Hemi's 70 Blazer build

[IronCanine]

unum dura mater

[tjsblazer]

Dan. Did you get your tailgate letters from Bill's or where?

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by tjsblazer

Dan. Did you get your tailgate letters from Bill's or where?

Yup, from Bill's ! I think they were something like $12. He has them in back and white.

[IronCanine]

Just noticed the avatar change. Usually puts the official pin on the build thread. Looks good. I expect you are going to have a fun summer.

[grillzy]

I got to see this truck in person today. Everything is top notch! Very well done. Also got to meet the owner and son. Nice to meet you and hope to see you soon.

[hemi43]

I just found my street rod that I sold last year while surfing the web. I sold it so I could build my Blazer because I wanted something more usable. Holy crap they're asking a lot for it !! The least they could have done is detailed the underside before taking the pictures. Kinda sad to see it end up on E-bay.
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Dodge-Other-2...853&rmvSB=true

[jjzepplin]

UMH.....holy EZRXTRCJYTVGKHBKJNLM:<":> omg! That thing is rowdy! I might have to really think about it before I got rid of my Blazer to keep that.

[Oldschool88]

Originally Posted by hemi43

Not on mine !! My truck originally had drums. If you go back on the top of this page, you'll see that I made my own disc brake conversion using large late model
2-piston calipers. On the table with the coated parts the custom backing plate is sitting on the edge of the table. I also increased the stud size to 1/2-20.
Dan

Did yours have a brake booster ? And what are the calipers bolting to ?
Posted via Mobile Device

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by Oldschool88

Did yours have a brake booster ? And what are the calipers bolting to ?
Posted via Mobile Device

Mine had the original 11 booster, but now has a dual diaphram 9".
The calipers mount to a custom made 1/4" thick backing plate. I've got about 1500 miles on it now, and it stops as well as my new truck. I'm extremely happy how the conversion worked out.

[Tomo]

Originally Posted by hemi43

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.

Hey hemi would you happen to have a cad file for these ferrules? The 70 im working on is missing both - I have a small cnc and I'd like to make a set out of aluminum. Great work on your blazer - can't wait until mine is back on the road too.

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by Tomo

Hey hemi would you happen to have a cad file for these ferrules? The 70 im working on is missing both - I have a small cnc and I'd like to make a set out of aluminum. Great work on your blazer - can't wait until mine is back on the road too.

Sorry, I just machined them manually with no drawings.
Even with a CNC mill or lathe, these will have to be made out of two pieces. There's not too many parts that can't be machined by CNC, but this is one of them , even though it looks like a simple part.This part would be perfect to duplicate on a 3D printer.
The biggest problem is the surface that sits against the inner door panel. It's a curved surface that's at an angle, which by itself would be easy to machine, but the problem is the stub that fits inside the door.
It's difficult to explain in words.
I still have one original plastic one that I could take close up pictures and measurements if you wanted to make some?
Dan

[Tomo]

Originally Posted by hemi43

Sorry, I just machined them manually with no drawings.
Even with a CNC mill or lathe, these will have to be made out of two pieces. There's not too many parts that can't be machined by CNC, but this is one of them , even though it looks like a simple part.This part would be perfect to duplicate on a 3D printer.
The biggest problem is the surface that sits against the inner door panel. It's a curved surface that's at an angle, which by itself would be easy to machine, but the problem is the stub that fits inside the door.
It's difficult to explain in words.
I still have one original plastic one that I could take close up pictures and measurements if you wanted to make some?
Dan

Some photos and measurements would be great! I think it would be possible to make them with a "flip jig" similar to this:
https://youtu.be/dvGtw1Qk1F0

I agree 3D printing would be much easier. If I can make a 3D drawing of it then I may be able to find someone to print it - but I think I will prefer aluminum

[hemi43]

I guess I should have said they can't be machined on a 3-axis mill. If someone has access to a 5-axis or that flip jig then it's doable, but for only 2 pieces it's not worth the effort. It only took me about 20 minutes to machine them manually from brass. I'll try and get some measurements in the next day or so.

[wannabefastcrf]

ok if I really zoom in it looks like you have a oh **** handle for your passenger. did you make it or buy it?

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by wannabefastcrf

ok if I really zoom in it looks like you have a oh **** handle for your passenger. did you make it or buy it?

Sorry for the late reply, I must have missed your post. I made those handles from 3/4" 1/8 wall DOM, and slipped a foam rubber grab handle over it. There's also a threaded backing plate inside the A pillar to bolt them to. They work well, and I could probably lift the truck with them.

[jjzepplin]

My wifey wants one!!

[tjsblazer]

Dan good meeting you yesterday at the Syracuse Nationals. Truck also looks awesome in person!

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by tjsblazer

Dan good meeting you yesterday at the Syracuse Nationals. Truck also looks awesome in person!

Same here, Jeff !! It was a hot show this year especially on the pavement. Not sure how many vehicles showed up this year but it was a great turnout. I saw another 2 Blazers which out of 8000 is an extremely low percentage. People must have liked my Blazer also because I got many good comments especially about the color. I was in shock when it won the Designer's Dozen. Truck ran great and got 17.5 MPG towing the trailer down. Hopefully you'll get yours done for next year's show !!
Dan

[ochre 72]

Hoping you can answer a question for me. I believe you used nylon fuel line for the tank to rail. Did you go all the way to the rail with the nylon?
Thanks,
David

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by ochre 72

Hoping you can answer a question for me. I believe you used nylon fuel line for the tank to rail. Did you go all the way to the rail with the nylon?
Thanks,
David

I used nylon all the way from the in-tank pump to the fuel rail on the engine, as well as the return line. Beautiful stuff to work with, and I will never use steel line again for any future builds.

[ochre 72]

Originally Posted by hemi43

I used nylon all the way from the in-tank pump to the fuel rail on the engine, as well as the return line. Beautiful stuff to work with, and I will never use steel line again for any future builds.

Thanks for the response and sorry about muddying up your thread. I have the nylon and fittings. I've just seen on some factory applications where they install a rubber or braided "buffer" piece at the rail, I'm assuming for vibration dampening or motor mount flex. Considering the level of work on your build I value your opinion on whether you felt that was necessary.
Same question about trans cooler lines. Did you use rubber at the cooler or steel all the way? I appreciate your input.

David

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by ochre 72

Thanks for the response and sorry about muddying up your thread. I have the nylon and fittings. I've just seen on some factory applications where they install a rubber or braided "buffer" piece at the rail, I'm assuming for vibration dampening or motor mount flex. Considering the level of work on your build I value your opinion on whether you felt that was necessary.
Same question about trans cooler lines. Did you use rubber at the cooler or steel all the way? I appreciate your input.

David

No worries about muddying this thread, because it's been dead for quite a while !

The reason the factory uses a braided "buffer", is because they used steel lines. The nylon flexes enough that this isn't necessary. The only thing you need to watch out for is to keep the line away from any heat sources like exhaust. I also wrapped the lines with a split rubber hose anywhere ther was a chance of chaffing. For extra safety, I tie wrapped the fitting on the fuel rail at the engine so that it can't pop off and cause a fuel leak.
For the transmission lines I used Cupro-nickel 3/8 tubing along the frame and hydraulic flex lines to the transmission. Way overkill, but I know it will never give me issues.

[Tomo]

Originally Posted by hemi43

Mine had the original 11 booster, but now has a dual diaphram 9".
The calipers mount to a custom made 1/4" thick backing plate. I've got about 1500 miles on it now, and it stops as well as my new truck. I'm extremely happy how the conversion worked out.

Hey Hemi,

Would you mind sharing some details on this custom conversion kit? Photos of backing plate & details of the mods would be great! I also have a 70 (it's not going to be done nearly as fast as yours...) & I really like this option compared to the price of a conversion kit or replacing the entire front diff. I'll also be doing an LS swap so I will likely take the calipers of the donor truck.

Great work on your blazer - really like your color choice. Hope you're enjoying it!

Thanks,
Tom

[ochre 72]

Originally Posted by hemi43

No worries about muddying this thread, because it's been dead for quite a while !

The reason the factory uses a braided "buffer", is because they used steel lines. The nylon flexes enough that this isn't necessary. The only thing you need to watch out for is to keep the line away from any heat sources like exhaust. I also wrapped the lines with a split rubber hose anywhere ther was a chance of chaffing. For extra safety, I tie wrapped the fitting on the fuel rail at the engine so that it can't pop off and cause a fuel leak.
For the transmission lines I used Cupro-nickel 3/8 tubing along the frame and hydraulic flex lines to the transmission. Way overkill, but I know it will never give me issues.

Thank you sir. I really appreciate the input.

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by Tomo

Hey Hemi,

Would you mind sharing some details on this custom conversion kit? Photos of backing plate & details of the mods would be great! I also have a 70 (it's not going to be done nearly as fast as yours...) & I really like this option compared to the price of a conversion kit or replacing the entire front diff. I'll also be doing an LS swap so I will likely take the calipers of the donor truck.

Great work on your blazer - really like your color choice. Hope you're enjoying it!

Thanks,
Tom

Any pictures I have are already posted here. Even though everything bolts onto the existing hubs, there is quite a bit of machining involved. It's basically late model calipers with mid 90's rotors. The difficult part is getting all this to fit inside a 15" rim. If I had to do it all over again, I would use a hat and rotor assembly because I couldn't find a factory rotor that was deep enough to get the caliper away from the rim. I now have about 5000 miles on the truck, and have had zero issues.