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Dan bought his '87 Blazer back when he was in high school. He started to
customize it shortly afterwards. One of the first things he did was lower it
and add a set of 15" tri fan wheels. Shortly after that , he shaved off
the spare tire holder and luggage rack that was on the roof. He also shaved
the door handles and emblems. He then frenched the antenna and painted the
Blazer '95 Camaro blue. The first body mods and paint job were done by Dan's
brother , Vince Robinson. The color stuck and Dan's mini wouldn't be the same
with out it. It wasn't long before he tinted the windows and traded in the tri
fans for a set of Hammers.
Daniel always had a thing for being low, and it seemed like every day he was
doing more and more to get the Blazer closer to the ground. He kept on until
it was virtually impossible to drive with out dragging the bottom out of it.
So then Dan decided to install a Red's two pump Hydraulic set up. He was then
one of the first around town that could lay the frame flush to the concrete.
He was also one of the first to sport a Toyota bumper and valance. He
installed the bumper and valance in about thirty minutes, right before he left
for the prom. Dan has performed every mod on his Blazer himself, with some
help of his brother Vince, and Dan isn't scared to tackle anything ( as you
will see).
Well, even though Dan's truck had adjustable suspension and is hammered to the
ground it still wasn't low enough for his tastes. But , the Blazer was driven
around like this for quite some time. Until, one day the alarm shorted out and
fried his whole wiring harness. He took his truck to Marion NC to have a new
harness installed. The Blazer ended up staying there for well over a year,
untouched by the mechanics. They had left the windows down and the interior
was ruined. It was also vandalized while there. Dan decided it was time to go
tow his truck home and fix it himself.
It looked rough when he brought it home. The interior was trashed, tires dry
rotted, paint was damaged by the sun and rain. The motor was also in bad shape
and was in serious need of a total re build. Not to mention the frame was
cracked from all of those years of dragging. Even the lower A- arms were
ground down, and not much of the front cross member was left. Most people
would have gave up on a ride that needed a frame, motor, interior, paint and a
wiring harness. Not Dan. This truck had too much sentimental value for him
just to abandoned it. He swears that when he passes away he wants to be buried
in his Blazer. Because of the damage the Blazer project was put on hold for a
while.
It all started when Dan held a Toyota bumper and valance up to Joey's S-10. He
held it up were the grill should be, not the bumper. The bottom of the Toyota
bumper lined up perfect with the S-10's lower body line, and that's all it
took to inspire Daniel to do his most elaborate project yet. He told us his
idea and we called him insane, but we knew if anyone could pull it off, it
would be Dan.
After several months of measuring, blue printing, and brain storming he
decided to fabricate a new frame ( since the old one was a goner ). And
because the bumper lined up so well with the lower body line , he wanted to
cut off the body at the body line. And then the bumper would double as the
grill. He then placed the headlights in the bumper/grill where the turn
signals would originally go. To do this he had to narrow the bumper as well as
chop it and also smooth it.
He then constructed a frame out of 2"x3" square tubing. The frame is
wider in the cab area so that when the door is shut it actually encases the
frame rail. In order to have leg room with half of the body gone, the floor
pan was made to sit on the ground inside the frame rails. So when you get into
the Blazer, you step over the frame and sit practically on the ground. Inside
the passenger compartment it feels like a 5 1/2" body drop. In all
actuality it is a a 10 1/2" body drop and a four inch channel, to give
you a grand total of 14 1/2" lower than a Blazer that is laying frame.
And it is a full nine inches lower than a Blazer that has a 5 1/2" body
drop. The truck is 37 inches tall from the roof to the ground.
The Blazer was originally set up to have the motor up front. But by doing
this, the transmission hump would have been enormous , and it would have
needed a 9 inch hood scoop. Joey was talking to Dan one day and mentioned how
a Pontiac Fiero has the motor in the rear. About a week later when Joey went
over to Dan's , there sat a Fiero cut into pieces. Dan had figured out a way
to make this idea work ( Mac Gyver ). So now the rear frame and motor is out
of a Fiero. This modification also allowed Dan to have four wheel disc brakes
and a much better lug bolt pattern. To perform this mod, Dan had to widen the
body 3" to accommodate the Fiero rear clip.
After the body and motor was figured out Dan turned his attention to the
wheels. Nowadays everyone is going for the huge wheels, 17", 18" and
even 20" rims. They do this because more of the rim is tucked into the
fender well , and this gives you an illusion of being lower. Dan didn't have a
choice, in fact he even had to downsize. How many rides do you know of that
tucks a 13" rim without seeing ANY lug nuts ??? Dan even had to fab
fiberglass, Mitsubishi Eclipse style, humps into the fenders to allow room for
the 13" wheels . The humps needed to extend over to the hood area so Dan
decided to weld the fenders to the hood and make a tilt front clip. He then
modified the cowl vent and shaved the tail gate.
Now
you maybe you can see why this mini's name is
UNDERSTATED
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