72 Surprise Blazer

[treyvette17]

Ok everyone, I am finally going to build the Blazer I have been trying to build for years. This is the 4th Blazer I have owned and had to sell the other 3 for one reason or another. This time, I am not letting this one go. I am going to call this the Surprise Blazer because so far that is what I keep saying as I find out new things about it. When I first bought it, I had checked it all over and knew it had some rust and previous repair work done. I didn't realize to what extent until later. Guy I bought it from didn't know much about it but told me up front that he thought it had a head gasket issue. No problem, was going to rebuild the motor anyway. Got it home and went to work. Sent the motor off to the shop and a few days later got a call. Well we have a problem. Surprise. Guy tells me that the block has a crack in 2 of the cylinder walls. He said looks like someone tried to fix at some point in the past. The valley has rust everywhere. The heads each were cracked. I asked if the intake was good. Nope. Cracked too. So I go look and sure enough all cracked. And the block was from 1977. The shop owner offered me a 72 block he had at the shop for free and the build began. Nothing too crazy. Just made it a strong 383 Stroker but nothing ridiculous. Meanwhile I sent the tranny to be gone over just in case. Surprise. The shop calls me up and said they were not sure how I even drove the Blazer on and off the trailer when I bought it that it was so bad and worn out. In my defense, it probably never went over 300 ft total between on and off the trailer to where I started taking it apart. Nice total rebuild there. Now to the body. I had noticed some odd welding under the Blazer when I bought it but figured it had just been normal repairs. Well upon looking from the inside once everything was removed. Surprise. It appears that the entire back half of the Blazer is from another Blazer. There is a weld line from door to door with some reinforcement mental welded in also. I'm sure that's going to make body work even easier, especially in the rocker boxes area. Now the paint was not my taste so I had it vapor blasted down to metal then primed. If anyone knows the history on this Blazer I would love to hear about it. I am 99% sure that at some point it was in a Club in Oklahoma City that may have been called Hardbodies. I could still slightly read the residue from the sticker that was on the tailgate. Who knows what the next Surprise will be around the corner. I will try to attach pics from when I bought it.

[YJ_Aaron]

Cool project, hope to see it around one day.

[lks dcvn]

Agree - cool project for sure. Almost every truck I've bought has a few surprises - some good, some bad.

Sounds like you are working toward a safe, reliable truck that can be enjoyed for years to come. Post up some more pix - we always enjoy following along on a new build.

[caseyfromMO]

The only thing I know about it is I almost bought it but it had some title issues that made me change my mind. Glad you got it, I think we talked by text a few months ago when I asked you for the number of the seller. I saw you selling the sweet flame tailgate!

[treyvette17]

Ha. Yep. That tailgate had to go. Even if I blasted away the flames, I knew they would still be there in spirit.

[treyvette17]

Couple of updated pics. I am currently working with Pickmup from the board to get the 1 ton booster with the 1/2 ton master cylinder setup headed my way. Note sure how to spin this pics around but you get the idea lol

[lks dcvn]

flipped - I think the picture orientation is a phone setting thing. Unsure.

[treyvette17]

Much appreciated

[lks dcvn]

Looks pretty good so far. Are you going with aftermarket sheet metal for the front clip or restoring the OEM metal?

I'm not sure if there was any rust to repair on the other Blazers that you sold, but there are a few things that help with putting one back together...

• replace body mounts and bolts if they are shot. Wes @ Classic Heartbeat has the best replacement kit with rubber bushings
• bolt factory top onto the truck to get body in alignment
• check door hinges and replace/rebuild if they have slop in them
• shim body until doors open / close without sticking at latch
• etc.

I've just finished up the rust repair on a blazer project so happy to assist if you have any questions.

[caseyfromMO]

lks_dcvn, your Blazer posts are saved on my PC, printed out and laying in my Blazer as a tutorial so hats off to you for doing all of that. I did have a question for you. I am going to be replacing my bedfloor/bedsides/step up panel. What should I do to keep my cab floor in position while taking the rest of it off? If the body bolts are in will I be ok? Right now front fenders are off and hood but should I throw them back on?

[treyvette17]

I appreciate any help I can get. So don't be shy. If I am about to do something dumb and you catch me first, NOT going to hurt my feelings.

I plan to go with the original front clip for the most part. It is going to need doors, driver and pass floor pans, sections of the bed, complete lower rear quarters, tailgate and the rocker boxes need a little attention.

[lks dcvn]

@Casey - so I don't clutter up treyvette17s post - I'll keep it brief.

If you did all the pre-work like putting on the top, replacing the body mounts (as needed), fixing the hinges (as needed), aligning the doors to open/shut well - your front floor should be in the ballpark of where the floors needs to be.

Once you have everything lined up - take measurements of the door openings once everything is 'aligned' near to factor spec. I have included a pic that I have referenced MANY times that forum member VTblazer on the door opening measurements.

For my most recent build I have used mostly Key Parts items purchased through www.jegs.com for free/reduced shipping. Let me know if you need any insight on which parts you may need. If you have floor and torsion box work to do...you likely have front cab mounts, a-pillar outer, kick panel, inner rocker and outer rocker rust to repair. Get some pix of the rust spots and this group can tell you what you are in for and provide guidance to avoid the mistakes we have made.

[treyvette17]

I don't mind the clutter. It's info I'm going to need too.

[treyvette17]

Just got a well received change to my weekend schedule. Just got my 1/2 ton master cylinder and 1 ton brake booster from PICKMUP on the board. Somebody, this guy, is getting 1 step closer to stopping this rig like it should stop. I just so happen to love when my weekend plans change due to a Blazer part arrival.

[Paul72]

Great start!

Good luck and enjoy the process - hopefully you only go thru it once...

[Warrens69GMC]

In for the ride!!

[treyvette17]

Had to take a little break due to life but back at it. Still have to do a little fitting of the brake lines but just about got them done. HUGE THANK YOU to PICKMUP for the brake booster upgrade set up. Learned that I probably should have ran the brake lines before putting the motor back in but it just makes the challenge and result even more memorable. Now onto finishing up the wiring.

[treyvette17]

I still need to figure out this picture orientation deal. Uugghh. Lol. I think you all get the point of the pics.