted the grill, bumpers, and radiator cover and a few misc. parts too (the dark brown is NOT primer… that is the color I am going to try out…. Not sure if I like it yet, but I thought there was too much ‘almond’ and was looking boring (I think I will paint the running boards and some interior pieces this color too).

[gregw98]

I think the 2 colors will accent each other. Looking good.

[cleanshaven84]

I've always liked a two toned truck. I plan to two tone my '49 when I get to that point. Doing the grill and running boards the darker color will add some nice accents to the truck and break up the almond a little. I think you'll end up liking it.

[daverod]

Great job so far. Read your build from the start great progress.

[msaintg]

thanks guys, I know I want an accent color, I just didn't want to go that dark (that was the only 'off the shelf' brown that Lowes had in the same Rustoleum as the Almond color). I might paint the grill half Almond. I am also thinking about painting the dash the dark brown, but some people have told me to leave it the Almond color..... hmmmm. That is the cool thing about a backyard paintjob ... I can keep repainting it as often as I like till I get if the way I want it.

Thanks daverod, It seams like I have been working on this truck for years... maybe that's because it is ALL I do on my days off. I know I have a long way to go still, but it feels good to be putting parts on and not taking them back off again and again. It is so funny, I never really had an end goal when I started, and I am not following any sort of plan.... just winging it. figuring out problems as they come up. Coming up with design ideas using the parts that are in front of me. I really like how the bed has turned out and I can't wait to get the tailgate done so you guys can see how different and cool it looks.

98laynframe--- way back in June you asked me about wheel clearance... well I am having problems finding wheels to fit. I don't think you will be able to use 2x4 offset rims on the 4x4 frontend. (At least not lowered like mine is) I have 3" from edge of tire to fender, but only 1/2" when the wheels are turned... that is with the stock wheels with a 40mm offset. All of the aftermarket wheels that I have found in 18" (the size I want) don't come with more than the 40mm offset but they are 8 to 8.5" wide..... which means the wheels will stick out 1" farther than mine do now... won't work. I am having trouble finding a wheel 18" x 7.5" with 40mm offset (or greater) that I like.

Mike

[msaintg]

Week 42 - I started off this week getting the beed put in the back window. Glad that is done. I assembled and test fit the grill to see if I like the color. Then I moved on to the seam in the hood. I want to see how the hood is going to fit before I do anything more with the fenders and grill. You can see in the pic that I need to do some more body work on the grill, but it is waaaaay better than it was. I was originally thinking that I would not be able to salvage it.

[jed971959]

truck is looking good you will be driving down the road soon
I have a couple questions about your builded
You moved the engine back 5"and the front spring mount back 9" which moved it up 3" did it lower it any before you put in the lowering blocks .
how much room is there between the drive shaft and cross member?
how long is your drive shaft from centre of u-joint to centre of u-joint? I'm guessing it's about 56"
thank jim

[ChevroletWT]

Crazy awesome build man!!!! That color you picked out for the grille is spot on. I think that will look great!.. can't wait to see more updates.

[msaintg]

hi Jim, ya, moving the mount up 3" lowered it about an inch. I used a 3" block on the spring perch which I think may be too much. I may raise the back end up a little by cutting the block down to 2". Yes, my driveshaft is 56.25" and clears the cross support by 3/4"

hi Will, wow, high praise, thanks a lot. I know how you guys like pics, so I will have a few more later today. ya, I like the brown, just think it is a little too much on the grill. I think I am going to paint the back part of the deviders the almond color. I think it will really pop then.

[msaintg]

A little more from week 42. I didn't feel like doing body work on the fender or hood, so I let myself get a little side tracked and worked on little things like.... painted some stripes on the dash plate, made some mounting brackets for the tail lights, and cleaned and painted the old running lights. Oh, here is a shot of my new wheels I finally found on CL.

[gregw98]

Did you have the driveshaft custom build or did you find one that fit your needs?

[msaintg]

Originally Posted by gregw98

Did you have the driveshaft custom build or did you find one that fit your needs?

The guy who rebuilt my tranny (and converted it to a 2x4 tranny) had an extra driveshaft laying around that had the correct spline on it for the 2x4 tranny, so he through it in. It was too short so I didn't even check to see if it would bolt up to my rear diff. I just cut what I needed off of my old drive shaft and lengthened the new one to fit. I will have to get it redone, but it is OK for now.

[87Jimmy4JP]

just saw this one...what an inspiring build!....I think this truck is awesome...watching and wanting more pics.


JP

[zellway]

Originally Posted by 87Jimmy4JP

just saw this one...what an inspiring build!....I think this truck is awesome...watching and wanting more pics.


JP

[msaintg]

thanks guys. Well, just for you... and my brother.... here is a midweek update. I feel like goldy locks... this grill is too light... this grill is too dark... for those of you counting, I have now painted the grill three times, but it is just right now. I painted a few other misc. parts while I was at it.

I found a smok'n deal on NEW tires online (onlinetires.com), so I purchased them.... 225x45 R18... for only $67 each! I am going to try to get them installed this weekend.... should lower the truck another inch. My goal is to get the front fenders and grill all bolted on so I can do more body work on the hood.
Mike

[Daze57]

lookin; good

[msaintg]

thanks,

Week 44 - I finished bolting the grill on and then the front bumper. I installed the headlights, running, and directional lights and then wired them up. Unfortunately, they don’t work right. I ended up disconnecting the front running and directional lights until I figure out what is wrong (acts like a bad ground, but that all checks out). Then I set the hood on it to get an idea how much work it is going to be to get the hood to fit….. a LOT I also temporarily hung a fender on so I could see how much of a wheel spacer I am going to need. Do they make 3” spacers? I don’t like the open space below the grill and I don't like the skirts that go there on the stock trucks. I want something that goes vertical. I don’t know what I am going to do with that area yet. Hmmm. I took some other measurements too.... the front bumper is 5.5" off the ground and the lowest point of the front fender is 4.5" off the ground.

[cleanshaven84]

I bet you are chomping at the bits to be driving this thing, lol. The grill and by per look great on there with the brown color.
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[87Jimmy4JP]

" I don’t like the open space below the grill and I don't like the skirts that go there on the stock trucks. I want something that goes vertical. I don’t know what I am going to do with that area yet. "


What if you made up a filler panel that goes between the fenders behind the bumper and under the grille.? you could cut 2 holes for the bumper brackets.

If you added flanges here and there it could be a bolt on item.

It could be made from steel and maybe even other materials.

although, maybe a "shelf" like the originals made from diamond plate, steel, aluminum, chrome, ect could work too...


JP

[msaintg]

I have seen trucks with that area closed with sheet metal that follows the lines of the grill. I was hoping that was something I could buy, but I guess I will have to make that myself. That is not a priority, so I won't worry about that until later on down the road. Yes, I am really wanting to be driving this thing, but I still have at least 6 months worth of stuff to do to it before It will be drivable. Heck, I don't even have a title for it yet.

[msaintg]

Wow, i have really been pulling my hair out over the last three days trying to figure out my light problems, but I finally figured it out.… the rear lights that I just purchased had 6V bulbs in them which all blew out immediately (so I could not get them to come on) duh! and the front head lights are supposed to be on all the time..… (daytime running lights). I just couldn't wrap my brain around the lights coming on dim when I turned the key to run. duh! I did get some 2” wheel spacers in the mail yesterday, so I got those put on the back wheels. Oh well, I guess that is a little movement forward

[87Jimmy4JP]

Originally Posted by msaintg

Wow, i have really been pulling my hair out over the last three days trying to figure out my light problems, but I finally figured it out.… the rear lights that I just purchased had 6V bulbs in them which all blew out immediately (so I could not get them to come on) duh! and the front head lights are supposed to be on all the time..… (daytime running lights). I just couldn't wrap my brain around the lights coming on dim when I turned the key to run. duh! I did get some 2” wheel spacers in the mail yesterday, so I got those put on the back wheels. Oh well, I guess that is a little movement forward

Ya cant move forward very quickly sometimes when the bugaboos are around!

bet those tires and wheels look great moved outward.....

JP

[Greenlee]

Wow, cool build! Nice work.
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