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The Story of a Full Size '72 Bluggy

152K views 350 replies 92 participants last post by  Josh40601 
#1 ·
The intimidation of getting flamed on here has long post poned me from putting up my build up on this great site. But after consulting with Lance & a few other buddies, I decided I'd give it a try. I would have put it in the Chevy Tech section, but IMO there's only a couple of build ups on there that I believe are up to par with mine & the rest being a bunch of NOOB stuff :shaking:. So this is my story on my part Blazer part Buggy build up. You guys decide: if it's not worthy of the General Discussion section, then I'll ask for it to be deleted.

So it all started with a mostly stock '72 Blazer purchased in Feb '02. Bought it with a 350/TH350/205/44-12 & 3.08s/32" BFG A/Ts. I thought I was PIMP with the brown paint and white top.







Within a few months, the restoration bug hit me & decided it was time to paint her up. Soon, a shitty ass lift came via an AAL on the front and autozone blocks in the rear :shaking:. All with 35" MTRs. There's nothing like wheelin' 35s & 3.08s.







This picture was actually taken in Mexico...




Of course every machine has its limits, and for me, that was the front D44, the rear crappy lift blocks, the motor & tranny in need of a rebuild, and some bashed in rock panels. So I decided it was time to tear her down & turn the Blazer into a full size crawler.






More Coming In A Bit...
 
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#2 · (Edited)
So the tear down began in Oct '04, but undecisiveness & money & other things post poned my build up until about Aug '05. The initial plans were to build a big ass monster Blazer on 16" of lift with 46s, but for some reason I had gotten over the mud bug and wanted to run trails and rocks.

So first came tires. I knew I wanted Boggers. I knew I wanted 44s. :laughing:






The mandatory 60 with 5.86s, Detroit, DRW, 35 spline 4340 Inner/Outer Yukons, 4WD Factory flanges, & 1410 Yoke.



The rear DRW 70 with 5.86s, Detroit, and 35 splines.



I know in some time, not sure in what exact order, I started the frenzy of ordering parts & prepping my frame.




Sky Mfg HySteer kit & x-member, and new wiring harness



PVCs from USA6X6


Rebuilt 52s & TCI 64s


DIY4X motor mount x-member
 
#3 ·
Started boxing the frame up.





After painting up the frame & getting it back home, it was time to start the suspension...


Poly bushings for everything


Tera Low hubs


Propane setup


Mad4wd outer axle seals
 
#4 · (Edited)
of course, started rebuilding the 27 spline 203 for the doubler


then finally got this bad boy in the mail...JB Lo Max 3:1


inverted 203, NWF doubler, 205 clocked up 4", 1410 yokes that may be changed for flanges


& getting ready for the triple sticks


the SBC 350 ready for some 'pane


Tabor 12K winch
 
#5 ·
test fitting the Great Lake Offroad rock rings


DIY4X D70 spring perches


more shots of the suspension getting ready for the body





then came time to get the body bolted back on...






How many Mexicans does it take to get the the body & frame to line up?



After more than 2 years, finally pulling her into the driveway again
 
#6 ·
I've pretty much exhausted my typing and picture posting for one night, so the rest will go quick.

The current set up has 52s with a zero rate, rear has 64s with a ORD flip. The front 60 has the kingpins rebuilt, new Great Lake Offroad covers front and rear...the rear fenders have been removed to dovetail it. Currently waiting to weld in the new floors that were eaten alive, then she'll be going to my buddy's shop to get the 'cage done.

What else is sitting in the garage? Corbeau seats, bunch of DIY4X plates and tabs...but still have some more ordering to do next week to hopefully finish her up and her out riding by the end of Sept.







How she sits as of right now







 
#13 ·
:laughing::laughing: I hadn't even noticed that tree



sweet man, nice to see all the pics without having to brows through a ton of pages on your ck5 thread.
yea I know what you mean...I think I'm at 24 or so pages....?



Since I have seen it in person I have to say it looks pretty good so far. Should be a beast!!==========Kyle:flipoff2:
Should be done soon, so we can hit up Katemcy.
 
#19 ·
Looking great - dont plan on it being straight for long though:D Heres a couple shots of how I did mine. The fenders attach to 2 tabs on the side and the grille up front. The hood is mounted with CJ tailgate hinges to the cowl. The grille is attached to the tubing.

 
#26 · (Edited)
Looking great - dont plan on it being straight for long though:D Heres a couple shots of how I did mine. The fenders attach to 2 tabs on the side and the grille up front. The hood is mounted with CJ tailgate hinges to the cowl. The grille is attached to the tubing.
Yea that's something I'm thinking in my head right now, but we'll see how that goes. Always loved that 'Burb by the way.


awesome build, but in the last pic the pinion angle looks screwy.
Rear pinion is not set up yet, spring perches aren't welded in yet. No tranny = t-cases not being set into place = no way to tell the pinion angle :D


Totally worthy. Nice to see it all coming together. Any problems? Any unique solutions?
Lots of problems along the way :laughing: I've been looking for a 700R4 for a year now, but just found a core so we can use it to build the x-members. Figuring out how to narrow the fenders, but I think I've got that figured out. One problem is going to be removing them while dealing with the headlights & tail lights. Another problem has been for the steering to hook up. There's been quite a few other bumps in the road...


If anyone flames you for posting this, they can lick sweaty fukn balls!
Nice build! Keep the pics coming.
Thanks, great to hear from someone who builds some trick ass rigs :smokin:


Nice build. I love to see the home built rigs.
Good to see you started a build up thread.I love your rig bro,I'll be watching the build.
thanks :D

I demand more! :D
don't really have any other interesting pics. 'cage gets started next week hopefully, but we'll see. I did find this pic tho. The poser flex...:shaking: I thought my front leaf spring was going to snap in half :laughing:

 
#21 ·
The intimidation of getting flamed on here has long post poned me from putting up my build up on this great site. ...So this is my story on my part Blazer part Buggy build up. You guys decide: if it's not worthy of the General Discussion section, then I'll ask for it to be deleted.
Totally worthy.

Nice to see it all coming together. Any problems? Any unique solutions?
 
#23 ·
Nice build. I love to see the home built rigs.
 
#27 ·
LOL! No shit. I acually broke a 1350 cv because of to much flex running a doubler with it clocked up 2". Had to run a limiting strap and seems to have fixed it.

Love how it is coming together. I'll be keeping an eye on this one.
 
#32 ·
yea I'll be running one limiting strap front and rear to limit down travel, I'm actually thinking of using a bracket with different mounting holes to control down travel in different situations, ie street driving, etc.


I was acually looking at the front pinion.
yea, it's still pointing slightly down, I'm not sure if it's because I didn't relocate my rear hanger or because I need more weight on the front end. Once we add the weight & it still seems screwy, we'll shim it or relocate the hanger. good eyes :D


Nice build!

Where is "the real south Texas"? I'm guessing Laredo? Brownsville? Not too many places that are south of Corpus Christi!

Chris
The Real South Texas is the Valley...to me that's from South Padre to McAllen...lol, at any given time I'm in San Benito or Edinburg. Reason for that is that a lot of San Antonio guys put that they're located in south Texas :shaking:


cool looking build ..... were are ya located?

have to get together and wheel with some more fullsizes.

later ryan
See Above :flipoff2: Hope to wheel Katemcy, Trees, & anywhere else I can get my junk, hope to wheel with you soon :smokin:
 
#30 ·
cool looking build ..... were are ya located?

have to get together and wheel with some more fullsizes.

later ryan
 
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