junkyarddog71's 81 blazer

[junkyarddog71]

early in the 2000's I started riding along with friends on their offroad adventures...... so in 2003 I started with this 90 bronco


had alot of issues with the bronco.... broken rear diff, multiple engine issues.... put a 2 1/2" lift ran 31" m/t"s..... in 2006 I discovered it had been running with a blown head gasket for some time( no symptoms except coolant loss).... the motor was shot.....ok time for a new rig...

about that time a friends brother had a k5 blazer for sale....so I bought it for $3500..... low mileage crate engine, fresh th350.... stock except for the wheels and 33" a/t's.... I scavenged a few parts from the bronco..... optima red top and some other misc stuff

I dont have any pics of when i first got it because my apartment I was living in caught fire and i lost pretty much everything but the shirt on my back

I put a 4" pro comp lift on , 33" bfg m/t"s, warn hubs, 4.10 gears and a true-trac diff up front..... it has a gov lock in the rear..... also put on a fabtech prerunner bar and some kc daylighters and 40 series flowmaster exhaust

[junkyarddog71]

ran it like that for a few years while doing some minor stuff..... added some gauges(oil, water, volt and trans temp) and a tach......

then in jan 2009 I was rear ended by an unlicenced, uninsured driver




she rear ended me off center so it crashed me into the concrete median




her car......it wasnt even in her name




she was cited at the scene...... my insurance co never saw a dime from her...... good thing i had uninsured motorist

[junkyarddog71]

heres what i did with the money from my insurance co ( after buying a cheap car to drive)

replaced the rear leaf springs and a bent axle shaft.....
added a shackle flip..... by black widow performance..... with diy4x shackles... found this used



also picked up some light tabs from diy4x....had some lights left over from the bronco


replaced the rear bumper with one from pick n pull



gutted the interior and fixed some rust






laid down some herculiner







also installed a steering box brace when i replace the steering box and replaced all the bad front end parts

[junkyarddog71]

did some misc stuff

made some switch panels



replaced the hacker coolant bottle overflow... found this at pick n pull



thats as far as i got before i was out of work for awhile

[junkyarddog71]

while I was unemployed i helped a friend with some stuff and got a few parts

89-91 suburban seats


they were parting out a truck so i grabbed the kick panels...... also picked up some red door panels at the junkyard..... the old interior was thrashed and I hated the color



also picked up a drivers side battery tray.... to add a second battery later


traded a guy my tan interior stuff for some blue ones






mounted my hi-lift with a loc-rac my better half got me for our anniversary

[junkyarddog71]

so I got to working again for awhile..... decided to do more interior stuff....







the clock in the dash didnt work so i removed it and replaced the dash bulbs while i was in there



going back together






the old dash pad was pretty shot




found a better one at pick n pull

[junkyarddog71]

i have had 3 or 4 different carbs on this over the years...... 3 quadrajets 1 holley and I got this edelbrock 1826..... 650 cfm thunder series off road carb



had to use an egr spacer and ran into issues with the breather not clearing the egr valve... so i turned the valve cover around


still doing some tuning on this........had fouled plugs so I need to fine tune it with the good plugs in it

[junkyarddog71]

due to the wreck the right rear 1/4 never looked right..... plus wanted to make room for future upgrades.... I cut the fenders and 1/4 panels





also cut the front bumper


somebody thought they should tear off my grill trim because it was loose..... so i ran it without for awhile...... didnt look right without it so I got some from a later truck that didnt use plastic clips to retain the trim......


so I had been looking at grille guards and whatnot at the junkyards.... all I was really finding was cheezy crap like this


well yesterday I bought the bumper from CRAZY BASTARD from his K5 he had


pulled off the prerunner light bar and traded it to a friend for some trail spares




more to come...........................

[2manytoys]

Always a work in progress, keep the pics coming.

[junkyarddog71]

got the bumper pulled off and test fitted the winch bumper.......... also picked up some LEDs on clearance and installed them for my turn signals and marker lights...... couldnt find any combination park turn lights......

[junkyarddog71]

got bored today and painted the grille with some spray on bed liner I had laying around

[junkyarddog71]

[junkyarddog71]

finished getting the bumper mounted, painted it and put my KC's back on



now i just need to save up for a winch to put in it

[junkyarddog71]

the beginnings of my rear bumper....... got it off a 67-72 chevy truck and it it stout!!..... gonna take a few modifications and some fab..... also gonna add a spare tire carrier

[2manytoys]

Looking good, is it ready to wheel yet?