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

[Grizz1963]

So while Nick cut, measured, cut, ground and made up the last part for the rebuilt handbrake lever and fittings, I carried on with a job that had been spinning around in my head for some time now.

How to balance the number plate, light and toolbox to the left which left a large vacant space on the right.

I always wanted the car to have a 4x100 space saver spare wheel and a simple brace and jack.

Planning was to just bolt the wheel in the rear boot of the car.

Simple really.

But if you recall, the car came with a spare wheel carrier, long since removed.

So while Nick fabricated, I searched, and then started to fabricate as well.

Space saver and carrier. Studs were 4x108

Ooooopps, too big a gap.



Unless you managed to move the studs closer to each other.

And remove years worth of rust from the threads.



Is this close enough?

Moved the studs closer didn’t I?



Next job………

Tack and stick weld for deep penetration.

Then copy three holes over to the rear tailgate, drill holes and test fit.



Backing plates cut from horrible checker plate.



Not yet fitted, but you get the idea.



Bracket and wheel nuts painted Satin black, Nick and John were super excited watching my work become ever more beautiful.



I masked up the space saver after giving it a good ScotchBrite scour, clean-up

Black centre and the mustard/sand outer rim should look like the wheels fitted to the car. Well, sort of.



And result.

Could possibly paint the rim gold if it looks like it needs it.

Rear was painted all black too.




And while I was working on the spare wheel, which is really just to get me out of trouble, Nick fitted the brake reservoir that @glenanderson had sent earlier in the week.



I must say, I am really pleased with the jobs done today.

More progress made.

.

[Grizz1963]

After another rubbish night, I was woken by the cat I do not own.

After feeding him, he went out to sit and watch is property.



So this morning I fitted the newly welded and painted spare wheel carrier.

No plan to add an alarm switch to the spare, so deleted that.



Masked up the space saver that I had painted black last night after deflating it, tucking the cardboard under the rubber.

Ready for paint.



Once the paint partially dried, I removed the cardboard barrier.

Happy with that.

Tidier than it was 24 hrs ago.



Once spare was fitted to the carrier I fetched the old license plate and the new one.

Ugleee vs pretty.



Then pushed the car out into the sunlight.

Really happy with the look, except the roofrack, or is it roll bar?



Next job was to start on the side panels in the dash to start figuring where to exit the two footwell vents.

Dash back in.

Ohhh, and I redid the scrim foam on the screwed up kick panel.



Marked and made the first hole.



Also made a pair of super ugly joiners for the blower to get to the vent holes.



The back ends will be bonded straight onto the sides of the blower unit.

[Grizz1963]

First bootfair of the year.

Two hours out and back.

Back to yesterday.

While I worked on the heater blower and dash panels, Nick continued with the rear wiring and lights.

Found this unholy mess………



Resulting in 6 hours work to get right, to be tested later today.

And as always, nothing is easy.

He ended up having to cut the mounting bracket bolts as the rivnuts just spun around, and the space up the rear of the body is very limited.

Leading to this.



Much grinding, fabricating and time wasted fixing a previous builders mess us, we got to this point.

Mazda MX5 loom spliced into Ford parts.



And back in the body.

Threaded rod still to be JB Welded in place to hold brackets.



Wash, rinse, repeat on the other side.

Waterproof Connectors were a bit of a “bargain” at £16.00 for the box.




After much planning, measuring, I made up the “ducting” for the blower unit to hopefully connect with the director nozzles.

Then started to attack the actual blower unit box that was made up weeks ago.

I do love a step drill.



Too late for tears.



Possibly the most useful and underrated tool in this whole build.

Powerfile rocks.

Get one.



And ready for the ducting and base plate to be glued on.

Hope it all comes together.




Saw this on FB this morning.

A hot MX5 under there.




What shall we build next then?

[Grizz1963]

First bootfair of the season today.

Very full of sellers.

90% probably just clearing rubbish from homes. Pink sh!t.

Interesting observation was that there were very few non English speakers.

I guess Covid, inflation, lack of employment etc all impacted that sector of the market.

What I did find was the following.

6 Plant pot dollies £5.00
Unused/new Denim shorts £1.00
Motel sign for my shed 50p
Two Bee signs 25p each
Angel wings for Sally’s shed £1.00
Pink giraffe toy for Bonnie 20p

For mate Craig.
New yellow wheel £2.00
2 mobility scooter wheels £5.00
Chicken £1.00



Another bootfair tomorrow.

Will think about it today.

May give a miss.

[Grizz1963]

Rear lights reflectors are a bit worse for wear.



Looking for something else in the garage, unearthed this very slimline light.

Ideal for use as a rear foglight, a necessary evil on UK cars.

Bracket ready.



Fitted.



Another job done today was making up the front and rear brake lines from the master cylinder.

A clever trick Nick figured out was that the Workmate bench has a groove fitted that is ideal for straightening the inner coil of a roll of brake pipe.

Easy stuff if you know what you are doing.

Nick does.










@nickwheelers very long time mate Richard popped over in his Triumph TR7 for a check in on the build and a coffee today.



Headed out, I had to go take a look.

I really like the standard alloys fitted to it.





Slow progress, but progress nevertheless.

I also sold the wheels used for rolling the Rezin Rockit around till now to a nice chap for use on his Fiesta.

He arrived in a 51 plate Mini to collect his bounty.

We closed shop by 7.30pm so that I could spend a bit of time with Sally.

[Grizz1963]

Carrying on with the blower heater unit….

We wonder where the time goes on this build, here is where.

Best part of a few hours.

First side exit in place, this took a lot of time, due to various angles of intersection.



Into position goes no 2 after a lot of trimming etc.

Side panel and vent all need to be in concert.



Bonded in place and fixed with tape, lets see what happened overnight.



While the glue was drying on the blower, I returned to the kick panel I previously managed to screw up royally.

The foam had dried on the board, so glue on the new vinyl and backing……



Result.





Right,mguess,it is 11.15 so I need to go outside and finish a “pivotal” job started last night.

More about that later.

[Grizz1963]

John the lodger.

Always watching.

https://youtu.be/cs92Uegzap0

Headed out to work on more stuff now, maybe.

[Grizz1963]

So.

What happened next?

The screen frame came off after sitting there for weeks.

Up to the house, laid out on the table, raised on a 2x4 to enable accessibility.



Glass goes there.



Of course smearing the adhesive along the frame in order to ensure complete filling of the grooves has repercussions.



Thankfully the right tools often make stuff easy to fix.

Scrape and cut…….

Job done.



Followed by thoroughly cleaning the glass before adding a MARMITE tint strip along the top.

Held in place by masking tape till dried in place.

After all the cleaning, an old friend was called back into service.

Yes, you saw that right.

RAIN-X



Frame then returned to the garage, fitted, removed and another layer of low density, self adhesive foam added before fitting a second time.

John the lodger was home for the day today and rather than sit indoors, was enjoying playing out back as well.



While he was inside the car, checking out the tint strip for obstruction, I added the front bumper spoiler.

Looks like what I have been looking for, for some time.



Pushed out into the late afternoon sun, it looks good enough to me.



Finally pulled off the masking tape that held the tint in place while it dried fully.



And lastly……..

Another 2 minute movie for the fans.

Lets see how many people click through and look what happened.


https://youtu.be/LyXJr79nwsg


Three days off work has delivered good progress.

Quiet without @nickwheeler today. But then I did not do a lot of stuff as I had also offered Sally some of my time.


Back to work tomorrow.

[Grizz1963]

More side build silliness coming up.

I bought a pull along wagon chassis from New Addington/Croydon area off FB Marketplace 30-40 miles from home.

All four wheels and inner tubes are blown out as the owners husband used it to move large paving slabs.

I cannot fault his thinking as I moved 4 16inch alloys and their tyres on mine on Sunday, all loaded at the same time.

Fortunately I have a business meeting in Richmond later today so will pick it up on the way.







Plan is to build it like this…….

And to add paint and some “hot rod graphics” and to then use it like that.

This is the one I have, it is on regular wheels, bit mocked up for the photos to give me a better idea of whether is should be built.

I think it looks OK.






Bonnie the pup came over with Sally as well.

Loves a soft toy.



Have a good day out there.

[Grizz1963]

Collected my new chassis for the build.







Need to order some wheel hubs as the wheels don’t have any.

A variation on the theme, bringing in a Radio Flyer.

[Grizz1963]

Forgot to mention.

Basic, first fit and it seems the side panels and vents will speak to each other in the final fit.




Fingers crossed they do when the dash goes in as well and final screw together happens.


.

[Grizz1963]

Been thinking inside the box again.


The plan all along was to fit an inline tap or control valve in the heater hose from the engine.


BUT…….


Then I started wondering, would it really make any difference if the coolant just circulated through the heater matrix permanently

And if one used the blower to push air through it onto your feet only when you wanted hot air to circulate there.

That way, you never interfere with the circulating volume or thermostat where it passes by.

Do keep in mind, this is a g

[Grizz1963]

Loads if day job stuff done, customers, emails, calls etc.

Managed to pull some mangled shrubs out and cut the front hedge for the first time this year.



Late afternoon I went down to the garage after some water feature cleaning and repairs.

Started and completed the small side panels.



One done.

Happy.



And a pair of them done.



Sneaky photography.

Enough.

Weekend ahead.

[Grizz1963]

ROAD TRIP ANYONE



I have seen this for sale in Colorado


And been thinking, buying it and getting it to Missouri to Dennis’s place.


Insuring and ownership on his name, and I then pay him for the insurance and become the named driver.


Should extend my road trip potential.


A Big Block chevy C30 dually under there, 41k miles done. And $1000.00 Colorado Dollars plus shipping to Missouri.


Opinions?


Agent Orange anyone.







Specifications.





Can you smell the dust and brown interior.
















Is there any mileage in this hare brained idea?

[Grizz1963]

In other news…….

Bootfair was a touch sparse.

But.

Chicken for Craigs wife £2.00
Tiling hammer for Craig £1.50

4 pound weight £1.00
JD glass 50p
Bowls £1.00
Ceramic knobs £1.00
Body hammer £1.00
Pair of headlights £2.00 (for sale)





Not much, home by 7.45 for breakfast.

Garage in a bit once yesterday on the Rezin Rockit is written up.

[Grizz1963]

Lots of yard work this time of year.

But tried out the side panels.

Looks like they will be good once bolted down.



Plan with the heater pipes was to just do a straight and return system.



Until the last screw on the matrix, along with its hollow clamp started to fight me.

After more than an hour of fighting it, destroying the Philips head screw, finding and cutting down a new one and still failing, I walked away.

One little screw.

Hopefully today when Nick is here, and I have a spare set of hands, to align the pipe, hold it in place and screw the screw in once the mini clamp is in place, I will be able to tick the heater off the master list.

Seriously.




Between us, Nick and I were never 100% happy with the original position of the radiator and the cooling fan was a problem to fit.

So yesterday he dismantled the fan, its frame etc, and with some spacers, grinding and magic, got to move it all 25mm closer to the radiator, yet retaining the frame.



Creating new brackets, welded onto the ARB mounting plates gave us enough space, and a new, horizontally mounted radiator that also benefits from maximum exposure.



The original top mount brackets I made, have been modified and hold it in place, without any tension or torsion.

I will do some final weld up and tidying where the edit has happened.





Looking a whole lot better from the front now.



The radiator hoses all need replacing as the reroute and new position is different to the low, flat MX5 design.



Coffee, then headed out.

Later.

[Grizz1963]

Well……..



Thoughts are brewing.



And someone was helping me, NOT.

[LT7A]

Great little RV. All depends on its running condition as to it's suitability for your purpose. No doubt that Dennis could get it good and ready. Tempted to inquire as to your plans for it after your trip.... biting my tongue.

Nice work on the heater side panels.

[mrtoni]

That a cool van camper but the 400 would be a smallblock. No bbc in vans until early 90’s

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by LT7A

Great little RV. All depends on its running condition as to it's suitability for your purpose. No doubt that Dennis could get it good and ready. Tempted to inquire as to your plans for it after your trip.... biting my tongue.

Nice work on the heater side panels.

You are most welcome to contact Snyders Junkyard in Pueblo, Colorado and speak to Steve if you are interested.

I would be happy to see it go to a home.

There are a few challenges in this for me.

Thanks, and yes, I am happy with the progress, slow as it seems.

Originally Posted by mrtoni

That a cool van camper but the 400 would be a smallblock. No bbc in vans until early 90’s

You are right.

I am not too clever with these things, I was under the impression it was based on cubic capacity.

Every day is a school day.

[Grizz1963]

Sunday was a “slow” day.

Morning spent in the garden with some jobs that needed doing.

A lot of stuff still to do as plants do not stop growing just because I am having fun or not, in the garage.

Filling in the pie cuts in the top brackets, painting them, Hammerite painting a few grinds and welds on the chassis all takes time.



Once bolted in (again) the wiring to the headlights, side lights laid out.

Radiator hoses in the new position are all being replaced with new, easy bents and straight runs.



Another overdue job was to make up the final solid legs for the passenger seat, which is mounted slightly higher than my drivers side (long torso, short 29” legs)

Recessed, captive nuts and a foot to spread the load both ends.

The rear one in fact more of a reverse “C” to use the body mount, thus leaving space for the new roll bar mounting footplate to sit with sufficient space to work with once I get back to that and weld new mounting plates to the chassis.

Yup, still not done welding.




So getting it in position and tacking the top and bottom plates in place meant an interesting technique to say the least.

But all good and done.

Nick was not happy with my welds and whisked it away when I went to make some coffee and added more weld to it 😁

I guess we both do this, checking and editing each others work at times to maximise things like strength and aesthetics on the build.






Happy family.

Pic taken for a nosey lady friend in Tulsa, Oklahoma.



Nick carried on with more small jobs, and there are a ton of them, fitting the correct tensile bolts to the steering shaft, checking brake lines, spacing the front grille, which will be getting another edit next weekend to allow easy fitting of the hood/bonnet.
Amazing how much stuff you end up doing 2,3,4,5 times.
Only a car builder will understand.

How many times has it been up and down, how many times have the wheels been on and off…….

Too many questions.



Late day job as we ran out of jobs to do.

The CAD filler panel for the grille and radiator, both to deflect air over the radiator and to fill that ugly hole looking into the engine



Light spray of black paint to blend it in a bit.

That works.



And front view.



Despite what seems an age, and it has taken some time, these jobs are all part of the bigger picture.

I need to get over to Car Builder Solutions this week to buy all the needed hoses, bends and connectors for the cooling system

Just need to find some time to get to it all.

Thanks for checking in and keeping a vigilant eye on us.

Thanks for all the comments and advice as well.

[Grizz1963]

MESSAGE SENT TO SELLER.

Hi Steve,

That orange G30 ‘76 Chevy camper you have.
Do you know much about it?
I need to drive it to St Louis, Missouri, or have it trailered if not at all safe to hit the road.
There are various ways of doing it.
BUT as you have warned me away before when I was interested, I would also be very happy to take your advice.
I usually come to the USA for three weeks every year and have access to all sorts of cars and trucks at Dennis Jones’ place in St Louis, but the idea of buying and driving something stupid like this, leaving it in the USA and then using it again the next year, does appeal.

We know these things are nearly 50 years old, so stuff can be very worn, old and unreliable, but some 50 year old cars are well kept and would be happy to just keep going.

So I guess asking your opinion or knowledge on this is what I need.

Thanks

Rian in London, England (well, Rochester, Kent really)

[LT7A]

Thanks Rian. Appreciative of you welcoming me to check in on that rig as well. But I have never found the need to get in the way of a friend's opportunity. Even if you didn't get it, I could not in good conscience pursue it although I think it is cool. It is not high enough on my target list and I already have vehicles I don't need. I think it's cool though, and could see having something like it someday. If you get it and use it over here for a few years for your trips and decide it needs to go away, feel free to let me know at that time. But I best focus on what I already have, haha. Thanks.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by LT7A

Thanks Rian. Appreciative of you welcoming me to check in on that rig as well. But I have never found the need to get in the way of a friend's opportunity. Even if you didn't get it, I could not in good conscience pursue it although I think it is cool. It is not high enough on my target list and I already have vehicles I don't need. I think it's cool though, and could see having something like it someday. If you get it and use it over here for a few years for your trips and decide it needs to go away, feel free to let me know at that time. But I best focus on what I already have, haha. Thanks.

Cool.

I was hoping to dodge a bullet here.

Have messaged the seller anyway.





Sat at a hospital (Princess Royal University Hospital) in a carpark for 70 minutes yesterday, waiting for a parking space to open.

None opened, so I drove around to a shopping centre and paid my £2.00 for two hours limited parking, (do not return for 4 hours or get a £100.00 fine)

Went in, did some work and left. Not ideal at all. In fact quite stressful, but hey…. We all have different problems.

Got home late as I made a couple of detours and all I did was walk down to the carport, found the original transmission tunnel carpet, saved to be used as a template as it is wedge shaped.

I need to order some automotive carpet and make up the carpets at some point.

Interestingly, we know there are no symmetrical lines to the body.

Case in point…… How the hell do you build a mould and actually manage to make the two tunnel sides so differently.

Making the new one will be interesting, but at least there is a template of sorts.

Ebay has a 3 meter by 1 meter roll of black carpeting for £25.00 delivered.

I think the buy it now option sounds good.




@nickwheeler and I need to make our 3rd visit to Car Builder Solutions too, to go get the hoses, connectors nd bends for the cooling system.

[Grizz1963]