Restoring my dream cruiser - 72 K5

[Adrock151]

Adrock151 submitted a new Build:

Restoring my dream cruiser

Hey everyone, brand new Gen 1 Blazer owner here. Very new to everything actually. I picked up this truck about 3 months ago and have been working with my father in law to get it running and road ready. I fell in love with the International Scout when i was in high school back in the 90's and have wanted one ever since. My father in law restores chevy's and is a huge chevy fan so that got me looking at the blazer instead. Little by little is just started to feel like it made sense for me and i am so glad i went that direction. After looking at them for a few months, i knew it was the 72 that i really wanted, but they are very hard to find, especially in the NE. We finally found one in NJ and it seemed to be fairly original. It barely ran when i bought it and obviously is NOT RUST FREE. But the chassis is solid, basically everything works, all gauges, locking latch for top, wipers, lights, heat, 4WD etc.

My basic plan for this build is to get the truck to be reliable, structurally sound so that i can remove the top in the summers, small lift, new tires, body work/paint and new interior. I dont plan to make it a show car or an off road vehicle. I want to go cruising to the beach (parking in the parking lot), go into town to get my coffee on sundays, really just an on road recreational vehicle to enjoy cruising around in during the warmer months here.

Im going to post a bunch photos to start off. Truck has the original engine in it, numbers match that on the protect o plate that was in the vehicle when i bought it. The truck barely ran, i think it had maybe 3 cylinders firing when i tried to take it for a test drive so i trailered it home. Story i was told was the it had been in a "barn" for 17 years prior to it being sold in February, PO bought it basically site unseen, not running, dumped a few bucks into, got it "running" and flipped it. There was an invoice in the glove box that shows a bunch of work that was done and the date looks like it reads 2001, and the mileage on the invoice reads 97k miles, the truck is now at 99k and previsou owner said they only put mayb 15 - 20 miles on it driving it home from the mechanic. So it kind of makes sense if the truck did sit for the last 17 years. I'm fairly certain they ran 17 year old gas through it, because when i took a sample from the gas tank, it was horrible looking. Heres a quick list of what i have done so far

New Lifters, Timing Chain and Camshaft
Newer Valve Covers
New Hoses, New Water Pump...

Read more about this build here...

 

[Adrock151]

I would like to post some rust pictures soon and see what you guys think of my situation, normal, light, nightmare etc ... every body guy that has looked at it wants nothing to do with it, but im fairly certain they just dont know what they are supposed to be looking at. I know the community here knows what is typical for these trucks and what is abnormal

 

[Adrock151]

also decoded the numbers on my tires today, they are from 1992 haha

 

[Adrock151]

Hoping to place an order soon for all the parts i need to do the rocker rust repair. I have seen a number of photos in other builds where guys laid out all the pieces needed. Does anyone have good photos of how everything goes together? My stuff is so rusted, alot of it is completely missing and its really hard to tell exactly how it all mounts/welds back up. A shopping list would hurt either, i am thinking i need Rocker Boxes, Inner and Outer Rocker Panels, Cab Supports front and rear, A and B pillar repair pieces, floor pan patches, and a hand full of other smaller parts that seem to bolt to the rocker boxes? I hear people talk about the 3 bolt area and the 4 bolt area, i would love to have a better understanding of the order before i start cutting and disable the truck from being moved.

 

[NorCal69]

Welcome top the site.....

Now it's time to peel the onion. Not to worry though, a lot of guys have done it here and will be willing to help.

A lot of my pics are lost to PB, but check out @Greg72's thread. Pretty sure he has lots of pics still.
@Z71paramedic should still have some pics along with Brain.

If all else fails, I'll see what I can dig up.

 

[Chevy350Ben]

Welcome! What a bad a$$ truck man. Love it.

Just for curiosities sake; why a 72 in particular?

Also, if you haven't read through the build yet, there is one called "ryoken's guide to rust repair". You should read that one. Its long. Like 350 pages or so, but its fan-freakin-tastic. Itll take you step by step on all the bodywork.

Can't wait to see how your truck turns out...

 

[Chevy350Ben]

This one:

https://ck5.com/forums/builds/ryokens-guide-to-rust-treatment-and-bodywork-101.554/

 

[Adrock151]

Thats amazing @Chevy350Ben thank you so much, i guess i know what ill be doing tonight! I'm getting very anxious to start sourcing all the metal i need, if anyone has any suggestions on what to buy from where, i am all ears. The reason i decided to go with a 72 came down more to personal preference, i felt like every time i found one that i really liked the look of, it happened to be a 72. They had the front disc brakes, and i like the interior door panels etc. There were also alot more produced so i guess i felt i had a better shot at finding one locally. The more i learn about them, the more i realize that the year probably didnt matter as much as i thought originally, although i do really like the 72 grill.

 

[70jimmy]

Welcome to the board! You have a great starting point and goal. It only takes 3 things to make it the truck you want: Money, Time, and Patience, loads of all 3. This place is a great resource for whatever you plan on doing. I look forward to following your progress.

 

[Adrock151]

Ok ... took a couple months off after the mechanical work to relax, research and source most of the parts i thought i needed. Turns out i need a few additional. Today was Day 1 of the Rust Repair. Got the truck into my father in-laws garage and started tearing it apart. I didnt find too many surprises yet. I think alot of guys that do this repair have things like their rocker/torsion boxes in place when they do it. Since mine were completely missing, there were not too many places that i couldnt investigate prior to this, so my surprises were minimal if any. I did come across a couple areas that i'm a little confused. I am hoping i just missed a couple parts in what i ordered. Here a shot of the truck at the beginning and at the end of the day today

 

[Adrock151]

I made a handy door brace, not planning to take the top off, did the best i could with what i had

 

[Adrock151]

There's a couple of areas im a little confused about, one question is surrounding the A pillar, the other near the B pillar. I'm going to start with the B Pillar, In the below photo, you will see two mounting holes on the top of one of the replacement pieces. This piece of my truck is rusted to basic non existence. I have located where i believe they would mount, but in that location seems to be square nuts of some sort, on small bolts that seem to comes through the rear floor pan, but the top of these bolts are inside the rear quarter panel. So if i cut them off, i am not sure what my move is to attach the repair piece. Maybe im not making sense, or maybe someone already attempted some sort of repair here once before? But every other repair on this truck looks like band-aid slapped over something else. I would really appreciate any feedback, maybe im over thinking it

 

[Adrock151]

Ok now for the A Pillar, Here is a photo of where i am at currently. I have the A Pillar repair piece, so i plan to cut the piece that i marked in Blue, then weld on the repair piece. But what is the piece i marked in Red??? Was that part of the factory inner rocker? I bought floor extensions and the floor pan repair patches for the front. I dropped a second photo in here below it for context, zoomed out a bit. Any insight is very appreciated.

 

[Adrock151]

I figured out my A pillar question. I was able to save the piece on my truck to be reused, also found it in the LMC catalog under rear floor pan parts as opposed to where I had been looking.

 

[Greg72]

I figured out my A pillar question. I was able to save the piece on my truck to be reused, also found it in the LMC catalog under rear floor pan parts as opposed to where I had been looking.

There are some good reference photos in the first 100 posts of my build thread for the A-pillar area if you want to check there... the lower fender reinforcement piece IS factory.

-G

 

[LLeff]

From the factory i believe those pieces on the b pillar were bolted together before the bedsides were attached. if you want to access them without removing the bedside you will have to cut a small access hole and weld it back up on the inner bedside. if im not making anysense i can try and get some pictures for you.