keep it original or modify it?

[blazin73k]

so i picked up a 73 blazer today. previous owner put a floor in it and patched some pannels. the body work is bad but im not to worried about that. (i work in a shop doing collision and restoration work) surprisingly the frame is beautiful. here in New York its rare on these trucks. theres an arizona license plate on the bumper which makes me think it came from there not too long ago. The build sheet was in the glove box. its running and driving and has the original 307/th400/205 transfer with dana 44 fron and 12 bolt rear. so what im stuck on is weather i should keep it stock or make it a mud truck. im leaning toward the stock look though. also just wondering what should i look out for on the blazers iv mostly just worked in 2wd trucks.

i have the option of a built chevy 350 with th350 that my brother built last year for a 86 chevy drag truck but hes now at texas school of auto machinists building a 6.0 for it so the 350 is up for the taking.. ill throw up some pictures of everything

 

[Deuling]

ITS A FULL VERT.....That would be dumb to make it a mud truck. For sure do it stock..

Buy another to make into a beater...

 

[blazin73k]

yeah im thinking thats whats gonna happen. i need about 10 of theses trucks.. a couple show trucks and a couple toys

 

[Greg72]

yeah im thinking thats whats gonna happen. i need about 10 of theses trucks.. a couple show trucks and a couple toys

I recognize that truck!

Belonged to a CK5er called Agent_Orange..... There's even a build thread for it already.

Don't waste it as a mud truck. I'd go either stock resto or respectful resto-mod. Don't forget the white wheels and hubcaps!

-G

 

[muddermilitia]

Here you go: http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=299561&highlight=Agent_Orange

And considering the amount of work that was already put into it, I wouldn't beat it up as a mud truck. I would do a 4" lift with 35s, beef up the motor a lil, and just build something that's fun to drive on the street. Maybe take it to the beach once in a while, but don't tear it up in the woods or mud pits

 

[sweetk30]

welcome new member . looks like your just up the road from me . I am down in horseheads .

yes rare for full convertible top around here . I say clean it up good n straight and cruse it .

 

[rebelgregory]

I'm with them ^^^. Good score.

Also, the drag truck motor probably won't be a good candidate. If it's like most drag truck motors, it'll have an agressive cam in it and generally be tuned for high rpm. That would be good for a mud truck, but for this, you'll want something with low-end torque. That said, if it runs well now I would just save that little mod for last.

 

[Deuling]

Didn't realize he was selling it.

A lot of work was put into it, hopefully you can finish it nice. I know a lot of people here really enjoyed watching that thread, so hopefully you can keep it going

 

[diesel4me]

My vote is to leave it stock...not only because its a full vert,but because almost every truck l bought that was lifted or monkeyed with drove like crap,was a hassle to get inspected,and since I rarely do any off roading,I took all the lift springs and huge tires off and put them back to "normal" and had a much more enjoyable & useable truck--even if it didn't look "cool" or rugged...

A 307 with a TH-400 and NP-205 would be a hard to kill drivetrain,probably didn't come factory with that trans & T-case unless it was special order...with the right gearing that engine will be able to propel it adequately and still deliver decent mpg,the 307's like to wind up due to their shorter stroke,so if it has 3:08s or 2:73's you'll want to get axles with 4:10's or higher ratio so the engine wont be laboring at highway speeds..my G-10 van with a 73 malibu 307 and 2:73's is almost as sluggish as it was with 3:08's and the original 250 straight six,maybe worse!..

 

[scottsdale86]

Small lift with 33's and the rest done stockish with some modern conviences to make it a fun runner.

 

[72blazerguy]

Another keep it stock...

 

[blazin73k]

thanks everybody for the input. ill definitely be keeping it stock it looks like. the weather is getting nice here finally so ill be tearing into it soon. plan on redoing all the body work to my standards, i have a lot of new parts from other trucks i have. ill have to start a build thread.. or continuation of a build. it amazes me how many people are on this site. makes the world seem small.

 

[Deuling]

thanks everybody for the input. ill definitely be keeping it stock it looks like. the weather is getting nice here finally so ill be tearing into it soon. plan on redoing all the body work to my standards, i have a lot of new parts from other trucks i have. ill have to start a build thread.. or continuation of a build. it amazes me how many people are on this site. makes the world seem small.

If you make a new one, at least post a link in the old thread, and a link to the old thread in yours. That way people know what happened.


Looking forward to seeing it done

 

[blazer74]

Keep it stock with mild lift and tires. Treat those fender emblems like GOLD, hard to come by. 73-74 only.
He used a pickup bed for repair on that.
Nice project.

 

[big dan]

I wouldn't go full on mud truck but I would modify it. But I cant leave anything alone and in my opinion these trucks all should have came with 3/4 ton axles 4 inches higher and 33s from the factory