s14sh3r's blazer
 

This is gonna be a poor boy build. A lot of the stuff I'm doing right now is either free or close to it. If I get the extra money, I'd like to raise it up a little and put larger tires on it. I'll probably go with 30x9.50x15's, so I don't have to deal with a lot of rubbing.

1997 Chevrolet Blazer LS 4dr 4x4

I got this blazer in a trade with my dad. I've had it for about a year and a half and it's been a good truck. The only time It's failed me is when the water pump went out a couple months ago. The truck has 123,000 miles on it and there are little things here and there that need fixed, but nothing major except for the AC not working, which I'm afraid is a leaky evaporator core.

It had a crooked front bumper when I got it. I've hated it, but never did anything about it. It was 70 degrees here today, so I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and do something about the bumper.

As you can see, it's crooked. It's obviously bent and sits higher on one side than the other.

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/8665/beforehu.jpg

So, I proceeded to tear it apart :icon_teeth:

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/6563/006dqs.jpg

As you can see, the bumper is bent at the upper mount on the passenger side:

http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/5725/007maz.jpg

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/2589/008zb.jpg

Since I don't have the money to replace the bumper right now, plus I want to get a custom front bumper at some point, I decided to do a little home made body work:

http://img574.imageshack.us/img574/5685/011ej.jpg

A little hammering and eyeballing later, and I think it's an improvement:

http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/5784/012wf.jpg

After seeing several blazers with the lower valance removed, I decided to leave mine off. I got everything put back together and I think it's definitely an improvement over what it was:

http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/9729/afterlz.jpg

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/9585/sidebysides.jpg

Side shot:

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/4949/014km.jpg


Well, that's it for now.

looks like a good start. another freemod is to level the front with the back.

search tortion bar crank

Yeah, I've been debating on whether or not to do it It really does sit low in the front, I think it might even be lower than it's supposed to be. I might crank it up a bit and then have the font end aligned.

ok I guess technically its not free due to allignment. I personally agree with you with your front looks a but saggy. leveling it with the back shouldn't be enough to cause premature wear in anything.

It turned out my front end was sagging about an inch and a half. I raised it back up and I can definitely see the difference. A buddy of mine owns a garage close to me, and needed some computer work done, so I swapped him for an alignment. The Blazer drives better now than it has since I've had it. I guess it already needed an alignment before I messed with the torsion bars.

I haven't taken an pics, it's been raining for a couple days + I'm laid up sick. I'm thinking about finishing up the side molding removal. I removed the chrome strips above the wheels a while back. Next decently warm day and I'll finish it up.

I'll take some pics when it's not so nasty outside.

It was nice again today and it's supposed to turn cold tonight, so I decided to work on the Blazer a little bit.

I removed the side molding and the ls badges. At first it didn't seem like it was that hard getting the adhesive off, but the more I did it the harder it got. The paint underneath doesn't look too bad on the driver's side, but the passenger side is a different story. The clear coat is bubbled and there are a couple of spots where the paint came away with the adhesive. I plan on painting the truck at some point anyway, so it's really no big deal. There's still a little adhesive on the passenger side I didn't get because it started getting dark so i called it quits. Has anyone used WD-40 to get it off?

Sorry for the crappy phone pic. My wife is visiting her folks in Waco and she took the camera.

http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/8231/1231101702.jpg

Today was probably the last day I'll get to work on it for a while since bad weather is coming. I did a mockup in photoshop and I'm thinking about painting the center of the wheels black. I know I've seen someone here who did that, but I can't remember who it was so I can go look.

Looking good.

Looks better without the trim and the front leveled out like that. When I took my trim off, I used WD40, goo-gone, lighter fluid, mineral spirits... basically, anything and everything that I could find :)

My trim was VERY difficult to remove

Thought I'd update the thread...

I joined the "rear tire carrier on a 4 door" crowd and I'm loving it. It took me a couple days to get it done (you young pups cut me some slack, I'm old), but I like the way it turned out.

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/2998/19785306.jpg

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/7082/12940343.jpg
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I just ordered a Rola roof rack from etrailerss, so I can join the roof rack club, too :icon_hyper:

I'll post up some pics when I get it :D

UPS man came today. Time to join the roof rack club, baby :icon_pimp:
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http://img576.imageshack.us/img576/5715/0413111514.jpg

http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/9579/0413111515.jpg

http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/6664/0413111516.jpg

The best part :

http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/8095/0413111517.jpg

http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/5408/0413111519.jpg

How the two halves fit together:

http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/9868/0413111530.jpg

Two halves put together:

http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/3788/0413111531.jpg

Two screws per side:
http://img848.imageshack.us/img848/5373/0413111533.jpg

Fully assembled:

http://img852.imageshack.us/img852/9953/0413111537.jpg

The mounting brackets:

http://img541.imageshack.us/img541/2183/0413111539.jpg

The instructions call for the factory cross bars to be either 26 1/4", 30", 33 3/4", or 37 1/2" apart, center to center, with the bars as far apart as possible for better weight distribution. The cross bars at their maximum measured just under 37 1/2".

http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/2487/0413111558.jpg

The mounting knobs have a decent steel insert, I was a little worried there might just be a nut on the backside.

http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/7933/0413111600.jpg

I then put the rack on top of the blazer and positioned the brackets. One person could put it up there, it only weighs around 35 pounds, but it's much easier with a helper because it's awkward to do it yourself. I placed the mounts about 3" inward on the cross bars.

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/8051/0413111607.jpg

Making sure everything is centered...

http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/7020/0413111609.jpg

...and tighten everything down.

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/9626/0413111619.jpg

The finished project:

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/3140/0413111621.jpg

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First impressions:

• It's pretty well made. Better than I thought it would be.
• It seems to be pretty secure. There's no movement whatsoever when you grab it and tug pretty hard on it.
• The way the two halves mount together is pretty strong. It doesn't seem weak like some of the reviews I read stated.
• The threads on the mounting brackets are a little long. I might use the dremel and cut a little bit off.

All in all, I'm pretty pleased. My wife and I drove down to the local library where I volunteer and the librarian was telling me how much they appreciate me taking care of their computers. When we walked outside, she asked if I had gotten a different vehicle. I told her no, and she said "Something looks different about it". I told her I had just installed the roof rack and she said she really liked how it looks. When we left the library, I told my wife "that really makes me feel good". She asked "her thanking you for your computer work?". I told her "No, that she complimented my truck" :icon_teeth:

I am now an official member of the roof rack club. It wasn't nearly as hard to join as the rear tire carrier club :icon_goofygrin: