Beats a Jeep any day (Pic heavy)
35 Attachment(s)
I figured I'd go ahead and post up a build thread. I'm getting out of the Marine Corps later this year, and my salary will at least double so I should be throwing tons of money at it very soon. SAS/V8 swap eventually.
What I traded for the ZR2: Attachment 35157 Attachment 35158 Great truck, and I loved it. Only 2wd so I decided to move on. I nearly went to a 4Runner, but I saw this thing sitting on the lot. Glad I didn't buy that 4Runner. Picked up my 2003 ZR2 Blazer July 8th, 2008 with 57k on the odometer. In nearly 4 years I've put about 20k on it. Sitting right about 77k as I type this. The day I bought it: Attachment 35159 Attachment 35160 Attachment 35161 The first thing I did to it was install the old audio system from my Trailblazer. I installed eDead over the entire interior and put in my Pioneer/Alpine stereo. Torn apart: Attachment 35162 Attachment 35163 Attachment 35164 Not more than a few weeks after I bought it, I decided to test it's limits. Went out and got it stuck. This was on very bald Long Trails. Attachment 35165 I needed new tires, so I researched and settled on 31" BFG KM2 MTs: Attachment 35166 Also mounted up some KCs, did some appearance stuff to the front end with bedliner and installed 2" rear shackles: Attachment 35167 Attachment 35168 Attachment 35169 Next up was a trip to Uwharrie National Forest. Great trip and I was really impressed with the Blazer out there. I did put a nice dent in my rocker and knocked something in the steering loose that I'm trying to track down to this day. Attachment 35170 Attachment 35171 Attachment 35172 After coming down to Florida and finding a group to wheel with, I finally managed to get the KM2s stuck...in a swamp. And everywhere else. Not a huge fan of mud, but that's really all there is down here. Attachment 35173 Attachment 35174 Attachment 35175 Attachment 35176 Doing work: Attachment 35177 Mounted some sliders and receiver tubes: Attachment 35178 Attachment 35179 Cleaning the mud off: Attachment 35180 The previous mounts were way too shaky, so I bent some thicker metal and made new mounts for the KCs: Attachment 35181 Attachment 35182 Also thought about mounting them by the side mirrors: Attachment 35183 Attachment 35184 Finally found some rocks: Attachment 35185 Attachment 35186 ...and more mud: Attachment 35187 Attachment 35188 Got a little angry at my air dam, so I took it off. Also added some quick disconnects for the sway bar: Attachment 35189 Attachment 35190 How it sits today: Attachment 35191 |
Looks really good! I'm about to do a 2in shackle and z71 shocks to mine soon!
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Congrats & it looks like you're well on your way to having a nice rig!
1st thing you said you did was the stereo & e-dead but the 1st thing I saw that was different were the KM2's lol. Love those tires, they really are a great all around on/off highway tire. I'm glad you mounted the KC's differently than how you had them before. First off it was wrong because the rubber cushions are supposed to be on either side of the mounting surface to isolate vibration to protect the lights & the beam patterns. Looks much better with the stands & I bet the beam pattern doesn't bounce around as much. Hopefully they won't anyway, but mounted on the plastic grille they may break it. That annoying front air damn/valence helps with airflow to the rad & engine although I've read of people running without it & not having issues. Removed, it makes the truck look taller & gives you a little better approach angle, more serious commercial/off road look. I don't have that option unless I bolt the license plate to the bumper because legally a front plate has to be fixed to the front of a vehicle here. You have some nice pics there! The one with the front anti sway bar dissconects... you take the bolts out before wheeling, right?! lol Probably left them in just for the pics. I'm going to keep an eye on this build... again WTG! |
Originally Posted by jbw23
(Post 526221)
Looks really good! I'm about to do a 2in shackle and z71 shocks to mine soon!
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Nice truck
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Originally Posted by Rottidog
(Post 526227)
Congrats & it looks like you're well on your way to having a nice rig!
1st thing you said you did was the stereo & e-dead but the 1st thing I saw that was different were the KM2's lol. Love those tires, they really are a great all around on/off highway tire. I'm glad you mounted the KC's differently than how you had them before. First off it was wrong because the rubber cushions are supposed to be on either side of the mounting surface to isolate vibration to protect the lights & the beam patterns. Looks much better with the stands & I bet the beam pattern doesn't bounce around as much. Hopefully they won't anyway, but mounted on the plastic grille they may break it. That annoying front air damn/valence helps with airflow to the rad & engine although I've read of people running without it & not having issues. Removed, it makes the truck look taller & gives you a little better approach angle, more serious commercial/off road look. I don't have that option unless I bolt the license plate to the bumper because legally a front plate has to be fixed to the front of a vehicle here. You have some nice pics there! The one with the front anti sway bar dissconects... you take the bolts out before wheeling, right?! lol Probably left them in just for the pics. I'm going to keep an eye on this build... again WTG! Not sure where you got that about the lights, but they were mounted correctly. The bracket I had them mounted to was the weak point, not the way I installed them. New bracket and they're good now. Also, the new brackets aren't mounted to the grill. They are bolted right into the bumper underneath the grill and there is a very slight amount of room between the light's bolt and the grill. Not too worried about the airflow as most of my driving in it is done at a speed that doesn't produce much airflow anyways. I plan on installing an LT1 electric down the road to help keep it cooler on the trails, especially when the wife is riding along and insists on blasting the AC. Yeah I will definitely remove the bolts and bushings from the sway bar when I disconnect it. Haven't had a chance to use it yet. The sway bar also swings up behind the bumper and gets shackled to the brackets, out of the way. I also have a front plate that is required. Just bolted an old frame I had to the bumper: Attachment 35147 |
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I suppose I should mention that I rarely drive this thing on pavement. The only time I really drive it anywhere is when I want to feel like a man again. You can see my DD in the background here.
2011 Cruze Eco (42mpg) Attachment 35145 The wife's Attachment 35146 |
I think the pics were 11, 21 & 24 where it seems like the lights were mounted in an odd way.
Anyway I was wrong, just looked odd in my view. |
where did you get that shackle lift from i have been looking for one and i have had luck locating one for my 99
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Originally Posted by ZaBlazer99
(Post 526312)
where did you get that shackle lift from i have been looking for one and i have had luck locating one for my 99
There are lots on ebay etc. |
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