matt s
Explorer
I have been asked to do this several times and have kept putting it off. It seems a little funny to dedicate a thread to how "cool" your rig is, especially compared to some of the builds on this site. However in the spirit of sharing I will do it, both the good ideas and the bad ones. Perhaps it will help someone else. As time goes on I will update with any new mods or changes in the story line.
For several years I have been searching for the perfect photo exploration vehicle. I considered many of all types. I looked really hard at both land cruisers and rovers. In the end I decided that maintenance of those was beyond my ability to handle financially and too many headaches looking for foreign parts. Still they are pretty sexy, and the cool factor was hard to overlook. While following this dream it suddenly dawned on me that I had been overlooking a domestic that was staring me in the face. My uncle has a blazer that he has run forever and myself owning several suburbans tohoes etc. knew that the platform was very solid. The chevy 350 driveline is pretty venerable and parts are easy. Some quick googling led me to discover the first generation 69-72 blazers and the full convertible top along with the curvy lines, it stole my heart. I was sold!
I spent 4 months looking for one that was not a rust bucket. I had to pass on several and lost out on some others. I had to search over the entire west coast and finally found one in my price range. It was in Seattle but had spent it's life in Arizona (very little rust). So I put in an offer. I was third in line. The first two ended up bugging out and i got it. A boat ride later it was here.
I won't bore you with all the details, but it is 40 years old and I spent the first few months doing major maintenance including a complete overhaul of the front end. Recently I just replaced the carb and air filter set up.
Here are the specs followed by some photos of the rig and changes I have made.
1971 Blazer
Spray bedliner of entire tub inside and out during a frame off restoration in 98
Custom rear bumper with con ferr gas can mounts and spare tire mount
con ferr skid plates ( I traded the axle guards for a new steering box, but kept the oil and tranny plates )
Front and Rear 2" receivers. (front hidden behind license plate)
Tow brackets mounted on front for use with tow bar.
Chevy 350 (gm crate with about 40,000 on it)
TH350 tranny
Tranny Cooler
Superwinch manual hubs (front)
373 gears
b&m torque converter
Limited Slip in rear
4" inch suspension lift
power steering (really nice little bonus in old iron)
1 ton brake booster (front disk, rear drum)
Dual quiet turbo exhaust
30 gallon gas tank
Dual Batteries (not hooked up correctly, it's on my list to fix)
Air Horns (just got them working and they really make the moose clear off the road)
Dakota Digital Dash (Hated it at first, but having exact temp, oil, volt reading s is sweet)
Vintage Air heating and air conditioning (Bad Bad Bad, Long story but I will never put one in a vehicle, mine came with it so I make do.)
Driving lights
Full roll cage ( I know people debate this one, but since I run top off in the summer I like it. )
Tuffy Center Console
Rear view mirror with compass and temp
Dual Band Ham radio and dual band anntenna
AM/FM stereo with iphone controls and remote
33x9.5 BFG AT's Mounted on some classic white spokes. (Loving them) It was on 32x11.5 chaperrals with black off set rims that I really did not like.
Ok some pics.
As she sat in Seattle
And her current status. Replaced the top with a single wall version and restored it. Now has a more classic white color. I still have the old top and have some plans for it. Also some interior shots showing the things I have added like the ham radio and stereo. Also a couple showing the new carb and air filter setup.
The dual band mag mount antenna. The coax is run in right there at the hood break and follows the heater core lines into the cab and then down to the radio. Pretty clean and simple install.
The interior and engine bay
More to come.
For several years I have been searching for the perfect photo exploration vehicle. I considered many of all types. I looked really hard at both land cruisers and rovers. In the end I decided that maintenance of those was beyond my ability to handle financially and too many headaches looking for foreign parts. Still they are pretty sexy, and the cool factor was hard to overlook. While following this dream it suddenly dawned on me that I had been overlooking a domestic that was staring me in the face. My uncle has a blazer that he has run forever and myself owning several suburbans tohoes etc. knew that the platform was very solid. The chevy 350 driveline is pretty venerable and parts are easy. Some quick googling led me to discover the first generation 69-72 blazers and the full convertible top along with the curvy lines, it stole my heart. I was sold!
I spent 4 months looking for one that was not a rust bucket. I had to pass on several and lost out on some others. I had to search over the entire west coast and finally found one in my price range. It was in Seattle but had spent it's life in Arizona (very little rust). So I put in an offer. I was third in line. The first two ended up bugging out and i got it. A boat ride later it was here.
I won't bore you with all the details, but it is 40 years old and I spent the first few months doing major maintenance including a complete overhaul of the front end. Recently I just replaced the carb and air filter set up.
Here are the specs followed by some photos of the rig and changes I have made.
1971 Blazer
Spray bedliner of entire tub inside and out during a frame off restoration in 98
Custom rear bumper with con ferr gas can mounts and spare tire mount
con ferr skid plates ( I traded the axle guards for a new steering box, but kept the oil and tranny plates )
Front and Rear 2" receivers. (front hidden behind license plate)
Tow brackets mounted on front for use with tow bar.
Chevy 350 (gm crate with about 40,000 on it)
TH350 tranny
Tranny Cooler
Superwinch manual hubs (front)
373 gears
b&m torque converter
Limited Slip in rear
4" inch suspension lift
power steering (really nice little bonus in old iron)
1 ton brake booster (front disk, rear drum)
Dual quiet turbo exhaust
30 gallon gas tank
Dual Batteries (not hooked up correctly, it's on my list to fix)
Air Horns (just got them working and they really make the moose clear off the road)
Dakota Digital Dash (Hated it at first, but having exact temp, oil, volt reading s is sweet)
Vintage Air heating and air conditioning (Bad Bad Bad, Long story but I will never put one in a vehicle, mine came with it so I make do.)
Driving lights
Full roll cage ( I know people debate this one, but since I run top off in the summer I like it. )
Tuffy Center Console
Rear view mirror with compass and temp
Dual Band Ham radio and dual band anntenna
AM/FM stereo with iphone controls and remote
33x9.5 BFG AT's Mounted on some classic white spokes. (Loving them) It was on 32x11.5 chaperrals with black off set rims that I really did not like.
Ok some pics.
As she sat in Seattle
And her current status. Replaced the top with a single wall version and restored it. Now has a more classic white color. I still have the old top and have some plans for it. Also some interior shots showing the things I have added like the ham radio and stereo. Also a couple showing the new carb and air filter setup.
The dual band mag mount antenna. The coax is run in right there at the hood break and follows the heater core lines into the cab and then down to the radio. Pretty clean and simple install.
The interior and engine bay
More to come.
Last edited: