Hi All
Did not know where to Post this Blog, Kind of Body/ Outside Mod, I guess.

I bought my Son a 2002 ZR-2 and he said the Spare Tire blocked his View out the Rear, then I drove it. I agreed and thought I could move it for more Clearance

I searched here at Blazer Forum and the Net, and only saw a Plate which Lowered the Tire a few Inches.

I figured if I could lower the Tire where it Rests on the Flat part of the Step Bumper, that would be 7 1/2" Drop.

I laid out the Cuts Vertically against the Back Profile of the Carrier Frame Tubing as the Tire is squeezed a bit when it is Mounted to the Carrier Bracket.

The Carrier Bracket is also 6" off Center, so I figured if I cut it off Flush to my Lines, I can Turn it over and Drop it 1 1/2" and it would be good.

I "Tacked" it in place and Mounted the Spare, the Bracket needed to be moved up 1/4", I welded it all up - Perfect.

I Added Two 1/2" Washers to Each Lug Stud on the Bracket as I lost about 3/16" of the Distance the Face of the Bracket comes off the Carrier assy when making the Cuts with the Abrasive Wheel.

I bought a nice Marker plate Bracket/ Light assy and am in the process of making Brackets for that.

I will post a Picture when done.

I also can Open and Close the Rear Window Without having to "Pop" the Spare Tire Carrier now
Timmy

 

french69ssrs

Congrats on your fabrication. Your welds look neat and clean. I always say "if they don't make the thing I want I'll just make it myself."

I have heard "ZR-2" mentioned here many times. Now I know what they are. Thanx for the pix. I have seen the swinging spare arrangement before. But only in passing. I would have loved something like that in my '94 Jeep GC Laredo or my '79 GMC Jimmy for that matter. They both store the spare upright just inside the cargo area.

My '96 Blazer stores it neatly behind the license plate. I happen to stumble onto a ZR-2 this very afternoon while touring my local Pul-n-pay salvage yard. All at once it struck me. Why isn't it behind the tag? I knelt down and found a 10 or 12 gallon fuel tank. I've never filled my tank from "dry," so I'm guessin' mine holds like 20 gallons. I wish I could carry more. Gas prices are all over the place in South FL. I rolled past a station posting $2.79 and then looked up "Gas Buddy" on my cell and found $2.15 just 3 1/2 miles away.

Having a bigger (or auxiliary) tank would be the ticket. Now that I know there is room back there; it's a question of "will the mounting hardware swap.?" My E-350 had dual tanks and my 82 Silverado did too. If I can mount the smaller second tank it will just take a little more engineering to make it all work. I was so excited to find a fuel tank back there that I didn't even notice if it was 2 or 4 door and 2 or 4wd or even the engine size. How many gallons does your ZR-2 hold?

 

Hi Dark1

I went to the Web for the Spec's.
The Fuel Tank is listed as 19 Gal.

Timmy

 

correct, i own one

 

Hi New Guy

What Range and MPG do you get with yours ?

We go about 250 miles when the "Low Fuel" light comes on around Town and about 290 miles on the Highway.

Figuring out at each Fill Up, a little over 16 MPG on the Highway with our Winter Gas, I thought I would get more.

We have 2 Sets of Tires/ Wheels.

We call them the "Rock Crawlers" for the Spring thru Fall and then the Original Aluminum Rims with Snow Tires - Both with the 31 X 10.5" x 15" Stock Size.

Timmy

 

Thanks guys!

Now I got a reason to start picking that hardware off ! I have always thought they looked cool anyway. I just hope the anchor mounts are compatible with my 96 4 door. I had no idea that little tank was so big. Now I'm wondering how many gallons my regular tank holds. The extra 19 gallons of fuel will prolly double my range.

 

pretty much exactly the same

 

I spent the afternoon cannibalizing the ZR2 at my Salvage yard. The heavy duty mounting screws were torqued down pretty good but no loc-tite :-)
The locking plate was just as easy. Now the tricky part:

Between the interior wall and the external one was a 1/4" threaded mounting plate. It was designed to take all that stress from the sheet metal and spread it across the quarter panel. One bolt can put a hole near alignment, then two and the rest automatically all line up. I suspect a smaller/thinner version on the tailgate plate but I cannot get a good look in there yet.

This double wall design is great for strength but I doubt my 4 door has one [or both] of these plates inside. Short of getting a saws-all in there, I don't think I can get it out. If I did - how would I re-install to my 4 door ?? There must be a trick or "work around."

On one hand I gotta drill some holes and create my own backing plate while crushing both body layers together. That may afford me a chance to lower the whole thing a little so I can see over my 31s.

If anyone out there has swapped the spare tire swinging rack to a 4 door. I would love to hear about it.

 

so you want a tire carrier on your 4 door??


There's a lot of info about how people have done the tire carrier on 4 door Blazers in the discussion thread.

 

Haha I just gave him a link to the same thread in his other thread he started!!