1972 Blazer - 'Bullet' Project

[BLUE THUNDER]

Dude, calm down!!!! You are putting the beat down on that truck. I'm digging it. If you can do it that fast I know that "we" can knock my truck out in no time when you come down here. Lol.

[lks dcvn]

addicted - yes - when I doing the body work on another truck I wanted to strip the paint down to bare metal to see what I was working with and did a search on this forum for the easiest way to do it.

I didn't want to use chemicals, didn't have access to a media blaster at the time and I found somebody who recommended them...

I picked some up locally and tried them. They are coarse enough to strip paint, rust, etc. but not enough to grind metal. They do a great job and recommend them if you have 4 1/2" angle grinder already.

I didn't do much yesterday [I was off of work] and took a day to relax. I will be back at it tonight and this weekend I am going to check out a parts blazer near me [finally found one] - to see if there is anything worth buying from it.

[Blizz]

great work man. i'm still ramping up the courage to start doing that to mine. i'll get there some day. question...did you do all this with the top on or off? before i start cutting, i want to make sure that i brace it if i need to cuz the top is off.

[lks dcvn]

There are a few things I have learned from others who have gone this route before me...

A few steps to make this process easier:

1. Put the top on and secure it to both the w/s frame and the rear bedsides
2. Replace body mounts so that the truck has a solid platform to work from
3. Shim the body appropriately so that the doors open/close as they should
4. Install structural supports to maintain the body flex when removing doors/bad metal if the floors/pillars are that weak.
4a. Do not install supports that will inhibit your ability to hang the doors and adjust the body accordingly.
5. Take measurements before rust repair if doors open/close like they should to be sure that the doors/fender will go back in the same spots when you are trying to align them.

I just got done with a double-header indoor soccer game so I am wide awake - I will be heading out to the garage for a few hours to see what I can get done tonight.

I welded up the door patches when I got home from work so those are in, but no pix yet...

I will likely hang the door, align and then put the latch back in.

I am itching to take the top off and do some cruising [with no fenders/hood or bumpers] -

[1956cameo]

You are making some serious progress on this truck! I haven't updated my build yet but I got my D/S rocker hung and like your blazer the door and rocker line up fine when the door is shut but when the door opens it rubs on the side of the rocker panel. Since I am using the blazers junk original doors I don't think I wan't to modify anything to fit until I get the doors I plan to use hung. Keep up the good work!

[lks dcvn]

Went out there last night - turned the lights on - looked at it for about 5 mins and realized that was physically exhausted and that any work done on the truck would likely lead to more work for today - so I went back in the house, showered and then watched a movie on TV for awhile.

Tonight - got home and went right out to the garage.

Now that the driver door is patched up - I wanted to do something different for once.

Since I got this Blazer the Passenger side headlight didn't work...so I figured I would check the wiring tonight - wow - fire waiting to happen.

Late last Summer I picked up a few M&H wiring harnesses on Ebay for a decent price so I swapped in the front wiring harness and everything works as it should now - amazing how unplugging the old, plugging in the new harness can feel like you got a lot accomplished.

I then hung the driver door and starting working on the latch in the b pillar. I will need to adjust it a bit and add a shim or two, but it is pretty much where it needs to be.

I quit early for the day - little sleep last night and I am going to check out a parts blazer tomorrow - maybe I can find something worth buying for once.

[lks dcvn]

Pix from last night...

You can see in the bottom [closest to b pillar] patch I spent too much time with the flap disk in one spot so I have a small groove there [] - but then again I am not building a show truck - just something solid that I wouldn't mind using year round in snow if I had to. I hope a skim coat of filler will reduce/remove that groove.

I am heading out in a few to check out a parts blazer - hoping to score some new doors, fenders, tailgate and some 71/72 bucket seats

I will post some pix later when I get back of that other Blazer.

[my67chevytruck]

great progress.....

[lks dcvn]

Blazer trip was a bust - I got out there and then the guy wouldn't sell me anything - he just showed me all the stuff he had

Wasted trip...

[BLUE THUNDER]

What a clown! That was time wasted that could have been used on the Blazer. Not to mention gas.

[lks dcvn]

I spent several hours out there again today...

I have come to the conclusion that my lower door/close to the b pillar patch sux...

I kept looking at it all day and will probably do it over again before paint - maybe I can find a solid patch from another door somewhere.

I got the door latch on the driver side done today - that was a PITA - took me about 1 hour to dial it in where I wanted it.

I got tired of doing the body work on the doors again so I decided to do some work on the fenders today.

Filled all the trim holes and ground them down. The pitting behind the trim was pretty bad, but ground it down, treated it and will see how it looks after a skim coat of filler.

Here are the pix.

[lks dcvn]

More fender pix...

When I got done I moved them out to the driveway to see how they looked.

I am considering dragging them down to Maaco to have them spray them with epoxy for the time being [my 220 isn't hooked up in my garage yet AND it isn't going to be warm enough for awhile still].

I got the B pillar to Torsion Box patch done and then started working on the front of the rear quarter patch - it is now ready to be welded in. Hoping to do that tomorrow night.

I coated everything with another layer of the paint and then bolted the seat in and tried the door and then cleaned up the dash from all the grinding dust.

One day I will get the correct blazer seats/brackets...

[lks dcvn]

I only got an hour last night to work on the blazer...no pix to post yet - left my camera at home with the pix on it.

I got the front of the rear quarter welded in and I will be going home tonight to grind down the welds and see how it looks - I will not be using 24 grit flap disk this time to grind the welds down [like I did on the door - hence the groove I put in it].

If it is good enough [only a skim coat needed] - I will continue to work my way down the body to fill trim holes, etc. to get it ready for body work in the month or so. Now that I have a 2 stage 60 gallon compressor I can do some of this work instead of waiting on my neighbor to help me [and he only had a 1.5 HP 20 gallon].

There is some filler/body damage in the rear quarter near the rear lights - and I haven't really looked to see how bad it is, but I will this week.

I thought about a color change to orange [actually my fiance did - since I am giving her this truck when it is done], but figured the stock blue would be a lot easier to stick with and have it up and driving this summer - She didn't complain about the blue...

Pix will be posted tonight after I get some more done.

In roughly 30 days the other vehicles will be back from storage and the garage will be booked up for the most part with them. I might actually move some of the parts down to the basement in the house to free up some real estate out there.

I did find another stash of 67-72 parts that I am looking into this weekend. Not sure where these have been hiding all this time - maybe this guy will actually sell me some stuff.

[lks dcvn]

OK - I suck - no pix yet.

I did get some time out there last night.

Rear Front Quarter patch is now welded in and solid - needs a skim coat to be perfect - I will also need to bump the metal up a bit in the patch to level it off a bit and do some 120 grit flap disk time to get it even closer - ran out of time.

I have a new PITA part of this project though...getting the torsion box off the underside of the truck.

Now that the metal is solid enough - I decided to cut out the old torsion box and weld in the replacement one - for those who had theirs rusted away - you got lucky - these are a pain to get cut out.

I first cut all the spot welds where the 'holes' are that mate it to the floor [if you have ever been under these trucks you know what I am talking about] and thought that might be enough to 'pry it off' - not gonna happen since 'enough' of the torsion box was solid enough.

I then sectioned the box into pieces and cut it out that way - I still have a section where the front fender is [where it slopes up to the floor [I loosened the front inner fender to get to it].

I will also need to grind the remnants of the spot welds that run along the floor that held on the torsion box [preparing for the replacement piece to bolt on.

I cleaned up to go in the house and tested opening/closing the door with most of the torsion box cut out - door opened and closed like it should - no sticking at all -

I should be able to post pix tonight - just got in too late and then up too late this am to do it.

[Gillnetter]

Make sure you bolt your end caps on before you weld your torsion boxes on.It also helps hold everything in place.

[lks dcvn]

Great idea - I need to do that before I do any welding for sure.

These things are cumbersome to hold up under the truck and do anything with - the end caps will be helpful and maintain the integrity of the area.

I will do that tomorrow and get some pix - it is really creeping up on my deadline.

Once this rocker box is welded in - I have the b pillar support piece and the front of the rear quarter to do on the passenger side and then the major stuff is done. I will be looking at a replacement driver door this weekend from another board member - so that may put my driver door crappy patch job out of my mind - 6 bolts later and I might have a solid door -

I know that there is some minor rust in the bed near the wheel wells and I can take a look at that when all the 'major' stuff is done.

I will likely be doing Al's Liner on this thing when done - just so I won't have to do any of this stuff on this truck again...

I am looking forward to getting this thing out of the garage and taking it for a spin with no rust holes in it...and, of course, the hardtop off.

[Gillnetter]

I used a floor jack and a 2 foot piece of 2x4 to hold my torsion boxes up in place.It worked great!Get a buddy to help ya its nice to have a helping hand.

[Gillnetter]

Here are some pictures of mine.

[Gillnetter]

Hope this works.

[lks dcvn]

Thanks for the pix!

[lks dcvn]

Update for the evening...

Few pix of the underside coated with the rust preventative paint.

Then I used the floor jack to hoist the torsion box into place and got everything bolted in -

Then I marked where the holes were going to be for welding them in and tomorrow at some point I will grind those spots to bare metal and then weld in the torsion boxes - thus completing the major work on the driver side of the truck for rust repair -

Things left to do:

Weld in torsion box [and paint new welds to prevent rust]
Check on replacement driver door [Sunday I hope] to swap for the one on it now
Weld closed the remaining trim holes in the body on the driver side
Examine body damage near rear driver tail light - see if I can fix it.
Turn truck around again to move back to other side
Fix the front rear quarter panel on the passenger side [right behind door]
Check on rust in the bed floor near wheel wells
Fill new seams in the floor with sealant [waiting for it to warm up a bit for this]

[lks dcvn]

Scored some good parts today...

1970 Blazer Body from CA - media blasted and epoxy primered underneath
Chassis was media blasted and painted at the same time
Completely rebuilt 350, NP205 and 350 transmission
NOS Rockers mocked up
NOS Passenger Blazer Bedside Installed
Extra front & rear 6 lug 71 Blazer axles [front disk brakes]
1 set 15x8 6 lug GM Rally Wheels with trim rings
2 1971-1972 Bucket Seats with tracks
1 1969-1970 Passenger Bucket Seat
1 1971-1972 Blazer Rear Seat
OEM Metal Gas Tank
2 GMC Front Grills
1 GMC Front Core Support
1 pair NOS Blazer Doors
1 pair NOS GMC Fenders
1 solid [no damage or rust]Chevrolet tailgate
1 solid [no damage] driver side blazer bedside
1 GMC Tailgate Band

The Body and some parts will probably be used on this project:

1970 2wd Blazer Project

Heading back out to the garage soon to try and wrap up some more on the Blazer...

[lks dcvn]

More pix

[VA72C10]

Great Score!!!

[Chevyman63]

Sweet!!