"Half Way There" A 71 4WD Blazer Build.

[NW_Ryker]

After 4 months of ownership, I figured I'd get off my lazy butt and post some pics up here to track my progress and get some help from the 1st gen gurus on this site. Basically just a plane jane 71. Not a CST, no A/C, 350/TH350. Picked it up for $300 just for something I can drive up to the pass and back. Planned on restoring it with my dad but Funds school and work have slowed our progress. Anyway, heres a couple pics of where it stands now.


So first thing, the top is really messed up, its bowed pretty badly and has a lot of cracks. Is there supposed to be that second upper lip at the front? Its a double wall.


Standard 350 SBC. Haven't checked the numbers. Runs perfectly. Leaks a bit of oil. About 103,000 miles on her.


I have it just about ready for paint but waiting on a trailer to haul it down to the body shop. Has a little rust on in the corners. I'm not particularly inclined in body work so this won't be a huge build. Anyway let me know if you want me to continue.

[VA72C10]

Definitely keep us up to date on the build. Love to see the progress and results!!!

[NW_Ryker]

Will do. I'm thinking about buying headers. Right now it has the stock manifolds with true duals out the back. What do you guys think? I need to compete with the straight piped toyotas at my school. I forgot to mention its gonna be white on white. Yeah, I'm cheap.

[Erik V]

nothing wrong with white/white. I'd go that route if my Jimmy wasnt my Dad's only new car ever. It'll blue/black the rest of its life. In this economy you gotta build whatever you can afford, so just be proud of what you're working on/with.

E

[NW_Ryker]

So, decided the truck needed to get moving a little today. Hit the ignition.... nothing. I look under the hood and the positive battery cable is broken at the post. So I stuffed a couple screws in between to fill the gap and charged it up. She fired right up. As I pull it out of the garage a rather large stream of gas follows me. GREAT. I must've messed the lines up when I was trying to fix the oil leak. Anyway I'm hoping to get it up on stands and clean off the **** thats caked to the bottom. Anybody know if that uppper lip is supposed to be there on the top?

[NW_Ryker]

Took the blazer down to the paint shop this weekend. Should be done in about 3 weeks. We might go check out another top for sale as ours is pretty messed up. All that's left to take care of is seats now. We picked up a pair at a swap meet but all that's really usable is the frames.

[Erik V]

Keep an eye out for 01ish-07ish GM pickup, tahoe/yukon, suburban front buckets. They have shoulder belts integrated into them.

I'm going to work on making some 98 Chrysler Sebring Convertible seats mount up to either custom brackets, or the stock ones if they dont end too high off the floor. Gives me full power driver seat, and integrated shoulder belts.

Erik

[NW_Ryker]

I'm going with original buckets. Seatbelts are another problem. How hard is it to find a set of black lap belts these days?

[NW_Ryker]

So last night Dad came home with a bunch of new goodies.



We picked up a set of rust free doors, a top, a rust free windshield frame and a rust free passenger side fender.





Sorry the pics aren't the best. We were in a rush to get everything cleaned up so we could take it to the painter today. He doesn't have anything going on right now so he's expecting to be done with it by the end of next week.

[VA72C10]

Nice score!

[NW_Ryker]

Yep. The top is in much better shape then the first one. Only thing that really needs to be fixed is there are several holes where someone mounted trail lights on the top. The windshield frame had snaps on it for a soft top..... too bad my dad didn't look around for that.

[NW_Ryker]

Well, it has been a while since I posted up here. What was supposed to be a quick 2 week paint and body is turning into a 6 week trip in paint jail. The seats are dropped off at my uncles do be recovered and have a little foam work done. As of right now, were waiting on the glass man to put in the windshield and top windows. They're telling us it will be done by Monday now. Hopefully I'll have pics to share by then.

[VA72C10]

Still 6 weeks isn't too bad. But I hope you get it back soon. Have you had a chance to see it yet?

[Ridnhi]

I wish mine only took 6 weeks. I feel like my 71 is serving a life sentence. I dropped it off in October of 2009 and still don't have it back. I have been extremely patient because I know the guy. I went in last week and gave him a date to finish which i said the end of april and I'm coming to get it whether it's done or not. Can't wait to see yours! Good luck!
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[Tom Vogel]

FWIW mine took over 2years too. I think it was worth it at this point. Patience is important to learn.

[NW_Ryker]

Well, it's back and prettier than ever. I got it back tuesday night. Here's a couple pics:
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They did a pretty good job on the top, not sure if the texture is quite right but I like the way it looks.

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Sorry the pics aren't the best quality, I'll try to get some more tomorrow.

[NW_Ryker]

Today we worked on getting the door weatherstripping in. It took a little, but all thats left is to replace the wing window on the pass. side and it's done. No real pics to show at the moment. I'm going to be wiring up the stereo tomorrow, but don't know where to put the front 6" speakers. These doors don't have any holes in them. What should I do, cut holes in the doors or mount them somewhere else?

[VA72C10]

Looking good! Can't tell from the pics for sure but texture looks close to original. They make panels to install speakers in the kick panel area. If there are no holes in the door, try not to cut them if you plan to re-sell down the road. If you plan to hang onto it...do what you want to do

[NW_Ryker]

I saw those panels. Has any body used them? Do they stick out farther than original?

[VA72C10]

Originally Posted by NW_Ryker

I saw those panels. Has any body used them? Do they stick out farther than original?

The panels sit fairly flush to the kick panels but have a raised portion for the speaker (for the magnet to clear) and then the speaker sticks out another inch or so....

[Big Block]

Where in the world did you find rust free doors? Can't go wrong with white paint. Looks good.

[NW_Ryker]

Mostly rust free. It was just starting. The guy we bought it from had parted the truck out long ago and kept most the parts in his garage so they were pretty clean. Thank you.

So how do those panels get installed? Do you have to cut out the old kicker panel?

[Erik V]

and do the factory floor vent levers still work with those kick panel speakers? I've yet to see any in this genre of truck, but I would like 4 speakers in my Jimmy, and having all the sound behind the seats kinda sucks.

Erik

[thor]

Nice looking truck. Did you have "Blazer" airbrushed on the side again?

As for speakers, I think the kick panels with speakers in them is the way to go - this way you don't ruin those nice, new doors. They have cut-outs for the vents. From the picture in LMC, they don't have face screws so perhaps they attach with clips. You might want to call them and ask. I do think the sound would be better coming from the kick panels vs. the doors; it's a more direct line to your ears.

[NW_Ryker]

Hey thor, got any pics of your truck? I live about 10 minutes out of Redmond.