"Project S" - My boy Sam's '72 2wd Blazer -The Red Sled

[jeffg1010]

My little boy Sam loves the Superman logo. It's become his trademark And we've even been known to call him SuperSam. He turned 7 in December, I guess as he grows and this build develops, that name may change. But, this will be his build... eventually

Alright... a few have already read about it. I've been talking about it since um... October? November? But, I finally got it delivered two weeks ago and I have been "tinkering" on it. And as I was grinding in the garage tonight, I thought "I've done some small things to it and haven't even started a build thread"

So, here's the story ... I will back up and start from the beginning of where the Blazer came from. Have a seat, because this intro is in depth.

For months, I had been getting my (then) six year old little boy pumped up about a Blazer project. Ya know, maybe your dad did it to you when you were a kid : "We are gonna build you one of those...blah, blah, blah" (come to think of it, I never got the '57 Chevy I was promised) -haha. OK, so I took him to the Fall Auto Fair at Charlotte Motor Speedway in August and I wanted him to see one. (to build the dream!) We had a great time and even found a couple. -but none in our price range!

And yeah that's Sam... posing (um... is he pickin' his nose?!?)

This one is owned by a board member... um... rustybucket? It was owned by Blazester when this photo was taken:




And this Blazer is owned by board member, bashed ...


SO, while I was talking to Jerrett (a.k.a.- bashed), I told him I was hoping to get one for a project this Spring. AND, he said he had another 2wd he was going to sell. So I gave him my card and told him to email me some pictures. I was pretty pumped up!

OK, so WEEKS went by and I never heard from him. I didnt have his name, his number. (yep, idiot move on my part) All I had was a photo of his Blazer and he had mentioned to me that he was at the show with the East Coast Cruisers. So, I finally Googled the East Coast Cruisers website and emailed them to tell them I was looking for a member who was at the Auto Fair. The only info I had was his Ochre Yellow Blazer. After a few days, (and apparently a few email forwards) I got contact info.

So, I called him to follow up and sure enough, he was still looking to sell it. He sent me these photos the following weekend...






So... I had to have it. The only trouble is, I just started my own business. We are definitely ... in the red. But when I decide I want something, I will do anything to get it.

He said he wasn't in a hurry to sell it, in fact he wasnt even trying to sell it, so I didn't commit right away. BUT it stayed on my mind.

Fast forward to November, I finally got a little bit of cash saved up and I offered to make a deposit on the Blazer. He agreed. So, on paper my ownership began on Tues, November 8th, 2011. Our deal was he would hold it at his place until I got my tax return and I would pay off the rest. Sounded crazy even to me at the time.

SO, when I went to his place on the 8th, I shot ALL of these photos: (yeah, he had it in primer by then)


















In the meantime, I spent my Christmas holiday parting out a '71 that I talked my dad into buying. I wanted to go ahead and score the top (for a donor-sliding sunroof project) and hatch (mine is shot) and the rear seat (mine is a rear seat delete and yeah... I have 3 kids) In the process, I also kept a box load of small parts because to be honest, I really had no idea what mine needed at the time. At the time, I had never even driven mine. haha!

Compared to the rest of the Blazer, the seat and hatch were mint.



SO... then we fast forward ahead again. I met up with Jerrett (bashed) a once to give him a little more money so he didn't think I evaporated, but I NEEDED that tax money. After the first of the year, I started working on my taxes, and when I received the last of my documents at the end of January, I filed them as quickly as possible... HOWEVER, Uncle Sam had other opinions. My return was e-filed on 2/2/12 and my return was estimated to be in on 2/19 but at some point I guess I pulled the short straw and my return was picked for "review". I guess our investment to buy the Charlotte franchise division of our company threw up a red flag and that began a chain of tax events that had me pulling my hair out. 2/19 turned into 3/23, then for a few weeks we didn't even have an estimated date. And then finally we got a date in April. When it finally came, they didn't even direct deposit it They sent it via check,(which I think I paid for-maybe I should look into that - I'll leave that rant for another thread)

At this point, I should probably give a shout out to board member bashed. He was a real understanding super guy to work with, even when it came to dealing with a broke fool like myself.

So, FINALLY the ball started rolling again. (7 months after our first meeting-ha!) In fact, it moved pretty quickly. I set it up to have it shipped directly to my dads, since he is all pumped up about building Sam having a Blazer. Of course, the shipping had it's own little issues.. I talked about it in another thread (if you're bored, feel free to indulge yourself) http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=520173

Here is the photos of when the shipper arrived at my dads work...

It arrived sharing trailer space with a pretty sweet '55







So, the first weekend I had it, I drove up to my dads without checking the forecast, and I got nothing done. Although I DID finally get to drive it ... illegally. As of now, it is still there and I am getting little done, but it's MINE now *bwahahaha*, AND I have 8 years to get it finished
(although, I may throw paint on it, so I can break it in for him now!)




I guess that gets it up to speed on how the whole deal came together. I guess I will now jump ahead to plans.

[jeffg1010]

OK... so PLANS?!?!?

For about 6 months, plans were ALL I had.
I am not going to go all out modern like on the Burb. I am going to keep it simple. It will have it's modern features, but I like how simple the Blazer platform is, I don't wanna mess it up with a ton of electronic devices.

Paint: Red? This will change a lot. If I stick with the '72 clip, it will be a paint scheme resembling my 70 Burb, if I go '68 clip, it will look like the image below.
Engine: It will keep what it has for a while, but I am a sucker for fuel injection. Could an LS be in it's future?
Suspension: Static drop (however Sam is a HUGE fan of airbags. He asked me how the trucks can sit on the ground and when I told him about how airbags work, he "claims" his will have airbags
Interior: I am leaning towards seats with 3 pt. shoulder harnesses for safety. Possibly newer Chrysler Sebring Seats? I have '05 Suburban seats in my Burb and they would stick up too high in a 2wd Blazer. I may even opt for a modern 3rd row Burb seat for the back to have shoulder harnesses in the back as well.
Top: White Line-X with a houndstooth material sliding ragtop
Dash: I want these in a '67-72 tin. They aren't offered like this... yet. But I've got time.

And I may go with a cowl hood. But with a twist... a buddy of mine is a fabricator in NASCAR and I wanna design a "stinger" style functional airbox induction hood. But, so far I am hating every design I come up with.

My dad is trying to talk me into a Burb sibling...
(it's been the "Winter of the Rendering")

topless...



top on...



Or I've also considered a clip change -probably stay away from the white walls. I drive 'em too much
(thanks to babyblueoval for letting me hack up and re-render his rendering)


But, my main plan has always been red...


Red and white was my initial plan. (hence the nickname "The Red Sled") I am a huge fan of Dodge Viper Red, I had a RestoMod '72 Monte Carlo in that color and I grew to love it.

Sam, on the other hand has other plans: (yeah, we gotta work on the kids tastes)


and when the Boy Scouts Pinewood Derby came along, he decided Blue with Orange flames, with a red lightning bolt on the hood was a better plan. (and yeah ... my Burb got in on the Pinewood Derby action too)





But, in the meantime, things are rolling here... I scored a '68 front clip if I decide to do the conversion.



AND... I want to take the extra top and install a "sliding ragtop". Kills 2 birds with one stone. Fixes the sag, and it looks REALLY cool.




Hatch slides will be replaced with these shocks from Rock Auto: (the first NEW part I bought for it!)



and I picked up a set of front lowering springs/shocks...

I guess next, I need to get into progress (although there isnt much yet) But I am working on it!

[gcburdic]

subscribed for the long haul!!!

[jeffg1010]

So, I guess I'll start with the hatch. The existing one on the Blazer was ROUGH... busted up, no lift supports. So, I bought a parts Blazer around Christmas and I kept the top. The hatch was mint. No cracks, no chips, good handle and working mechanisms. I even "had" the key to it, but over the past 5 months, I have misplaced it. (I got time)

So, this past week I started tearing it apart to fix it up.



Cleaned up the locking mechanisms, knocked off the old paint with a wire wheel and painted them with hammered texture black. They seem to work good.


I polished the handle. It is pitted, but it'll do until finances get better. I cleaned off the internal mechanism with about a can of Brakleen to get 40 years of hardened grease off of it. I will likely just make a new gasket for it.



But, until I get the hatch painted, they are all bagged up and ready for re-install.



Also stripped off the rock hard weather stripping. In the process of removing the internals from the hatch, I discovered it was once a thriving home for a colony of bees. haha! But, even after spending a great deal of time cleaning the crap out of the hatch, it still sounds like its half full of junk. Any suggestions?!?



Moving on to the rear seat. It is in GREAT shape. Although I am not sure if I will keep it. I really want shoulder belts in the back like my Burb. We'll see. But tonight I got the arm rests removed. Tomorrow I hope to remove all of the mounting brackets. I will strip them repaint them and that is all I will do to the seat. It doesn't need recovered although it doesn't match the front buckets... But, I am a LONG way from needing upholstery.



Started cleaning up the ashtrays too in an effort to salvage them. I figured I couldn't hurt them, they were looking like junk, so I hit one with a wire wheel.... MAYBE I'll keep 'em. After all... it's only a driver. hehe.


And the armrests are another amazing thing. Totally salvageable. I even will be keeping the all original pads. No cracks at all. They were covered in something disgusting, but simple green ate it off. I scrubbed them and detailed them with some vinyl protectant and I am shocked at how they look. Of course I don't have an "after" photo yet.




This is the inspiration fridge in my garage.

[fxdxharley]

This is the inspiration fridge in my garage.
[/QUOTE]

I like the fridge. Nice laconia sticker too. i live about 40 minutes from wiers. Your blazer theme / color theme is exactly what I am doing with mine. red with white center. still debating on a white w/s frame too, so it blends with the top.

[Heavy Evy]

I'm in!

[jeffg1010]

Well... little is happening. I am occasionally working on getting the seat brackets ready for paint, but business has been getting better, so I haven't spent much time out there. I am hoping to get the interior/dash painting done by the end of summer. The rest will wait.

I did score a new repop 71-72 bumper from gcburdic. And I got a set of drop springs and shocks. The parts collecting continues.

[Heavy Evy]

What color primer is that? I love how it looks!
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[PHAT TONY]

2wd Blazer for the win! You're NOT gonna take 8 years to build this...are ya? I wanna see more sooner lol.

[jeffg1010]

Originally Posted by Heavy Evy

What color primer is that? I love how it looks!
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Um... he mixed some color into it. I think it is called "Whateverhehadlayinaround" I am thinking about painting the rims candy orange and riding it for a while.

Originally Posted by PHAT TONY

2wd Blazer for the win! You're NOT gonna take 8 years to build this...are ya? I wanna see more sooner lol.

hmm... i doubt it. One day I am doing a frame off and the next day I just wanna run it as/is. We'll see.

[1972BackInBlackC10]

you say you have time, just a thought for ya maybe you should cut a hole in the junk top and go for a cruise and see what you think before you cut into your mint one, sometimes ideas look or seem good on paper and regretted once done, not trying to sound bossy or rude lol but since you have a junk top if you decide you dont like it you havent ruined your mint one

[PHAT TONY]

If you need more Blazer cash you could always sell that Big 'Burb!
Really cheap of course...

[VA72C10]

Cool build...in for the next 8 years

[jeffg1010]

Originally Posted by 1972BackInBlackC10

you say you have time, just a thought for ya maybe you should cut a hole in the junk top and go for a cruise and see what you think before you cut into your mint one, sometimes ideas look or seem good on paper and regretted once done, not trying to sound bossy or rude lol but since you have a junk top if you decide you dont like it you havent ruined your mint one

That is actually the plan. That is why I have held onto it. The junk one isnt really that junky. No cracks or anything. Just a little more sag (which of course will disappear after a few minutes with a sawzall. After I get the hole cut, if it looks good I will find a good hatch for it. (or just swap over the good one)

Originally Posted by PHAT TONY

If you need more Blazer cash you could always sell that Big 'Burb!
Really cheap of course...

Yeah... that thought has crossed my mind. But I NEED the Burb to pull our camper. And since I'd have to turn around and buy another 3/4 ton or larger truck, I wouldn't really be at an advantage by selling the Burb.

Originally Posted by VA72C10

Cool build...in for the next 8 years

welcome! not sure if it will be as exciting as some builds, but you can watch me screw a few things up!

[jeffg1010]

I have fallen in love with Livrat's interior on his Blazer.

What do you guys think about this... in keeping with the red/white theme... some kind of vibrant red (I have looked at a shovelhead red candy or a version of a candy red pearlcoat and pearl white). With the '68 clip (grill and lower section painted white) On the interior, red dash, and interior doors, parchment door panels, dash pad, white gauges, parchment seat covers, parchment rear interior panels.

Any opinions on this?!?! Will I regret the parchment?

Sorta this... only red and white.

[gcburdic]

If it's gonna be a driver, the parchment may show lots more dirt than say black....I love that blazer interior too!!!

[jeffg1010]

The Blazer had a near fatal blow last night. West Virginia had terrible storms with over 70 mph winds, my dad had moved my Blazer, his Burb, and his 63 Nova around behind his house because he needed to make room for the contractors building his garage. A HUGE oak tree that was about 100' tall came crashing down and missed the Blazer by 10 feet. After it happened my dad ran out in the storm and drove them around to a safer spot. I guess my mom was pretty ticked at him. After all was over, 2 huge trees fell

On the plus side, i got a sweet 68 steering wheel, a set of 6" rear drop springs, and a $250 LMC Truck gift certificate in the mail today, now I just need rear drop shocks, 2 1/2" drop spindles and I will be ready to lower it
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[orngsikL]

sub'd

[gcburdic]

Whoa!!!...Thank goodness Dad was home and saved it...but I'm w/ your mama....I'd be mad too!!!

[jeffg1010]

OK, I finally got my hatch painted...




And I got my rear seat done and ready to install. Painted the arm rest posts, and the mounting brackets. I am pleased for now. It'll make a good driver until I decide on the big resto...






A little "post tree" falling photo. I think my dad sent me the photo just to cure my anxiety.



The 20' root base of the tree that missed my front bumper by 10'

[jeffg1010]

I got the hatch components reassembled today. All I need is grommets/gaskets for the hinges. Also got the internals reinstalled and working. It is looking good (yeah, I should have taken a pic) The rods that connect from the latches to the t-handle were a pain because I broke the little connector pieces (anybody have a clue what these are called?) on the ends when I disassembled it. So, I drilled them out with the smallest drill bit I own and installed small cotter pins to keep them from coming off of the rods. Worked good. Total cost $0.65.

All of the parts are being loaded in the Burb for a trip to WV on Thursday. Looks like I will get some work in on it next weekend.

I tried to make an order with LMC, but ran into some issues with them. Guess I will not get as much done as I had hoped.

[jeffg1010]

Today I am celebrating a small victory...
I got the top hold down brackets and the hinge cover plates (and screws) painted.
SO... it is .0001% closer to being done.



I also got my SWEET '68 steering wheel installed a couple weeks ago. BUT... forgot to snap a photo.

[hilljob26]

should be a sweet ride when done

[jeffg1010]

Craigslist parts score today.

Got a console



Deluxe park lights



Mirrors



Nice driver quality door handles




Emblems that need a little freshened up (but all the studs are there and they are not pitted.



A turn signal lever and some interior door hardware.



And she even gave me a diecast Blazer to give to Sam. Ironically it is even the right color. (I can almost picture a finished Blazer in my driveway)

[jeffg1010]

LMC goodies



Tailgate trim and hardtop weatherstripping



Taillight bezels



Armrests




I also did some work to the CST emblems I got off of Craigslist









And I started on the 350 emblems




(not done yet)


And Sam finally met the Blazer...






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