Project: FlooredJimmy

[jhart17]

I decided to start a build thread for my 2 door blazer so here goes nothing...

I found this blazer on craiglslist back in October of '11 and the kid was asking 5 grand for it... there was no way in hell I was going to pay that kind of money, not cause I didn't think it was worth it, but because I didn't have it to spend...






Two weeks later the craigslist ad changed a bit... the kid had t-boned a minivan and now wanted out of the truck desperately....





Needless to say, he did a number on the frame. I called him up and went to take a look at it. The air ride was still functioning, the engine ran fine, and it had enough stuff done to it that I thought, why not throw a doghouse on this thing and try to flip it for a few bucks. He seemed very eager to get rid of it, so I threw a ridiculously low offer at him and he accepted it on the spot. A few days later we met and did the title work and I made arrangements to have it towed down to my buddies bodyshop where I would have the paint/body work done. This was the middle of November....

[monster 98 s-10]

sooooo how much did u pay???

[jhart17]

Once I got it down to the shop, I sat down with my buddy and we put together a gameplan for the truck. I decided to two-tone the paint leaving the blue for the top and shoot the lower half in black.... then I saw the exact same paint scheme on a blazer on the forum and that went out the window... So all blue it is. Like I said earlier this was the 2nd week in November... a week later my wife and I welcomed our 2nd child into the world so the blazer was out of sight/ out of mind for a while.


Fast forward to February, I hadn't had any movement on the truck whatsoever. It was just sitting in the lot of the bodyshop collecting dust, so I decided to put some pressure on my buddy to get moving on it. I had already purchased the front clip and all the bracketry and hardware to put it back on the road... but nothing had been done aside from loosely mounting the doghouse so the engine wouldn't get rained/snowed on...




I was able to get him motivated and we determined that the stock hood was too far gone so I picked this up for it



Once we got the truck into the shop and started messing with it I realized I didn't like how it sits. I called a friend of mine for advise and he/we started putting together a plan to re-notch the rear and tub the interior for the new wheel/tire combo I'm planning. The front lays nicely now and the MMW parts that I'm gonna run will just ad to the look.

[jhart17]

Quote: Originally Posted by monster 98 s-10

sooooo how much did u pay???

I wound up getting it for $1200.00.

[2003Xtreme]

Nice project you got there but what did you do with that frame rail because it looks to be fubar!!

[jhart17]

Quote: Originally Posted by 2003Xtreme

Nice project you got there but what did you do with that frame rail because it looks to be fubar!!

We threw it on the frame rack and pulled the hell out of it. Once it was somewhat straight and we made sure everything else looked ok, we cut the frame rails of just in front of the control arms and welded a set on from a donor truck.

[jhart17]

Here's a few more pics of the body work. We were just going to cut the front clip in but the paint job was aweful. There were so many runs... so now it's getting blocked and primed and re-shot.











Here's a little preview of the new color... Toyota Tropical Blue.... used on Matrix/Corolla and some trucks a few years back




Found a little problem when we were straightening the driver's side frame rail... guess it gives me a good excuse to buy some shorty headers...lol



Also had some fun with the plasma cutter cutting off the rear of the frame to make room for the roll pan and step shavers...

[Matt96Dime]

keep going

[2003Xtreme]

Very nice blazer.. that frame rail is crazy.. haha

[jhart17]

Thanks, guys, she's getting there...gotta long way to go

[deeznutz]

I love that color! Good find

[Nitemare]

good luck broski, nice project

[jhart17]

Quote: Originally Posted by deeznutz

I love that color! Good find

Thanks, man.... I hope it sprays as well as it looks in the cup!

[jhart17]

Quote: Originally Posted by Nitemare

good luck broski, nice project

thanks, man

[Tuckin15's]

Cool little project man its nice to see you picked it up for a good price and giving her some TLC.

[OneLowSdime]

lookin like an awesome project

[jhart17]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tuckin15's

Cool little project man its nice to see you picked it up for a good price and giving her some TLC.

Thanks, bro... I saw it and knew if I didn't grab it, it'd probably be sent to the junk yard. The guy I bought it from was within a week or two of stripping it and junking the body/frame. This was his daily and after his accident he needed a car desperately, so I caught him at the right time.

[jhart17]

Picked up a wishbone and lower link bars from a fellow forum member for a fair price. Trying to decide on the layout for the new rear end. It's notched and bagged with drop leafs and gets a ton of lift, but doesn't layout like I want, so it's time for a change.



Thanks for all the positive feedback!

[2003Xtreme]

Bagged with drop leafs? like a mono leaf setup?

[jhart17]

Quote: Originally Posted by 2003Xtreme

Bagged with drop leafs? like a mono leaf setup?

Yep, Don't know why the po didn't just 4 link it, the bags are also mounted infont of the axel, so the ride is quite "firm"...lol. We'll get it right and i'll take plenty of pics of the before and after...

[jasond]

Way to save one man. Keep up the good work. *subscribes*

[jhart17]

Not a whole lot is going on, ordered my headers and some stage 8 locking fasteners for them. Should be here in a few days.... thanks Scotty for the tip on the stage 8's. Paint was ordered as well, so this thing should be being shot sometime next week!

[monster 98 s-10]

ill give u 2000$ lol

[jhart17]

Quote: Originally Posted by monster 98 s-10

ill give u 2000$ lol

not even finished and I'm already getting offers!...lol

[jhart17]

I ordered some stage 8 fasteners from summit yesterday around 3 pm.... UPS dropped them off at work this morning.... wish everything I ordered would ship this quick!... thanks Summit!

[4ondflr]

Looking good so far! I just picked up a blazer project myself. Cant wait to see where you go with it

[jhart17]

Quote: Originally Posted by 4ondflr

Looking good so far! I just picked up a blazer project myself. Cant wait to see where you go with it

Thanks, man...Good luck with your project... post some pics!

[jhart17]

Headers came in today, truck still isn't painted... trying to decide what type of coating i'm going to put on the headers prior to mounting them....

[Dclarkjr]

Can't wait to see it done! Nice work!

[jhart17]

Quote: Originally Posted by Dclarkjr

Can't wait to see it done! Nice work!

Thank you, Sir

[droppedss]

Quote: Originally Posted by jhart17

thanks Scotty for the tip on the stage 8's.

winning! looking forward to attacking this thing after it's outta beauty school.



so the general idea is a simple effective redo of the blazer so he and the family can ride around in shows and such to it, so a backseat is planned to be kept.

1st Get the rear laid out with a bulletproof setup.
2nd Get the air management redone, moved, organized etc.
3rd sheetmetal work in the back, standard notch cover/tubs, with ability to lay 22's in back if wanted
4rd Build enclosure to allow clean storage, access to air mgmt in the back, taking into consideration back seat.
5th get the front to lay, build inner fenders
6th kick a venomus duck
7th make underhood clean and purdy
8th attack inteior

[jhart17]

Move "kick a venomous duck" to position 1, the rest will fall into place... Thanks, Scotty!

[droppedss]

YES! that would be a sincere win right?

[jhart17]

Quote: Originally Posted by droppedss

yes! That would be a sincere win right?

winning

[jhart17]

Went down to the beauty parlor to check on my truck today so here's a few photos. We also found the transmission mount was trashed just like the motor mounts, so all the mounts are fresh...
















Cutting in the fenders and hood in the morning... need to get the glass out and finish a little body work and its going in the booth.

[littledevil4802]

love me some 2 door blazers. good save.

[jhart17]

Got the headers painted over the weekend.... just some high temp primer and high temp satin aluminum finish.....




what i started with...



a few coats of 2000 degree primer



and the flat aluminum finish...





these we'll have to do for now,... jba's in the future, just not in the budget...



almost for got.... took my dog for a walk....

[droppedss]

those look very good!

[jhart17]

just got a call from the body shop.... they broke my pressure switch moving shit around in the back of the truck... thankfully I have an extra one at the house.... jackwagons....

[colbye32]

lookin good man!

[Jamesyoder1992]

Thats coming out super clean man and the color is killer

[jhart17]

thanks, guys... can't wait to get it out of the shop...

[TN-Noma]

Sweet project man, nice job rebuilding this thing, looks like its gonna be nice when finished.

[jhart17]

Quote: Originally Posted by TN-Noma

Sweet project man, nice job rebuilding this thing, looks like its gonna be nice when finished.

appreciate it!

[jhart17]

Received a few new additions in the mail over the last couple of days...



These are the parts of the 3-link I picked up from a fellow forum member. We are going to see if we can make them work in the new rear set-up



Two new 450's to replace what's already in the truck... the compressors that are currently installed work fine, but better safe than sorry....



and the pressure switch that I had to replace due to the body guys not paying attention to what they were doing...

Put the new door pins in yesterday and that made a huge difference... still no paint, but there has been some progress....

[jhart17]

whoo hoo!.... 1000 views... I'm so blessed....(sigh)....

[daedaestoy]

sweet job man!! keep up the good work!!

[jhart17]

Well she's still sitting in the bodyshop... progress is slow, but it's progress. The glass is out and the majority of the body work has been done. Still have to smooth a couple of dents out in the tailgate and passenger door and she'll be ready for the booth.











I'm now being told it should be out of the shop and ready to take back to my house on June, 9. I'll believe it when I see, but such is life....

[2003Xtreme]

I love this blazer. Still crazy to me to see how messed up that frame rail was...

[jhart17]

Quote: Originally Posted by 2003Xtreme

I love this blazer. Still crazy to me to see how messed up that frame rail was...

I'll post a before and after shot of the frame rails for you... They look good as new and there was no damage past where they are desiged to compress in an accident... thanks for following the build!