The blazer, keeping it, beginning to restore, need some help.

[Dclassen]

I was attempting to sell my dads 1972 K5 4x4 Blazer but have now decided to keep it and work on it myself. Here are some pics, and a few questions.





Now the first thing I want to do to this truck is seal up the doors! Every time it gets wet water gets on the inside and sits on the carpet, and it is starting to rust out the floor in the corner on the left side! I think I am going to need some new rubber for this. I am not sure what all I need to order however, or how difficult this would be to install. Any suggestions?

Once I get it all sealed up nicely, I'm going to replace some parts like the back bumper which has a nice dent in it, fix the rust on the rocker panels and what is forming on the floor, and repaint it. My dad wanted it orange so that's what I'm gonna go with.

[jaros44sr]

Very nice blazer....get the rugs out, now! They only retain moisture at this point. Put a rust convertor on the metal that is starting to rust, hopefully, this will stop any more rust until we can give it futher attention...

Sealing it up is wishful thinking. They leak, some worse than others. Seals are available, and are easy to install, if, you follow the directions of the sealant

[Dclassen]

Originally Posted by jaros44sr

Very nice blazer....get the rugs out, now! They only retain moisture at this point. Put a rust convertor on the metal that is starting to rust, hopefully, this will stop any more rust until we can give it futher attention...

Sealing it up is wishful thinking. They leak, some worse than others. Seals are available, and are easy to install, if, you follow the directions of the sealant

Thanks, removing the carpet never even crossed my mind. I think putting some new weatherstrips on the doors would help though, it leaks BAD. I'm talking if I wash it the seats are soaked. I at least want to make it better.

[jaros44sr]

Try putting some one inside, and spray the truck, might help locate the leak. But, i suspect the seal at the top of the winshield, and roof, which has always been an area that is hard to get right.

Good luck, and keep posting, its a great place for info., and the people are all great...

[jaros44sr]

The problem is the design of the floor boards, it has a flange that acts like a dam. So, any water that leaks, including snow melt from your boots, will sit at the conjunction of the rocker panel, floorboard area.

Rugs help to rust this area out, since they act as sandpaper with any dirt underneath, and moisture retension. If you dont have paint or undercoating on the floorboards, it will rust. Now, it could rust from the inside out, since the torsion box, under the floorboard, is not protected at all from the factory....

If you replace the rocker panel, pay attention to the torsion box while your inside, put something in there as a sealant, if your lucky enough to have any metal left.

Good luck!

[Dclassen]

Originally Posted by jaros44sr

Try putting some one inside, and spray the truck, might help locate the leak. But, i suspect the seal at the top of the winshield, and roof, which has always been an area that is hard to get right.

Good luck, and keep posting, its a great place for info., and the people are all great...

I picked up some rust-o-leum rust converter(believe it was called something else) fairly sure its the same thing, and chrome polish/rust remover at walmart yesterday. Gonna pull the rugs out at least in the front and try these out today.

[Dclassen]

I got all the carpeting out, the rust doesn't look too bad but has definitely extended onto the floorboards in some parts and is steadily creeping up the left side and has left a significant hole in the inner left wall where it connects to the floor in front of the seat. its rusting out right next to the weather stripping. Should I go ahead and pull out the weather stripping, attempt to seal the areas that arent too bad, then replace with new stripping? I had intended on replacing this rubber anyway and I'm not sure if I will be able to put it back on.

[truckster]

Can you tell where it's leaking? The most common place is the top corners by the windshield frame. That's why Chevy put the drip deflectors there - those are the black plastic pieces that are screwed to the windshield frame and the top. If they're in good shape, you might try removing them and reinstalling them with a bead of black RTV between the deflector and the body.

There are a lot of places a Blazer can leak, but if you can determine where the water is coming from it makes it easier to deal with. Right now (since I've replaced my door seals and drip deflectors) mine is leaking right where the top joins the bed rail. I'll have to get new seals for it when I put the top on later this year.

[Dclassen]

Originally Posted by truckster

Can you tell where it's leaking? The most common place is the top corners by the windshield frame. That's why Chevy put the drip deflectors there - those are the black plastic pieces that are screwed to the windshield frame and the top. If they're in good shape, you might try removing them and reinstalling them with a bead of black RTV between the deflector and the body.

There are a lot of places a Blazer can leak, but if you can determine where the water is coming from it makes it easier to deal with. Right now (since I've replaced my door seals and drip deflectors) mine is leaking right where the top joins the bed rail. I'll have to get new seals for it when I put the top on later this year.

Yes. I'm pretty sure it is coming in between that exact area. But I can tell the passenger side window is not fully sealed at the top, this may be because its not sitting properly in place. I think im just going to go ahead and have the workers at my buddy's farm remove the rust and replace with panels I provide, since looking at the panels online theyre pretty damn cheap. Right now I'm looking at rockers for both sides, inner rockers, and front floor pans for both sides. I'll take some pics of the cancer tomorrow, see what you guys think I need possibly. Not sure what the front right inner wall area would be replaced with(theres a nice hole there where the floor meets the inner right side). I just want the rust completely gone, and I don't think some sealant is gonna fix that. After the panels I'll just be looking at the price of cheap, good labor done by some good family friends. All in all im thinking it won't cost me nearly as much as I had expected. Now paint will be another story .

[jaros44sr]

The panel you need is called a kick panel, dont buy cheap(thin) patch panels. Better panels are out there from board venders...read up on some of the projects, and youll see what your getting into.

Post pics and well help you out

BTW, i hope you didnt think i was suggesting the use of sealant to repair the rust. I shouldve said adhesive to install weatherstripping. New metal is the only way to fix rust properly

[4oldcars]

Your wasting your time (and money) with Rustoleum. There is NO rust inhibitor in it. Get Rust Encapsulator from Eastwood.

[jaros44sr]

Originally Posted by 4oldcars

Your wasting your time (and money) with Rustoleum. There is NO rust inhibitor in it. Get Rust Encapsulator from Eastwood.

X2, you need a rust convertor....


20130414_105407 by jarosaj, on Flickr

[Dclassen]

Originally Posted by jaros44sr

The panel you need is called a kick panel, dont buy cheap(thin) patch panels. Better panels are out there from board venders...read up on some of the projects, and youll see what your getting into.

Post pics and well help you out

BTW, i hope you didnt think i was suggesting the use of sealant to repair the rust. I shouldve said adhesive to install weatherstripping. New metal is the only way to fix rust properly

No, I knew what you were saying. This is the stuff I picked up I guess I'll find some real stuff later lol. Well at least I have the carpets out. Will post more pics when I find my keys..

[jaros44sr]

Rust bullit comes to mind, i think lksdcvn used it, see if he has any comments on the product....

[lks dcvn]

I used www.nomorerust.com Rust Sealer on my 72 Blazer. It is silver and super thick.

I painted in on with foam brushes on the floors, rockers, bed, kick panels rockers, etc. right after I got done cleaning up the welds on my truck and it looks the exact same over 3 years later.

I then used a DA on the body and foam brushed the stuff on the outside as well to stop the current rust from getting any worse.

To test the stuff I ground the hood down to bare metal and then painted the hood with rust sealer and left it outside for 2+ years in all weather (Snow, Rain, etc.) - It had some very light surface rust where I didn't put it on thick enough in certain spots, but the stuff holds up great.

I want to put carpet in my Blazer when done since it will likely never see any rain/snow again, but I haven't decided yet. An Al's Liner kit is about the same price and it will help prevent rusting in the future.

[Dclassen]

So I'm back finally. Was working on the truck all day today. Replaced the alternator a fer days ago. Had the oil changed got some floor mats, a cheap plastic center console since I don't have one. Anyway here's my plans for the rust problem. I tested out the rust o leum stuff on one side today and it seemed to work well. I plan on just coating the whole floorboard in this stuff since it will need to be replaced anyway, as well as both kicker panels( since there's a hole in one. Then taking some bondo to fill the hole in the kicker panel and the small holes at the sides of the floorboards, then sanding the whole thing down a bit and applying a spray in bed liner type product. Thoughts?

I just ordered:
Door glass runs
Drip rail deflectors
and a hood to cowl seal

in an attempt to seal up the cab. Sorry for the essay. One other problem I had, after I finished working today I took it around the block, pulled the headlight switch on and the damn plastic handle came off and the lights on the dash stopped working >_<. Any ideas on this? Thanks. Will post pics tomorrow of progress.

[Dclassen]

Few more problems I have:

-Leaks everywhere. Guy at jiffy lube said that both transfer cases were leaking and the whole bottom of the truck was wet.

-Really damn annoying squeaking going on and I have no idea what it is. (Didn't use to do that)

-Horn not working

-Half the gauges don't work. (Gas gauge way off, speedometer slightly off, heat gauge doesn't work at all)

I plan on pressure washing the whole bottom to see if I can pinpoint the leaks. I just don't know how to stop them. I figure this may alleviate the squeaking as well. How difficult of fixes are these? Not paying someone 800$ to fix the damn leaks!

[DSST_construction]

i would try to fix the leaks first then see how hard and long its gonna take. good luck buddy keep us posted

[Dclassen]

Originally Posted by DSST_construction

i would try to fix the leaks first then see how hard and long its gonna take. good luck buddy keep us posted

I've been focused on making the interior nice and preventing it from rusting out since I'll be driving it daily now. Worked ALL Day yesterday. Sanded down rust, the whole cab floor, sealed, and patched and bondo'd the holes. Got one side sanded pretty nicely after the bondo job. looks pretty good, the best part no more ugly rust/holes to look at! Going to attempt the bed liner on the cab floor today after I finish sanding. Have to go pick up another quart of the herculiner just to be sure I have enough on hand. Hope all goes well. I should be posting a pic of the results.

Stupid question: Some of the fuses are burnt out. What kind do i need to replace them?

[red71cheyenne]

The fuses are probably your gauge problems as well. Replacing them may fix your gauges. They are easy to get and the fuse box is labelled with which size for what ckt it is. The fuse box is under the steering wheel on the firewall. I'll attach a photo of one...

[Dclassen]

Well I'm finally done. About 20 hours of work later. I'm finished. Sanded rust down, sealed it, bondo'd the holes. bedlined. Finished. Damn I'm tired but it does look nice. Also pressure washed underneath this morning and pretty much solved my squeaking problem. Here it is.



Lets play spot the bondo.

[Dclassen]

Originally Posted by red71cheyenne

The fuses are probably your gauge problems as well. Replacing them may fix your gauges. They are easy to get and the fuse box is labelled with which size for what ckt it is. The fuse box is under the steering wheel on the firewall. I'll attach a photo of one...

Thank you! I replaced all the fuses and that fixed my lighting problem on the gauges at least. They still aren't working though. I'd like to get the temp gauge at least working. Blazers in the shop now, was driving out to go shooting and started making some loud noise and smoking, turned out it was the A/C compressor? The whole system is getting re done now so I should have air soon. Gonna ask about the gauges/leaks as well.

[Dclassen]

Well, got it back. Then the battery was dead soon as I got it home from the shop. Took it back to autozone, had to replace some external regulator, and I think my battery drainage problem is donezo. A/C is nice and chilly. Made that shooting trip today that I missed out on last week .

[GuyO]

Dood, that is sweet. Your problems are our problems, VetteVet is your man for electrical issues. Temp sender sounds to be either not making connection or shorting out. Fuel gauge is a ground problem. My Blazer and GMC PU were terrible leakers. It's one seal, one gasket, one sealant at a time. Especially where speedometer cable goes into the transfer case. The worst leaks get attention first. Speedo issue is due to oversized tires. Bowtie Overdrives sells drive and driven speedo gears, call them. Good luck. Guy.

[Dclassen]

Originally Posted by GuyO

Dood, that is sweet. Your problems are our problems, VetteVet is your man for electrical issues. Temp sender sounds to be either not making connection or shorting out. Fuel gauge is a ground problem. My Blazer and GMC PU were terrible leakers. It's one seal, one gasket, one sealant at a time. Especially where speedometer cable goes into the transfer case. The worst leaks get attention first. Speedo issue is due to oversized tires. Bowtie Overdrives sells drive and driven speedo gears, call them. Good luck. Guy.

Thank you sir, it seems all the fixes thus far have been easy little tiny things. I found out after 2 weeks the electrical problem was just due to the wire plug into the alternator being melted >_< I don't think I needed to replace all that but it wasn't very expensive. I replaced the temp sensor today, not knowing my coolant was gonna dump, LOL. Anyway it didn't fix my gauge. That's the last of my fixes I'm really worried about besides the leaks, got the horn working today as well. Just would like the fuel/temp gauge working properly now then I will see about having someone fix the leaks cheaply. Then I'll be 100% done besides worrying about the body work later. Oh and I still need to figure out how those window channels go in. Anyone have a good pic of stock weatherstripping around doors/window? Mine seem to be off somehow.