GRIZZ’s ‘79 - 2WD BLAZER Challenge over in London, England. “~It’s not a Project~”

[Grizz1963]

Not said much about Dennis’ gas station build recently as he gas been painting, finishing and cursing mostly.

One of the recent purchases was an air unit for pumping tyres.





Almost done.



A recent question about the size of roads and parking, prompted this pic....
welcome to England and car parking on street.

For us over here it’s normal, but of course in the good old USA and other sunny countries where space is less of an issue, this causes panic attacks.



Today Prozac worked again, and a photo opportunity presented itself after I put out a wanted ad on a local Facebook group for some 47kg gas bottles.



Collected, in the back.



Back home, unloaded.

Needs cleaning.

Any guess what or why for??



More in a bit.

[Grizz1963]

Just to complete the circle.


This is where the gas bottle is headed.


ooh!



aah!

Like this, except not as pretty.



There you go.

Ideas.

[Grizz1963]

Right.

Back to our regular transmission of Non Projecty Blazer actions.


Remember the steering wheel and horn button dilemma plus the standard grille?

Today a Scotsman called Kevin Bruce replied to my FB request wit a complete steering wheel and not one but two standard grilles.

Of course I already bought the new in box grille that has been collected by Kevin up in Derbyshire and is now waiting for me to head over there tomorrow night to party I to the new year and collect.

The steering wheel looked like the one Ian has sent by courier but then Dennis immediately picked up that it was different, with a wider button, so I said it to Kevin and he replied that he also had just a single narrow horn button and that I could have that for nothing, he would pop it in the post ASAP.

Stars align some times.



After collecting and dropping off the gas bottles with Prozac, I headed to the industrial estate to find some different sizes of electric heat shrink, as I am going to go through all the wires on the truck and solder and heat seal every joint.

While there I bought a few cans of white primer and white spray paint for the Blazer
For various jobs that will be needing doing. £41.00 later.



Why all the paint, you may ask me.

Because some of the panels and paint look like this, not all of it, but there are small repairs to be done over time, just to turn it from 50yard truck to 10 yard truck, or even closer.



Last night......

Reversing in the dark, down the side of my house, I managed to do this stupid thing.

So it needed to be addressed sooner than later.

Fortunately, only 23 layers of paint damaged, no metal damage.



Sanded back, masked and wiped panel down.
Primed, drying helped with heat gun.
Then three coats of paint applied with heat gun gently helping dry it all between coats.



And as good as it gets after dark.

Tomorrow fine water paper to remove small ridge and to blend old and new paint, minimal polish. As it needs to blend with ****e paint in place.

As good as it will be getting.

I call it done.

[Grizz1963]

For a “Non Project” this Blazer certainly gets a lot of attention and gifts, and parts and effort bestowed on it.

This morning early the doorbell went, while I was still in bed with my iPad, cuppa tea and of course the cat and internet for forum catch up.

Chirpy lady at the door said: You seem to keep me in work, Thank you and Happy New Year” and handed me a parcel.

What could it be.........??

Answers on a post card.





In other news, “Pistonpopper” offered me this.......

Not the car, to add to the roofrack I am still looking for during summer show season.

At 9 foot it is a bit tall/long but I do like the decidedly 80’s feel of the graphics on it too.




Almost time for a drink, later.

But now headed out to go investigate a small Ford Courier pickup truck Imdidcovered in a yard recently, it is either a 1980 or 1981 model and was last given an MOT road test in 2006.

I wonder what the implication is of a vehicle that has not been declared SORN in this time for a potential new owner.

[Grizz1963]

And the steering wheel,was delivered as mentioned,by the chirpy courier lady.

Thank you to Ian Brown again.



Closer inspection showed years of wear and tear and muckyness.



Some rust on the horn button itself.

I wanted to give it a coat of paint, but suspect it was made that way, because it does not get paint.





Spring plate was very much rusty too.

Stopped at this point.



Cleaning took just over two hours with Cillit Bang ammonia based cleaner and a kitchen scoured, and a sharp knife in places.



And offered up in the truck different size for sure.

And note the centre is not Centre.





I will fit it after the New Years Festivities are over.

Back to work soon.


HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL.

Here’s to a car and truck filled 2019.

[Grizz1963]

Went over to Maidstone for dinner with Kevin and his wife who had picked up the brand new grille for the Blazer up in Derbyshire 175 miles from here for me, that kept the £40.00 purchase price realistic, rather than paying shipping or postage on top.
I still need to make up some fitting brackets for it but hopefully not too much of a hassle.

Friends Dave and Helen were there too.

Dave brought me these sew on badges that he bought in 1978 at the Kennedy Space Centre, still in their bags, unopened.

I just loved the pricing on them.

Wonder what a gallon of gas cost back then.




And of course, freshly out of its packaging, the new grille.

Hope to fit that and the new to me, steering wheel today once I figure and make the fitting brackets.




Looks like a good way to start the first day of the new year and last day of my break, much of which was enjoyed playing with this Not a Project truck.


Thanks for checking in.

[Wikid61]

1 gallon of fuel stateside in 1978? About half the price of one of those patches. Yep 15-16 dollars to fill your 30 gal fuel cell. It (gas) has always been a scam run by USA-UK powers that be NOT in the lime light. Pulling strings of those who are.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Wikid61

1 gallon of fuel stateside in 1978? About half the price of one of those patches. Yep 15-16 dollars to fill your 30 gal fuel cell. It (gas) has always been a scam run by USA-UK powers that be NOT in the lime light. Pulling strings of those who are.

Morning

Rain over in Iowa?

Decent day here.

Wearing 5 layers at the top, one tracksuit bottom and a hat plus some shoes with socks ��

Yes, sadly the powers behind the powers are the real powers that be.

Won’t change our enjoyment of cars.

Just headed out. 11.00 am here. Cold forecast later today.

Its a warm enough 50’F out here right now.

[Wikid61]

Rain all day & then continued to sleet into the mid evening. Cold. Glad to see more folk 'awake' than just what a talking head reading a prepared script for the general sheep errrrr...uh public, yeah thats the ticket. Late night indoor activity for me? Here are 2 of 6 mag wheels I score over summer. They are 15x8.5 5x5. 2 were curbed rash & the other 4 had been marred by an incompetent tire machine operator. Spokes were blasted & barrel was hand sanded 5 steps. Paint for the spokes & back sides, chrome silver. Would look good on the Blazer. Also a stash of 4 15x7 5x5 as well. restored a few years back. Mine still sets. Motor & trans fresh & waiting for my former boss to have time get in his shop to do the deed.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Wikid61

Rain all day & then continued to sleet into the mid evening. Cold. Glad to see more folk 'awake' than just what a talking head reading a prepared script for the general sheep errrrr...uh public, yeah thats the ticket. Late night indoor activity for me? Here are 2 of 6 mag wheels I score over summer. They are 15x8.5 5x5. 2 were curbed rash & the other 4 had been marred by an incompetent tire machine operator. Spokes were blasted & barrel was hand sanded 5 steps. Paint for the spokes & back sides, chrome silver. Would look good on the Blazer. Also a stash of 4 15x7 5x5 as well. restored a few years back. Mine still sets. Motor & trans fresh & waiting for my former boss to have time get in his shop to do the deed.

I love those Daisy rims.


Do you have any photos of a Blazer or C10 with them on?

I just got done cutting grass.

Not a pleasure as its so wet, but its done.

Truck next 🚐

[Wikid61]

These are on my '78 GMC fishing truck, wood bed floor! Anyway they are 15x8.5 up front & 15x10's out back. The centers are chrome silver caliper paint w/etching primer base.

[Wikid61]

Ask and ye shall receive: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=300010

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Wikid61

Ask and ye shall receive: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=300010

Looked good.

Thank you for digging that out.

[Grizz1963]

And so 2019 broke on us.

Perfect day, sunshine, chilly, DRY....!!



Slow start indoors culminated in cutting the grass, as it was really scruffy, but had the mower set quite high as the lawn is waterlogged, or at least very soft n soggy, but happy it’s done.



Then chatted with various friends around the world, from Stas in Siberia to Ray in Iowa and of course Dennis in Missouri and my brother in South Africa.

Followed by Truck Time.

What better way is there to starting the year.

This Blazer that certainly still is “Not a Project” was going to get some attention.

And both were small jobs that in my opinion have delivered and then some.

It really has wrapped up the last three months worth of Ups n Downs, and you all know where we started.
I certainly have done more and spent more than intended.
But it’s come together really well.


First job, take a starting point photo.




Then remove the aluminium grille that will go into the for sale pile.



Reassemble



Compared to the starting point.




And then the Money Shot.



Harley had been there all day, helping.

She is a funny cat......

Once I reversed the truck back from the lawn to start on the second job, which would be the steering wheel replacement, I went to the house to grab a coffee.

When I got back, this was what I found.

Catscan Approved




More in a while.

[Grizz1963]

Second New Years job....

Fitting the steering wheel Ian Brown had sent me from his stash to replace the Moto-Lita one that came with the truck.

Undoing and removing it was so easy. I had expected a fight.



Seems there are still some bits missing here.






Surprise discovery.

Cruise control.



My little Klingon was with me all day again, being a real pain in the butt.

But she makes me chuckle at her insistence to help and get in the way.



Fitted new wheel.

Amazing how off centre the centre actually is.

No horn push yet



And at the end of the day......

Two small jobs done, but both were jobs I really wanted to get done.

Rock n Roll.




So what next....??

[Grizz1963]

I could still have been wrong, and to be honest, it is only my taste, there could be many who prefer something else.


Something else I saw that I love too, not everyone will like it, but I like random stuff.




And some awesome Walmart products...

How badly do I want one of these.

[Grizz1963]

Saw this in a hospital today.

U.K. company too.


Would they sell a meter length of this or similar for less than the cost of a stolen kidney?




Could work well as the visible part of a modified “Visible pump”

Will call them tomorrow.

[Grizz1963]

My friend Lee the lawyer in St Louis texted me this afternoon to ask what I was going to do now the “Money Shot” pic had been achieved and the Blazer was finished....?


Women....!!


What do they know.


I was actually down at the garage out on the drive, trying to figure why the radio had stopped working in the Blazer.

First clue was this, after I removed some mangled duck tape from it all.



Looking at the radio from underneath the dash.

Evidence of household wiring, duck tape, electrical box junctions and some crimped connections.

Clearly a brain surgeon in attendance.

How anyone can think that these sorts of repairs or installations are worth spit boggles the mind.



Mate Martin called me at some point in the afternoon to see what I was doing tomorrow as he is having a new screen fitted to his Porsche in the morning and then visiting someone a couple of miles from where I Live, so wanted to pop in and see how much fun I was having.

He suggested I remove the radio outright and start from the furthest point, repairing and replacing, soldering and heat shrinking all the wires in a more logical, decent and safe way.

Done.



Looking in there, the camera loses the perspective of just how badly it actually is behind and under the dash.



At 3’C or 35’F on the drive with a gentle breeze to aid the chill, and failing light at 4pm it seemed logical to call it a day for today.

Closed up shop and headed into the village to get a relay and some connectors to use on installing the LED light bar for reverse.

Friday night after a short week........

Rum-0-Clock.

Later.

[Grizz1963]

Chilly winter weather and a cutting breeze stopped me doing anything constructive yesterday.

So most of the day spent indoors watching telly, eating rubbish.

Mickey came around with a self propelled lawnmower, needing a service and more, non starter, yesterday.

Probably needs anew diaphragm and possibly a plug and fresh fuel.

I will take a look soon.



More randomness.

Got this reminder today on FB.

Amazing that I bought this more than 11 years ago.

Delivered by a former friend.



How I wanted to get it eventually



Spent a few hours today in the garden, cutting back some shrubs quite harshly, as well as tidying the front hedges.

The main trimmed bush scraped past anything driven down the concrete strips.

Ideally I want to move the drive strips over 18 inches to straighten out the path.

But that’s another days job.



After the trim and tidy up.



More in a bit.

[Grizz1963]

So after a few hours tidying up the garden and filling a wheelie bin to its pressed down brim, I had a coffee, chatted with Dennis about the new steering wheel and the fact that some brain surgeon in the past had refitted parts of it upside down, I also need to buy some more parts, including the horn parts and indicator cancel.

I am sure this cat has a camera or microphone up my butt.

When I left the house after chatting to Dennis, she as sleeping on a fluffy blanket in the lounge.

Before I could even remove the light and lenses, she was down there, shouting at me before settling down on a piece of carpet I use when crawling around under the truck.




So I started one side, and found 5 cut wires and about as many badly connected wires.

The cold made the wires very stiff and my fingers slow, but it was a job like many others that needed doing.

Spaghetti a-la Brain surgeon.



I initially covered up all the cut ends and heat shrunk their ends and then used a white marker to mark them off.



Once I had spliced and soldered the wires, I slipped the heat shrink over the joints and using a lighter completed the actions.



Passenger side done.



Coffee time again.....

Check internet, check Tinder, check forums, back to work.

Drivers side, as bad as the other.



And once finished, one more heat shrink to slide over the join and heat up.

A bit tidier in my opinion




Finally I decided to test the lights, brakes and wiring, using modern technology as Harley had at this point gone back indoors, it was dark and cold outside, so she was a sensible girl, leaving me to test alone.

VIDEO FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT.

https://youtu.be/Hy4Naj2Iz5A

That concluded this wasted weekend.

Back to work tomorrow.

Radio and engine compartment wiring tidy up next.

[Grizz1963]

Quick overnight update from Dennis and the gas station replica and storage space for collected treasures that he is building.

I guess they are never truely done.

He is busy painting and staining the last few interior boards and trim, but has started to mount some of his treasures collected over time.


Concrete island and drive still to come for the restored gas pumps and other equipment like tyre changers he grew up with, all restored and painted correctly.







Looking forward to when the air is plumbed in and the driveway bell and tyre pump both work as well.

In the mean time he is also helping Adam and Hanna build the house and shop on their property next door. So not a lot of free time.

Have a good week.

[Grizz1963]

Been a busy week at work, not truck time.

Not that Imhad time after dark to go fiddle with it anyway.

This morning early, Dennis and I were chatting again.

He was not impressed, no television because overnight 12 inches of snow had mode its way onto the deck and all over.

Seems they have a load more snow forecast for today.





Get yer skates on.



Friend Tyler who works for MoDoT (Missouri Department of Transport) was out all night, driving snow plough and gritting trucks.

I think the world does forget how much work happens behind the scenes, and that departments like MoDoT have all staff, Male and Female trained on all equipment and all work day and night to keep themroads moving in all weathers.

Tyler’s truck back home



So what does an insomniac like Dennis do when the weather screws up his world??

Restore a small gas pump of course.



I certainly am thankful we did not have this snow, the U.K. would grind to a halt for a week, with many idiots doing stupid stuff on the roads.

[Grizz1963]

After more than a week of not touching the Blazer at all.

Harley was stir crazy this morning, so I decided to let her go play outside.



Two weeks ago when I was driving the truck I felt the power steering was really Snatchy, now most of us would not say no to a bit of snatch, but in this case, not ideal.

So I checked the power steering belt and it felt a bit slack, but not madly so.

I also opened the steering pump reservoir and found the cap was fitted in a half asssed way, certainly not securely.

I really despair at the lack of decent maintenance this truck has had over time, but getting it all right, bit by bit making it safe as I go along.

Fresh new water pipes, and beyond this one, the pump.



Opened up, I found there was not even a drip on the dipstick, not empty, but well below level.

So I drove in to Hoo St Werburgh village and the local motor spares shop, got some power steering fluid and back home.

Topping up and closing it correctly.

Once started, smoooooth..... operator.

Power Steering reinstated.



Next up was the matter of my air cleaner on the Carburetor, it’s a Summit product, triangular, not sure one can find a replacement filter element, so going to remove the 5” air filter and replace with a new unit when I order one.

See the face?

Happy Holley



Told her she would be getting a new bonnet (hat) soon, she was beside herself.

Whhhaaaahhh.




Amazed at how easily this truck starts, even in the cold and when not started for some time.

Some random engine revving for the petrol,pervs....

CLICK LINK.

https://youtu.be/jJgSw2sm444


I also reconnected and secured the air horn button that had come unstuck when Imremoved the radio previously.

Radio wiring to be addressed soon enough.

That concluded a short day out.

Happy.

[Grizz1963]

By 13.00 this was the depth of snow, more to come.

A lot more.

[Grizz1963]

The Kent Breakfast Meet is a Facebook group, as long as it’s American, but not exclusive and not brand or, year and model specific

I had not attended for a couple of years since taking my 66 C10 apart for restoration.

Started and kept alive by El Presidenté, Gene, it is a great meeting, currently hosted by The Woodman pub at Goathurst Common, TN14 6BU in Sevenoaks with loads of parking and very willing staff, family owned, serving a variety of breakfast items, I chose a small breakfast today and good, bottomless coffee for £7.00. I always expect heartburn from these breakfast specials, no heartburn equates good quality food.

So a bunch of pics, hope you enjoy.

Meeting is every 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month, 9.00am to 12.00 but we were still chatting in the car park by 12.45 today.

Bring the wife and kids.





Looking down at part of the car park. More were to come.



So got up at 8.00 am and moved cars about, then headed out via my local serviced gas station, added 40 litres of fossil fuel to my reservoir and hit the road at 70mph.

This Blazer does want to go.




Running down the M25 it went beautifully.

Got to the venue, parked up and took some random pics.

Then went indoors, got to meet with a bunch of guys I remember from before and more guys, new to me.

Best part of this meeting is that there is 100% no Dick-Swinging, just camaraderie and sharing of knowledge and friendship.

El Presidenté as a Gene is called tongue in cheek.

Does like a good fry up.



My diet sized breakfast still was more than sufficient




Once we had all eaten, chatted indoors, people floated outside.

It was a good day at 10’C or 50’F





Panel on air, supercharged.




Jag is a “new build”