How the time flies......!
38 days sure disappear in a hurry when you've got "important" things you want to get done.
38 days sure disappear in a hurry when you've got "important" things you want to get done.
CK5
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Rudy's 72
- Thread starter RudyO
- Start date
yeah i wanted to be driving a few weeks ago, and i am nowhere near to that point and dont plan to be. Way to many house chores and other things to do.
RudyO
1/2 ton status
The Medano pass run went pretty good, ending at the Great Sand Dunes. Mine is the red Cherokee in the 1st pic. One of the younger members decided he wanted to move up in line (I was 2nd vehicle) and squeeze between me and that little tree. I got paint transfer and the plastic bumper end cap ripped off. A Ford broke a sway bar link, and another vehicle had a leaky radiator hose. Club cleaned the trail as we saw litter also.
Fun stream crossings- I was a lil nervous about ingesting water, but the Cherokee did pretty good for a stock vehicle. The trail is rated as easy.
Some wildlife. This and bison. No bears.
Approaching the dunes
At the base of the dunes. The tallest in North America.
A good run will give incentive to keep building also, even if it wasn't in the preferred vehicle, lol.
Fun stream crossings- I was a lil nervous about ingesting water, but the Cherokee did pretty good for a stock vehicle. The trail is rated as easy.
Some wildlife. This and bison. No bears.
Approaching the dunes
At the base of the dunes. The tallest in North America.
A good run will give incentive to keep building also, even if it wasn't in the preferred vehicle, lol.
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- Mar 12, 2004
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That looks like it was some real fun. Why all the walking to the dunes, No OHV use ? They look like tons-o-fun
RudyO
1/2 ton status
Think the only vehicle allowed on the dunes is a sled, lol. About 1 in 10 people had em. There was a storm rolling in, so once you got out of the stream your legs got sand blasted. The storm made for a good optical illusion though. The stream was flowing one direction, and the wind was going directly opposite. If you watched the current for more than a few seconds it would mess with your balance. Beautiful run through that pass!
RudyO
1/2 ton status
Not the best bodywork, but it's solid. Debating on opening up the air boxes, cleaning em out, and Rust Bulleting all the inside next. Best to do it now, before Wisconsin salt gets the munchies in November.
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
That looks pretty nice. You won't even see most of it after the engine is in.
RudyO
1/2 ton status
The engine is orange now too. Just not as smooth looking.
jimbug
1/2 ton status
Looks great... I think taking care of the air boxes is a smart idea! It will pay for itself down the road for sure!
RudyO
1/2 ton status
Well, started out the day making beef jerky and began working on the body mounts, til I got to the long one, so back to Fastenal. Which was a mistake. Ordered the two bolts but ended up ordering a bolt bin with a bunch of standard bolts (dang sales) also.
But before I replace the rear most mounts, looks like I get to replace the rear foot or so of bed. Got rot and about 30 holes to get rid of.
Piddled around with my wheel wells a lil, and 70Jimmy stopped by, so I picked his brain on some ideas.
Opened up 1.5 of the air boxes (can a spot weld cutter be re-sharpened?) and looks like I won't have much metal to replace before the Rust Bullet goes on. Amazing how much tension is loaded into a seemingly flat piece of sheetmetal...
But before I replace the rear most mounts, looks like I get to replace the rear foot or so of bed. Got rot and about 30 holes to get rid of.
Piddled around with my wheel wells a lil, and 70Jimmy stopped by, so I picked his brain on some ideas.
Opened up 1.5 of the air boxes (can a spot weld cutter be re-sharpened?) and looks like I won't have much metal to replace before the Rust Bullet goes on. Amazing how much tension is loaded into a seemingly flat piece of sheetmetal...
RudyO
1/2 ton status
Only two cuts on the second pic, but it pops loose quickly. Thats only about half the tension released.
RudyO
1/2 ton status
Well, hell, back to lurking.
If by lurking you mean "going back outside and working on the truck"....!!!!
Another 1/2 cup of coffee and that's where I'm headed. Let's all meet back here in about 8 hours with photos and stories to share.
sounds like a good plan...its only 10 a.m. here and the southern heat and humidity is already miserable. I am already back inside for a break. Get to work Rudy
RudyO
1/2 ton status
This is the rainiest season we've had in this part of Colorado in a decade. 3-4 showers throughout the day. Makes it hard to weld or paint. When its not raining, it's in the high 90's.
Progress I do make on the Blazer doesn't seem to garner much attention. Encouragement is usually a good motivator. I take pics as I go, but I guess I'm not much of a story teller. May just post pics of "before and after" work from here on out.
Any way I work it, this truck will have solid metal and will be up and running before November. Mechanicals are easy- repairing a body takes much more time. I'm teaching myself as I go, and I'm trying to do the best job I can accomplish, with the skills I have at that point. I do a lot of research before I even start to get dirty.
So yeah, gonna go into lurking mode, get on the site for about 10 minutes a night to see if theres anything new, and thats about it. Work as weather permits.
Progress I do make on the Blazer doesn't seem to garner much attention. Encouragement is usually a good motivator. I take pics as I go, but I guess I'm not much of a story teller. May just post pics of "before and after" work from here on out.
Any way I work it, this truck will have solid metal and will be up and running before November. Mechanicals are easy- repairing a body takes much more time. I'm teaching myself as I go, and I'm trying to do the best job I can accomplish, with the skills I have at that point. I do a lot of research before I even start to get dirty.
So yeah, gonna go into lurking mode, get on the site for about 10 minutes a night to see if theres anything new, and thats about it. Work as weather permits.
GRINCH
1/2 ton status
Don't get discouraged.. I'm off my goal date of at least 2 months on my build and I have a shop to work in. I also spend a lot of time researching before I do anything.
fishinnutt
1/2 ton status
I know what you mean about the weather. I have to work in my driveway and I can't start grinding on things at 7am so that leaves me with just a couple of hours before the rain starts and if I am lucky an hour or two after it has cleared up. Your removing the skins off the air boxes is a really good idea, at the very least I am going to try and assess what is going on in my air boxes now that I saw how you did yours. It is good to set goals as to when you would like to accomplish something on the truck, but I would not get discouraged when the deadline comes and goes and you haven't got done what you wanted to especially when you can't control the variables like the weather.
RudyO
1/2 ton status
FishinNutt, the cuts I made to access the air box were done after feeling around for braces and such. I could have taken another inch from the vertical cut and probably eliminated some more of the tension, but was trying to get the cut between the spot welds. That and it looked flat originally. Cuts were also made so that when the skin is back in place I can reach a brush through the air box hole and get complete coverage with the RustBullet.
Well, got one in. Fabricating this thing was not fun. A lot of trial fitting. Anyone replacing these things may want to find two uppers and weld those together. Guaranteed the bottoms will be rotted, and haven't seen these things reproduced yet.
I noticed right before I drilled the hole for the hinge pin that the hole didn't go through on the original pieces. Seems the bottom lapped piece had a dimple instead, so fabbed a replacement.
Took measurements of my originals, but ended up removing a 1/4 inch from the depth as it wouldn't sit flush. Originally cut the spot welds, but looking at it later, not sure how many of the spot welds were actually holding anything together, as the piece from the factory wasn't installed perfectly. I ended up welding the holes closed and welded the piece completely in.
Gonna try to RustBullet this side tomorrow.
Well, got one in. Fabricating this thing was not fun. A lot of trial fitting. Anyone replacing these things may want to find two uppers and weld those together. Guaranteed the bottoms will be rotted, and haven't seen these things reproduced yet.
I noticed right before I drilled the hole for the hinge pin that the hole didn't go through on the original pieces. Seems the bottom lapped piece had a dimple instead, so fabbed a replacement.
Took measurements of my originals, but ended up removing a 1/4 inch from the depth as it wouldn't sit flush. Originally cut the spot welds, but looking at it later, not sure how many of the spot welds were actually holding anything together, as the piece from the factory wasn't installed perfectly. I ended up welding the holes closed and welded the piece completely in.
Gonna try to RustBullet this side tomorrow.
GRINCH
1/2 ton status
Awesome fab work.. You could probably sell a few of them.. I'm lucky I still have shiny paint on mine. Montana Blazer!!
fishinnutt
1/2 ton status
Amazing job! I bet that did take a few fittings to get what you were looking for. Not an easy piece to fab at all.
