Minor Repair Turns into Major Overhaul

[cleszkie]

A funny thing happens when you start doing some small bodywork repairs. You begin looking at other areas of your truck that you have not been happy with and get the urge to do just a little more work. Well, my story began when a neighbor backed into my front passenger fender. I pulled off the fender and replaced it. But then I got the urge to remove the diamond plate that I put on years ago. When I did that, it reminded me of the shoddy rust repairs and bondo work I did years ago in these areas. I decided that I would clean up all of the old body work with straight, clean metal now that my welding has improved. One thing led to another and I have now replaced both front fenders, both outer rockers, both lower door skins, both rear quarter wheel arches, and the rear driver's tail light section. My neighbors think I'm crazy because to the untrained eye my Blazer had really nice paint and body and now it looks like a collection of various colored pieces. But now it is rust and bondo free, and that feeling is priceless. Some pics:

[Effeckt]

Nicely done. I know exactly how you feel. I have very minimal rust but refuse to do the repairs any other way than replacing the bad areas with good metal.

[bigeasycigars]

Yo Craig,

Wanna do mine when you are done? ;-)

Can't wait to see the end result! You still have an extra front windshield frame?

[cleszkie]

Eric,

I'll do yours (for a small fee) I actually like doing the metal work. I'm farming out the finish work (skim coat, prime and paint).

Yup, I still have my extra windshield frame. Its for sale if you need it. Totally rust free unit. I will even install it for you at my house for an additional fee. I was a little nervous to cut mine off at first, but once you've done it, its no big deal.

One more pic of my Blazer with new fender, lower door skin, outer rocker, and pretty much entire bedside replacement:

[bigeasycigars]

Your K/5 is gonna be sweet!

I just did a ton to mine.
Springs (4" Skyjackers)
Bilstein shocks
greasable shackels
Front stabilizer
New tie rods, ball joints, etc. (total front end rebuild)
New gas tank, sending unit, etc.
Replaced body mount bushings
Went through trans, transfer case, motor, diffs and replaced fluids and filters and gaskets as well as new wires and tune up. Fixed that exhaust leak, electronic ignition, cleaned the engine compartment (removed 40 years of sh*t wiring for who knows what)

Going through heater and getting ready to install an a/c. Not sure weather I'll go with Classic Air or work with what I have.

--Left to do.

Gonna replace the BUMPERS AND OUTER GRILLE. Who has the best replacement parts that you know of? The best quality and fit?
FIND A FRONT FLIP FOR PASSENGER SEAT. You know of anyone who might have the hardware?

So looks like next winter for the body work. Still looks good but want to remove all the rust on mine as well so I can sleep better at night.

Talk with ya soon,

Eric

[cleszkie]

So how does it ride now with the new suspension and fresh components? Did you go for the 'softride' springs? Looks like you have done a lot of work there. Has that mysterious noise/vibration gone away now that you've gone through all of your cases? I know what you mean about 40 years of wiring 'modifications'. I must have pulled out about 10 miles of random wire out of my truck over the years. Makes it much easier to track down future problems when you don't have a sh*tload of bogus wires hanging around.

Let me know how the A/C instal goes and what brand you go with. That has been on my to do list for a while, but I've been sidetracked by the bodywork.

As far as bumpers go, you might be best off finding clean original pieces. I have heard horror stories about the crappy chrome quality on some of the repro parts. Do a search on the board. You will find other people's opinions on the best source of new bumpers.

For the outter grill, be careful here too. I have heard many people talk about the poor fit and finish of SOME of the repro pieces, and the great fit and finish of others. Again, I have no experience with this as I still have my original, but a search of the board should yield some info.

Finding the flip bracketry for the passenger seat should not be difficult. I have seen these come up on the classifieds every now and then. You can always sent a PM to member 'Teeitup' who has a huge stockpile of parts for sale at all times from trucks that he parts out.

For any of the parts you need, I suggest placing a WTB add in the classifieds. Chances are you will find what you need.

You should consider going to that CPP truck show in Anaheim in March. I think I will be there with mine even if it looks like a junkyard dog!

[bigeasycigars]

Yeah went with the softride. Noise seems to have vanished. I thought about replating my bumpers and see if my outer ring could be repaired as well. As far as a/c goes you talk to 5 people you get five answers. Keep in touch and I'll meet ya at CPP show. Also I'm up for a semi local trek when ya get your rig up and running...Any ideas?