'85 K5 "Denali" Blazer: Front 4-link

[Conner]

Wow great job. I’m going to stop complaining to myself about all the she metal work I have to do.

Thanks man! In hindsight I should have found a cleaner truck but I didn’t know how bad it was until I already owned it, and I didn’t know how much work it would end up being, not having done rust repair before. But on the bright side I have learned a lot!

 

[Conner]

Deuling Design frame reinforcement plates got here today. Initial impression is they seem to be very well made. They came well packaged. The advertised lead time was 2-4 weeks (I think) and it’s been just under 2 weeks since I ordered them. Looking forward to the install!

 

[DrSmash]

Deuling Design frame reinforcement plates got here today. Initial impression is they seem to be very well made. They came well packaged. The advertised lead time was 2-4 weeks (I think) and it’s been just under 2 weeks since I ordered them. Looking forward to the install!

View attachment 502054

Do these weld onto the inside to box the frame?

 

[Conner]

Do these weld onto the inside to box the frame?

They weld onto the outside. So it’s still a C channel afterwards, the metal is just slightly thicker.

I think the idea is to strengthen the frame a little and maybe help some with flex, but not have to do all the extra work that comes with boxing it like rerouting brake and fuel lines, etc. Or at least that’s why I’m doing it.

Here’s the link (hope that’s okay to post here):

1973-1991 GM Squarebody Frame Plates

We're here to help you wheel with the right parts! Reliable offroad and 4 wheel drive parts from top manufacturers! Free Shipping on orders $99+!

4xstore.com

 

[Conner]

After drilling out what seemed like an endless number of spot welds, I got the windshield frame off the truck. The plan is to repair and/or clean up everything that was under the windshield frame, do the same for the windshield frame itself, then reinstall it.

I’m glad I removed it so that I can completely repair the cowl, and also the inside of my A pillars are intact but have a lot of surface rust. Being able to clean up and paint them will give me peace of mind that none of this rust will come back later.

For anyone reading this, there seems to be surprisingly little info on the windshield frame panel online (how it layers together, where the spot welds are, etc). So if anyone wants any info or pictures that I haven’t already posted, I’d be happy to add them.

 

[Conner]

Some more cool stuff showed up today from ORD. Poly body mounts, steering stabilizer, tie rod (and tie rod ends), and a plate and U bolts to mount the stabilizer to the tie rod.

I have a decent size pile of parts at this point, and looking forward to that is keeping me very motivated to get out in the garage every spare moment to finish up the rust repair. Progress update on that soon. Not done but getting closer.

ORD tie rod is beefy. This is the 1.5” one, which I can’t imagine needing for my uses but it was only a small upcharge.





These are the instructions for the body mount kit that ORD sells (for an ‘80s Blazer). Just posting this in case anyone is wondering what hardware comes with the kit, and what you will either have to reuse or buy elsewhere. I couldn’t find that info prior to ordering. I’m going to order everything else from LMC since mine is rotted pretty bad and they have good diagrams of what’s what on their site.

 

[Conner]

After removing the windshield frame/upper cowl panel, I cleaned up the inner cowl area, taped off the problem spots for dealing with later, and painted the rest. This will all get several more coats but at least now it won’t flash rust after cleaning it up.



The driver inner A pillar was pretty good. I zapped a couple deeply pitted spots but didn’t have to do any patches. Then scuffed and painted.



The passenger inner A pillar was pretty rough. I patched a section. Still have to patch the bottom most part where it meets the cowl (on both sides actually).

Note that this is the inner section of the A pillar, most of which is not visible when the windshield frame/upper cowl panel is on. The A pillar is 3 layers, from outside to in, the windshield frame/upper cowl panel (can be purchased new but very expensive and large to ship), this inner piece (which originally appears to be all one piece with the door jamb, rocker, etc, and not available new that I can find), and the inner most piece which you can see from the interior of the truck (also available new). Just for reference if anyone reading this has similar rust.





(Also spot welded it like factory just hadn’t drilled the holes yet in this next pic)













Will hit this with several more coats of paint before the windshield frame goes back on to ensure I never have to do this again…

 

[Conner]

AC compressor relocation bracket and steering shaft got here today. Both from Summit. Got these now (as opposed to later) so that I can make sure I don’t put a shock hoop in the way. I think my brother in law has a Sanden compressor I can use for mock up but if not I’ll have to get one of those too.





Still powering through the rust repair. Done several patches like this one, and several more to go.

















There was also some nastiness in between the side cowl panel and the firewall and door jamb panels that it spot welds too. So off that comes…









I think these side cowl pieces can be purchased new, but mine are decent enough that the current plan is to just patch them, clean them up really good, several coats of paint inside, and put them back on.

The rust seemingly never ends, especially when I keep finding more spots I didn’t already know about… But the problem areas are quickly narrowing down, and then the fun stuff starts!

 

[Conner]

Not super exciting update, but still working away.

Scored a set of factory tow hooks for $16 on eBay. Looks like they typically go for $100+, which seems like a lot to me, but somehow I luckily stumbled into these and was the only bidder. I will blast and paint these at some point, but for now they’ll just get socked away for later.



Got both side cowl panels off. Driver side needed a few small patches but is now ready to put back on with several coats of paint inside. The part of the cab that lives underneath the cowl panel is also ready to go, after a few patches and some paint.

Passenger side cowl panel is maybe halfway done, I’m also going to delete the circular heater hole in it while I’m there (doing Vintage Air). Then I still have to fix a few spots on the cab on the passenger side. Tentatively thinking I will also delete the fresh air hole in the cab/kickpanel area, since the Vintage Air blocks it off anyways. I figure it will maybe insulate (noise/heat) the cab a little better? Still on the fence on this.









Finally, going to blast and paint these reinforcement plates where the hood hinges bolt. They get sandwiched between the side cowl panels and the upper cowl/windshield frame panel.



I’ve been pouring all of my spare hours into this recently. Fabricating these little patches with curves/bends is super time consuming. But getting closer every day…

 

[DrSmash]

Excellent

 

[Chevy305]

Are you going full smooth fire wall? You're into it this far, might as well...
I know I wish I spent the extra time and smoothed it when I restored my truck.

 

[Conner]

Are you going full smooth fire wall? You're into it this far, might as well...
I know I wish I spent the extra time and smoothed it when I restored my truck.

The current (subject to change) plan was to go partial smooth firewall, if that’s a thing?

I’m definitely welding closed the AC/heater box holes that won’t be used. Also any screw holes, wiring holes, etc that I won’t need (so some of that will be done later when I have a better idea of what will be needed and what won’t).

At least at the moment I’m planning to retain the factory seams, such as the angled ones that stick out on either side for where the side cowl pieces meet the upper cowl piece. And the overlap of the side cowl pieces and upper cowl piece to the firewall. Hopefully I’m making sense, but basically my plan is to rebuild all the overlapping seams like original.

My thought process is that I don’t dislike how it looks and I’m not sure I can see a good way to remove the seams that doesn’t involve creating more seams and/or just butt welding different panels together? I guess that wouldn’t hurt anything it just seems weird vs what I’ve been doing with the rust repair previously. The holes seem like a no brainer to close up though because the non-weld on cover panels look a little cheesy to me.

Some of this I can kick down the road a little bit (the rectangular AC hole, for example) but I’m doing the circular hole, etc now because I have easy access to both sides of the side cowl pieces.

Sorry that got pretty wordy while I think out loud about it, but I am definitely open to, and appreciate, any suggestions/ideas/criticism as I work through this. So thank you and keep it coming!

Current status as I sit in the garage and type this:

 

[Conner]

Finished the passenger side cowl panel. Just needs a couple more coats of paint.

Fixed the rust at the top of the firewall where the cowl seam sealer went bad and let water sit in the seam (I assume). This took forever because of having to fit/bend the patch piece, which started out totally flat.







Also had a chance to blast the tow hooks I got, so jumped on it. Then painted with Seymour MRO.

 

[Conner]

Made the filler piece for the fresh air vent hole in the passenger kick panel area. It was a pain, if I had realized how tough it would be I probably wouldn’t have done it, but it came out pretty good. I started with a flat sheet a little larger than needed, then used clecos to hold the sheet to the screw holes surrounding the vent hole (after trimming off the lip around the vent hole), and heated up the sheet and bent/hammered it into shape until it was flush. Then I traced the hole, cut out the piece, and got started welding it in.

Still hoping I don’t regret doing this. I think I’ve thought of everything and I can’t come up with a reason I would need this hole again, going with Vintage Air and pretty committed to it as I don’t think the factory air box will fit with the shock hoop. And Vintage Air blocks this vent hole off with a plastic piece. This seems like it’ll seal better, block noise better, and eliminate a potential rust area. Time will tell.

 

[Conner]

Finished welding in the fresh air vent filler panel. Also filled in the screw holes (I’ll drill new ones later if needed, these were pretty rough).

 

[DrSmash]

That’s nice work! all I did was make a patch piece , spot weld it and slather seam sealer over it.

 

[Conner]

That’s nice work! all I did was make a patch piece , spot weld it and slather seam sealer over it.

Thanks! You have no regrets closing the hole off? I'm still worried I forgot some crucial reason I shouldn't have done this. LOL

 

[DrSmash]

Thanks! You have no regrets closing the hole off? I'm still worried I forgot some crucial reason I shouldn't have done this. LOL

I’m putting in a small heating unit for defrosting the windshield. The cowl of my truck turned into the intake for my air cleaner.

 

[Conner]

Small update, but welded the reinforcement plate things back onto the top of the side cowl panels. Also scuffed up the passenger half of the cowl area on the cab and put another coat of paint on it.

 

[Conner]

Seam sealed these seams that are inside the side cowl panel.



Please disregard the hammer dents on the filler panel I made. I had to be very persuasive to get it bent the right way. LOL