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colbystephens' '73 blazer build!
- Thread starter colbystephens
- Start date
well, i picked up some 38x15.5x16 interco tsl ssr's. 
i'm stoked... here they sit next to my current 35" mt/r's. the mt/r's have been a good tire, but i wanted to go to 38's, which mt/r's don't offer, and mt/rs don't self clean very well - at least of the oregon clay which i can't seem to escape around here. 
anyway, one came into the shop i bought them thru on friday, so i picked it up saturday and i'm going to try to figure out how to mount it so i can do 'em all and balance with 8000 lbs of bb's. 
the plan for today is to get the cage painted and the body prepped for paint. should be a sucky time...
i'm stoked... here they sit next to my current 35" mt/r's. the mt/r's have been a good tire, but i wanted to go to 38's, which mt/r's don't offer, and mt/rs don't self clean very well - at least of the oregon clay which i can't seem to escape around here. anyway, one came into the shop i bought them thru on friday, so i picked it up saturday and i'm going to try to figure out how to mount it so i can do 'em all and balance with 8000 lbs of bb's.
the plan for today is to get the cage painted and the body prepped for paint. should be a sucky time...
blazindorito
1/2 ton status
Nice. Let me know how those tires do. I definately need to change mine when thse are gone.
well, you'll be there for the virgin run on these tires... 
right?
right?
it cost me 40 bucks for bb's for my 42 iroks.
Nice tire come up
Nice tire come up
blazindorito
1/2 ton status
Colby I had a lot of fuel issues this past weekend. I am not sure if I will be able to make it. I need to take apart the fuel pump, gas tank, regulator and replace with something a lot friendlier. I need to figure out what I am going to replace it with. I am going to work on it next week while on vacation. I am going to try and make it.
bummer! you should still ride along tho...
original balzer
1/2 ton status
After all that work your going to just rattle can the cage? Other than that this is turning out awesome.
i'm thinking that after i get back from california i might shoot it with real paint. we'll see. the rattle can gray looks real nice - no streaks or anything. it's just primer tho.
i started painting the truck today. i'm not worrying about making the truck straight - it'll get hammered on the trail pretty quick, but i want it to be a consistent color. i've got a lot to get done this week! still gotta finish painting the cage and get it mounted to the truck and then also get it swapped over to the new frame... i've got my work cut out for me. i'm really stoked on how the paint is looking tho. i'm going to pick up a buffer tomorrow, and tomorrow evening i'm going to shoot the doors, fenders, hood and core support.
pics:before:
after:
before:
after:
I think you'r blazer is going to look like Craig's on roids 
those were the exact words i was thinking of using in the last post... 
jonathon
1/2 ton status
Looking good!
tomford
1/2 ton status
Wow Its really startin to look awesome, Are you going to use the 73-79 round headlight front end/ fenders and hood?
Tom
Tom
yep. jonathon is coming down tomorrow and we're going to start and finish the body swap this weekend.
i'm stoked. i broke my windsheild in the 83 trying to swap it over to the 73... major expensive bummer. oh well. i'm pretty much set for the swap. i've only got a couple more things to take care of. 
Awesome. Can't wait for pics.colbystephens said:jonathon is coming down tomorrow and we're going to start and finish the body swap this weekend.
How are you going to lift the body again? I know you did it before but I can't remember.
ok big updates. i gotta have this truck running because i leave tomorrow evening to drive to southern california to pick up my wife and go wheelin on the 5th with the socko guys.
last week i realized that i had a seriously tweaked windshield frame... major bummer! the doors wouldn't fit, nor glass. this is how you fix a fuked up windshield frame:
this is what you try to avoid so that you don't have to spend an extra $200:
so ck5er "jonathon" came down on saturday and we started pulling the body off. body mounts were a b!tch and it was hot so i got a migraine and puked my guts out while using the cutting torch... it was a good day. then we hooked his burb up to the back of my blazer and using a couple hi-lifts, we were able to walk the '83 body back and off the frame. it was exciting and extremely unpleasant... lots of big bangs and shakes and changes of pants.
here's my rig, right before the pull:
initially i wanted to give the '83 to someone to use for a wheelin rig, but i realized on saturday that we could pound holes thru the floor with a hammer - so it's going to scrap.
oh well, i should get some decent $$$ for all the extra metal i've got laying around.
sunday we swapped out my transmission and spent the rest of the day getting the new body sitting on the frame. WHAT A CHORE! we used a hoist from the rafters of my garage and a cherry picker to lift it up high enough. defnitely not safe, but i didn't have many options. i did drop the blazer on the ground - dented up the body a bit, but no big deal. just tells a story. also tipped over the frame on jonathon - that was major scary, but he was fine - just a couple scratches.
monday the glass guys were supposed to come out and install a new window. i get a voicemail while i'm out saying that they had gone by but no one was there. i called them and told them that the truck was sitting on the driveway and that they could do it without me. he asked me how i expected to pay for it, i told him to pay with the card i had given him last week that he was supposed to have on file.
oops! he says. dumbass.
so i call up my buddy who was supposed to be there for me when the window guy came and he said that they didn't come by. i called the window guy back to make sure he had the correct address. he says he came by in the morning - i asked him why he didn't come at the time that we had set the appointment for: 1 pm. he says he was trying to avoid the heat so he came at like 9 a.m.. dumbass.
i get done with my stuff, call my buddy and he says the window guy couldn't get the window into the frame - but they didn't call me to tell me this. i'm getting pissed at the sh!tty communication here. i go home and we install the window ourselves - we didn't do anything to the window frame to make it fit, we simply installed it.
so: how much should i ask for back? i was paying for a service that i did not receive. i don't think they should lose money on this transaction, but they shouldn't gain any more than a proper amount for supplying parts for me. grrrr....
anyway, then i had the problem of the fact that they started using a different style steering shaft between '73 and '83. i needed one with a splined end - not the boxed style i'm used to seeing. i'm starting to stress because i gotta leave for cali soon. well, a buddy of mine found a wrecking yard online who had an inventory, so i picked it up today.
now i only got a few more wires to attach and a couple more frame-to-cage mounts to build and i should be ready to rock.
heres "old ironsides" as she sits now:
i'm kinda giddy... but i'm too tired to be over stoked right now.
last week i realized that i had a seriously tweaked windshield frame... major bummer! the doors wouldn't fit, nor glass. this is how you fix a fuked up windshield frame:
this is what you try to avoid so that you don't have to spend an extra $200:
so ck5er "jonathon" came down on saturday and we started pulling the body off. body mounts were a b!tch and it was hot so i got a migraine and puked my guts out while using the cutting torch... it was a good day. then we hooked his burb up to the back of my blazer and using a couple hi-lifts, we were able to walk the '83 body back and off the frame. it was exciting and extremely unpleasant... lots of big bangs and shakes and changes of pants.
here's my rig, right before the pull:
initially i wanted to give the '83 to someone to use for a wheelin rig, but i realized on saturday that we could pound holes thru the floor with a hammer - so it's going to scrap.
oh well, i should get some decent $$$ for all the extra metal i've got laying around.sunday we swapped out my transmission and spent the rest of the day getting the new body sitting on the frame. WHAT A CHORE! we used a hoist from the rafters of my garage and a cherry picker to lift it up high enough. defnitely not safe, but i didn't have many options. i did drop the blazer on the ground - dented up the body a bit, but no big deal. just tells a story. also tipped over the frame on jonathon - that was major scary, but he was fine - just a couple scratches.
monday the glass guys were supposed to come out and install a new window. i get a voicemail while i'm out saying that they had gone by but no one was there. i called them and told them that the truck was sitting on the driveway and that they could do it without me. he asked me how i expected to pay for it, i told him to pay with the card i had given him last week that he was supposed to have on file.
oops! he says. dumbass.so i call up my buddy who was supposed to be there for me when the window guy came and he said that they didn't come by. i called the window guy back to make sure he had the correct address. he says he came by in the morning - i asked him why he didn't come at the time that we had set the appointment for: 1 pm. he says he was trying to avoid the heat so he came at like 9 a.m.. dumbass.
i get done with my stuff, call my buddy and he says the window guy couldn't get the window into the frame - but they didn't call me to tell me this. i'm getting pissed at the sh!tty communication here. i go home and we install the window ourselves - we didn't do anything to the window frame to make it fit, we simply installed it.
so: how much should i ask for back? i was paying for a service that i did not receive. i don't think they should lose money on this transaction, but they shouldn't gain any more than a proper amount for supplying parts for me. grrrr....
anyway, then i had the problem of the fact that they started using a different style steering shaft between '73 and '83. i needed one with a splined end - not the boxed style i'm used to seeing. i'm starting to stress because i gotta leave for cali soon. well, a buddy of mine found a wrecking yard online who had an inventory, so i picked it up today.
now i only got a few more wires to attach and a couple more frame-to-cage mounts to build and i should be ready to rock.
heres "old ironsides" as she sits now:
i'm kinda giddy... but i'm too tired to be over stoked right now.
Looks good Colby. I like the color too, my grandfather had one just like it. Why does the rear axle look like it's in the wrong spot in the wheel openings? Looks like it is too far forward.
I like the color too, my grandfather had one just like it. Why does the rear axle look like it's in the wrong spot in the wheel openings? Looks like it is too far forward.
optical illusion. it fits.Looks good Colby.
Can't wait to see the fruit of all your hard work in person. It looks great. I was wondering whether it was gonna come together in time. I'm really impressed!
See you Sat. Call if something goes wrong on the way down. I'll be in Pismo Friday and back for the wheelin'.
See you Sat. Call if something goes wrong on the way down. I'll be in Pismo Friday and back for the wheelin'.
