2008.01.27 - UPDATE & PICS: !!! WARNING - GRAPHIC CONTENT !!!
The following photo sequence is very graphic in nature, and it shows parts of an early Blazer that most people will never see. This may scare you....so if you have a weak stomach, or don't want to REALLY know what's probably inside your own 1st Gen floorboards and rocker panels.....you should navigate away from this thread now.
Let's start with a happy warm-up photo....new tools!
I picked up a set of nice Martin hammers & dollies from Sears. I've reached the part of the project where these are a must. As you can also see, I bought a seam busting tool which has proven to be VERY valuable already....
Start of the day photo: This is what you've seen before. Just a truck needing attention, but not getting it...since I was sick with the flu for the past week. The first thing I had to do was add a diagonal brace to my door bar, since I knew I'd need all the extra structural support I could get later on today.
Nothing left to do now but cut off that outer rocker and embrace the horror... Nice Beach!

Plus a better shot of a "non-factory" galvanized inner rocker repair. Creative, but poorly executed.
Let's remove that galvanized vertical part and see what is behind it....
Looks like......a rusty factory torsion box!!
....Might as well drop that torsion box like a bad habit:
I cut out the passenger floor (since I have a replacement pan anyway) and found this:
I'd seen photos like this on other threads but didn't really understand what it was. It's an extra support below the factory floor sheetmetal to strengthen the bodymount area. I accidentally clipped off a corner of it before I realized it was under there....I'll need to graft that back on later.
Removing that extra support (by cutting the spotwelds) reveals this:
There is a cool curly metal tab welded in there which acts as a "guide tube" for the body bolt.
Here's a shot you don't see often.....from the underside, facing forward. No rocker panel, torsion box, or passenger floor. Mater seems amused by the carnage:
After a LOT of careful cutting and gently prying in the "Four Bolts" area of the front cab support, I was able to free up the backing washer that was originally sandwiched between the inner rocker, outer rocker and cab support sheetmetal. Here's a shot to reference where it will go on the replacement part:
And here's the final shot of the "Four Bolts" area after a LOT of gentle work and PB Blaster on the bolts....
You can actually see
through the brace on the lower left corner, just above the welded nut. The metal is VERY tender in that area.....it's paper thin and it was hard to get the rusty bolts out without tearing that whole lower corner off.
I don't have a replacement part for the extreme bottom of this area... It's basically solid until about 4 inches from the bottom. I am fairly certain this is available as a reproduction part, but I didn't order it initially. I'll have to check the parts books again. It might be easier to work with a new part, than try to patch the existing one.....which leads me to my next topic:
At this point, I am beginning to learn the nature of reproduction sheetmetal a little better, and starting to understand what people say when they explain that it always "needs some work" to fit right. Case in point: The front cab support is a generic part (fits left or right sides) but when you actually study what is on the truck you realize that the ends and tabs that weld to the truck are angled slightly. The repro part is not. I understand that it's easier to make ONE part that
almost fits rather than stock TWO parts that are 90% the same and fit perfectly. Things like that are not a big deal, but they will add time to the repair.....which brings up the second observation:
Almost nobody can afford to pay someone else to "LOVE" their truck and lavish it with the time needed to do these repairs correctly. Making things fit right and look right takes HOURS and HOURS.... it's proving to be a very rewarding experience already, and I have a new respect for the guys who have already been down this road with their own trucks and completed the job!
It was the best Sunday I've had in a long time...
