71 AZ Rust Free CST Blazer Frame Off

[JackB]

About a year or so ago, I was checking ebay to get an idea of what my “feathers” Blazer might be worth and I saw an ad with what seemed to be a really good deal on a very original 1971 CST Blazer in Kingman AZ. I contacted the seller and although I wasnt actually in the market at the time this one seemed to be to good to pass up. So I made a deal on the phone and headed out to AZ the next day. What I brought home was a pretty much unmolested rust free AZ original paint, original drive train highly optioned Blazer which I put in storage until a few months back when I was ready to restore it. So far I have completely disassembled it, have had the frame powder coated and am beginning to start reassembly. My plan is to do a mostly original restoration with a couple of liberties taken along the way. The original colors are white with blue interior and I'm going to change it up a bit and go with medium blue with blue houndstooth interior. (Interestingly the original glove box is already painted medium blue from the factory. Was that a common practice? ) Also, Im going to go with a small 2 inch lift. Lets start with some before pics....

[JackB]

And some pics of it coming apart. I had the firewall painted before I took the body off, my thought being that I would finish up the frame including the entire drivetrain then remount the body and send it off for paint.

[JackB]

Frame back from powdercoat. Not a whole lot more I can do right now because I have both axles out for rebuild. Originally the axles were 3.07 and I'm having them regeared to 3.73 as I plan to go with 33 inch tires.

[briank]

Looks solid!

[68panelman]

Looking really good. The blue glove box throws me off too.

[DeadheadNM]

Any additional photos you can add of the tear down? It's so clean I'll bet the information in additional photos would be a big help to future builds. Pete

[JackB]

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

Any additional photos you can add of the tear down? It's so clean I'll bet the information in additional photos would be a big help to future builds. Pete

I have a few more but to be honest it came apart so quick we didnt take as many pics as we probably should have. It was amazing how easy it was to get all the fasteners off. No heat, no PB blaster not a single rusted bolt. On the other hand, anything made of rubber or plastic was pretty much destroyed. Plenty of Arizona dust as well.

[JackB]

Getting close to having the rear axle finished. Changing gears from 3.07 to 3.73

[IronCanine]

Have I missed the color keyed glove box doors on Chevrolets? GMCs sure, but I would expect that glove box door to be white. I know they were all in the same line in St. Louis, so why not...but I guess one never jumped out at me that I took for original/correct. Does this fall into the same category as the A/C vent housing color? More knowledgeable members please advise....PS nice find, looking forward to the build....and as Pete politely suggests: DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT.

[Hart_Rod]

Nice score!

[JackB]

So about the glove box door..I first thought maybe it had been switched from another truck but thats not the case as the vin matches. Now I'm wondering if it might have something to do with the fact that this is a very early (8/70) 1971 build. I know from my previous work with Camaros that early builds sometimes used carry over parts/procedures from the previous model year. On that note when I installed my new brake line from inline tube(Brown rubber tip in pic) it was 2 inches too short to land in the bracket it needed to. Inline had to make me one that was shorter than their pattern which makes me think that Chevy changed the bracket location after the model run started

[JackB]

Small progress to report..
Installed
Springs, Gas tank and skid plate, Brake lines, Fuel and vapor lines, Red Head steering box, E Brake cables, speedometer cable, and transfer case.

Still waiting on getting the axles rebuild, hopefully I will have them by the end of next week. In the mean time I'm going to start putting all the accessories on the engine which is back from being rebuilt (original 350 rebuilt stock)

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by JackB

So about the glove box door..I first thought maybe it had been switched from another truck but thats not the case as the vin matches. Now I'm wondering if it might have something to do with the fact that this is a very early (8/70) 1971 build. I know from my previous work with Camaros that early builds sometimes used carry over parts/procedures from the previous model year. On that note when I installed my new brake line from inline tube(Brown rubber tip in pic) it was 2 inches too short to land in the bracket it needed to. Inline had to make me one that was shorter than their pattern which makes me think that Chevy changed the bracket location after the model run started

Originally Posted by JackB

Small progress to report..
Installed
Springs, Gas tank and skid plate, Brake lines, Fuel and vapor lines, Red Head steering box, E Brake cables, speedometer cable, and transfer case.


Still waiting on getting the axles rebuild, hopefully I will have them by the end of next week. In the mean time I'm going to start putting all the accessories on the engine which is back from being rebuilt (original 350 rebuilt stock)

This is just top work. Looking outstanding. Love the wax pencil marks on the frame. I don't doubt the authenticity of the door...just can't recall seeing it on a Chevrolet....but don't assume anything when it comes to Inline Tube.

Keep up the great work. More pics please.

[DeadheadNM]

Tell me about the frame clips used to run the fuel lines. OEM?

The blue gb door is very intriguing. I've not seen another example fwiw but it looks OEM. Some highlander 72 blazers had the face of the rear floor step and the rear wheel tubs painted white and the two I know of were St. Louis built like your truck. Maybe St. Louis had artistic license to experiment?

[JackB]

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

Tell me about the frame clips used to run the fuel lines. OEM?

Yes original clips sandblasted and repainted

[DeadheadNM]

Originally Posted by JackB

Yes original clips sandblasted and repainted

Thanks. I've got a pile being replated right now. Was curious if these were available aftermarket as a backup.

[JackB]

Engine painted today...
Engine is original to Blazer final assembled 7/30/1970. I toyed with the idea of going with a roller cam when I had it rebuilt but in the end decided to go original. Fingers crossed for cam break in. Engine was still standard bore so .30 over cleaned everything up.

[lks dcvn]

I have red head steering gears on both of my current project - only run is a driver so far - that thing is awesome!

[notsolo]

Originally Posted by JackB

Engine painted today...
Engine is original to Blazer final assembled 7/30/1970. I toyed with the idea of going with a roller cam when I had it rebuilt but in the end decided to go original. Fingers crossed for cam break in. Engine was still standard bore so .30 over cleaned everything up.

Possibly add Comp Cam zinc break in additive, Great detailed work on your New Blazer.

[LuckyScott]

Looks great

[JackB]

Originally Posted by notsolo

Possibly add Comp Cam zinc break in additive, Great detailed work on your New Blazer.

I bought some Brad Penn break in oil that I'm going to use for the initial startup. Hoping that does the trick. Thanks for the compliment. I'm taking a few liberties but by and large I'm trying to sweat the details so to speak

Originally Posted by LuckyScott

Looks great

Thanks

[DeadheadNM]

Curious what paint colors you went with for the frame clamps and the rubber hose clamps. I got mine back today and need to track down matching paint. Also, did you reuse the frame clips for the rear lamp harness - these have the rubberized coating. I'll recoat mine maybe, or go with repro if available.

[JackB]

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

Curious what paint colors you went with for the frame clamps and the rubber hose clamps. I got mine back today and need to track down matching paint. Also, did you reuse the frame clips for the rear lamp harness - these have the rubberized coating. I'll recoat mine maybe, or go with repro if available.

I took the easy way out on paint matching. There was a lot of color left on the inside of brackets so I just went to Lowes and bought the closest matching color I could find in a spray can. (Rustoleum). The rubber brackets were all in good shape so I just cleaned them up and reused them.

[JackB]

Not much to report the last few weeks. Got a few parts on the engine and got the rear end installed. One thing I ran across is the stock length ebrake cables are stretched to the max with the 2 inch lift springs. For the moment I'm proceeding with the assumption that the weight of the tub will give me enough slack. Does anyone know if this indeed the case? On another note, I guess I got lucky as all the rest of my inline tube stuff fit nicely.

[DeadheadNM]

Looks great. Thanks for the update. I just had a hiccup with Inline where the wrong ebrake cables were sent.