First post but long time reader.

1987 V10 Series 4x4 Blazer

It came with a 305tbi but before i got it last month it someone swapped in a very very built 71 327 that scares the neighborhood children when i crank it up. 31.5 tires the axles and drive train are in great shape the body needs paint but straight, seats look new and minor stuff inside other then missing door panel on drivers side.

I have to build this with very little money since work is slow and I have a family to take care of so keep watch if you want to figure out the cheapest but best way to do things.

It was 95% a runner when i got it with alot of little hurried last minute mistakes to solve.

Today i fixed the fuel leak at the mechanical pump which was dangerous. Found the reason for the overnight dead battery (hole in the bottom ) pulled the battery tray and cleaned the corrosion and painted it and put proper battery ends on it (they had top post ends with side post adapters to fit a side post battery ).

They did a lot of things correct, like wire looms and zip tying stuff but at the same time they did a lot of things wrong like no hose clamps on the fuel lines , no overflow bottle on the radiator (and they wondered why it lost water all the time), wired the HEI system up wrong which caused spark issues which was a easy fix, you get the picture.

 

looks like a great project.
budget builds are best...how to diy is most creative under cash pressure.
looking forward to the fun.

 

Looks like a fun project. What are your plans other than fixing the issues it has?

 

Convert to 89-91 Grill, it has the 87 up down dual headlight grill painted black but i like the look of the 89-91 grill better.

Haven't decided on color yet, it was a metal flake grey from factory but i want something brighter if you know what i mean.

Its going to be a toy / winter weather / tow vehicle for other project cars, type of use vehicle.

But my budget for a new project sucks and i got this as a trade for another car so, so far ive got as of today around $12 in it.

So i'm going to fix it up and get my skills back in full practice on it.

 

Got a bit done before the edge of Tropical Storm Lee ruined my fun.

Step one today was to solve this **** poor battery mounting and crappy battery ends.






Much Better





Now to solve the lack of overflow bottle for the radiator. A bottle off a square body S10 mounts right up and looks factory.




And since I am bottle mounting, time to mount my junkyard washer bottle find.

 

Here is the nose of it, needs a new bumper since this one is bent but it can wait till last and its missing the headlight bezel on the passenger side but i am thinking of converting it to a 89-91 grill setup instead. Does anyone know if it will bolt on a 87 without need to change the front grill mount? Making mounting brackets and holes to fit it is not a problem if it will physicality fit, i would hate to change out a front radiator support in perfect shape.



Door panel is missing and if you notice in the upper right of the door there is a dent in the door that i have no clue how you could do that but it will keep the door panel from mounting but i i have a plan to fix that but i have to find a door panel first.

 

Q and A time


The temp gauge and voltage gauges are not working where do they hook up at so i can verify wiring?

I assume this is the temp sensor between the back two plugs and there is no wire going to it.




Did i mention little stupid things that where done. Nice bottom radiator mount!

Anyone got a picture of a correct mount.



And here is strangest serpentine belt setup i have ever seen, the pump is the correct right hand drive for the direction it needs to go, but is back words for a standard serpentine setup. I hope the belt lasts a long time since there is no slider for mounting it and no tensitoner setup to adjust it. But it is tight and works, i may have to look into modifying it a bit in the future with a tensitoner for stability reasons. And seen as no factory 327 has a serpentine setup its a one off.




.

And last but not least i rewired the fans to come on and off with the key instead of a constant powered setup, but i retained the switch and hooked it to the ground of the relay i added so i can shut them off in winter to speed the motor to running temp. In testing there appears to be no thermostat since i get good flow thru the upper hose right at start up.