Hemi's 70 Blazer build

[hemi43]

Put it outside today to see how bad my buffing was. Still some swirl marks to come out. Got the rest of the panels painted, so hopefully will get them on in the next few days. Kinda getting tired of working on it, and really should take a break from it but summer is just around the corner.

[grillzy]

looks great from here!

[72K5CSTDarkOlive]

You're right at the goaline! I'd encourgae you to get it done by summer, but I do know how you feel. There where times I felt like my life was being completely cosumed with trying to work as fast as I could to try and finish my build. I realized this and took a step back and gave myself some time to re-charge the batteries. I'm still a long ways out compared to you which is why I say go for it so you could have that beauty ready for summer.

[GMC-YA68]

Gotta keep working on it and finish now! That way you can drive it around a bit and work out any little kinks!!

[stick72]

Very impressive!

[Sacramento70]

push through and get her done. its finishing what you started that is most rewarding. your blazer looks tits man and i gotta say im a little jealous mines not there yet. im proud of you

[hemi43]

Here's a few items I've been working on;
I got the gas-can/sub done, and I'm quite surprised at how well it works. I line the inside of the can with 3 layers of Peel&Seal I had left over, and it really made it heavy and dense.

Another thing I wanted to do was find a better way of mounting the side bars that come with the Softopper. The little angle bracket that they send looks kinda crappy, so I machined some out of brass and use an existing mounting hole on the door opening weatherstrip. I still need to powder coat it.

I'm not sure if 71 and 72 Blazers use the plastic piece on the door just below the 1/4 window, but mine was missing one. I couldn't find replacement ones anywhere, so I also made these from brass and then powdercoated them satin black. I'm real happy with how they turned out.

[IronCanine]

Wow. Amazing fab. Especially on the door ferrules. You could sell those. It doesn't look like you're getting tired of working on it. You seem to be finishing strong.

[Sacramento70]

And just now jealousy sets in lol...great work . what exactly is the end result? You hope for a 4x4 rig that takes you anywhere or a restored mall cruiser

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by Sacramento70

And just now jealousy sets in lol...great work . what exactly is the end result? You hope for a 4x4 rig that takes you anywhere or a restored mall cruiser

It wont be a trailer queen, but I don't plan on going in the trails and bouncing it off of rocks either. My plan it to have a reliable, fuel efficient truck that I can drive everywhere. Cars/trucks are meant to be driven.
My last build was a 28 Dodge that made centerfold in Street Rodder magazine, and I drove the hell out of that car. Put over 25000 miles on it, and 10000 of it was pulling a camping trailer.
It will be no different than owning a brand new vehicle. After a few weeks and there's a few stone chips in it, the novelty will wear off and it will be a driver.

[DeadheadNM]

Originally Posted by IronCanine

Wow. Amazing fab. Especially on the door ferrules. You could sell those. It doesn't look like you're getting tired of working on it. You seem to be finishing strong.

x2!

[wannabefastcrf]

maybe i missed it, but did you modify the column for the 4 speed trans. I can see in a picture the indicator is a 4 speed

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by wannabefastcrf

maybe i missed it, but did you modify the column for the 4 speed trans. I can see in a picture the indicator is a 4 speed

I modified the detent plate at the bottom of the column so that the shifter would have a positive lock in park. The distance between "R" and "P" on a
TH 350 is much further apart than the 4L60E. That's the only modification I had to do. The "R" and "D" still use the originals Blazer's factory detents.
I did however remove the 4-speed indicator I had put in because it was nowhere near accurate. I put the original 3 speed indicator back in and all is perfect. The only gear that goes off the scale is 1st, which I don't care.
I'll take a close up picture later today.

[hemi43]

Here's a picture of the modified shifter detention plate.

[grillzy]

Very well done. Wont be long and we will be cruz'n

[mcmlxix]

Originally Posted by IronCanine

Wow. Amazing fab. Especially on the door ferrules. You could sell those. It doesn't look like you're getting tired of working on it. You seem to be finishing strong.

X3 on the door ferrules

[hemi43]

Today was sewing day. I decided to keep the utility seats because they came with the truck and I actually like how industrial they look and they are comfortable. Unfortunately new foam and covers aren't available so I had to make everything. These have been recovered in the past and the foam was shot. I'm not sure if there was some sort of pattern molded into the vinyl originally, but I decided to put a beaded pattern on them so they didn't look so plain and boring. I powder coated all the hardware and seat backs, as well as repaired a couple broken springs. I'm real happy at how they turned out.

[East Tex]

Very clean

[IronCanine]

Ok...now you're just showing off. That looks great. Your skill set is clearly complete. Well done.

FYI you can still get the factory vinyl from SMS for the utility buckets. Check out asolde's red 69.

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by IronCanine

Ok...now you're just showing off. That looks great. Your skill set is clearly complete. Well done.

FYI you can still get the factory vinyl from SMS for the utility buckets. Check out asolde's red 69.

HA !! Not showing off at all, I'm just too cheap to pay someone else to do this for me.

[GPS1975]

Great craftsmanship on all of the items, nice work. I really thought that the Jerry Can Sub was a great idea, subtle yet effective.

[hemi43]

Well, I put around 20 miles on it today for a shakedown run. Things were pretty good, but the front brakes suck, so I have a bit more engineering to do. I'm using 2003 twin piston calipers from a GMC Sierra and an aftermarket 1" bore with 1 1/8 stroke master cylinder. The truck does stop, but I can't even lock up the front wheels in sand and the pedal bottoms out the master Thankfully I kept the original master from the 03 donor truck, and was shocked to find out GM used 1 1/4 bore masters with 1 7/8 stroke, and will try that in the morning to see how it works. Best part is that the mount is the same.
I have my fingers crossed.

[tjsblazer]

Originally Posted by hemi43

Well, I put around 20 miles on it today for a shakedown run. Things were pretty good, but the front brakes suck, so I have a bit more engineering to do. I'm using 2003 twin piston calipers from a GMC Sierra and an aftermarket 1" bore with 1 1/8 stroke master cylinder. The truck does stop, but I can't even lock up the front wheels in sand and the pedal bottoms out the master Thankfully I kept the original master from the 03 donor truck, and was shocked to find out GM used 1 1/4 bore masters with 1 7/8 stroke, and will try that in the morning to see how it works. Best part is that the mount is the same.
I have my fingers crossed.

Hey Dan, great weather today for a run except the roads around my area still have a pile of sand on them. Need a couple of those good Spring downpours to clean them up.
That is quite a difference in displacement. Hopefully it will make the difference for you.
Will the pedal need that much more travel? Do you have the room before hitting the floor?

[hemi43]

Brakes are perfect now !! Only problem is the late model master cylinder looks like crap. Might have to machine a new reservoir for it.
I've never owned a 4X4 before, so I don't really know what they're supposed to feel like going down the road, especially one with such a short wheelbase. One concern I have is under heavy braking, the truck tends to pull to the right a bit. There's no pull on the steering wheel whatsoever, so it's not a brake issue, and my tire pressures are within 1PSI of each other. The only thing I can think of is maybe the angle of the steering arm, but it's very close to being parallel to the ground. I can live with it, but would like to fix that if I can.

[jaros44sr]

Congrats on the build, everything looks top notch. Any chance you could give a little more detail to building the 72 door screw washer, don't know what you call it

Sorry to see these great builds getting finished, as I now have nothing to read, maybe another will come along shortly

Maybe one of your pucks is hanging up slightly on your front brakes, or adjustment on the rears