Inner bed wall removal

[Boondocks]

I have finally started the tear-down stage of rebuilding my 72 Blazer from the frame up. It is pretty much gutted, but the inner bed walls appear to be attached with a combination of the bolts through the floor and welds on the vertical edges and wheel-well opening. Has anyone information for the least destructive way to remove these. My goal is to clean to bare metal, repair as necessary and re-coat to prevent any future rust. Overall, the inner and outer metal is in very good shape. The only obvious rust to repair is on the right-rear rail area.

 

[ryoken]

not being a first gen guy, I'd have to see it... but always remember spotweld bits can be your friend....

 

[Boondocks]

I have a set, as I have already removed the rotted rocker panels. I would like to find out out all the locations the inner walls are attached. I removed the paint on part of one rail and did not see welds. I wonder if the rail area is just a tight fit. The inner fitting in the outer. Also, It looks like there is at least a tab of the inner extending into the rear post under the outer. It may be that I will have to cut the inner loose just below where it rolls under the outer rail. But then I would have to splice it back together or replace the inner (if one is available).

 

[Greg72]

Do you have a copy of the Factory Assembly Manual??

It shows EVERY spotweld location and assembly technique originally used by the factory... an amazing reference to have at a time like this, plus it's fun to flip through all 600 pages and see all those original engineering drawings.

 

[scottishdave]

Do you have a copy of the Factory Assembly Manual??

It shows EVERY spotweld location and assembly technique originally used by the factory... an amazing reference to have at a time like this, plus it's fun to flip through all 600 pages and see all those original engineering drawings.

Mine was a big help during the teardown and now that i am in the build-up phase its again very useful as it helps you remember where everything goes. Greg is right though, sometimes it is fun to just flip through the thing for now reason.

Post pics of what you got soon

 

[Boondocks]

Good idea. I will order it today. I saved a link to a place selling it.

 

[vtblazer]

Your quarters will have a weld on the rear of the bed floor & be held by spot welds up front at the lower portion of the 'b' pillar.

As side from those two location's, it's just bolted down.

Rear bedside welds:

Not a great pic but you can see how it looks when it's off in the front at least:

Thread & more info here:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=156022

 

[Boondocks]

I appreciate the information. It looks like trying to separate the inner and outer bed walls, is going to be way more trouble than I envisioned for the problems I need to resolve. Basically, I have rust through on the bed rail at the front and rear roof mount holes. My initial thought was to separate the inner and outer, repair each and put it back together. But now I am thinking I should just cut out the areas I need to work. A larger area from the outer and just the repair section on the inner. Fix the inner, fix the removed outer section and weld it back in.

Next issue. I now have the rocker panels and boxes removed and will need to replace the front and rear outer braces, out floor and pillar bottoms. The problem is I do not see the out floor and brace bottoms listed for the Blazer. Are these pieces the same as the truck, or at least close enough to make them work?

I should post pictures. I will get some organized and get them on here.

Thanks to all.

 

[Boondocks]

Project pictures

Here are some shots of the rusted areas of the bed rail and my bracing of the cab I installed while I have the rocker boxes out.

I hope attaching them was the right way to do it.

 

[Boondocks]

Pictures of the driver side rocker area

Here is the driver side with the rocker box removed.

 

[Greg72]

That B-pillar support for the lower curved bedside area in your pic #3 is available as a repro now.... mine just arrived today and looks great. A little pricey, but it beats trying to make one from scratch. Especially if you don't have a good one to use as a template to get accurate dimensions from.

 

[Boondocks]

Where did you order it from? I see one in the LMC catalog, but for the truck. It is not listed under the Blazer. Is it the same part for either?

 

[Greg72]

Here's the thread where you can see pics:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?p=3468708#post3468708


Classic Heartbeat is the place that created these repro parts and AFAIK they are the only ones offering them now.

They are all TIG welded and are beautifully crafted.

 

[Boondocks]

Those are nice. I take it then that ones listed in the LMC catalog for the truck will not fit?

 

[vtblazer]

Those are nice. I take it then that ones listed in the LMC catalog for the truck will not fit?

Correct, those are the first ones ever made for the blazers.

 

[Boondocks]

Right rear bed-rail and right rocker area

I suspect that both bed-rails will have rust their entire length. But, it looks like the right side rocker area is better than the left.

 

[vtblazer]

Torsion boxes...?

Are they gone or did you remove them?

A very important integral part of a blazer body missing in those pics.

 

[Boondocks]

I removed them and plan to replace them with a rectangular tubing structure. I have the cab braced.

 

[Boondocks]

More progress, more pictures

I was able to remove the outer skin from the left bed-wall. Here are the pictures. It was not as hard as I imagined. The rust between the inner and outer panels at the bed-rail can mostly be cleaned and treated. There are a couple areas that will need cut-out and replace.

 

[Boondocks]

More pictures for last post

Here are some more pictures.