Roll Cage vs Rocker Box on '74 Blazer

[max 02]

Looks good!

 

[Bigb55]

Well.....the gaps are way off. I know the new rocker is where it's suppose to be. But prior to my repair the door rubbed the old rocker sill area. But the old rocker did not have any bracing inside so it was installed wherever made it fit best. And the driver side door is denting on the lower bottom hinge bolts. (Will need to be fixed someday) And Turns out the driver side is ever so slightly "taco'd"

Anyway, I adjusted hinges and door bolts 10000000000s times. I had it pretty good at one point. But the fender was not close to clearing so I went to make it better and haven't got it back to that point since. No idea wtf happened. So I settled on this for now (want to actually drive it instead of turning wrenches non stop)

I'll replace the hinges at the end of this year and readjust. But I need some wrench free time to just enjoy it.

Let's hope the hood fits decent. It really sucked when I bought it. Lol

 

[Bigb55]

Hood is not far off from being perfect. Got new springs and hinges and it's a real smooth open and close.

hood Hinges need a tiny bit of of slotting to allow the rear to sit flush and have the hood be far enough forward to line up. About a 1/4" should do it.

In other news, during my post fix test drive, the np205 front driveshaft flange decided to spit out a bolt. So hopefully it didn't wreck the flange bolt holes or t-case threads.

I limped it home, but the front shaft spun at the low speeds, flopping the flange around. I don't see any wallowed out holes and the threads look good. Going get new bolts and hope it's good.

 

[bp71k5]

door gaps indicate you need to shim the body mounts to open up the door gaps. That’s assuming all the bolts are tight. If it’s anything like the first gen, you get the a-pillar gap right first and then shim the b-pillar mounts and front fender to match.

 

[Bigb55]

door gaps indicate you need to shim the body mounts to open up the door gaps. That’s assuming all the bolts are tight. If it’s anything like the first gen, you get the a-pillar gap right first and then shim the b-pillar mounts and front fender to match.

I'm fairly positive the #1 and #2 body mounts are shot and the radiator mounts have been replaced recently. Could be causing the fenders to dip in the rear 1/4 to 1/2" making alignment a nightmare.

They're on the list of repairs for end of summer. Want to get some mechanical stuffed finished first.

 

[bp71k5]

I'm fairly positive the #1 and #2 body mounts are shot and the radiator mounts have been replaced recently. Could be causing the fenders to dip in the rear 1/4 to 1/2" making alignment a nightmare.

They're on the list of repairs for end of summer. Want to get some mechanical stuffed finished first.

ah, don’t waste any time aligning anything if the body mounts aren’t good.

 

[Bigb55]

ah, don’t waste any time aligning anything if the body mounts aren’t good.

Agreed, I got it to an acceptable alignment so I can enjoy it for spring time here in SoCal. Goal will be to redo it all with new door hinges and body mounts after summer

Short list for upcoming upgrades are dakota gauges, suspension upgrades, random mechanical fixes, body mounts, finish interior.

 

[bp71k5]

Agreed, I got it to an acceptable alignment so I can enjoy it for spring time here in SoCal. Goal will be to redo it all with new door hinges and body mounts after summer

Short list for upcoming upgrades are dakota gauges, suspension upgrades, random mechanical fixes, body mounts, finish interior.

that’s a short list?

 

[Bigb55]

Alrighty,

New door hinges and new body mounts. Added one 1/8" shim to front driver side mount. And it totally fixed the gaps! The door is still a bit close to the rear quarter, but doesn't rub. The new mounts and shim helped opened up the driver door jamb. But unknown amount of years of being topless and lack of braces have caused it to collapse some.

So had to shim the door forward to clear the windshield frame a bit. When I do a roll cage in the future, I'll have them air ram the jamb open and use roll cage to hold it up.

But. Door closes easily, doesn't rub anything and gaps look MUCH better!

 

[Bigb55]

Played with some more shims and got an even better result. This is one more shim on driver side front and one shim on the first bed mount.

This concludes my repair. I'm not touching a dam thing again. Next time im paying a shop to do it.

 

[H20 Toie]

Hell of a job you did, very impressive