Blazer Chalet #0661
 

Work has started on the Chalet so I figured I should start a build thread too.

Backstory: My wife and I were looking for campers a few years ago, something small like an R-Pod. During this time I jokingly (not jokingly) threw out "We should get a Chalet" to which I got "You're just trying to justify buying another truck." She did like them and the more we looked the more she started to compare everything to a Chalet until she finally said "Let's get a Chalet."

After about a year of searching and a lot of help from some other owners and the Chalet Yahoo group we found #0661. This one is a '77 model Blazer with a '76 model camper from the factory (left over from previous year?) and orange instead of the typical brown. The guy who owned it is the same guy in this thread that bought 12 of these and flipped them. I shot him an email and asked in the off chance he still had any and he had this one he wanted to save for himself. He said since he hadn't done anything with it and wasn't sure he would have time to he would sell it for a take it or leave it price. After about 9 months of back and forth and sending pictures (did I mention I live in Alaska?) we decided this was the one we wanted. We probably paid more than it was worth but it was worth it to us.

The Plan: We shipped it to central Oregon where my mom and step-dad live. They have a shop and since it won't fit in our garage we decided to work on it down there and drive it back up to Alaska when we are finished. (Are they ever really finished?) We want to keep it mostly original. There is no SPID so we can only speculate what was factory from other Chalets. The engine is not original so that's fair game. We plan on doing some upgrades/updates as long as it's not taking away from what it is. Things like bumpers might get swapped out for newer stuff but originals will be kept. We want it to look "period correct" or like 1977 threw up on it. Modification and accessories to look like they came from 1977. Mickey Thompson tires, Hickey accessories, Warn 8274 or sidewinder winch, ect....

Couple before pics: First pic is the common one that is floating around the internet. Dont let the shinny paint fool you, there's a lot of mud and really crappy body work done to it. Second is one from way back and last two are from when it arrived in Oregon and we cleaned it up.

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

I'm'a gonna follow along here....

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

Chalet is in and set. Ready for tear down.

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

As expected with anything over 40 years old there was some rusty bolts hiding underneath.

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

This will be cool. I will follow along.

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

I knew the windows leaked a little but I wouldn't have guessed there was this much rot. Easy fix though. Might need a new cook top too.

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Very nice ride. Looking forward to seeing it refreshed. Those things are so kool!

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

I always thought Chalets were very cool. I used to see few now and then 25 years ago. Good luck with the project!

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

Couple shots from the removal set-up. We popped the windows out and ran a 4x4 through on the lift. Then put timbers on the 4x4 and raised it up against the inside camper frame. The back was jacked up a little each side stacking blocks and supporting the rear as we went till it raised off the Blazer.

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

Stoked to follow along.

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

We slowly started to lift up on the camper but I don't think the camper had ever been off. The weather stripping was surprisingly holding it down quite a bit. After a little persuasion it finally separated.

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

Thanks everyone for following along. I should have mentioned this earlier but this build might be a little sporadic. I work in the oilfield in Alaska on a 3 week on 3 week off rotation where it can be difficult to get time for posts and updates. That and the fact that I have to make a special trip to Oregon to work on it.

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

This is one I'll be watching for sure. What is the plan that needs the camper removed? Rust repair?

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

This is my dream vehicle. I would have over-payed for it too. Sometimes you have to pay more to get exactly what you want. I'll be following this. Best of luck on the restore.

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

Thanks! Yes mostly rust repair. It looks like it has had bad body work done at least twice before. There's a ton of bondo underneath. Neither time the camper was removed. Lots of bad tape lines and over spray.

Thanks! It definitely was worth it to us. These are uncommon as it is but this one was orange, which are even more uncommon and with the mismatched camper we knew we would probably never get a chance at this one again and would kick ourselves if we passed it up.

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

We have lift off.

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

Couple more of the camper.

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

So I'm going to take it there are no plans on using the lift until the Blazer is painted?

That being said it looks a lot more stable than the camper jacks I used for my FWC camper on my Blazer.

Still, way cool to see one of these get worked over.

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

Sorry for late reply. I've been trying to sort out my pics and turning out sideways which has been a pain to fix on my phone.

We put the camper on the world's second smallest trailer and stuffed it in storage for now. Plan is to take to a fiberglass shop to sand it down, repair stress cracks and anything else and repaint back to original color.

Blazer is at the body shop now and strip down pics should be up soon.

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

That's one hell of a process. Good work.

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

Following now. Managed to miss the start of this thread 'til now (so many other distractions, so little time to keep up with hobby stuff.
Still makes my skin crawl that whichever intervening owner between the classic car dealership in Boise and the guy in Indy who had all these Chalets (or else it was that Indy owner) yanked the stripes off and incorrectly repainted the camper unit. I can see the overspray where the forward camper area meets the truck cab. Makes for a ton of extra work for you to correct that, but at least you have it documented that it was that way in the first place. Here's hoping the camper paint comes off easy.

Do you see any factory markings (greasepencil) in the areas previously hidden from view? I see what looks like "CFA" on the forward left side of the camper. One junkyard Chalet truck was spotted with the word "Chalet" in greasepencil where the lower back tailgate area is (it was camperless at that point with a tailgate installed), and another pair of separated camper units I've seen had the camper serial numbers marked on the lower forward camper area.

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Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

Yes there is grease pencil on both sides of the camper. Nothing on the Blazer that I saw. I was on a tight schedule getting the Blazer to the body shop and getting the camper out of my stepdads shop before I left and didn't get any good pics of it them. I'll make it a point to get some next time I'm down.

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

First couple pics from the body shop. Lots of bondo. I knew there was some bad bodywork but it was way worse than we thought.

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

Much appreciated!

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Ugghh, sorry about the oceans of bondo. What's wrong with people!?

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

but but but i saw them do it in 7 days on tv . . . why cant i do this and make money ..... thats whats wrong :lol:

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It gets worse. Some bad metal work under the bondo. I don't understand, if you're gonna take all that time with the bondo why not do it right?

It's really not too big of deal. We knew there was some rust and bondo and our body guy knew it too and quoted it accordingly so it's not like it's gonna be a big surprise bill. Was just surprising to see what was underneath.

Floorboards were in pretty good shape along with the bed. Fenders are more work that what they were worth, gonna have to find some take offs. Drivers door needs repaired where the old mirror used to be. Passenger door seemed to be the only good panel on it.

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

Few more....

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

Great progress for sure. Bummer on the hidden fun under that shiny paint, but it's getting fixed so all will be well.

I'm curious what the end game will be. I know you and the wife want to use it for camping. Is that going to be full on using it off road to get to back country spots, or some milder forest roads and the like?

Any plans of beefing up suspension/axles for durability and strength? Not saying going nuts for a D60/14bff combo, but 3/4ton axles at least. I think a 14bff would be indestructible under your setup and just adding 8 lug hubs to match on the D44 up front.

Good work again.

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

So the end game is probably a little more on the mild side but still want to get into some back country spots. Nothing too out of control where it will get torn up but definitely off the beaten path. We also would like to do some road trips in it and some car shows. Nothing fancy or trying to win anything, just fun to show off. It's different and loud with the orange so it should be fun. When we first got it right before we started tearing it apart we went to a small local show. My wife and mom set up the inside, she had lots of fun with that and wanted to do more stuff like that.

The 3/4 axles we have talked about. It's on the list for the future but probably will be down the road. You're right it would be a really good setup.

Here's some pics from the show.

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That's a good plan. I've always thought the Chalet's were a little too big to really go far off the beaten path like I do with my FWC camper. (which gets called a Chalet A LOT). I wouldn't want to put that fiberglass through the abuse I've stuck mine into this last year. (I've got a pine branch still on the roof rack from our snow run on new years day too)

The real chalet's like yours need to be preserved, used but not beat to death. I've followed a few threads where they got built up and then yanked off and set in a pasture somewhere. Kudo's for actually going through the effort to restore one.

I like the plate # too. Nice touch.

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

Thanks! I would love to have something like yours that's not so tall. You got a pretty cool set up.

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

Thanks!

I would sure like the height you got with the top popped up. I'm pretty tall so with the top up on my FWC I'm brushing the roof with my head. Sleeping in the cabover section on mine is comfy with the right mattress, but It's still to short to sit upright up there. I'll fix both issues when I redo the canvas. I'll just add a few inches.

I'm pretty darn careful off road now. Out in the desert where there aren't many trees, it's pretty easy. The mountains near me are a different story. Tree pinstriping is a given. But narrow jeep trails gain a whole other level of fun. I've got to replace the window screens on the passenger side from all the tree branches I've brushed up against this summer.

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

I know what you mean. When I dropped it off to the body shop the guy was talking about the basecoat/clearcoat and mirror finish while the whole time I'm thinking in my head, I don't want to hear how nice it's going to be and then all the scratches I'm gonna put on it. Made me cringe a little inside.

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

Lots of clear my man. If Larry's k10 is any example I've seen, it's a good layer of clear. He and I have been down many of the same trails together and hit the same branches. He's polished it out a couple of times and it's still pretty sharp and it was painted over 15 years ago by a buddy of ours.

The idea is not to scratch it, but many times it's not avoidable. Best thing is to go slow and try to keep an eye on both sides. I've learned on some of the tighter trails to also watch which way the trail slopes. I've had to tread the needle between two trees but the trail sloped from left down to the right. Had I cheated more the the right the slope would have caused the roof of the camper to hit the tree on the right since the tilt pushed the roof over further at the top. So I hug the inside tree close on the uphill side sine the tilt puts me away from it and still have room to clear the downhill side.

I won't lie, it can be nerve racking. But it helps if your passenger keeps an eye out too.

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

Beautiful truck, beautiful job you are doing with it. I need a Chalet, I have decided.

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Oh for sure, you're definitely right on the clear. It's just makes me cringe a little to know it's gonna happen but I guess that's part of the fun. It will be a learning curve figuring out how to navigate through some of those trails with the camper on. Yours is a little lower but did you notice much of a difference in the way it handled on the trail after you put it on?

Thanks! Better grab one quick. Unfortunately I've seen prices go up on them even in the short time we started looking.

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

Not much, but that was by design in my case. I made sure everything heavy is kept low in the body. The only heavy thing above the bed rail height is the propane tank. I eliminated the water tank, sink and stove out of the cabinet. Mainly for the weight savings, but I didn't want to deal with winterizing the water system. The stove wasn't much but it was all the way high and in such a small space I didn't want to stink up the interior cooking. I use a camp stove and it's stored under the lower bench. The 3 way fridge got yanked due to it's questionable ability and being an amp hog on 12v vs modern day 12v compressor fridges. Plus it was heavy and right in the way of my seat at the full back position.

The rebuilt cabinet was truly overbuilt with thick plywood and solid oak face boards and doors. But inside those cabinets is a tote with cooking gear and other with other gear and food.

All in all you can tell the truck has a slightly higher CG than it did before but it's not overly tippy. I put a lev-o-gauge on the dash and have put it in an upholstery sucking position a couple of times this summer, but it would have been the same with the stock top on. I play close attention to it though. In the sketchy stuff I rely on who's spotting me along with what I'm feeling inside. I've backed off and taken a different approach because it was spooky.

Your setup is probably heavier empty than mine due to the fiberglass construction vs aluminum frame and siding in mine. Your CG will be higher than mine. Try to load gear as low as you can to offset the fridge and water tanks. You won't be doing the stuff I've done, so really sketchy stuff won't be a problem. You'll get a feel for it. Everybody has a different threshold for how much tippy is too much.

What I wouldn't do is eliminate the sway bar like many do in all out off road builds. You need that bar there for the handling on road as the barn door is going to catch the wind like a sail. Off road, you don't want that truck to flex like mad with the high CG. The body will lean over and really make it tippy.

I think for your intended plans you should be ok as you are.

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

Good advice. I've been going back and forth on the sway bar and I think you are right. What I plan on doing with it the sway bar would make more sense to leave in place.

Re: Blazer Chalet #0661
 

So we are going to go with a Hickey drop style hood on the Chalet. Waiting to find an original one in good shape and getting it to Oregon was not very feasible so we got a new one from Autofab. I think this will really add to the 70's styling we are going for. I messed around with some free online paint programs to figure out a paint scheme. We think we are going with the first one but would like to know everyone else's thoughts. It wouldn't have the thin black strip that is shown in the pic. That's just my lack of paint skills.
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