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Restoring my 1970 Blazer- questions for the group!

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bigdon-70blazer

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Poplar Bluff, MO.
I am new to this forum and getting a lot of interesting information but am into the restore of my own 1970 Blazer, and having a great time! I do have some questions but my questions may seem silly to most of you as this is my first restore project but one that I ahve always dreamed of and worked toward. I have a real nice clean 2 owner 1970 plain jane blazer that has 56k miles on it, ran great but needed some rust work and paint as the trtuck sat outside for 35 years, just a farm vehicle for southwest Kansas. I de-fanged the truck last week, pulling the engine, tranny and t-case. I started dismantling it this winter and it is almost totally apart, been fun, taking lots of pics so I hope I can get it back togather! Got couple of question, do the seats of 73 blazer have the same frame as the CST seats of 70-72? I want that seat in it, found some 73 seats and wonder if I could strip them to frame and retro fit all of the foam and seat stuff, then use my mounts. Also, did 70 blazer come with dealer installs such as skid plate under t-case and gas tank protector, a big metal pan covering the tank. Also had a huge trailer hitch mechanism under it. I will try to post some of the pics I have later. Thanks for your help,great site!
 
Welcome to the madness!!

I can only answer the questions I know.
1.Seats are not the same the bolt pattern is different. You could swap frames and make it work might take some fab skills but it can be done.

2.Most of the other stuff you speak of is options that the vehicle could be ordered with. I don't have a T case skid plate but I know the newer ones could be ordered with them. I do have the factory gas tank skid. Mine is four sided and the bottom is narrower than the top, in other words the 4 sides are at an angle. Like a card board box with the 4 sides cut and the sides are held so the top is farther across than the bottom. Mine did have a huge trailer hitch receiver type mess under it when I got it. :weld: :grind:
 
Welcome to CK5! :thumb:

You may already know this, but there were two styles of seats available from the factory for the 1st Gen Blazers....the standard seats (sort of a trapezoidal seat back) and what was called a "utility seat" (slightly wider overall, much more square seatback)

If you're going to the trouble of "restoring" your Blazer, it might be worth trying to locate correct seats (check the For Sale forum).

Also, you can often find a lot of good photos of options, etc by checking out the brochures at: http://brochures.slosh.com/


:usaflag:
 
The utility buckets have a steel back that covers the entire back of the seat. Also, a factory console will not fit properly between them. As far as I know, no vendor sells upholstery sits or foam for the utility buckets(been looking for 2 years). I have an oriiginal sales brochure from Aug 69, but it only lists mainly drivetrain options. Does yours still have the sticker inside the glovebox listing all the options????
 
My blazer had the big bulky utility bucket seats and I have found out what you did, there is no seat cover repair kit for it, thanks for telling me you have been looking for 2 years! I am going to try to find some CST seats and recover them but still looking right now. I also have the ruuber factory floor mat that I have not been able to find an exact copy or replica of, anybody had any luck with that? I still have the glove box list in pristine condition but I am going to have to remove it or cover it when I paint. I heard that sometimes you can find the original factory build sheet in the truck?
 
My 70 is also a stripper;250, 3 speed on column, no powere steering or brakes. Mine also has the rubber floor mats, no luck finding copies of the original. I'm gonna bite the bullet and order a set from Whitney, and save whats left of the original for future reference.
When I took the backs off my utility buckets I found the build tag for the seats-12/69. I haven't heard where to look for the orig build sheet on our old rigs. I have looked under all 3 of my seats, to no effect, where else would they put it? If you look closely at my firewall, across the top, you can still see the VIN written in grease pencil.
Why not get a different glove box lid to paint? That way you still have the option sheet, along with the original color. How is your steering wheel? Repros are pricey. I finally found a sprint car wheel that is 17", like the original, and installed it. Welcome to the world of scrounging!!!!!!!
 
My steering wheel is terribly cracked up and I will need to replace it. Yes the repros are pricey but that is the look I'm going for so I am locked into that path. Another question for you all. I took out all of the wiring and tried to keep it fairly separated and was wondering if I should reuse it or go with one of those "Painless" systems I see advertised. The other wiring worked fine but I wonder if there is an advantage to the new stuff. What is your take on this?
 
bigdon-70blazer said:
My steering wheel is terribly cracked up and I will need to replace it. Yes the repros are pricey but that is the look I'm going for so I am locked into that path. Another question for you all. I took out all of the wiring and tried to keep it fairly separated and was wondering if I should reuse it or go with one of those "Painless" systems I see advertised. The other wiring worked fine but I wonder if there is an advantage to the new stuff. What is your take on this?
Click to expand...

I have heard a lot more complaints than praise for the Painless kits. :eek1:

The problem is that they are not a true replacement for the factory harness....they try to make a more generic harness for the K5 that will work on a larger number of years....so you'll get circuits for power windows, cruise control, etc.

I've heard plenty of stories of people who started out all excited to have a "NEW" Painless harness, but ended up crying and complaining that they couldn't get it installed correctly or working right.

My Suggestion:

If you are really "restoring" your K5, you should be buying the OEM harnesses and using those instead. YES, they are expensive but they are still available and will fit correctly and work properly for your specific vehicle. :usaflag:

Alternatively, if your existing harness is basically in good shape, you can buy the individual factory wire gauges/color combos from Painless (same manufacturer that originally supplied GM)....and graft in new wires to repair damaged or cracked wires in your existing harness...
 
I ahd not heard any of that before and I am so glad to hear it now. My harnesses are fine and I will try to use them again, may put on a fresh topping of tape! Thanks so much for the advice!
 
Another couple of questions.... I have the utility bucket seats in my 70 Blazer and a back seat also. Is this seat the same size as the back seat in the CST outfitted blazers? I'm hoping so I will be able to recover both to match. They look to be the same size, any ideas? Also, how do I remove the metal driver side door tag? Do I just drill out those rivets or do I grind the top of the rivet off? May seem like dumb questions but not if you've never done anything like this before! Thanks, you all have been so helpful! Don
 
WOW!! That is a sweet ride, hope you arent going to chop it up. Love that color to.
 
3 on the tree said:
My 70 is also a stripper;250, 3 speed on column, no powere steering or brakes. Mine also has the rubber floor mats, no luck finding copies of the original. I'm gonna bite the bullet and order a set from Whitney, and save whats left of the original for future reference.
When I took the backs off my utility buckets I found the build tag for the seats-12/69. I haven't heard where to look for the orig build sheet on our old rigs. I have looked under all 3 of my seats, to no effect, where else would they put it?
Click to expand...

I recently pulled my front inner fender wells off and found a plastic baggy of sorts, not sure if it contained the build sheet or not, but something was stuffed in it at one time. It was below the firewall so unless you pulled the wheel wells off you wouldn't see it.

Nice ride!! Welcome to the board. How much did you have to pay for it? Jim
 
I paid 5800 for it, I think that was a steal considering the condition. Having shopped for one for a couple of years, I think it was a way fair price. I am going to spend a load getting it restored but what fun! I am not going to chop it up. It will look pretty much stock when I get done. I do like the look of 73-79 15X8 chevy rally wheels which I now have a set of. I will paint them same color as the body. The color will be a 1971 color medium lime green, which I like better than the stock yellow even though I also like the yellow, I like this medium lime green better (thanks gotlabs). I got all of the brake lines off and gas lines today. Also got the steering gear with pittman arm and drag link off but I could not get that big c shaped deal hooked to the driver side whhel assembly, has three nuts on top, took them off and the other thing would not come off. Can you tell I am not a mechanic? Got my sheet metal today from Goodmark, two rockers, footwells on both sides, front floor pan patches and both wheelwells for the front. Will start to get ready to remove the body from the frame so I can 1. blast and paint the frame (since it is apart, why not?) and 2. change the body mounts. Any helpful hints?
 
bigdon-70blazer said:
I paid 5800 for it, I think that was a steal considering the condition. Having shopped for one for a couple of years, I think it was a way fair price. I am going to spend a load getting it restored but what fun! I am not going to chop it up. It will look pretty much stock when I get done. I do like the look of 73-79 15X8 chevy rally wheels which I now have a set of. I will paint them same color as the body. The color will be a 1971 color medium lime green, which I like better than the stock yellow even though I also like the yellow, I like this medium lime green better (thanks gotlabs). I got all of the brake lines off and gas lines today. Also got the steering gear with pittman arm and drag link off but I could not get that big c shaped deal hooked to the driver side whhel assembly, has three nuts on top, took them off and the other thing would not come off. Can you tell I am not a mechanic? Got my sheet metal today from Goodmark, two rockers, footwells on both sides, front floor pan patches and both wheelwells for the front. Will start to get ready to remove the body from the frame so I can 1. blast and paint the frame (since it is apart, why not?) and 2. change the body mounts. Any helpful hints?
Click to expand...

Yeah make really small cuts when you fit up the floorboards, took me forever but it is much easier to weld if the gap is small. Just finished up my drivers side with about 8 different patch panels. Looks better than factory!!

I have the rally wheels also, paid $10.00 a pc. at the junkyard. Mine are painted silver.

That's not a bad price, but the truck looks like it is pretty good shape, good luck with your resto. I'm off to work on my wood bed in the Jimmy. Jim
 
Good looking K5. Will enjoy watching your progess. I am just about done with my 69 K20 that I tore completely apart. I would stick with the original harnesses and just replace what needs replacing. I replaced my engine side harnesses but my under dash harness was in great shape. Keep us posted!
 
Question, (and I have a ton!) Are the seat rails on the utility bucket seats the same ones as the rails on the CST seats, front seats that is. I have purchased some CST seats without the seat rails and haven't picked them up yet so I can not measure them. I have the big utility bucket seat but am changing to the CST type seat in front and bought some CST seats from guy who had the seats only, used the rails to mount S-10 type high back seats in his 71.
 
I bought those seats and the brackets from the utility buckets do not look they are a swap...Any body got any CST seat brackets out there? Or is there something I am missing or not doing right. Also, I just bought body mount kit from LMC, they will work OK won't they?
 
bigdon-70blazer said:
Question, (and I have a ton!) Are the seat rails on the utility bucket seats the same ones as the rails on the CST seats, front seats that is.
Click to expand...

Yes. I believe the rails are the same. I'm actually going the other way. I like the utility buckets because of the size and the metal back.
 
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