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My build thread - kinda'

6.2Blazer

3/4 ton status
Joined
Feb 24, 2000
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Location
Ohio
Well, not really a build thread, but more of a current summary. I just went wheelin' again last weekend after an 18 month break due to a little bout with cancer.

It's been awhile, if ever, since I posted the specs on my Blazer.

1990 Chevrolet V1500 (K5) Blazer


Bought it in 1994 with 49k on the clock and completely stock expect for a set of 32” mud tires. The specs were:

6.2 diesel, 700r4 trans, 241 t-case, 10-bolt axles front and rear w/ Gov-lock and 3.73 gears, and all of the bells and whistles of a Silverado (power windows, locks, cruise, A/C, etc…).

It was my daily driver for many years and has been a work in progress since. I won’t bore you with the different versions over the years, but it has had an interesting life including being stolen, wheeled hard, and then stripped before being recovered. It currently is a trailered off-road rig, but is licensed and street legal.

Here are the current specs:

Engine: mostly stock 6.2, tweaked timing, dual Flowmaster 40’s w/ turndowns. Poly engine mounts. To come includes tweaked injection pump and “J” code (non-EGR) intake. CS144 (140 amp) alternator upgrade. Dual batteries.

Trans and t-case: 700r4 with big cooler and NP 241 t-case (2.72 low). Poly trans mount.

Driveshafts: rear now has a larger tube with 1350 u-joints, front is stock with 1310 at the diff and S44 (similiar to 1330) CV at the t-case.

Axles:
front = Dana 60, Lock-right, 4.10 gears, 35-spline non-neckdown Spicer inners, Spicer u-joints, 35-spline Yukon stubs, Mt. Logan 35-spline flanges, minor housing shave for ground clearance, beefed stock diff cover (basically two covers welded together, then extra plating over ring gear).
Rear = 14-bolt FF, welded diff, 4.10 gears, disc brakes, minor housing shave for ground clearance.
Line-locks installed for front and rear.

Steering: Stock Hydro-boost, ORD cross-over steering, re-sealed 2wd steering box, stock pump modded for more flow and pressure, HD (1.25", apparently not heavy enough because I bent it already) tie-rod, RockLogic hydro-assist (1.5” cylinder) w/ drilled and tapped stock end and top cap (end cap reinforced). ORD bolt-on steering brace and weld-on frame reinforcements.

Suspension:
Front = 4” Tuff Country HD springs, ORD HD shackles and greasable bushings. Plans to install 1” zero-rate and move front axle forward 1.5”.
Rear = Sky Manuf. Shackle flip, stock 52” springs. Plans for reversed 56” springs which will move axle back 4” and install longer rear shackles.

Tires and Wheels: 39.5x15.5-15 Super Swamper TSL, 15x8 Procomp wheels w/ 2.75” backspacing (hillbilly beadlocks).

Bumpers: home-built front and rear
Front: 3/8” plate used for frame and winch mounts. 3x2x3/16” for center part of bumper, currently 1.5” box for outer ends (will eventually switch to round tube), stinger hoop, Ramsey ProPlus 9000 winch with roller fairlead.

Rear: 4x2x3/16” tube, wrap around corners, ¼” frame mounts go down to bottom of fuel tank w/ 1.5” tube to act as a “tank bumper”

Body: Rocker panels cut out and raised (about 5” cut out of bottom of doors for reference), replaced with 3x3 tube, front floors all 1/8” plate and new subframe built to support floors, seats, and rockers. Heavily trimmed front fenders. Quick release door hinges. Interior completely stripped except for dash, seats, center console. Tailgate permanently removed and reinforcement bar running between stock latch mounts. Stock rear taillights removed and replaced with new mounts and flush mount trailer lights that sit inside the stock openings for the lights.

Rollcage: S&W full family cage (plans for more reinforcement) including door bars (makes it a pain to get in and out but well worth it because I ran with no doors most of the time).

Misc: Toolbox mount using small turnbuckles connected between floor and box (holds box securely, but can be removed by hand quickly by loosening turnbuckles and then unhooking them). Hi-lift mounts (bolts up through top of rear wheelwell, then jack secured with wing nuts and washers). Interior light modified to work on manual switch (because doors removable), red interior running light under dash (so you can still see a little inside while running a trail at night, but doesn’t affect outside visibility). Doors converted to manual windows. Cruise and ABS crap removed, brakes lines all redone.

My 4x4 club had our annual fall picnic at a member's house (wish I had stuff like this in my backyard). The first two pics are of the obstacle names "Samurai's Revenge"....name because a Sami was the first vehicle all the way up, of course the only thing still "Sami" on this rig was some of the body and frame.

IMG_1349.JPG



IMG_1352.JPG



blazer3.jpg


 
That wash looks like a tight fit for yer truck especialy the next left turn.

x2. i wouldn't have the urge to drive around in that. on the other hand, your sheetmetal is more "experienced" than mine. i have one shallow fist-sized wheeling dent from 2 weeks ago, and that's it. you probably have more fun, though.
 
Very Cool! I really like your truck. Do you ever make it out to badlands in attica indiana?
 
This truck and your experiences with it were one of the major deciding factors that convinced me to swap a diesel into my Jimmy in 2002. I've never looked back. Cheap to run on the street and getting to the trail...and is such a vast improvement off road it's beyond words for me.

Keep taking pic's as you make your improvements!!

Rene
 
Who's that goofy looking guy giving you spotting advice in the first two pics? :D
 
Not sure who the guy in the white shirt trying to be a spotter is...the only spotting advice I got from him was "you'll have to get angry with it" :haha:

The sheetmetal looks much nicer in the pictures than in real life. The dark gray and black Rust-oleum are new additions with the main purpose to disguise some of the dents. In the wash I broke off some of the passenger side headlight bezel and dented the corner some more...but the truck is much more fun when you don't care about the body that much. But overall it's not that bad considering it's been an trail-only rig for almost 10 years, and all of the trails around here are fairly tight and my club is mostly Jeeps and that size vehicles.

The majority of the time the 6.2 is really nice on the trail...lot's of low-end torque, works as good as fuel injection at the angles but no electronic crap, good on fuel...the only downside is when you get in deep mud or on something that requires a lot of wheelspeed or a big "bump". 78Buford has a "mildly" built 460 in his truck and he can easily get at least twice the wheelspeed as me.
 
Not sure who the guy in the white shirt trying to be a spotter is...the only spotting advice I got from him was "you'll have to get angry with it" :haha:

Hey, that advice worked didn't it? I observed that you were in a position that allowed you a short run at the big rocks, the front diff, rear diff, and rear driveshaft observed to have a clear path in front of them, so the only thing left to do was use the right foot, hold on for a few seconds, and let the Blazer do it's job...which it did. :D

Roy
 
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