Need some help on order to do things

[Oldfashioned]

Just recently acquired a Arizona 72 Blazer roller in decent shape that I tore down to see what was needed. Floors, torsion boxes, windshield frame and inner rocker panels are all in great condition. I will be replacing outer rockers, doors, bedsides, radiator support, front clip and tailgate. My dilemma is I need to replace the body bushings with energy suspension. I have it torn down to where it’s just a frame with the body on it. The top is still on it. The doors are trash. Should I bolt the old doors on to replace the body bushings or bolt all new sheet metal on and then replace body bushings? Doors didn’t open or close too bad before and I have read to shim body mounts for gaps. I know aftermarket won’t fit like original so will shimming until new sheet metal is on be futile? My plan was I was just going to leave factory shims where they were until new sheet metal. Sorry for the long post. Thanks in advance

[lks dcvn]

Order to start with (or you will be doing things twice or more).

Bolt top to truck at factory mounting locations
Bolt doors back on - confirming that hinges are in decent shape and the doors are not cracked at the hinge
replace body mounts and bolts one at a time moving around the truck to keep from moving around on the frame too much
once you have all mounts replaced - shim at floor and B-pillar to get doors to open/shut without sticking - you should note the number of shims at each location and replace them as a good starting point

Once you are at this stage - you can start to cut out and replace metal - if you do it before the above are done - things will start to get 'out of alignment' and you will be cutting stuff out to replace it or line things up again.

Do the tub alignment first and then worry about getting the front clip into shape. You will likely need to cut, adjust and massage any aftermarket panels you purchase. You may get lucky, but most need some work to get them installed.

Get some pictures posted up on your truck and we can give more advice and/or direction. These trucks can hide a lot of rust so many of us have found it from restoring them and cutting deeper than most to get them back on the road.

Congrats on the new ride and welcome to the forum!

[jaros44sr]

As well as the good advice given above, you may want to install your door seals, as they make for a tight fit and may affect the way your door shuts

[lks dcvn]

^ - forgot about this piece. It is way easier to do the shimming/aligning once with all of this stuff done instead of doing it several times...

[Oldfashioned]

Okay I finally figured out how to attach pictures. I'm not really tech savy and won't say how many hours I worked on this haha but there will be more to come.

[Oldfashioned]

So here is the two Blazers I acquired to become one. Green and yellow one is from Arizona and is missing just about everything. Rear end cover has been off for who know how many years. LF leaf spring was broken which made it a pain to steer. Reddish truck is from South Florida and is complete but rotted to death.

[Oldfashioned]

Here are pictures of the Arizona truck

[Oldfashioned]

Here are pictures of overall condition and most importantly the good windshield frame that I was really after.

[Oldfashioned]

Here is the ugly on this one.

[Blazerowner]

Just a little word of advice I replaced doors and fenders about 13 years ago on a 71 I had and they were a nightmare. I don’t have experience with the floors and they probably are easier to message. The fenders did not line up with the hood and we had to use filler to line them up. I had to trim and weld the bottom of the doors to get them to line up and they were never close to the originals. Perhaps the supply nowadays is better but be cautious. I personally would try to get nos or used before I would go aftermarket again.

[lks dcvn]

^ the new 'apex' branded doors fit way better than the old molds of the doors.

If you are going to buy doors - check with some of the vendors who install what they sell so you know you are getting parts that fit. Note - you will still need to probably tweak the door as you will with any aftermarket parts.

Some of the large suppliers may be trying to still sell old stock - which would include the old doors that don't fit at all.

[Oldfashioned]

Thanks for the warning guys. Unfortunately I have been down this path with a 68 Camaro aftermarket hood and fenders. 4 hoods later I had to stand on it and close it with 2x4s wedged in the cowl to get it to fit. I surely hope I don’t have those kind of issues with this. The aftermarket doors on my 68 c10 fit really nicely so I’m hoping that this goes as smoothly.

[Oldfashioned]

Thanks for the advice guys. Completed the body mounts today. Took about 4 hours which I didn’t feel was too bad. Cutting the welds for every bolt was the most time consuming portion. If anybody uses the Energy Suspension bushings the washer, that comes with the kit, for the floor board mount is the wrong size.