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77 Blazer - The Beast build
- Thread starter ZombieK5
- Start date
Picked this 77 Blazer from NY today (I am in Philly)
Factory 400ci smb.
CURRENT STATUS
468 BB with 700R4 & cast iron cased NP205
Front is a Dana 60 and Rear is 14 Bolt
Seems to be 4.88 geared
20" Weld Racing rims & 39.5
4" Suspension & 2" Body lift
WHAT COULD GO WRONG? 
Goals:
Lower Suspension w new ORD Lift
Smaller Rims and Tires - 18" Rims and 35's
Fix ALL rusted panels
Black paint all around and aftermarket HD front bumper and tire carrier rear bumper
Rock Sliders with assist step bars
Roof rack and LED light
Previous owner gave me TONS of extra parts including TWO windshields, extra rear hatch glass and two intact side glass units in amazing condition.
3/29/2020
NEW RIMS/TIRES arrived
RIMS: 18x12 Fuel Hostage D531 Matte Black
TIRES: 35x12.50r18 Nitto Trail Grappler
4/28/2020
Found the rust that infects the cab is more serious than thought along the rockers and door jambs. Fresh door jam metal parts are not available....grrrrrr. Need to find a donor to cut parts from or get a new cab.
4/29/2020
Rear Disk Conversion arrived from Lugnut4x4. Looks great. I was not impressed by the "CHINA" bearings and went ahead an ordered TIMKEN's from Amazon.
4/30/2020
Start search for donor body for The Beast. Found a possible donor in the form of a 1989 K5. No engine and I will have to transport it back to Philly but it may be worth it.
View attachment 338356
Goals:
Lower Suspension w new ORD Lift
Smaller Rims and Tires - 18" Rims and 35's
Fix ALL rusted panels
Black paint all around and aftermarket HD front bumper and tire carrier rear bumper
Rock Sliders with assist step bars
Roof rack and LED light
Previous owner gave me TONS of extra parts including TWO windshields, extra rear hatch glass and two intact side glass units in amazing condition.
3/29/2020
NEW RIMS/TIRES arrived
RIMS: 18x12 Fuel Hostage D531 Matte Black
TIRES: 35x12.50r18 Nitto Trail Grappler
4/28/2020
Found the rust that infects the cab is more serious than thought along the rockers and door jambs. Fresh door jam metal parts are not available....grrrrrr. Need to find a donor to cut parts from or get a new cab.
4/29/2020
Rear Disk Conversion arrived from Lugnut4x4. Looks great. I was not impressed by the "CHINA" bearings and went ahead an ordered TIMKEN's from Amazon.
4/30/2020
Start search for donor body for The Beast. Found a possible donor in the form of a 1989 K5. No engine and I will have to transport it back to Philly but it may be worth it.
View attachment 338356
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Started the cutting. Driver side rockers were dust. The door jamb rust seems to only go up about 1/3 the way. I inner rockers are almost dust. Found out the floor was fixed with a small replacement panel that was connected by rivets and silicone sealant (Grrrrrr). Pictures are ugly and not for the faint of heart.
I bought the tools to fabricate the entire door jamb below the striker. I am ready to start that process BUT I just came across a donor vehicle. For $500 I just bought the full rear quarters from the attached K5. I'd rather have the 1977 round hole gas door but I can deal with that later. From my understanding the rear quarters are bolt on with a few spot welds near the tailgate and inside the door jamb. If that's the case this should be easier than I originally anticipated. I'll remove all paint from donor 1/4's and refirb them inside the garage. I'll unbolt and cut out the old 1/4 and drop the donor 1/4 in. Sounds simple. What could go wrong?
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RoccoK5
1/2 ton status
Looking forward to watching this one, sub'd!
5/17/2020
Picked up the donor quarter panels. Door frame looks 95%
Significant floor rust but I'm not using any of the floor panels. Tailgate supports are shot but I have new ones. Looks like numerous spot welds to drill out.
Tail gate support was shot. I'll need to fabricate new mounts for the tailgate support.
Quarters have mostly surface rust but I can fix most of that easily. May have to cut out a few small section and weld in new panels.
Strip paint, fix surface rust and pray for the best.
Picked up the donor quarter panels. Door frame looks 95%
Significant floor rust but I'm not using any of the floor panels. Tailgate supports are shot but I have new ones. Looks like numerous spot welds to drill out.
Tail gate support was shot. I'll need to fabricate new mounts for the tailgate support.
Quarters have mostly surface rust but I can fix most of that easily. May have to cut out a few small section and weld in new panels.
Strip paint, fix surface rust and pray for the best.
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Started the prep work on the driver side donor quarter panel. It turns out there are bolts involved however the rear quarter panels are not simply "bolted in." The rear wheel wells are bolted in, sealed in place and tack welded too. Should be fun finding all the welds and cutting the sealant off.
I started today near the B-Pillar and cut out the floor in that section as well as the rear cab Mount. Lots of spot welds and lots of cramped spaces to get a cutter into. It went rather well and progress was made. Found the steel inside the quarter panel is a solid 90% rust free. Lots of flaky material but it is not rust. The lower edge will require some cutting and new panel welding but that's a bridge for another day.
I started today near the B-Pillar and cut out the floor in that section as well as the rear cab Mount. Lots of spot welds and lots of cramped spaces to get a cutter into. It went rather well and progress was made. Found the steel inside the quarter panel is a solid 90% rust free. Lots of flaky material but it is not rust. The lower edge will require some cutting and new panel welding but that's a bridge for another day.
Holy crap! I do not miss living is the rusty areas of the country.
UPDATE 5/25/2020
I got the first wheelwell off the donor quarter panels. Turns out the wheel wells are spot welded to the floor panels. The spot welds were not obvious and locating their exact position was often pot luck. The spot welds were use in conjunction with that nasty sealant used along most sheet metal seams. Yuck!
Also, turns out the wheel well is only bolted to the quarter panel along with more of the nasty sealant. The wheel well came off nicely once I started cutting the sealant off. I got the wheel well to budge and was able to pull it off without further cutting. I used a flap wheel to grind off all the sealant down to bare metal.
Dug out more of the rotted Rocker Panel. That's gonna be a PITA to replace. Guess if it was easy everyone would do it.
Next step is to remove the lower half of the tailgate support and prepare to weld in a new section.
I got the first wheelwell off the donor quarter panels. Turns out the wheel wells are spot welded to the floor panels. The spot welds were not obvious and locating their exact position was often pot luck. The spot welds were use in conjunction with that nasty sealant used along most sheet metal seams. Yuck!
Also, turns out the wheel well is only bolted to the quarter panel along with more of the nasty sealant. The wheel well came off nicely once I started cutting the sealant off. I got the wheel well to budge and was able to pull it off without further cutting. I used a flap wheel to grind off all the sealant down to bare metal.
Dug out more of the rotted Rocker Panel. That's gonna be a PITA to replace. Guess if it was easy everyone would do it.
Next step is to remove the lower half of the tailgate support and prepare to weld in a new section.
5/31/2020
Got the Tail Gate Posts and Tail Light Backing Plates out. That was interesting and kinda difficult. The hardest part was the two spot welds tucked up under the bed rail. I now have lots of holes on the exterior skin along the back corner.
Got the Tail Gate Posts and Tail Light Backing Plates out. That was interesting and kinda difficult. The hardest part was the two spot welds tucked up under the bed rail. I now have lots of holes on the exterior skin along the back corner.
6/14/2020
Work continues on the donor quarter panels. I have removed the tailgate post and the tail light backing plate from the passenger side. This was more difficult than the driver side due to a larger number of spot welds. I also realized that I needed to plan for welding the b-pillar to the existing vehicle. This resulted in having to cut off some of the Interior skin from the b-pillar on the donor quarter panel. I have always wondered what the inside of the b-pillar look like and how it was connected to the vehicle overall. There is an internal structural rib that provides rigidity to the vehicle. This structural rib will need to be welded, possibly with an extra brace, when it goes on to my vehicle. I also found that the exterior skin on the donor quarter panel for the passenger side had more pitting and body rust. I included photos showing the extent of the rest. I would be interested in hearing ideas about welding in replacement panels or simply using filler to cover the pitting. Obviously the rust through holes on the wheel Arch will need to be replaced. Any ideas and suggestions are welcome.
Work continues on the donor quarter panels. I have removed the tailgate post and the tail light backing plate from the passenger side. This was more difficult than the driver side due to a larger number of spot welds. I also realized that I needed to plan for welding the b-pillar to the existing vehicle. This resulted in having to cut off some of the Interior skin from the b-pillar on the donor quarter panel. I have always wondered what the inside of the b-pillar look like and how it was connected to the vehicle overall. There is an internal structural rib that provides rigidity to the vehicle. This structural rib will need to be welded, possibly with an extra brace, when it goes on to my vehicle. I also found that the exterior skin on the donor quarter panel for the passenger side had more pitting and body rust. I included photos showing the extent of the rest. I would be interested in hearing ideas about welding in replacement panels or simply using filler to cover the pitting. Obviously the rust through holes on the wheel Arch will need to be replaced. Any ideas and suggestions are welcome.
83blazertexas
Registered Member
Working on same "B-Pillar/Seatbelt Bold" area on mine. Cool to see you take everything apart
More to follow, just got married recently, a deer hit my everyday drive vehicle (need to fix that first) and moving all my crap to the house with my new wife.
I am still waiting for the Tailgate Post and Tail Light bracket from LMC....it STILL IS NOT AVAILABLE.
I will post a new update tomorrow!
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83blazertexas
Registered Member
LMC HAS THE DRIVER SIDE TAILGATE POSTS AND TAIL LIGHT BRACKET back in stock!! Just ordered and will move fwd with the quarter panels.
