chilliwak
Expedition Leader
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Yep, that was a true classic design, my absolute favorite.
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I had a '71 from 1983 - 85:
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WOW:Wow1: Now thats a Blazer Martin..:drool:
1971 K5 blazer build
- Thread starter Mag71
- Start date
WOW:Wow1: Now thats a Blazer Martin..:drool:
Martinjmpr
Wiffleball Batter
Eh, you might not have thought so if it was yours. I had a LOT of problems with that truck. Rear end locked up in the middle of an intersection, clutch went out with no warning and getting it into 4-high was damn near impossible. All this in the space of 2 years.
I was 21 when I bought it and didn't know crap about how to take care of vehicles so that made it worse.
If I had it to do over again I would have kept my 67 Travelall.
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Some pictures, but not much of an update. I sprayed down all the bolts that I could find again this evening. I also organized the shop and got rid of some old stuff that had been laying around to make it easier when I really start the breakdown of the blazer. Also here is the SPID sticker and as you can see it was a very basic truck, but that's okay because I'll be able to truly make it mine!
I've sourced some new seats for the blazer and I've decided to go with later model tahoe or suburban seats. The third row suburban seat will fit close to perfect in place of the later model blazer seat I have now. It will also be much safer because it has shoulder and waist belts that come factory attached to the seat itself and will be a lot more comfortable. I Just have to fashion me up some new brackets and maybe drill a few holes and weld up some others, but that shouldn't be too much of a pain.
I did think about trying to stay true to the blazer and finding some original seats, but that is just not realistic for my budget at this point. Original model seats often run 500-600 for the bench seat in any condition as long as the frame is there. and 750-1000 for the front seats if the console is included or 500 without console. That's not including the cost of re-upholstery... so I'll gladly spend the 100 bucks on craigslist for a safer, more comfortable, and better functioning seat (Fold down and easy to remove).
Anyways, till the next post and thanks for you interest!
I've sourced some new seats for the blazer and I've decided to go with later model tahoe or suburban seats. The third row suburban seat will fit close to perfect in place of the later model blazer seat I have now. It will also be much safer because it has shoulder and waist belts that come factory attached to the seat itself and will be a lot more comfortable. I Just have to fashion me up some new brackets and maybe drill a few holes and weld up some others, but that shouldn't be too much of a pain.
I did think about trying to stay true to the blazer and finding some original seats, but that is just not realistic for my budget at this point. Original model seats often run 500-600 for the bench seat in any condition as long as the frame is there. and 750-1000 for the front seats if the console is included or 500 without console. That's not including the cost of re-upholstery... so I'll gladly spend the 100 bucks on craigslist for a safer, more comfortable, and better functioning seat (Fold down and easy to remove).
Anyways, till the next post and thanks for you interest!
mep1811
Gentleman Adventurer
Nice truck . A very rare find with a manual tranny .
If the engine is still strong , I can't really see how the expense of an engine swap will will pay off. wait until it dies. 10MPG is great for such a vehicle . Also that engine is much easier to fix in the field and diagnose issue that a modern computerized motor.
Best of luck with the build .
If the engine is still strong , I can't really see how the expense of an engine swap will will pay off. wait until it dies. 10MPG is great for such a vehicle . Also that engine is much easier to fix in the field and diagnose issue that a modern computerized motor.
Best of luck with the build .
Update time, last night I made a schedule and decided to stick to it. Basically I have a task to start on every Thursday. I go to school full time for nursing and basically get paid to go to college full time thanks to the GI.Bill. So my schedule for right now is blazer days Thur-Sat. My first goal was to gut the interior and I did so besides the door molding which had some stripped screws so I'll get to that soon.
Long story short the seats were shot, but the carpet was in great shape. The floor pans are in AMAZING shape for being the originals from 1971. I found small amounts of rust but its nothing compared to what blazers are usually subject to that are this old.
Next weekend I plan to start unbolting fenders,core support and other odds and ends. I want to try and have the body off the frame by late December or early January. Once the body is off I will be in overdrive doing prep-work. Before I take the tub off I do want to get some measurements for some type of drawer system and try and build it myself.
I find that half the fun in restoring old metal and making a vehicle truly yours, are the skills you pick up a long the way. I could totally buy a drawer system but I won't learn anything. The same with my bumpers because if I never try and fab it up on my own I know I'll never learn. If it looks like fido's *** then I know it isn't for me, but I'm always trying to expand my skill set, from survival skills to fabrication skills.
About the pictures, and some confusing finds.
1. The transmission tunnel was messed up. I'm not sure why but the hump appears to be gouged out pretty good. Why? I don't know I'm 95% positive it was a manual truck... the clutch pedal and linkages are all factory... so why does it appear to have an automatic trans tunnel modified with a rock to let the shifter from the SM465 pass through... the SPID would say if it was auto also.... so who knows. Also it has the factory paint! Possible body lift? maybe it was a huge mud truck at one time? If only old sheet metal could talk....
2. The floors are in great condition and the carpet isn't half bad.
3. The doors are cut for some stupid speakers. I'm trying to decide if I want to just keep them and use them for new speakers or get all new doors and risk them being LMC truck Taiwan crap.. so I have to do some soul searching on that.
As always, more to come!
Long story short the seats were shot, but the carpet was in great shape. The floor pans are in AMAZING shape for being the originals from 1971. I found small amounts of rust but its nothing compared to what blazers are usually subject to that are this old.
Next weekend I plan to start unbolting fenders,core support and other odds and ends. I want to try and have the body off the frame by late December or early January. Once the body is off I will be in overdrive doing prep-work. Before I take the tub off I do want to get some measurements for some type of drawer system and try and build it myself.
I find that half the fun in restoring old metal and making a vehicle truly yours, are the skills you pick up a long the way. I could totally buy a drawer system but I won't learn anything. The same with my bumpers because if I never try and fab it up on my own I know I'll never learn. If it looks like fido's *** then I know it isn't for me, but I'm always trying to expand my skill set, from survival skills to fabrication skills.
About the pictures, and some confusing finds.
1. The transmission tunnel was messed up. I'm not sure why but the hump appears to be gouged out pretty good. Why? I don't know I'm 95% positive it was a manual truck... the clutch pedal and linkages are all factory... so why does it appear to have an automatic trans tunnel modified with a rock to let the shifter from the SM465 pass through... the SPID would say if it was auto also.... so who knows. Also it has the factory paint! Possible body lift? maybe it was a huge mud truck at one time? If only old sheet metal could talk....
2. The floors are in great condition and the carpet isn't half bad.
3. The doors are cut for some stupid speakers. I'm trying to decide if I want to just keep them and use them for new speakers or get all new doors and risk them being LMC truck Taiwan crap.. so I have to do some soul searching on that.
As always, more to come!
Absolutely, I got super lucky with this truck, and I couldn't be happier! Now if I could just sell my Cherokee rock crawler so I can fund this thing!
Not really much of an update, but I have been putting together a blazer budget. I got it from a Microsoft excel wedding budget template and just edited it all to meet my needs. Its pretty accurate and I usually highball figures. I would rather plan to spend more and it end up being cheaper; rather being surprised later on about it.
Springs 1,200.00
Shocks 400.00
Tires 900.00
Seats 400.00
Carpet 200.00
Dynamat 100.00
MISC 1,000.00
Welder 150.00
Bumpers 400.00
Rubber 350.00
Total Expenses 5,100.00
-My springs are so much because they are going to be Alcan springs from www.alcanspring.com. They are specifically designed for the weight of my truck at this point in time. If I have to adjust that weight because I get some offroad bumpers built and add more gear I will just shoot them an E-mail and they will adjust accordingly. They are not put on shelves and are custom made to order and they should be a lot better than the rancho's and blocks I have now!
-Shocks are pretty standard ,Bilstien 5100's
-Tires, I'm on the fence about them. Either the tried and true BFgoodrich KO2 or the nice looking General Grabber red labels, We'll see.
-Seats will hopefully be some craigslist specials Tahoe/Burb stock seats, leather of-course.
-Carpet is pretty self explanatory.
-Dynamat because I hate heat or noise especially if its something that can be prevented.
-MISC because you never know what can happen.
-Welder, me and my pops are going to put some money together for one.
-Bumpers, I'm going to build some for my needs and I hope to keep the total material cost below 400.00
-Last but not least, the replacement rubber that is dry rotted and cracked.... its expensive!
Springs 1,200.00
Shocks 400.00
Tires 900.00
Seats 400.00
Carpet 200.00
Dynamat 100.00
MISC 1,000.00
Welder 150.00
Bumpers 400.00
Rubber 350.00
Total Expenses 5,100.00
-My springs are so much because they are going to be Alcan springs from www.alcanspring.com. They are specifically designed for the weight of my truck at this point in time. If I have to adjust that weight because I get some offroad bumpers built and add more gear I will just shoot them an E-mail and they will adjust accordingly. They are not put on shelves and are custom made to order and they should be a lot better than the rancho's and blocks I have now!
-Shocks are pretty standard ,Bilstien 5100's
-Tires, I'm on the fence about them. Either the tried and true BFgoodrich KO2 or the nice looking General Grabber red labels, We'll see.
-Seats will hopefully be some craigslist specials Tahoe/Burb stock seats, leather of-course.
-Carpet is pretty self explanatory.
-Dynamat because I hate heat or noise especially if its something that can be prevented.
-MISC because you never know what can happen.
-Welder, me and my pops are going to put some money together for one.
-Bumpers, I'm going to build some for my needs and I hope to keep the total material cost below 400.00
-Last but not least, the replacement rubber that is dry rotted and cracked.... its expensive!
Attachments
I can't see what intake and carb you have but my son's 72 blazer got 17 mpg with the stick. We installed an Edelbrock Performer intake and 4 barrel carburetor. We also installed an HEI distributer from a newer 350. We bought the distributer at the wrecking yard.
If you still have a 2 barrel carb you will get terrible gas mileage.
I think my son still regrets selling his.
If you still have a 2 barrel carb you will get terrible gas mileage.
I think my son still regrets selling his.
It has a brand new Edlebrock 650 4 barrel Electric choke. I think the motor is just hungry and its push 35's with 6 inches of lift.a 6000 pound wind sail basically.
Sorry guys I know I haven't updated in a bit but the holidays threw a wrench in the schedule as usual. I did get to order my crossover steering kit which should really help with the steering situation as well as an all new HD tie rod and HD tie rod ends.... now just to wait on old UPS.