Project Murphy's Law

[SOON2BLAZE]

About time I get off my can and start a build. Bought this clean one owner 72 2wd blazer almost 5 years ago and used it as a DD for a year and a half till a quick motor change sidelined me. Had a 350 sm465 combo that leaked and the 3.73 were burned up. I've always liked 292's so after traiding a guy for his running 67 292 and starting to collect parts, found out the head was cracked. During the time I was looking for a replacement my house was flooded by lack of storm drains in my area and the 292 on the garage floor ended up with water in it. Blazer on hold for complete home remodel! A year and a half later I scored a sweet 454 with 4k on it. Hooked it up to a E bay A833 4speed I had rebuilt. Easy way to get overdrive and keep the third pedal. Half cab is something I had a local clown make after hearing good (and untrue) things about his work. Gave him a MTP half cab I bought from a board member and a 67 C-50 cab top and asked him to make it fit the same. Requested that it be painted white after he was done with the metal work. Gave him the blazer for 2 weeks so it would fit right. Dropped by his shop to give him a new seal for the top of the windshield frame and found his kid out in the dirt primering my blazer. "my dad said you wanted it painted white". WTF!!!!!!!!!This explains the stripe of med bronze paint where the trim was. Since no prep work was done I wondered if I could use a pressure washer to remove the primer. We'll see this week, maybe. Things I've done so far:

67 gmc front clip , New fender when it's paint time, gmc tailgait,
454 and the NP A833, new plugs, wires, hoses fluids, carb rebuild, 105 amp alternator, POL engine mounts, Flex a lite dual puller fans, 1 piece aluminum drive shaft, ECE 4/6 drop, ford 9" with disc brakes from a Lincoln Mark V, new richmond 3.50 gears, bearing and seals. Front and rear braided brake hoses, ccp disc/disc valve, drilled and vented rotors in front, all new front suspension components, added a lower front sway bar kit, energy suspension body mounts. Buddy buckets, 67 biscayne steering wheel with a 67 gmc horn button, moon eyes tac (new gauges soon!) new tires on van ralleys and had back line -x'd. Dropped the gas tank and POR'd it (clean inside!) headlight harness for more light, Porter built trailing arm cross member (do not attempt with body on frame with dropped blazer!) Pace Edwards roll top toneau cut down from a swb kit. Lots of other little things I'm sure.

Next few weeks:
2.5 exhaust with H pipe and flowmaster 50's this week!
ECE trans cross member before exhaust , not necessary, but it'd be cooler
Register with orignal 1973 utah plates that were on it when I bought it.
New gas lines, rebuild and paint van tilt, fill and paint steering wheel, hell I might just paint the whole interior while I'm at it.
Pop up motorcycle type gas cap to replace that monster thats sticking out now.

Long way off: body work ( inner/ out rockers, floor pans and area between doors and rear wheel) have the parts but suck at body work,
at least the windshild frame and rockers are solid!
paint
nice wheels and rims
FRAME OFF*** I JUST WANT TO DRIVE IT FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1st pic: Brought my son home day after he was born, 2nd pic :my son now

[SOON2BLAZE]

before carb rebuild

[bigguy69]

i like it!!

[19723DR]

That's got the makings of a killer Jimmy.

[OARNGESI]

Thats a great looking jimmy

[lolife99]

Subscribing to this one!
Keep up the good work.

[SOON2BLAZE]

Thanks for your kind words guys. Sometimes it feels like everything is one step forward, three steps back. Didn't realize I had done so much till I wrote it all down. After staring at that first pic I miss how good it looked with the original paint. Man my boy has grown! I remember reading in car and truck mags about guys that started building their rides and it always included the line " Life happens" or "then they started a family". Now here I am, wouldn't trade it for anything.

[jojo]

Hold on... I'm confused! Is that a truck or a blazer?

Oh wait, I think I get it... I never heard of a half cab. I like that!

[SOON2BLAZE]

Dual exhaust installed!!!!!!!! Flow master 50's with a dump in front of the rear wheels sound soooooooooooooooooooo sweet. The guy that did the install did a great job. He couldn't use the h pipe due to lack of room, after driving it I could care less. Got the tags renewed, now I'm legal. One more thing off the list. Pics are hard to get as shes so low, but I'll try tonight.

[SOON2BLAZE]

pics

[SOON2BLAZE]

Well I have been driving the tits off this thing! Can't beleive it took so long to get back on the road, still puts a huge grin on my face as soon as I sit in it. When I went to get the tags renewed I wanted to use the ones that were original to the blazer when it was new... no can do. The states says they have to match the year the vehicle was made (even though they sent the 73 plates to the orignal owner at the end of 72. So after talking with an old hot rodder here at work he said " I might have a set of 72's, I use to collect tags. I came into work a few days later and sure enough there were a front and rear set of 68-72 Utah black plates. Went and registered them yesterday with no problems. As far as other things going on with the blazer, filled the cracks on my steering wheel and have it in primer and switched my van auto tilt to manual and replaced the turn signal switch/ wiring. More on these when I shoot them with some color this weekend.

[1LoC10]

sweet

[SOON2BLAZE]

Back with a auto tilt with a beer can conversion, to a manual tilt / rebuild.
(thanks Yukon Jack) and a steering wheel fill and repair using the ESLL (R.I.P.) FAQ. This will be the first step in a med bronze to mist blue poly full color change. Now to get the dash painted and put back together.

[19723DR]

That's one sweet steering wheel. That's BS about the original plates, but good you found some black ones.

[VA72C10]

very nice work! Looks beautiful!

[SOON2BLAZE]

Thanks for the kind words guys! The plates were just another small bump in the road. The best part was that another car guy came through with the black plates. I find that most people that are in the old car hobby are great. Tuesday I was able to get the dash painted and the column in, then back to work for the rest of the week. Hope to put it all back together Saturday morning and get some new pics on here.

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Nice work on the wheel and column cant wait to see this blazer done as I know I have seen it off and on all over the board.

[SOON2BLAZE]

All put back together except dying the new dash pad. Boy does a rebuilt coulmn feel better than a 37 year old one!

[67chevy1series]

Originally Posted by SOON2BLAZE

Back with a auto tilt with a beer can conversion, to a manual tilt / rebuild.
(thanks Yukon Jack) and a steering wheel fill and repair using the ESLL (R.I.P.) FAQ. This will be the first step in a med bronze to mist blue poly full color change. Now to get the dash painted and put back together.

if some one had the chance to get that steering wheel for 10 bucks is that a good deal

[SOON2BLAZE]

Originally Posted by 67chevy1series

if some one had the chance to get that steering wheel for 10 bucks is that a good deal

yep

[SOON2BLAZE]

My sons first day of pre school. Told him it was time to get in the car to go , and he said "lets take the blazer". I like the way he thinks. After dropping him off I went to see a friend ( and LURKER here! ) who had a blazer rear seat he wanted gone. The price was good so now I have a couch for my garage! Ran across this nice 2wd burb on the way home. Owner wasn't around but I got his card from his co worker. Tilt, tach and AC with a lift gate.

[NTR72GMC]

How did I miss this thread! The dash looks sweet. Keep it up.

[Nor Cal 71]

I so wish my truck was a blazer!!!

[SOON2BLAZE]

Thanks, trying to do a little something to it evey couple of days to keep it moving forward. Want to get the seat frame POR'd this weekend , but that means no driving it for 2 days. Wish I could drop my seats off for upolstery while I was at it, but I'm afraid thats a little ways off. Waiting on a carb spacer and parts to rebuild the HEI now. Theres a chance this maybe a DD in the next few weeks!

[1956cameo]

Nice project! Subscribed.