Joe's 72......"almost" a build thread

[JBerno]

I just bought my 1972 Blazer and need to get some advise on how to proceed. Let me say that I am not a real "mechanical person", I have basic knowledge and tools, I also know that I can learn as I go.

My Blazer is a one owner vehicle and is 99% together and working, factory air and all. The only thing needed is a rear seat, it does need new upholstry, carpet, etc, as it is an Arizona vehicle.

Since I have to pull all of the interior out to re-do anyways should I go ahead and install an EZ wiring kit to stop any potential future issues? How long would an install take on this (average)? Which kit would I need to get if I do this? It has factory A/C, no power door or windows, so should I look at the "12 standard" or opt for the "EZ 21" as I would like to be prepared for a future stereo, possible Electric Tahoe seat, etc?

Any tips would be humbly accepted, this will be a slow process "build", I want to get it back to "stock", then think about paint, a minor lift and maybe a few other goodies. It will finish its life out as mainly a Mall Crawler as I dont want to cut on it or do anything that I cannot undo.

Thanks in advance

 

[RootBreaker]

wow let me chime in here... no matter what kit you go with...

DO NOT BUY THE ALL BLACK KIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i just rewired my truck with the ez-wiring 21 kit... LOVE IT...

also i took it a step further...

i actually bought all the male/female ends and cut/crimped the wires through the factory harness so i can remove the front clip or whatever....


im here for ya man.. i can give you my cell number if you want for when you get stuck...
some of it is easy and some not...

now here is the downside to rewiring without the OEM harness....
this kit still requires you to splice your plugs on....

so due to that i re-used my oem tail light harness.... because mine was fine...
for headlights.. i took my oem and same thing... cleaned it up.... but for engine i created a entire new harness....

has taken me 3 years cuz i cant dedicate myself.. 2 kids in 2 different sports.. one travels... work and everything else... it is a nightmare...

some circuits are reverse where ground activates it...

example is dome light... controlled by door... door switches are spring loaded and when compressed disconnects power... so there is power to the bulb at all times.. just when you open the door.. spring loaded metal pin makes contact then grounds out circuit....

 

[JBerno]

Thank RootBreaker,

I dont have the Blazer in my possesion yet, it is still with the PO.

I found it on Craigslist about 2 weeks or ago, I did write up a contract for the sale with him and gave him a deposit ($200), upon completion I will give him the remainder of the money ($3,800) and take possesion

The PO would not sell it at the time as the trani was sluggish in first gear and he did not want to sell me an unreliable truck, turns out it needed a trani rebuild so he asked me if I would split the cost with him and he would have it done, I told him I would pick up $300 for this and he will get the remainder.
Since it is still with him he went through and is doing other work to it at no charge, he has done a complete tune up on it, new plugs, belts, hoses, water pump and did a front end adjustment to get some of the slop out of it.
I just talked to him a few minutes ago, he told me he found it needed a new fan clutch so he is taking care of that and putting new points in it as well.
He had an engine built for it in 1997, has a 350 w/RV cam, double roller timing chain and gears and some other goodies, he said it is a high compression engine???? He broke his back later that year and went on disability, he could not afford the registration and insurance on it plus his other vehicles so this one has just sat since then with his periodic starting of it, so long story short there is abot 4,000 miles on this engine, sounds badass!!!!

His mom and dad bough it new in 1972, upon their passing it went to him, he is a retired auto mechanic with the city down here so I am pretty confident he knows what he is doing...hopefully. The top has never even been removed on this rig.

Either way I think I got a pretty good deal on it for $4,000

Sorry to be soooo lonnnnnnnnggggggg winded here. I pick it up Monday or Tuesday, I will post some better pics then, I feel like a littl kid I am so excited

Like I said, I appreciate the help

 

[sponsoredbydad]

I too just installed ALL new wiring. I bought the American Auto wire complete kit. About $500. I did however decide to re-use many of the factory connectors as they seemed better. You say you are gutting the interior does this include removing everything from behind the dash, if not there is not much wiring running around inside the cab itself or under the seats or carpeting. Wiring is a very tedious process and by all means DO NOT buy the all black kit, it was hard enough being all colored coded. To do or not to do that is a tough one. If it all seems fine and works why do that now. If it's all hacked into or brittle then by all means do it. I found that most of what I replaced was still good, but I had just done a frame off resto so I went with the whole replace thing.

 

[JBerno]

Everything works fine, I am on a learning curve here so I want to make sure that I do not "skip" something that maybe I should do.
I do need new carpet, a rear seat and to get my font seats re-upholstered. I guess I am looking for the next "logical" step in bringing this back up to speed.
It does need paint but no body work, he had a friend shoot a free quick paint job on it about 10 years ago to keep it from oxidizing, more of a protectant than anything else. It was originally a wierd yellowish color.

 

[RootBreaker]

I too just installed ALL new wiring. I bought the American Auto wire complete kit. About $500. I did however decide to re-use many of the factory connectors as they seemed better. You say you are gutting the interior does this include removing everything from behind the dash, if not there is not much wiring running around inside the cab itself or under the seats or carpeting. Wiring is a very tedious process and by all means DO NOT buy the all black kit, it was hard enough being all colored coded. To do or not to do that is a tough one. If it all seems fine and works why do that now. If it's all hacked into or brittle then by all means do it. I found that most of what I replaced was still good, but I had just done a frame off resto so I went with the whole replace thing.

my way including the crimp tool and connectors ran me $250 for it all.. ezwiring kit was nice and cheap.... the painless kit was $750 i think!!!!!
funny how these direct replacement kits (painless one) still needed your bulb connectors and the sort....

hard.. is that what you call it???? learning each section was a PITA.....

i agree.. if you dont own the truck yet.. why replace it? you need to make sure there are problems..

here were mine...
1. wire running from starter to firewall to feed truck got pinched when swapping motor... fried...

2. my headlight harness got tangled into the steering column and ripped wires.. i used wirenuts (ryoken already yelled at me for that), twisted with electrical tape, wires twisted with NO tape

3. reverse lights harness that goes to the trans was punched through the floorboards under the brake pedal and ran with speaker wire (crap another thing im gonna get yelled at )

4. MAJOR FACTOR THAT MADE ME DO IT - was at my dads one night (im 37 now so 32-33ish so i didnt live at home).. started truck at night to leave.. turned headlights on and they didnt come on and truck was running horrid... kicked the fuse panel and viola.. lights on... had to do that 3 times driving home.... next morning.. figured id better fix that... started truck.. still running bad... turned headlights on and they were off... went to the electric choke with a meter and got 4.5v???? from a 12v source.... took screws out holding fuse block to firewall and seperated it as it is 2 pieces.... and WOAH!!!!! 3 wires shorted... 2 wires held on by 2 strands... 1 wire broke off..... so went and got the cutters out and removed every wire out of the truck..........


all in all get the truck and check it out... maybe electrical will be fine.. get the other stuff you want to do to it done first...

 

[gobigorange01]

First off.....looks like you have a nice ride. I haven't had any wiring problems with my '72 Blazer, but I installed a Painless wiring kit on a friend's '72 CJ. The wiring harness hardware was fine, but it didn't have much for instructions and there were tons of wires that you didn't even need. Long story short........not very user friendly if you aren't mechanically inclined. Whatever route you decide to go, send me a message if you need help. I have several wiring diagrams that may be helpful. You should take some pictures of the factory wiring too. That's helpful in any project you plan to restore to factory condition

 

[Greg72]

The top has never even been removed on this rig.

That is probably the saddest thing I've ever read....

The absolute joy of a full-convertible Blazer is driving it AS A CONVERTIBLE. The previous owner robbed themselves of the most pleasurable experiences the truck offers.

I hope you plan to do what is LONG overdue, and pull that top off and take it for a drive on a warm, sunny day.


It's nice to preserve the history of these old trucks, and if you're adamant about not changing things you should seek out a factory replacement harness instead of an aftermarket one. The factory original style ones ARE out there and will swap right in place of the original one. Some of these aftermarket ones will have different fuse blocks and extra wires that don't match your application, etc. A good quality wiring harness is going to be expensive no matter what, so you should be careful to get exactly what you want once you decide to spend your money.

I'm curious to see some better pics of the entire truck once you take possession of it.

Probably the best advice I can give you is to spend some time driving and enjoying it right away, and try to avoid catching "upgrade fever"....which is easy to do, especially when you spend too much time on these forums.

Some great first steps (and good confidence builders if this is your first project) would be to slowly and systematically replace all the original 40-year old rubber parts on the truck.... things like body mounts, spring bushings, motor mounts, transmission mounts, etc. Stick with factory rubber instead of polyurethane to keep it riding soft and quiet. If you find slop in the steering, you can replace the draglink ends and tie rods ends pretty easily too.... again, it's a good weekend project to get you feeling more confident and familar with your new truck. Getting rid of sloppy, worn rubber will make the truck a lot nicer and easier to drive and enjoy.

Most of all......stay active on CK5 and read.....A LOT!!! 99% of the questions you'll have are probably already answered on here, and you will learn a tremendous amount by just reading. Ask questions and post pics of weird stuff. You'll be amazed at how quickly some expert will chime in with the answer you need... there are a lot of enthusiasts here with 1000's of years of combined experience and knowledge.

 

[chalet2506]

The absolute joy of a full-convertible Blazer is driving it AS A CONVERTIBLE. The previous owner robbed themselves of the most pleasurable experiences the truck offers.

I hope you plan to do what is LONG overdue, and pull that top off and take it for a drive on a warm, sunny day.

Absolute truth - even on days when its not sunny.

 

[JBerno]

Update, PO is putting tranin in today, if he gets it done I am going to pick it up tomorrow

Keep your finger crossed for me. I will post some pictures when I get her home.

 

[sponsoredbydad]

Can't wait

 

[JBerno]

Alright.........Drum Roll Please, my baby is finally home. I finalized the purchase today and got here home where she belongs.


Here are some pictures as promised

The are some shots of the body, it is in really good shape, should not have to do to much here

 

[JBerno]

Pictures of the engine, ran like a champ on the way home

350 Chevy
Double roller timing chain and gears
RV Cam
HV Oil pump
9 to 1 compression

 

[JBerno]

Interior, lots to do here

 

[JBerno]

more interior

 

[JBerno]

more interior

 

[JBerno]

Underneath

 

[JBerno]

I am a noob so any input is wanted and will be appreciated. I know you guys will see thing in the pictures that I wont see right standing in front of it.

Plans are as follows

The drive train runs great so I am in luck there, it has a "list" due to the springs being old and wore out

1. Replace suspenion = going back to stock with this baby
2. New tires = I may try to fit 33's in there or possibly 31"s. I dont want any fender rub and am really going to try to keep this as close to stock as I can
3. Try to find a rear seat and then get the seats re-done
4. I am going to put that sound deadener (http://quietcoat.stores.yahoo.net/) down on the inside and then get a carpet kit.
5. Gt the A/C converted and serviced (it actually works right now) not real good but it does blow a little cold
6.
7.
8.
9
10.

and so on

25. I figured i would skip from #5 to # 25 for all of those things that come up that we dont plan on.
26. Paint = I am going to repaint it a stock color, probably the yellowish Ochre color, I think that looks pretty cool on these with the trim and all.....????

That is my plan so far, I am just getting into it so these may change, also willing to change based on input from you Guru's.

Thanks in advance for the help guys, I have been all excited since I got it home. Looking forward to this coming together.

I dont know if this is going to become my "build thread" it is going to be slow going on this and not to dramatic but I will try like hell

 

[72blazerguy]

Good looking rig

33"x12.5 tires seem likely to rub, maybe some 32x11.50 would work

Don't toss those side panels in the back. They provide a bunch of sound deadening, don't ask me how I know

 

[gobigorange01]

Looks like you've found a nice ride. Remember to enjoy driving her as well as making improvements.