6.5L Turbo Diesel Blazer Project

[a5150nut]

Hitch mount spare. Are you going to make it swing down to meet the tire to save lifting spare into place?

[More Power]

Hitch mount spare. Are you going to make it swing down to meet the tire to save lifting spare into place?

The receiver hitch mount rotates down and to the rear using a locking pin, allowing the hatch and rear gate to open without interference. It's amazing how much room was freed when moving the spare to the outside. The tolerances found in 2" receiver hitch components needed to be addressed - it was a little wobbly. We addressed that with a couple of ratchet straps on the backside of the tire mount that pull it down toward the hitch. The straps can't be seen from the rear, and they make it rock solid.

[DmaxMaverick]

The receiver hitch mount rotates down and to the rear using a locking pin, allowing the hatch and rear gate to open without interference. It's amazing how much room was freed when moving the spare to the outside. The tolerances found in 2" receiver hitch components needed to be addressed - it was a little wobbly. We addressed that with a couple of ratchet straps on the backside of the tire mount that pull it down toward the hitch. The straps can't be seen from the rear, and they make it rock solid.

I think I recall you had previously used a hitch mount cargo rack or some such, and touted the "stabilizer" that came with it. You can use the same hardware for your spare mount. That part (U-bolt and bracket) is also an item available separately at HFT or truck accessory store, or on Amazon for $10-20.

[arveetek]

We also moved the spare tire to the outside... using a receiver hitch mount. We like it, and it frees up extra space in the interior for cargo and sleeping bags.

Yes, moving the spare outside is a huge improvement! I built my own swing-away spare tire carrier for my Tahoe back in 2016, using plans I copied from a gent over at Expedition Portal. It's worked flawlessly over the years:











I've added a Hi-Lift Jack mount since these pics were taken.

I built it so it sits high enough that I can still use the receiver hitch, but low enough that the back hatch will still open up without having to swing the carrier out of the way.

If I had to do it over again, I would split it up into two sections so it splits in the middle - it's rather long and takes up a lot of room when swinging out.

Casey

[a5150nut]

If I had to do it over again, I would split it up into two sections so it splits in the middle - it's rather long and takes up a lot of room when swinging out.

Casey

Or open it into the isle of the parking lot and use it as a toll gate. (;}

[More Power]

I think I recall you had previously used a hitch mount cargo rack or some such, and touted the "stabilizer" that came with it. You can use the same hardware for your spare mount. That part (U-bolt and bracket) is also an item available separately at HFT or truck accessory store, or on Amazon for $10-20.

Yes, I thought about the Harbor Freight hitch tightener like the one I use on Lil Red.

It would take some of the wobble out in this application, but it's primarily a one-axis (up/down) tightener. The straps take out the up/down slop and side/side (spare tire side to side movement due to slop in the other axis). The spare is quite heavy and has a lot of leverage on the receiver, and we plan on some rough off-highway travel this summer.

Yes, moving the spare outside is a huge improvement! I built my own swing-away spare tire carrier for my Tahoe back in 2016, using plans I copied from a gent over at Expedition Portal. It's worked flawlessly over the years:...

I like your swing-away spare mount a lot, and a swing-away was our first consideration. Then, Sarah looked at some of the commercially available ones. The nice ones are out of reach in price (between $1k-$2k), and to be honest I have enough projects this summer to think about fabbing one... In fact, I didn't think far enough ahead on the steps I'm installing now... It's taken about 3 days to complete the fab/prep work. The hitch mount for the spare was just $100 delivered.

By the way Casey, what do you do about the rear license plate? I'm thinking about either fabbing or buying a relocation plate holder for Sarah.

[arveetek]

I like your swing-away spare mount a lot, and a swing-away was our first consideration. Then, Sarah looked at some of the commercially available ones. The nice ones are out of reach in price (between $1k-$2k), and to be honest I have enough projects this summer to think about fabbing one... In fact, I didn't think far enough ahead on the steps I'm installing now... It's taken about 3 days to complete the fab/prep work. The hitch mount for the spare was just $100 delivered.

By the way Casey, what do you do about the rear license plate? I'm thinking about either fabbing or buying a relocation plate holder for Sarah.

Yes, commercially available bumpers/tire carriers are stupid expensive. I don't have a lot of money tied up in my carrier, but probably 4 or 5 days of fabrication time.

My license plate is in the stock location. The tire is up and to the right, and doesn't block the plate when viewed from straight behind.

Casey

[More Power]

Sarah and I have mostly completed the work to the exterior and have completed the installation of the steps. The bed-liner has been applied (mirrors, grille, wheel flairs, below the belt line, leading edge of the hood and roof). We used the Herculiner brand material. The stuff is pretty slow drying, taking about 2 days to almost fully cure. So, you've got lots of time to clean up the edges and pull the masking tape.



Sarah is considering her options now for tires/wheels. Are projects ever really finished?

Time for camping!

[Robyn]

Those factory wheels look pretty decent......

Just a bit more aggressive tread would do the trick really well....

I have been giving serious thought to using BED LINER on the cat project as a full coverage product.....Then maybe add some colored stripes.

Looks great Jim.....Sweeeeeeet ride for sure

[trbankii]

Looks sharp! I've considered doing the bedliner on the flares, but have seen people who have done the full body treatment and over time it's really hard to keep it clean and "fresh" looking. It's nice enough for a bed or floor, but I just don't feel like it is nice enough for "finished" parts.

[Robyn]

The finish on the cat is "MUTTLEY" and putting fancy paint on this beast....Not so much

Getting it brush whipped is a real possibility ....Since the paint is crap anyway....Just going to buff it with scotch bright to rough up the surface...Roll on the bed liner....Good to go...

I may mask off things and do some neon green stripes....BECAUSE....

I love the job Jim and Sarah did on the Blazer...Looks great.

[arveetek]

Looks great, Jim!

Casey

[More Power]

Thanks everyone. The rough finish will require a brush with soap/water to clean. Over time, it may need something like a rubber/plastic treatment (ArmorAll, Tire Shine or something). The cured Herculiner feels rubbery, stretchy. Should be good for what is intended. For what we did here, a gallon was way more than enough. The gallon kits included a roller, brush and a Scotchbrite pad.

The wheels will eventually be black as well. Sarah hadn't heard the term "Murdered Out" till about a year ago. She's a little goth, so she liked that moniker. I'm suggesting BFG A/T tires, but we'll see. Tires/wheels are a big chunk of change to spend on a secondary vehicle...

By the way... wife, daughter and I spent a few days in Glacier National Park (we drove our 2001 GMC). Was way too crowded, being over the 4th, but the weather was perfect. I'm mentioning it because among the throng of vehicles I saw there was a 6.5TD camper on an HD 2500 chassis. An RV company produced these for a time. Sorry I didn't get a photo of that camper... That one was blue. However, a member attended our 2000 Rendezvous here in Montana with one of these campers. This is a photo from that 2000 Rendezvous.

[DieselDavy]

Your daughter's 2 door looks great! Looking forward to seeing it with it's new shoes!
d

[More Power]

I've had this on my phone for a while now. Just realized that I could put it on Youtube!

The engine ran a little rough for the first 30 seconds or so as the air worked its way out of the fuel injection system and because the hydraulic roller valve lifters had apparently bled down more than I thought over the 11+ years they sat in a box. You can hear the lifter tick go away and the engine begin running smoother as it continued to run... Installing new injectors a couple of weeks later allowed the engine to run even smoother than it eventually does here in this short video.



Sarah was quite excited about this first start, after all the work and the thousand odd bits all coming together. It was fun time - an exciting conclusion to a big project, and daughter Sarah was involved in all of it.

This link will take you back a few pages in this topic thread to a post that describes what sort of prep was done to ensure an easy first start.

[Robyn]

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet
And that is how these are supposed to happen

[More Power]

Sarah and I took the Blazer out for its first 2024 outing yesterday. We traveled up into the mountains not far from here. We eventually got into a little mud and even snow.



The BFG's did a great job! These are sized 265/75R16. Sarah asked me what "BFG" stood for.... I answered "Big Farm Girls". I don't think she bought it... She's really happy with the look of the tires. Surprisingly, they run pretty quiet on the highway and the Blazer handles nicely with them.

The Blazer started quickly yesterday morning, even after not being started for a couple of months. I did keep the batts topped off, using a battery tender, over the winter.

Sarah wants to paint/coat the wheels black before summer arrives. Our options are a paint of some sort or more bedliner coating. We're leaning toward bedliner - for the durability aspect.

[DieselDavy]

Looking good Jim!

[Robyn]

Sweet looking ride for sure.

Painting the alloy can be an issue.....

Clean very well to get any and all oils off....Then use an acid etch primer (Bites into the aluminum) then shoot the color on....

I repaint a 40 foot coach years ago and it was all aluminum skin....

Like painting a whale..

Have fun .....Enjoy....