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77 Blazer - The Beast build

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
12/12/2020

OFFICIAL FIRST DAY OF WORK ACTUALLY ON THE BLAZER

Finished the wife's Explorer body work and was able to back the K5 into the driveway. My plan is to start at the tailpan and move forward as much as possible. The tailpan is shot, as would be expected. The tailgate is in good shape except for the missing torque rods....searching for some of those. Tailgate came off without any serious struggles and only one hinge bolt sheared off. The tailgate glass came out easily and I was able to remove the sash without too much trouble. Once the tailgate was off I started to inspect the damage.

Taliban - Rust and dust
Tailgate Mounts - mostly rusted out near the tailpan
Taillight Mounting Brackets - rusted out near the tailpan

I wanted to start cutting out the rear bed along the tailpan but it was covered in Rhino Lining. I found small section that was separated from the steel and gave it a tug. The Rhino Lining started to lift off the bed so I wedged a long screw driver under it and so far the lining has simply lifted off the steel bed. I thought the Rhino lining was supposed to be a permanent coating.....

I was able to removed the gas filler pipe cover which was also rust and dust. Got finished for the day and made much more progress than planned. Next is to keep removing the lining to see how bad the bed actually is. It seems previous owners welded in small sections over the years. The main bed appears to be red in color but the passenger side quarter panel looks white. Seems my K5 is more of a Frankenstein than a pure breed. More to follow once I start cutting out the tailpan

Any recommendations or Do's and Don'ts?

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I think by now most of them are frankensteins, mine sure is. One of the things I have enjoyed most after starting mine is seeing all the "fixes" previous owners have tried. Some are pretty crazy. We could start a thread with just that stuff
 
Warm weather is coming. I sent out my new ORD Tube doors, ORD Small Block Engine cross-member and mounts, front and rear calipers with mounting plates and numerous other parts. Black for everything but red for the calipers. "One does want a hint of color..."

Can't wait for the parts to get back!

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Warm weather is coming. I sent out my new ORD Tube doors, ORD Small Block Engine cross-member and mounts, front and rear calipers with mounting plates and numerous other parts. Black for everything but red for the calipers. "One does want a hint of color..."
Such a great movie. One of my favorites.
 
Maybe I overlooked it, but where are your brake parts from? The first caliper brackets pictured look a little different than most, along with the second set of calipers.
 
Maybe I overlooked it, but where are your brake parts from? The first caliper brackets pictured look a little different than most, along with the second set of calipers.
The images show new rear calipers with brackets and new FRONT calipers with brackets. Both sets from Lugnut4x4
 
Lugnut4x4 where i got my stuff too. I’m pretty sure it’s all run and operated by one guy too. Shawn is a great dude.

Jealous of all the other parts. Going to come out sweet!!
 
Powder coating DONE!! I was expecting nice work but these pieces are VERY NICE! $495 for everything pictured. Time saved from sanding and painting was totally worth it plus this is much better then painting. Doors are more satin with some texture. My K5 will be "Rat Rod" black when done and these should match nicely. Getting Eastwood's "Rat Rod" paint.

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Wednesday, March 10, 2021

WARM WEATHER IS HERE! 60 degrees today and it was my day off. Started to tear into the Blazer again and continued work removing the failed Rhino Lining. Most of it came out reasonably. Hammer and Extra-Big/Long flathead screwdriver. It continued to peel off in most places. Also started the front driver side floorboard. The front seat was not installed in the factory position. Previous owner(s) made their own holes and used less than awesome bolts. LOTS of rust. Finding exactly how Frankenstein this K5 is. LOTS of welded patches and even one I found today that was riveted in with aluminum rivers. Still a hard day overall. More soon!

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March 11, 2021

Crap removal continues. Tore out the evaporator core along with the Big Black Box (evaporator box) that is omnipresent in all squarebody Chevys. I would rate this a medium difficulty job. If you do this, DON'T worry about the bolts that hold the case together. Your focus will be on the bolts and nuts thay secure the box to the firewall. There are 6 attachments points. Three are bolts/screws and 3 are nuts with washers. The attached photo shows the attachment points and each is numbered.

#1 is the MOST DIFFICULT to get to. The passenger side wheel well must me unbolted and moved inward toward the engine. After that, you can look into the wheel well and remove the bolt/screw

#2 is also a bolt/screw and is easy

#3 is a nut and washer. This is also difficult but doable. I used a long socket with a U-Joint attached to an 8" extension. Battery powered ratchet was the right tool. A regular ratchet would be fine but you have difficulty keeping socket on the bolt while backing it off. To stop the U-Joint from flopping around just wrap the joint with electrical tape. It will give you more control.

#4 is also a nut and washer and hard to get to. I had to use a small mirror to help guide me.

#5 is also a nut and washer and is easy to get to.

#6 is also a bolt/screw and is easy

The heater core hoses had to be Removed. Prepare for coolant to leak from the core and have plugs ready for the two hoses.

You need to Remove several electrical connections. Just push them to the side.

Once the box is out you can easily remove the evaporator core.



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March 13, 2021

Long day scraping out old Rhino Lining. Passenger floorboard is 90% done. Found a patchwork of welded panels but it seems strangely solid. I'm not sure whether to keep the floor or replace it. There is, however, a section near the bottom edge of the B pillar that has some type of tape, body filler and 24 Guage sheet metal that is riveted to the floor. It needs to be cut and replaced. Also need to replace the floor along the Rocker Panel.

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Rhino Lining removal DONE!

After many pain filled days the last pieces of rubber lining came out. Nearly the entire bed area failed and came out with few issues The front floor area was also easy but there were many areas that seemed to adhere to the floor as expected. Here are the final photos of the front floor area. i also include a photo of the ONLY tools used to remove the lining. The long regular screwdriver started out as a Harbor Freight extra large screwdriver. After the handle cracked off to continued to work very well. Excellent $5.00 buy that made this job much easier.

The driver and passenger floorboards area filled with a patchwork of steel panels. These panels are much thicker than the normal, or even aftermarket, sheet metal The floorboard, overall, is solid but I have zero idea what corrosion is between these panels and the existing floorboard. I'd like to keep these thick panels but I am afraid the rust and dust beneath them is terrible. Guess I'll cut one out to see what I have going on.

Also got my first look at just how bad the rocker panels are and also found a massive rust hole where the quarter panel "B" pillar meets the bed.

NEXT - Driver side Quarter panel removal and installation of donor Quarter Panel

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