1978 Blazer FWC

[Rush4x4]

It's time for you to bring it back to CO so it can get out in it's natural habitat...

Yes! I bought this specifically for taking it to southwest Colorado. One day...

 

[Rush4x4]

I haven't done a whole lot to it other than putter around town, taking it to the post office and taking the dog out for a ride. I had a problem with the wheels hitting the calipers and didn't really want to get rid of the wheels, so I ended up getting some 1.5 inch wheel spacers. No more clearance issues, though I may need to slightly trim the bottom of the front fenders, as I suspect it MAY rub when turning at full stuff. Not a whole lot of rock crawling going on down here, though. Hopefully I'm taking it camping soon, now that the weather's cooled down.

 

[Jo_Duval]

Amazing rig!

 

[zoomad75]

Looks good. Can't wait to see it out getting put to use!

 

[Rush4x4]

So today I ended up finishing what I started last Saturday. The squeaky serpentine belt was driving me insane, so I yanked the serpentine setup and put the old v-belt accessories back on. However, not without much cursing, spitting, fighting, hitting, and praying. When I pulled the v-belt accessories, I had no intention of ever using them again, so I paid no attention to how they came off, or more specifically, how they'd go back together. I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to put this power steering pump back in using the brackets and bolts I had. I searched the internet for an image and couldn't find one anywhere. I found similar, but they were all different. I spent at least a couple hours trying to get it in and everything lined back up but it just wasn't working. Knuckles bleeding, ego bruised, and head pounding, I started looking at pictures I'd taken to see if I could zoom into any old engine pics i had and maybe I'd be able to figure it out, when lo and behold, the image I'd been searching for. I'd taken it when I got the truck and didn't realize it. Then I was walking around the truck, thinking of how awful the rust is, and just figuring things out, when I opened the drivers door and thought, "Man, this thing is loose." Let me tell you, I could not believe what a HUGE difference it made to just tighten up the doors by adjusting the strikers! The inside of this thing is actually quiet enough to carry on a normal conversation now at speed on the road! With no belt squeal and no door rattling this thing is actually a pleasure to drive! And finally, I've been saving this for a while. I found it in a old Scout 800 in a junkyard many years ago and have been wanting to put it in the Blazer ever since I got it. My 10/22 (or just about any other rifle) fits in there quite nicely, right behind the driver's seat, completely secure, accessible enough, and otherwise out of sight.

 

[Rush4x4]

Finally! I was able to take my wife and our pup camping in the Blazer! It was a short trip and only overnight. There were no awesome 4x4 trails to take to the campsite, but I consider it a success anyway. We had a great time camping at Lake Corpus Christi State Park, even though we picked the coldest, wettest weekend to go. Really, the only bad thing was that it rained or drizzled the entire time we were there. Good news is that there were no leaks! The camper was warm and dry! The furnace worked phenomenally, actually, too good. It's more like an inferno. It would cook us out of there in only a couple minutes. And, the Blazer ran perfectly all the way there and back. I do need to work on the brakes, though. That'll be the next order of business.

 

[zoomad75]

I hear you on the furnace. Had mine working finally on the last two mountain runs we did. Sure beats freezing your buns off on the ground with an air mattress in a breezy tent.

No leaks is a good thing too. Glad you got the better half out for the adventure too.