71 k5 blazer build

[ORNG71K5]

hey guys, new to the site. just bought myself a 71 k5 blazer a few weeks ago. im 15 and ive lived in atlanta GA my whole life. my dad has a yet to be restored 72 c20 but other than i probably havent seen more than 4 other first generation blazers in my life. i used to want a first gen bronco but that changed while on my way back from the beach when i saw a topless red first gen k5 blazer. i didnt know what it was but i was absolutely in love. the moment i got back, i got on craigslist in search of my dream car. after a year and a half search with no luck i finally found the one in naples FL. I called my dad and he got the price down to 5500 and we bought it sight unseen 2 days later. almost couldnt send the check fast enough. a week or so later my dad flew down to naples and drove all the way back up to atlanta. he had just arrived at 12 am on a school night, i looked out my window and there he was revving my orange blazer, probably one of the happiest moments of my life.

anyways this will be no off frame resto or anything like that mainly because i want to get it to the condition of a decent daily driver by the time i get my license at the beginning of May, then start replacing or fixing things one by one if necessary/desired. Im already a little behind but Im making decent progress, i should have started this thread a while ago but i will post pictures in order.

to start here are some pictures taken by the previous owner:

[ORNG71K5]

here are more taken by previous owner

[ORNG71K5]

and more

[ORNG71K5]

this is probably the first picture i took of my blazer right after i took both bumpers and the mud flaps off. i have new chrome bumpers now, still waiting to get the front bumper brackets, but the back bumper is on as you can see in the second picture.

[ORNG71K5]

as of tonight i have taken off the grille to re polish the aluminum and get a new grille insert and have it just about ready to send it in for a line-x spray, should have the grey bed liner completely out of it by tomorrow.

[madkmart]

awesome find

[ORNG71K5]

my dad thinks its cool how the original locking hub cap sticker managed to stay on the outside of the glove box door for 40 years without having been pulled off.

[ORNG71K5]

last weekend i took the top off and got the roll bar out as well. after more countless hours of grinding, all of the old bedliner was finally 100% out. we got it sprayed by a guy at bullet liner through my body shop guy. he used to use a line-x guy but he switched to this bullet liner guy because he thinks its more durable, nevertheless its very similar to line-x. 400 dollars later we got it back and im very happy with the results. heres a few before and after pictures.

[ORNG71K5]

heres a few more. by the way. the bullet liner is so thick i cant even close the tailgate all the way, might have to sand it down a tad or re adjust the hinges some

[ORNG71K5]

i also had this bullet lined just on the bottom where people will be stepping to keep it from getting scratched.

[elzombo]

Awesome! This is pretty much exactly what I want to do with my interior.

[newspring]

spam

[47thriftmaster]

Nice find, interior looks great.

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Very nice congrats on your new ride. Is that fresh paint?

[ORNG71K5]

a while ago took of my grille spent hours wet sanding it, got all of the scratches out then started buffing it... 30 minutes into that i realized i was getting no where, maybe it was just what i was using but my dad said that he would just send it off to get it polished or anodized. of course he's "too busy" to do that and i was getting tired of looking at it with no grille so i painted the insert black and put it back on temporarily, could look at lot better but its suitable for now.

i get my license may 5th, so excited even though i probably wont be able to drive it around a lot, considering the seats are just sitting in there unmounted

im about to get the seats and door panels reupholstered, everything is gonna be white but i've got 3 yards of black and white hounds tooth on the way for the inserts. id prefer to have the original buckets but i think it'll be cool to have more of a modern seat while bringing back the original look with the upholstery.

my dads main concern is getting it to run right, so were about to order a complete march serpentine system and either an old air products or vintage air a/c system. the wiring is a complete mess, i'm afraid i'm gonna have an electrical fire so i've got get a new painless wiring kit before i start using it as a daily driver.

[Erik V]

So glad to see that cage out (hope it stays that way). The "halo" is supposed to be one piece, a hoop really, with one consistant piece from behind the driver's head towards the front and around the passenger's head, both ends weld to the vertical hoop which should also be one piece. Looks like a custom jobber with the front cross bar way too far back-you'd smack your head way easy in any sort of accident.

That said, everything else looks great. Keep up the hard work, it shows how much attention to detail you're putting into it. I got my 71 Jimmy from my dad the last day of school my junior year of HS. Drove it that summer through the fall the year after I graduated. Great first car, so keep moving forward and share your repairs/mods/upgrades with pics. Good job!

Erik

[ORNG71K5]

decided to doing something about my instrument cluster in my blazer, spray painted it silver and white. the white was more of a creme than id like it to be but it turned out alright and will work temporarily till i get a new one. also keep in mind that my seats and door panels will be white with the houndstooth so it will look much better when i get that done.

[ORNG71K5]

decided to build myself a fiberglass box to put some sub speakers in the back heres what ive done so far, next i fiberglass it paint it and install the speakers.

[jeffg1010]

Man... I like this thing. And the orange and white makes it match my 'Burb. Just let me know when you get tired of it. haha

[ORNG71K5]

just got my seats back from the upholstery shop toady. very pleased with the front buckets i think they look pretty similar to the originals and are probably more comfortable

[ORNG71K5]

heres more pictures.. id love to beable to drive it now that ive got the seats back but there still not mounted and the fly wheel is loose and i about caught all of the wires on fire when i tried to hook up the battery today, so ive got to re-do all of the wiring

[ORNG71K5]

havent updated in a while because i pretty much stopped working on it but ive recently got it going again and im making a lot of progress. the engine had to come out because the crank shaft was moving back and forth, which was not something i was planning on doing, however, the engine bay needed to be painted and the wiring was a dangerous mess. i took out the dual electric fans out because half the blades had broken off, only one of them worked, and it just added to the chaotic wiring. im in the process of fiberglassing a fan shroud for a mechanical fan and i have gotten the bay painted. i have also cut the 6 point roll bar that came with it down to a 4 point, grinded down all the imperfections, painted it white gloss, and bolted it to the floor. i took the seat bracket which holds both seats and the console that the previous owner made and welded tabs to mount the new seats to, grinded down the imperfections and painted it black. im supposed to be putting the new crank shaft in the engine this saturday so hopefully ill have that painted and in the truck with in the next 2 weeks. only have a few pictures now but i will take more and post later. theres a before and after picture of the engine bay and in the picture of the roll bar the seats are just sitting in there, thats why they look lopsided

[jeffg1010]

Lookin' good! You got me wanting a Blazer. I broke down and bought a 2wd though. 4wd will come eventually. haha.

[VA72C10]

Looks great! Nice progress on the project!

[rsavage]

Looking real good. And you are 15or 16? Wow.