1972 Blazer - 'Bullet' Project

[lks dcvn]

Guess I will do the torsion box swap last - since plenty of trucks are out there with saddle tanks and no issues -

I will need to identify any issues with removing them afterward and then welding on the new ones when I am done with this side - I think I am doing it in the right order - if not - I am sure I will find out in a month or so.

Moving forward again - this time on the driver side of things.

Cab mount = toast - patch panel will be mated up after I get a better cut on the current mount remnants.

A Pillar = sketchy at best - patch panel will be mated up

I have a few busy nights this week so I won't make much progress, if any until this weekend.

Thanks again for all the comments and advice guys - I need it to keep moving on this thing.

[lks dcvn]

So I got some free time tonight [got done with my other stuff earlier than I expected] soooo - what did I do - I headed out to see what I could do on the Blazer.

I really thought starting with the passenger side would be better since it looked worse. Boy was I wrong. The driver side is way worse...

I got the torsion box end cap off and started to have a look at the back of the B pillar and the step area - yikes - look familiar.

Then I spent some time trying to cut out that piece that connects the floor, outer bedside and B pillar together - got about half way and then called it a night. I was actually surprised that the top bolt came out.

I forgot how big of a pain it was to get the other side out (and that wasn't that long ago):

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...&postcount=107

Not sure if it was a blessing or not, but most of it was pretty soft so I just wiggled it back and forth until it snapped off. The rest is pretty solid so I will need to cut it out.

I really hate the way they bolted it from the top into those square nuts - I have to cut them out and the angle sucks to get to them...oh well - I will stop complaining now - many other members have resurrected much worse.

[1956cameo]

I just read thru the entire thread again! All I have to say is Thank You for going into such detail on your repairs; and for all of the close up pics of everything. This thread is really helping me to understand how I need to tackle my rocker area.

I had a question. On post #107, about the rocker box reinforcement plate. You showed the rusty plate in a pic; then you showed a non rusty black plate going back into place. Was that a reproduction rocker box reinforcement plate? Or was the original rusty one that had been repaired? Also the floor supports that you mention on post#116 that you got from GMC Pauls. Do you have any pictures of where those go? This whole area on my blazer is pretty rusty. So much so that it is a little difficult for me to understand how it all went together originally. Thanks for any help!

[lks dcvn]

Glad to help - if others hadn't done the same thing I wouldn't have gotten as far as I did.

On post #107, about the rocker box reinforcement plate. You showed the rusty plate in a pic; then you showed a non rusty black plate going back into place. Was that a reproduction rocker box reinforcement plate? Or was the original rusty one that had been repaired?

My original one was rusted and gone - no chance of saving it - without the replacement piece to look at I would have never known what the shape of that original piece was...I got that piece from a bulk patch panel sale from another member late last year...It can also be found here:

Item two on the list: http://www.gmcpauls.com/Patch_Panels.htm
Part #: 3529883 - other vendors have them as well...

The biggest pain in the butt part of getting that new one is - is getting the old out - the factory has bolts [that the tops are hidden in the B pillar area] - so I cut the bottom of the bolt off to have it seat properly in there. When you are on your back looking up at the remnants of that piece - you will see the bottom of the two bolts that have square nuts on them...and it will make more sense.

Also the floor supports that you mention on post#116 that you got from GMC Pauls. Do you have any pictures of where those go? This whole area on my blazer is pretty rusty. So much so that it is a little difficult for me to understand how it all went together originally.

I guess I didn't get any pix of that installed [whoops] - I will do that on the driver side...when I get to it. If you look at the pictures in this post you will see the before on the driver side. It pulls together the floor, piece you mentioned above in post #107 and the B pillar patch. The exposed bolts are on the B pillar patch and then hidden when the outer rocker is installed.

The best pic I have can be found in post #114:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...&postcount=141

If you look closely - you will see the two holes in the inner rocker near the B pillar - the floor support mounts there and then in the last pic of that post you will see the two bolts [bringing the B pillar patch together].

[1956cameo]

Thanks for all the help! Looks like I have a couple of "fun" days ahead of me.

[lks dcvn]

Got quite a bit done this weekend.

Using VT's measurements - I checked mine - they were spot on -

So I got to work...

Front cab support done - ready to weld in
Kick panel mocked up and trimmed to 'near complete' - needs final fitment
B pillar trimmed back to solid metal - patch needs fitted
Inner Rocker and Floor patch - trimmed to Blazer floor measurements
B pillar support - old cut out and new one bolted in [temporarily] - this is the worst part of the job IMHO
Rear Quarter - ground back to clean metal and cut out the bad

More pix in next post.

[lks dcvn]

More pix...

One of the POs was horrible at body work - their idea of patch work was to put in some metal with crappy welds and then bondo over it - not uncommon, but if you are going through the work anyway - why not do it correctly. That is a pet peeve of mine...

I need to pick up the inner B pillar patch panels before spring so I can do both sides correctly.

Sadly, the outer floor on this side [where the step up is] is also soft - so that will also need to be rebuilt like the passenger side, but not as complex.

[BLUE THUNDER]

Dude, you are crushing that Blazer. You have made some serious progress on it. Keep up the good work. I can't wait to see more pics. This might inspire me to start cutting the rust out of mine and get it looking right. I've got some plans for it real soon. Take care dude. Later, Mario.

[lks dcvn]

It isn't that bad Mario and I had zero welding experience when I started - just the ambition to learn. Would I have wanted this to be my first project - probably not, but I was amazed when I wrapped up the passenger side and the door shut well and there were no issues with the gaps. Checking measurements along the way really helped me - and lifting that damn door with the glass, etc. 10 times was a PITA!

I must have looked at almost every build thread to see the best way to approach the rust on my truck and as mentioned - the longest delay in the process was wondering if I could do it - simple answer - yes.

It may take me a bit longer [since I am somewhat meticulous about this stuff] to finish, but that is fine by me.

[lks dcvn]

Made some progress over the past week...

After grinding for about 5 mins I found out most of the B pillar was toast so I cut it back to solid metal and then found that most of the step was rotted as well...

I cut back to solid metal, ground it down, then welding in a patch in the same area. I then test fit the B pillar support again from my previous post to locate the holes that I needed to drill to line everything back up:

Link to pix of the B pillar support pix

Once that was done I cut down my Outer Floor Extension piece and cut it down too short at the floor step up area so I had to weld back on an extension to the floor and then while I was at it added the extension that replaced the missing floor in that area as well - that way I could clean the welds up before installing so it isn't a pain like the other side was in that area. I do learn from my mistakes - I bet I won't cut that floor piece short again either -

I then found some soft metal in the upper floor - I didn't have this on the other side...I cut back to solid metal [this area is a bit tight to work in] and then welded in a patch piece - I still need to grind down the welds a bit as the flap disk couldn't get that close to the kick panel.

[lks dcvn]

Today I did some more patch panel fitment and then ground the floor down to bare metal and coated it with the www.nomorerust.com stuff to stop the rust...

I didn't really grind too far into the areas that I will be cutting out so that is why some areas aren't covered...

I will need to see how much I will replace - probably most of the floor area will be going.

I also coated the cab support and kick panel patch pieces with the excess paint that I used on the floor.

If I get time tomorrow - I will see if I can get some of this stuff welded in this weekend. I am still hoping for the 3-17 time line on this side.

[VA72C10]

Great progress.

[lks dcvn]

OK - 10 days left on my deadline for the body work to be done on both sides [except behind the doors]...

After test fitting the rear floor patch panel for Tri-Pro in a Blazer - link to the panel fitting post - I won't post all the pix from over there in this thread - but wanted to show that I was still making progress.

I actually used the floor patch that I got from Tri-Pro as it was a LOT better than the 'patch' I made for the floor in that area. I then got the inner rocker welded in and coated with the rust preventative paint.

With it being in the high 40s today it seemed like a heat wave - no garage heater needed for the past few sessions.

Only one pic for the weekend's progress since I was busy working and not taking pix. Most of the work was spent working on the Tri-Pro patch - the inner rocker was already to go in...I cut off my 'patch' piece and welded the inner rocker to the Tri-Pro patch piece I created.

Next Steps:

1. Kick Panel Patch - final fitment needed
2. A Pillar Patch - final fitment needed
3. B pillar Patch - haven't started on
4. Floor Patch Panel - haven't started on
5. Outer Rocker - tack weld into place and test hang doors for alignment
6. Replace Torsion box and end cap with new aftermarket ones -

I plan to do some work each night on this thing.

When reinstalling the outer rocker - does the single wall wiring harness go between the inner rocker and the outer rocker - I didn't really have a 'before' scenario on this side when pulling it all apart.

[BLUE THUNDER]

Looking good Tom. Can't wait to see more pics.

[lks dcvn]

No pix for tonight Mario - camera was at work...

But I did spend 3 hours out there knocking some of this stuff out.

Updated List:

1. Kick Panel Patch - final fitment completed - welded in today - DONE!
2. A Pillar Patch - final fitment done - needs welded in
3. B pillar Patch - haven't started on
4. Floor Patch Panel - haven't started on
5. Outer Rocker - tack weld into place and test hang doors for alignment
6. Replace Torsion box and end cap with new aftermarket ones

When I was finishing up for the night - I coated the a pillar patch panel and the kick panel pieces that are now welded in with the rust paint [I sure hope this crap works - not that it adds a bunch of time - but if this stuff actually works like it should - I will be pretty happy]

[jaros44sr]

Nice way to knock it out Tom. I sure wish I worked as hard as you. IIRC, the hardtop wire sits in the channel with the door seal and gets covered up by the steel threshold plate

[my67chevytruck]

nice progress!

[lks dcvn]

Thanks for all the encouraging words - I think the main driver in this process is that at the end of April I will be picking up my other cars from long term storage and I need to wrap this stuff up by then to make room for my other stuff -

Sounds good on the wiring - I want to test it to be sure the lights are working before I get it all back together...they haven't worked since I got it, but I haven't checked the bulbs yet either...didn't need to.

I will be on the hunt for some blue high hump carpet for this - so if you see any - let me know.

I also just picked up some 69-70 blazer buckets from another forum member to use in my green lifted blazer that has had some hand formed seat brackets in it since I bought it...now those can go and some legit seats can go in.

[lks dcvn]

Another night in the garage...more work done.

Update to the list:

1. Kick Panel Patch - final fitment completed - welded in - DONE!
2. A Pillar Patch - final fitment done - welded in - DONE! [needs minor grinding prior to paint]
3. B pillar Patch - mockup complete - ready to weld in
4. Floor Patch Panel - haven't started on
5. Outer Rocker - tack weld into place and test hang doors for alignment - i did do a test fit tonight before quitting - fit up pretty good - minor tweaking needed...
6. Replace Torsion box and end cap with new aftermarket ones

For anybody that has cut out their rusty torsion boxes and installed new ones - any insight/tips since I will likely be doing it in the next week or so - to swap over to my new aftermarket ones.

[1956cameo]

It's looking great! Make sure you stay one step ahead of me because I am using your build as a template for my build!

[wholio]

where do you order your parts from homie?

[lks dcvn]

Patch Panel Source-

A pillars: Driver and Passenger side 1st set - no names that I got from a bulk purchase. 2nd Passenger side I got from Tabco

B Pillars: also no names I got in a bulk deal

Inner Rockers - I think they are Tri-Pro or Key Parts

Torsion Boxes - no idea

Outer Rocker - Tri-Pro

Floors - Driver side = no name, passenger side = Tabco.


Alright - made quite a bit of progress since my last post - I am done for the day - having a few adult beverages tonight since I met my 'checkpoint' for today earlier than I hoped...

Since the A-pillar and B-pillar were both welded in and solid...I figured I would check the fitment of the outer rocker.

1. Outer Rocker - hung it - checked it - clamped it from the bottom and hung the door to check fitment - looked good - took the door off again and then started on the floor...

2. Floor Patch Panel - ready to weld in - got a few pix before I started - spent most of the day on this one - wanted to be sure that I got all the junk metal out of the floors - so I made a somewhat irregular patch panel - but it should cover all the bases. It isn't welded in yet - I wanted to do that tomorrow and see if I can hang the outer rocker and the door tomorrow

3. Torsion box replacement - not sure I will get to this tomorrow, but I plan to spend another long day out there tomorrow wrapping this thing up.

Pix here will be the outer rocker -

[lks dcvn]

Floor pix...

It is just laid in there for the time being...will get to the welding tomorrow.

Break time.

Have a good weekend everybody!

[lks dcvn]

Floor is done!

I now know the reason why you tack weld the rocker in first...

I tacked it in - then rehung the door again - too high and it would have rubbed on the door - so I took it off again...

I will get back to it tomorrow night - still gunning for Tues night to be done.

I got called to do some work from home - so I will be doing that the rest of the night.

[Bentblazer]

Looking good!