Very cool. The while moving thing itself is daunting. Keep at it brother!2017.08.05 - UPDATE!! - !! BARE METAL BLAZERBASH 2018™
Good Morning Everyone!
It been literally MONTHS now since I've done any work on the Blazer due to the impending sale of our home and all of the packing and preparation required to support that effort. There is about one more week of really intense work left to go, and the FOR SALE sign will be hanging out front...
During that time, I've been doing a lot of thinking about the disappointment around BB2018.... with less than 400 days left to prepare and given that I'm not even finished with my relocation, it has felt like a goal that will simply slip away as the days continue to slip through the hourglass. There is just NO possible way that I can get the truck 100% completed for a Moab trip next year.
As luck would have it, David... (@AgDieseler) was in town on business this week and stopped by for a couple hours to visit. He made a suggestion that was so simple (and perhaps obvious) but in my own self-imposed myopia I'd never even considered it:
"Why not just get the truck fully assembled in raw form (no paint or fancy interior) and take it to Moab for a "ultimate shakedown" to find out if the suspension and drivetrain really work as expected?"
The more I considered this, the more it made sense. I'm basically going to build the mechanical aspects of the truck to almost 100% anyway so that I can cycle the suspension and verify that the fenders and tires clear properly. I was going to test-fire the engine and let it self-tune and check it for leaks before installing it for the final time between the framerails. So why not put in some extra effort and plumb the brakes and bolt in a drivers seat and actually DRIVE it as an ultimate test before fully blowing it apart for final bodywork, paint, plating and chrome??
I've always enjoyed going to car shows and seeing "in process" car builds...especially ones in bare metal where you can see and appreciate all of the hand-formed parts and components (before they are slathered in body filler and paint)... so maybe people would appreciate seeing a "not-so-pretty-but-functional" Big-Block, Portal-Axled, Multi-Linked 1st Gen in Moab doing some trails and logging some shakedown miles in the process!!
The whole idea has really lifted my spirits and I think that this puts me back on track with a new goal and a way to still accomplish my long-standing objective of getting back to Moab for the big 50th Anniversary Blazer event.
OK, that's enough time on CK5 today... these house projects aren't going to finish themselves.
-G
Or me either. Don't you have a truck to finish??!
2017.08.05 - UPDATE!! - !! BARE METAL BLAZERBASH 2018™
Good Morning Everyone!
It been literally MONTHS now since I've done any work on the Blazer due to the impending sale of our home and all of the packing and preparation required to support that effort. There is about one more week of really intense work left to go, and the FOR SALE sign will be hanging out front...
During that time, I've been doing a lot of thinking about the disappointment around BB2018.... with less than 400 days left to prepare and given that I'm not even finished with my relocation, it has felt like a goal that will simply slip away as the days continue to slip through the hourglass. There is just NO possible way that I can get the truck 100% completed for a Moab trip next year.
As luck would have it, David... (@AgDieseler) was in town on business this week and stopped by for a couple hours to visit. He made a suggestion that was so simple (and perhaps obvious) but in my own self-imposed myopia I'd never even considered it:
"Why not just get the truck fully assembled in raw form (no paint or fancy interior) and take it to Moab for a "ultimate shakedown" to find out if the suspension and drivetrain really work as expected?"
The more I considered this, the more it made sense. I'm basically going to build the mechanical aspects of the truck to almost 100% anyway so that I can cycle the suspension and verify that the fenders and tires clear properly. I was going to test-fire the engine and let it self-tune and check it for leaks before installing it for the final time between the framerails. So why not put in some extra effort and plumb the brakes and bolt in a drivers seat and actually DRIVE it as an ultimate test before fully blowing it apart for final bodywork, paint, plating and chrome??
I've always enjoyed going to car shows and seeing "in process" car builds...especially ones in bare metal where you can see and appreciate all of the hand-formed parts and components (before they are slathered in body filler and paint)... so maybe people would appreciate seeing a "not-so-pretty-but-functional" Big-Block, Portal-Axled, Multi-Linked 1st Gen in Moab doing some trails and logging some shakedown miles in the process!!
The whole idea has really lifted my spirits and I think that this puts me back on track with a new goal and a way to still accomplish my long-standing objective of getting back to Moab for the big 50th Anniversary Blazer event.
OK, that's enough time on CK5 today... these house projects aren't going to finish themselves.
-G
