Ideas, Ideas, Ideas

[10pax]

I have two blazers.
One is a 1987 with an unemaginable amount of body rust. I mean that evil cancer is everywhere!!! Let's just say it's really bad. The only salvagable body parts are the front quarters, the hood and the doors (even they would need some minor repair in the bottom). The engine still runns pretty good. The 700R4 is in excellent condition. I had it rebuilt less than 4000 miles ago and had it upgraded pretty good with the Corvette cervo, shift kit and some other doo dads. The transfer is still strong (208) and only needs a rear cone replacement. Gee wonder how that got messed up with the slip yoke and all??? It has both front and rear 10b and they are in working order. I installed new calipers and cylinders all around with a new spring kits in the rear. All three seats are intact and in fair condition. The front seats are the high backs. The power windows and door locks are in decent shape. Door panels and interior trim are in repairable condition.
The other one is a 1977 and is in pretty good condition. 400 +- on the motor. MODS--Comp Cams Magnum 280H cam, Edelbrock Performer 600cfm, brand new 2 1/2" dual exhaust with Flowtech headers (installed tommarrow morning). TH350 I think has problems. It moves for now and shifts fine but some serious grinding when on an incline and you put it in park. I guess the transfer is ok 203 with bolt-on type yoke. The body is in pretty good shape. Will only cost about 600 all said and done to get rid of the rust proffessionally. It has new carpet and a new upholstery kit for the two front lowbacks. The rear seat has already been done. It is missing the door panels but all other interior trim has been done. It has new doors, tailgate, front quarters, hood, and windshield. It has a $99 "quickie" white paint job. Upfront sits a d44 and in the rear is a 12b, both I'm sure are factory stock. I move on the first and cannot keep the 1987. I turn the tags in tommarrow (dropped the ins coverage). I don't really want to keep it anyway. I'll have my pocketbook empty with the 77'
This is my idea...Keep the axles, front fenders, hood, front grill assy, engine, tranny, transfer, door panels, radiator, and brake items and give the rest of the gutted tub to salvage. Put the tranny, transfer, door panels, front fenders, grill, hood, and high backs in the 77 and keep the 10b's for spares. Rebuild the 87 engine, TH350, and 203 slowly.
Sorry for the long post but I have a lot of money wrapped up in these two trucks and I know you guys prolly been doin this for years and can give me the best advice.


Thanks AGAIN,
James

 

[jekbrown]

wait... was there a question in there somewhere?

j

 

[roadnotca]

Advice? you don't need no stinking advice

 

[10pax]

Just a newbie

I guess what my question is... Is this a good plan or is there something better I can do with this? I have about 4500 in the 87 and bout 3500 in the 77. I plain wasted the money on the 87 cause of all the rust. It was a site unseen deal for 2500 original cost. Got burned bad on that one. Lesson learned the hard way! Got a good deal on the 77. I just don't want to waste any more hard earned money and you guys are the experts so I figured you would have the most economical answers. Maybe some pros and cons about my plan. That's all. Just need confermation that I'm making the right choices. I've been trying to have a performance vehicle for years and never get it done because of bad plans.

James

 

[jekbrown]

I've been trying to have a performance vehicle for years and never get it done because of bad plans.

Jimbo,

this sentence quoted above is the one that jumps out at me. What kind of performance are you shooting for? Best way to get advice is to... a) tell everyone what you have and how much your budget allows, b) tell us what you want to do... what stress the rig will be subjected too. Big tires? blown 502 with nitrous? Top Truck Challenge? Be as specific as ya can and you'll get lots of good/experienced advice.

There is a limited amount of parts that can be swapped into a rig... and consesus on many different kinds of build plans. Just need to know what ya wanna do.

j

 

[roadnotca]

Jimbo,

this sentence quoted above is the one that jumps out at me. What kind of performance are you shooting for? Best way to get advice is to... a) tell everyone what you have and how much your budget allows, b) tell us what you want to do... what stress the rig will be subjected too. Big tires? blown 502 with nitrous? Top Truck Challenge? Be as specific as ya can and you'll get lots of good/experienced advice.

There is a limited amount of parts that can be swapped into a rig... and consesus on many different kinds of build plans. Just need to know what ya wanna do.

j

And you are already building a fun rig.

 

[onetonbb74]

if smog doesnt exist, then go with the rusted out one as the wheeler, trust me your nice 77 panels will look worse then those rusted ones after wheeling a lot. Or keep the 77 because its nicer and run the 87 drivetrain. Whatever you do dont rebuild that 203 unless your doubling it with a 205. 203's suck! I had a similar situation with 2 vehicles and i picked the one that was smog exempt for ease of reg and ins. btw, what do you mean you turned in the tags because its not insured. Ive owned 10+ vehicles in the past and cancelled insurance before and ive never turned in tags before. Sounds like id go with the less dmv nightmare approach.

 

[10pax]

Intentions

The 77 is definately the priority since it is in the best condition and emmissions is not an issue. In fact, the old modified dual exhaust (2" or less I'm sure) with manifolds was hacked off to make room for the new aluminized steel 2 1/2" duals with Flowtech headers. Unbelievable difference!!! Sounds good, too. What I would like out of the 77 is a customized interior. Something very comfortable to ride in. Very pleasurable with all the creature comforts. On the outside, a very capable offroad vehicle. I don't do rock crawling much at all but would like to get over minor obstacles. When I go wheeling, I take Mamma and a 7&8 year old. In no way would I ever get into a situation that would indanger my kids. We all like to play in the mud. Probably would not get into anything more than would cover my axles (not intentional anyway). The whole family likes to wheel but not to the extreme. As far as performance goes, the truck came with an aftermarket cam. All else on the truck was stock. I have replaced the intake, carb and exhaust. I would like to get a good performance package out of the truck. I'm not looking for 500+HP or anything but I have been told buy a race car builder that with the proper heads, I could expect to cap at about 400-425HP out of the current set-up with the right heads. I would stop after the heads. Just got to get used to that lope.
I would only wheel about once or maybe twice a month in the summer months. We go to Uharrie National Forest in Troy, NC. Bout an hour from the house. I do drive my truck to and from work Bout 20 to 30 miles a day or so. I hope this gives a better description. I can't keep the 87 because where we are moving, we can't have unliscensed vehicles. In NC, if you drop liability, you have to turn the tags in by law. My budget ends in Feb for the truck for a while. I have enough to get the rockers and front floor pans replaced but will have to cool it untill I save some more money. (Mamma's getting annoyed lol) Hope this helps.I will post some pics tommarrow, weather permitted.

James

 

[onetonbb74]

yeah, i would keep the 77 then. Dump the 87, (i like the round headlights over the square headlights anyway). Im glad i dont have to turn in tags when ins runs out. lol I still have my stock plates on my 74!