Short Stuff building a '65 Blazer

[65sublime]

Then on to the left rear quarter in mud



In the rear quarters there was a lot of welding due to shortening and some pre-
existing body damage to hide. For giggles I filled the lap joint in the jams where the quarter panels wrap around. The door sill ends were welded and filled too. It almost seems a shame to cover up the mudwork. I pushed the blazer outside to blow off the buildup of dust. The back of the body is blocked up a few inches to allow removal of the tailgate sill plate assembly. A couple coats of primer really changes the look of the rear quarter. Now I can’t wait to see the whole thing in epoxy primer.

Left rear quarter in primer.



IMG]http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/chevynutx2/100_1392.jpg[/IMG]

[65sublime]

I tried to put cables on the tailgate but the sub is not constructed like a pickup. The gap on the inside is open and will allow the cable to stick out to the inside when the tailgate is open. I decided to use the stock folding straps. My first attempt to put cylinders on the hatch created a dead spot when the hatch was about two inches from being closed. I figured the four link hinge put the pivot point where I wasn’t expecting it, when I had the lower end of the mount on the body. Switching locations, putting the high end on the body when closed, the cylinder worked smooth through the whole sweep. I noticed the left side was drooping slightly. The left hinge had slop in it and the cylinder was forcing it down. I’ll have to rebush the hinge arms so the cylinders don’t relocate it. I need also to come up with some softer rate cylinders.

I’ll shoot off some pictures when the right rear quarter and tail panel is in primer. When I get the hatch and tailgate situated, I’ll shoot that too. The next step is to get the body completely primered, then pull the frame for finish welding, cleanup and paint.

Have a great Christmas and New Year!

[ChiefRocka]

Wow....this thing is coming along awesome !!!

Haven't seen this build in a while....great job bro !!!

[NF65Fleetside]

wow, now that is one badass truck. If only I had the metal fab skills...lol.

[65sublime]

Anyone know how to recover the early photos in this post? Thanks, Tom

[68Timber]

Wow. Subscribing.

[Eagletucky]

You are a bad muther trucker. That thing is amazing.

[Bazooka]

freakin awesome! you are very talented

[70 Suburban]

inspirational

[Palf70Step]

Originally Posted by 65sublime

Anyone know how to recover the early photos in this post? Thanks, Tom

Not sure, Have you contacted Photobucket?

If you still have the pictures on your computer, you can upload and link them to the board's gallery.

Oh yeah, love the build. I get excited every-time I see a new post from you about it.

[70 Suburban]

but I don't understand why did you epoxy over the mud. rather than mud over epoxy. the filler traps moisture. have you not trapped that under the epoxy rather than just lay your epoxy down seal the metal then do your mud work?

[Dinos63]

Tom holy shhhhh , such nice work merry christmas kat!

[monolith]

Originally Posted by 65sublime

Anyone know how to recover the early photos in this post? Thanks, Tom

The text where the pics should be says: "tabowler056's account has been inactive for 90 days. Visit photobucket.com"

If you have a second or old photobucket account- or are using a new picture hosting site now- you may need to go back and log into your original account.

Btw- I LOVE this build- and I'd love to see the pics back up of the cab/roof patch work. Your skill is absolutely inspirational.

Glad you're getting time to work on it again!

Happy Holidays!

[jonzcustomshop]

I might have saved some of the early pics,... I will have to see if I can find them.

great to see progress.

[DaddyMack]

Great idea and great execution!! love it!

[72BlckButy]

That thing is amazing... awesome work!

[smbrouss70]

Originally Posted by 65sublime

Anyone know how to recover the early photos in this post? Thanks, Tom

I went and searched for tabowler056 on photobucket. All of your pictures are still there but it says "If this is your account, sign in to reactivate your linked images (why?). Upgrade to Pro to keep your linked images active permanently."

So apparently all you have to do is sign in to your photobucket account and it will reactivate all of the links.

[Dinos63]

Originally Posted by smbrouss70

I went and searched for tabowler056 on photobucket. All of your pictures are still there but it says "If this is your account, sign in to reactivate your linked images (why?). Upgrade to Pro to keep your linked images active permanently."

So apparently all you have to do is sign in to your photobucket account and it will reactivate all of the links.

MAN YOU GOT TO LOVE THIS SIGHT!! ALL THE DUDES HERE ARE SO KOOL AND HELPFULL

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Bad azz skills man keep up the good work she is gonna be one bad kat when done..

[ruffrida2005]

Man this blaze is so sweet. i like the hood tilt.

[ksbrktracer]

Next to Dino's Crew Cab this is one of my favorite builds.......Hands down.......One of my faves, and props on the work....outstanding

[65sublime]

I tried to organizing my albums after I set up the links....it doesn't like that!

Sorry for not posting in a long, long time. Progress has been slow. Picking up from my last pictures, my plan was to work on the hatch and tailgate hinges, then add cylinders and cables. I had a friend who owns a machine shop try to fit refurbishing the hinges into his schedule. That took a month or so, in the mean while I got to some bodywork. The roof and rear quarter work has taken over six months now, my kids volleyball seasons (one high school, one college) took priority.

First step was to pull the blazer outside to do some blasting around the window frames.

Roof w/mud





The roof was the first area to attack. I had two welded joints, one from shortening 20” and one from the repair to the windshield frame. The front corners were tough, I’m not completely happy with that area but I had to spray some primer. I went with some Nason epoxy primer to seal the metal and mudwork. Time will tell if this was a good move.

Roof in primer

[65sublime]

[Repeat because of lost picture links.]

Then on to the left rear quarter in mud



In the rear quarters there was a lot of welding due to shortening and some pre-
existing body damage to hide. For giggles I filled the lap joint in the jams where the quarter panels wrap around. The door sill ends were welded and filled too. It almost seems a shame to cover up the mudwork. I pushed the blazer outside to blow off the buildup of dust. The back of the body is blocked up a few inches to allow removal of the tailgate sill plate assembly. A couple coats of primer really changes the look of the rear quarter. Now I can’t wait to see the whole thing in epoxy primer.

Left rear quarter in primer.



[IMG]http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/chevynutx2/ summer%20fall%2009/100_1392.jpg[/IMG

I tried to put cables on the tailgate but the sub is not constructed like a pickup. The gap on the inside is open and will allow the cable to stick out to the inside when the tailgate is open. I decided to use the stock folding straps. My first attempt to put cylinders on the hatch created a dead spot when the hatch was about two inches from being closed. I figured the four link hinge put the pivot point where I wasn’t expecting it, when I had the lower end of the mount on the body. Switching locations, putting the high end on the body when closed, the cylinder worked smooth through the whole sweep. I noticed the left side was drooping slightly. The left hinge had slop in it and the cylinder was forcing it down. I’ll have to rebush the hinge arms so the cylinders don’t relocate it. I need also to come up with some softer rate cylinders.

I’ll shoot off some pictures when the right rear quarter and tail panel is in primer. When I get the hatch and tailgate situated, I’ll shoot that too. The next step is to get the body completely primered, then pull the frame for finish welding, cleanup and paint.

Have a great Christmas and New Year!

[Previous portion repeated because of lost picture link.]

[jgh64pkup]

lookin good

[Captainfab]

I'm glad to see you back working on this....looking good.