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Just got 69'd - My Official BUILD THREAD - UPDATED 11/23/06

a stock 1st gen fender opening is only 36" long. when Arturo only had 6" and 35's they would rub when flexed, but his isn't trimmed either.

the burb had 32's on stock suspension. i think I have pics on here. anything more would rub like crazy.
 
Ok, so to run 35's it sounds like I am going to need 6" and some trimming.

I am leaning towards the 52's on the front and 63's on the rear. I just need to figure out what brackets and such I will need to acquire the needed lift. But that can all come one piece at a time.

Hey is there a thread on here that tells all about the different spring lengths. Such as what vintage each spring comes from. The differences in pin location and perhaps how far the hangers have to move for each spring?

I did a search and found SOME results but not a comprehensive guide.
 
like this

52" long rear springs (1/2 ton and some 3/4)
56" 3/4 and 1 ton
57" 77 to current ford f150 4 leaf plus overload
64" 88 to current chevy 1500 3 leaf plus overload

the fornts seam to claim 44" (1st gen) and 47"(2nd gen)

52" have a centered pin as do 64"s
56's are the same as a 52" except they have 4" more spring to the rear of the center pin.

so to put in a 64" you would need to move each bracket 6" (front forward and rear ones backwards)

that sounds about right..... ;)
 
OK, here it is with the front end removed...

picture2004qe5.jpg


It took me a while to find the lower bolts at the back of the fenders, but other than that it went well.

Now for some of the redneck engineering that abounds on this vehicle...

First off, here is the steering gear box...

picture2007nb3.jpg

picture2006lh6.jpg


And if that is not hillbilly enough... Here is the steering arm...

picture2009lu5.jpg


And if that beauty is not enough for you... Then here is the swaybar lowering assembly that the previous owner designed and manufactured...

picture2010ga4.jpg


And just in case you missed it... YES, the upper mount for the drop brackets are mounted using bushings, bolts, and they PIVOT!!! Why, I don't know, but they do. Here is a nice little closeup for your enjoyment.

picture2008ey3.jpg
 
That is pretty strange. Wonder why they did the steering box like that . . . and the sway bar . . . that is just plain strange!
 
Oh wow, I didn't know that. This truck is NOT built to flex. I am not sure what he carried in it, but I will be posting pics of the rear suspension here pretty soon. And let me tell you this. When I sit on the tailgate, the suspension moves at the most... 1/2 inch. And for those of you who don't know me... I am a big dude. I am well over 300# and I am sitting on the far edge of the tailgate. And the suspension DON'T MOVE.

This truck was purpose built... I am not sure of the purpose is... but it is built for something.

I should have the body removed this weekend so there will be many more pics coming.
 
that steering crap is quite interesting.... he coulda done a lil more research and bolted up a 2wd box....instead of fabing that nasty contraption..... Have fun with the TORCH LEE ! - A:haha:
 
Last week I prepared the body for removal and storage on the trailer. I was waiting for my buddy with the tow truck to stop by but his schedule and RAIN kept him from making it over. So my other buddy, Terry, and I decided to get ingenious and pull the body on our own.

blazerbodyoffwithterryyc3.jpg


And as you can see we used all safety precautions... Yeah Right.
This hoist would have tipped over if there had been a stiff wind blow through that shop.

69bodyonhoistij2.jpg


Here is the whole thing on the trailer ready to go to storage. I have it tarped now and sitting in my neighbors field. I will bring it back when I am ready to start on the body work.

69blazerbodyontrailerac3.jpg


And here are some random pics of the frame and the crazy ass drivetrain.

First off here is the Trans and Transfer...

69blazerframetrannytranec7.jpg


Notice the MONSTER Tranfer Case Crossmember. He actually had to modify the body to make room for this crossmember.

Here is a little better picture of it.

69blazerframetransferft3.jpg


Here is a really good pick of the tranny E-brake. I am going to have to try and figure out what kind of tranny this is. Does anyone have any idea? It had a BB Chev attached to it. Unfortunately the BB was gone when I got the truck.

69blazertrannyebrakena3.jpg


Here are some pics of the rear suspension hangers and the articulation destroying anti-wrap bars. This guy actually lowered the brackets 3 or so inches and I think he also used a lift spring. I am going to remove ALL of this crap and start completely over.

69blazerrearrearspringmrn1.jpg

69blazerframefrontrearhjc9.jpg

69blazerrearantiwrapbarjf7.jpg


Here's a pic of the 'custom' gas tank. My buddy and I disagree about what should be done with this beast. I personally think that I am going to scrap it and build something far less obtrusive in the bed (this comment will make sense in the next few pics). He thinks I should just use it cause I have it and it works and it will keep the cost down since this is a semi-budget build. I am spending money, but trying to not to waste money. Tell me what you think...

69blazerframegastankno6.jpg


My intention up to this point has been to put the blazer body back on this frame and wheel the blazer. I have had concerns about destroying the blazer body. Although there were suggestions that I wheel it with more caution and care. This would mean that the safety of the vehicle is in my hands, and although I can drive. I am just not sure that I am always going to want to be that careful.

Secondly. I have been considering building a summer cruiser. I want something topless and fast. I was even considering a non-lifted jeep with some wide and short tires, or perhaps some type of little british sports car. The problem with these vehicles are that they are small, and I am NOT.

So I have decided that I am going to keep the Blazer body and either swap it onto a 2nd Gen 2WD frame and make a killer summer cruiser.

So this leaves me without a place to sit. I was seriously considering truggy but I want people to know that I have a 1st Gen Chevy on the trails and here in Oregon, well lets say it rains a little and so it's nice to have doors and such.

Well as luck would have it came across this beauty...

69gmc2wdfrontrightrg0.jpg

69gmc2wdrearleftco9.jpg

69gmc2wdinsidecabnu9.jpg


This is a 69 GMC 2wd and I am going to use the sheetmetal from this beauty to mimic what this guy is doing. ..

http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166004

I decided that this is what I want to do.

So that is where things stand as of today. I will post more pics as I strip the frame and prepare it for new suspension.
 
is there a spot on the top plate of that tranny? if not then it is a sm420, 465's had a boss for the reverse light switch.

also do the bolts to into the bellhousing or from the bellhousing into the trannt tabs.?
sm420's had threaded tranny tabs and the bolts came through from the inside of the bellhousing. sm465's have the bolts going from the tranny ans threading into the bellhousing which was threaded.
 
When you strip the 2wd make sure to take the body mount brackets off the frame. That way when you go to put it on you can use those if needed.

Let me know if you have any questions. BTW my rig gots tons of complements and looks over the weekend. Youll love it. :D
 
Interesting stuff. Good read. I enjoyed it.
I'm glad to see im not the only guy who got someone else's fab from hell. Mine has had all kinds of weird stuff welded on it as well. Worse part was the sprayed the entire undercariage, and i mean everything with a lineX type material. It is all falling off and looks terrible.


Anyway where in Oregon are you......what city????
 
Bigblue-

WOW - you got a lot accomplished - so you lifted the whole tub off with that one engine hoist?

That Blazer frame is very interesting - you might be better off using that 3/4 ton 2wd truck frame.

I haven't seen such a hack job in quite a while.
 
I am going to completly strip the frame before I make my assessment.

Now I think that if I tear off the hoakie crap I will find that there is a good solid straight frame that has been BOXED in for the middle 2/3's. I am not against the whole idea of the frame being reinforced. What I have to decide is exactly what you are talking about. Do I have more work fixing this frame or do I go with a better frame.

At this point. I expect to keep this frame and make it work. MOST of the crap can be hot wrenched off and then ground smooth. I will be working on it this weekend so I will post more as I move along.
 
I would guess a bus or motor home tranny, they usually came with a tailshaft brake.
 
Yah...like a medium duty truck or something. He probably robbed the drivetrain out of one.
 
About the sway bar setup....For a sway bar setup thats not a bad idea... rather than the endlinks pivoting the center will. It will still work laterally the way its supposed to but wont bind under compression like most sway bars will
 
79k20350 said:
About the sway bar setup....For a sway bar setup thats not a bad idea... rather than the endlinks pivoting the center will. It will still work laterally the way its supposed to but wont bind under compression like most sway bars will
Click to expand...

I agree.

hey blueburb...how about them wheel spacers? :confused:
 
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