'77 Blazer Project

[bake74]

     Welcome from California, you do have your work cut out for you, good luck and keep us posted.

[1984k30]

Looks like a nice project.  I've only seen a few 4 speed blazers. 

[cbgrant74]

I decided I should clean up the rear drum brakes, since they were dragging a little and making it difficult to roll the Blazer in and out of the shop.  Of course the drums were frozen on pretty nicely and wouldn't budge.  So I rigged up a home-made puller:



Cranked the c-clamps down tight, one rap with the hammer, and off they came!

So, the teardown is pretty well along, and I'm getting to the point where I need to make a decision.  I need to decide where to start the body repair, which will be the bulk of the work on this project.  I'm basically a novice working with sheet metal, but I have some decent tools (welder, torch, air tools, etc.) and I'm fairly mechanically inclined.  The question is, do I start with the cab, rocker panels, and floor pans, or do I start with the bed and rear wheel wells?

In addition to being partly rusted out, the entire bed floor has been dented from hauling gravel and cordwood, so it will need to be straightened or replaced.  That said, it seems like the bed would be easier to work with in terms of access and the sheet metal there is a little simpler than in the cab.  But maybe there's a reason I need to fix the cab first.  I know it has settled a little bit, especially on the driver's side (we shimmed up the lower door hinge 20 years ago to get the driver's door to close).  Do I need to get the cab straight before I fix the bed?

Any input/suggestions would be helpful, and thanks in advance!

[bigandrich22]

nice project..gotta love a blazer with the old 4 speed..seems like they are becoming hard to find now a days

[VileZambonie]

I got an entire floor section from GM for $405 bucks and started there. After that I did all the cab work on mine. Came out slick.

[jackjeckel757]

yep looks like you have a good project on your hands, but as a native New Englander myself, born and raised in Manchester NH, I have seen MUCH worse. Kinda like my '85 Ramcharger I sold to a friend up there and has been sitting in his back yard for years now, poor truck...

[cbgrant74]

Well, I'm making a little progress on the Blazer restoration (that full-time job thing keeps getting in the way).  I'm working on the rear wheel housings - figured I'd start with something simple to teach myself sheet metal work.  There are certainly plenty of dents and rust to practice on.



I'm wondering what these holes were for:



There's one hole in the top of each wheel housing, with a gasketed plug to keep out the road spray.  If the Blazer had carpet, is this where it would have attached, or does something else go there?

Another question - I pulled the seats apart to make sure I cleaned up all the mouse debris before I put the seats in the attic.  I removed the spring that helps with adjusting the driver's seat, and now I can't figure out where it goes.  Does anyone remember?



Thanks.

- Charlie

[cbgrant74]

Well, let's try patching some of those rust holes.  We'll start with a paper pattern:



After a bit of cutting and welding, it bears a vague resemblance to the original:



All clamped up:



Not perfect, but better than what was there:



I guess that gives me somewhere to practice soldering.

Here's another:





Not perfect, but I suppose that will do.

[slammed79]

Good enough for never being seen again!

[cbgrant74]

I dropped the gas tank the other day and drained out about seven gallons of ten-year-old gas.  The outside of the tank is in good shape - not even any appreciable surface rust.  The inside, above where the gas was sitting, isn't heavily pitted, but definitely shows some corrosion:



What's the best option here?  Can I save this tank?  I've seen some products called "gas tank restorers."  Do they work?  Is this an appropriate application?  Do I need to clean off the corrosion first?

Thanks for the help.

- Charlie

[beastie_3]

Compare the time and cost of restoring that tank to the cost of a new tank. They do make poly tanks for our trucks so no more rust...

They restored a tank on powerblock once. Eastwood should have what you need.

[bake74]

     There are several products for restoring gas tanks, I used a 3 step process on a motorcycle gas tank that turned out great.  The fenders look great, just make sure to coat them good before re-assy.

[big bear]

love this build.  i like hearing history behind trucks.  its looking great man.

[79chevykid]

i have the same holes on the top of my rear wheel wells of my truck, i was wondering what they were for too.

[team39763]

Nice work on those wheel tubs. 

Off topic: Back in Germany I used to have one of those little orange sleds like in your second pic...used to be so much fun.