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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
If it's POR15 there's no way you're gonna be able to weld through it
Yea, dumbass me painted it with POR 15 first. I forgot I had the frame braces. I only painted the driver side frame rail. The passenger side hasn't been touched yet. I sanded off the POR15 down to bare metal before I welded.
 
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And the parts keep flowing!

Yukon Hardcore Locking Hubs. Also get my 14Bolt Bearings. I got the 88-Older set. My 14Bolt has the drums with the pressed in lugs. From my reading that is the 88-Older.

Let me know if I'm wrong....

Frame weld on braces are almost done... Then blast rest of frame and finish painting...

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Setup Bearing done... New bearing sitting ready. Starting Dana 60 assembly tomorrow. Pinion preload first, fingers crossed.

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Do you mean pinion depth first?
I haven't ever set up a D60 myself, but I don't remember ever doing the pinion preload until I had the depth correct with proper pattern and backlash.
 
From my understanding, pinion preload can't be set with the carrier already installed. The preload would be affected by the drag of the carrier.

Pinion Preload 1st then Carrier Preload, then set backlash. The resulting pattern on the ring gear will tell you if pinion depth is OK and whether the ring gear needs to move left or right.

I may be wrong but my research has seemed to suggest that's the sequence.
 
You are correct that you can't set preload on the pinion correctly with the carrier installed. I just go for getting the pattern correct, then tear it back apart to set preload, since it usually takes removal and reassembling a couple of times to get the pattern dialed in with different pinion shims. So I don't worry about preload until I get the pattern done.
Set depth, get backlash, check pattern.
If you have the pinion shims that was running in that housing, then maybe you will get it right and not have to take it apart again.
 
Ring Gear Installed.

Froze the carrier and heated the ring gear to 250 degrees. Ring gear slipped on like a pro.

Couldn't find a solution anywhere that showed how to hold the carrier when torqing the bolts. Tried my 6" vise but the carrier slipped no matter how I held it. Late last night it came to me that I could hold the axle shaft in the vise and the carrier would fit on the splined end. I then used a long 3/8" extension to keep the carrier from rotating. Eazy Peazy...the bolts torqued down with ease.

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Started reinstalling the carrier. The pinion took about an hour to get the initial preload done (height adjusted after the carrier is set).

Anyone that says to use the original shim pack thickness on a new carrier and gear set is whacked. Took seversl hrs to get the carrier shimmed enough that it could be rotated. Had to add several thousandths on the tooth size and remove a similar amount from the bolt side. Hope to get a pattern by the weekend! Stay tuned AND PLEASE let me know if the pattern is close...

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The frame is almost done. I still need to remove the middle crossmember and replace it with a 1978 crossmember. I should be receiving that item the first week in august. I'm going to take the front rotisserie stand off today and place the frame front on sawhorses. I need to sand and paint the area that I could not reach due to the front rotisserie stand mount. Once that is done I am putting on the DIY4X MOAB Bumper which has the front spring hanger mount integrated. I kind of have to get the bumper on to get the springs on. I used POR15 as the primer and Eastwood Extreme Chassis Black as the paint. The front frame braces were PITA but came out decent. I had to cut back the ORD steering brace on the bottom section to make room for the bumper.

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Progress.

Got the MOAB Front Bumper from DIY4X in place with a loose fit. Need to get the inner frame brackets in place. Looks great.

Issues arose with the incredibly tight fit. 1/16" +/- in either direction of width would cause issues. This thing is TIGHT. Used my engine hoist and 3 tie down straps. Worked fantastic.

I had to cut/trim the ORD Steering Brace lower plate. It came too far fwd. Also had to trim the passenger side frame brace plate... It also came too far fwd.

Some pictues included

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I also got my ORD Engine Crossmember/Cradle installed along with the ORD Rear Spring Shackle Hanger.

Engine Crossmember went in with a fight. The passenger side OEM engine mount plate has a 1/8" gap and a 1/16" gap on driver side. Not sure it will be a problem or not.

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Those should be just fine when you tighten the bolts. I torqued the bolts in mine since I went OCD on it. Not usually working with 7/16" bolts anyway.

Nice progress BTW!
:waytogo:
I think I may have the same issue as you. Just a little ocd. I have also torqued the bolts on everything being reattached to the frame.
 
I'm over thinking this... I'm back at the gear pattern. I realized I kept going shallower and shallower on the pinion but that was wrong direction.

Got it back in the ballpark. Backlash is 008 and pinion Preload is good.

Thoughts anyone...everyone.

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Well...I have been going back and forth with the pattern but think I got it down. Went about installing the new axle Seals and they were not too bad but weren't easy.

I purchased the seal tool but the end that pushes the seal in was about 1/16th" too large. Had to grind off the outter circumstance to bring it to size.

Going in was TIGHT. once it was full inside the bore it became easier. The tightening nut became hard to turn once it bottomed out. They seemed to have gone in straight and true. Next I pressed on the carrier Bearings, pressed in the pinion inside race and was about to test Preload when my Nieko torque meter broke. Have to wait for a new one to test pinion Preload...but it should be fine.

Here is my final pattern and the install photos for the Seals.

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