"The Blaze" My 71 Blazer, the story.

matt s

Explorer
I have been asked to do this several times and have kept putting it off. It seems a little funny to dedicate a thread to how "cool" your rig is, especially compared to some of the builds on this site. However in the spirit of sharing I will do it, both the good ideas and the bad ones. Perhaps it will help someone else. As time goes on I will update with any new mods or changes in the story line.

For several years I have been searching for the perfect photo exploration vehicle. I considered many of all types. I looked really hard at both land cruisers and rovers. In the end I decided that maintenance of those was beyond my ability to handle financially and too many headaches looking for foreign parts. Still they are pretty sexy, and the cool factor was hard to overlook. While following this dream it suddenly dawned on me that I had been overlooking a domestic that was staring me in the face. My uncle has a blazer that he has run forever and myself owning several suburbans tohoes etc. knew that the platform was very solid. The chevy 350 driveline is pretty venerable and parts are easy. Some quick googling led me to discover the first generation 69-72 blazers and the full convertible top along with the curvy lines, it stole my heart. I was sold!

I spent 4 months looking for one that was not a rust bucket. I had to pass on several and lost out on some others. I had to search over the entire west coast and finally found one in my price range. It was in Seattle but had spent it's life in Arizona (very little rust). So I put in an offer. I was third in line. The first two ended up bugging out and i got it. A boat ride later it was here.

I won't bore you with all the details, but it is 40 years old and I spent the first few months doing major maintenance including a complete overhaul of the front end. Recently I just replaced the carb and air filter set up.

Here are the specs followed by some photos of the rig and changes I have made.

1971 Blazer
Spray bedliner of entire tub inside and out during a frame off restoration in 98
Custom rear bumper with con ferr gas can mounts and spare tire mount
con ferr skid plates ( I traded the axle guards for a new steering box, but kept the oil and tranny plates )
Front and Rear 2" receivers. (front hidden behind license plate)
Tow brackets mounted on front for use with tow bar.
Chevy 350 (gm crate with about 40,000 on it)
TH350 tranny
Tranny Cooler
Superwinch manual hubs (front)
373 gears
b&m torque converter
Limited Slip in rear
4" inch suspension lift
power steering (really nice little bonus in old iron)
1 ton brake booster (front disk, rear drum)
Dual quiet turbo exhaust
30 gallon gas tank
Dual Batteries (not hooked up correctly, it's on my list to fix)
Air Horns (just got them working and they really make the moose clear off the road)
Dakota Digital Dash (Hated it at first, but having exact temp, oil, volt reading s is sweet)
Vintage Air heating and air conditioning (Bad Bad Bad, Long story but I will never put one in a vehicle, mine came with it so I make do.)
Driving lights
Full roll cage ( I know people debate this one, but since I run top off in the summer I like it. )
Tuffy Center Console
Rear view mirror with compass and temp
Dual Band Ham radio and dual band anntenna
AM/FM stereo with iphone controls and remote
33x9.5 BFG AT's Mounted on some classic white spokes. (Loving them) It was on 32x11.5 chaperrals with black off set rims that I really did not like.

Ok some pics.

As she sat in Seattle
566206198_6YZkd-M.jpg

566206234_xvCqt-M.jpg


And her current status. Replaced the top with a single wall version and restored it. Now has a more classic white color. I still have the old top and have some plans for it. Also some interior shots showing the things I have added like the ham radio and stereo. Also a couple showing the new carb and air filter setup.

624856290_Kh5fM-M.jpg

692726715_jcybb-M.jpg


The dual band mag mount antenna. The coax is run in right there at the hood break and follows the heater core lines into the cab and then down to the radio. Pretty clean and simple install.
719904863_rfmW5-M.jpg


The interior and engine bay

719938058_swjN6-L.jpg

719939053_68QGu-M.jpg

719938383_oppAe-S.jpg

719939697_3Bpe5-M.jpg

719940643_eeYTj-M.jpg


More to come.
 
Last edited:

matt s

Explorer
Continued

Some additional exterior shots showing how some stuff is set up.

The tire gate. I actually have plans to rework this entire bumper, but this is the current setup.
719935783_MK2NU-L.jpg

719936488_VNoVR-L.jpg

719937254_GdgAm-L.jpg


Camping set up. The bed area of a blazer is just a 6 foot truck bed (no feet wells for the rear seat) so outfitting for sleeping etc is pretty easy.

719947960_aCszg-L.jpg

Note I will never use an air mattress again, COLD!!! I now use a 3 inch foam pad, much better

719947981_sa9Fx-L.jpg

I use the tow bar to support the swing out gate and take the stress off the bumper hinge while at camp.

719948028_eaYwA-L.jpg

The lantern hangs nicely from the rear hatch handle. The dogs look cozy in there too.

719948034_YFubr-L.jpg

My most recent mod. It's been sub zero (-10 F) around here lately, so this helps keep the heater making enough heat for the cab. 20 bucks at the fabric place and that included the grommet tool.


Well that's all for now. If you have questions just ask away. Please remember that for the most part I did not build this, it came to me that way. I just brought her back to life and added a few bells and whistles.

One more from this summer with the top off

4858_1124553727527_1637650158_286820_5699881_n.jpg
 
Last edited:

RttH

Member
Love it!! My dad had a '71 when I was a kid and my grandfather gave me his '72 when he passed. I drove it all through high school and sold it when I went to college in the 80's. I still drool over these whenever I see one. Yours looks awesome! I can close my eyes and remember where every thing is, how it drove, etc... I even miss the original push button radio!

Thanks for sharing!
 

silverscout

Adventurer
Great exploration rig. I have a ton of respect for those who can drive our old dinosaurs on a regular basis. Looks great!

Tell me more about your dislike of the vintage air. It seems like a great addition.
 

Rot Box

Explorer
Cool thanks for sharing :drool:

I am a firm believer that you cannot beat old iron or function over form and the early blazers are a model of both. Looks like you have all the right equipment along with the fact that parts are everywhere and cheap is also a bonus. I never had much luck with Carters/Edelbrocks if you get irritated with yours a refurbished Q-jet from AutoZone will do wonders for off road performance.
 

matt s

Explorer
Tell me more about your dislike of the vintage air. It seems like a great addition.

Ok well you asked for it. I will try to keep it simple.

Two main reasons.

One their customer service policies are not conducive to repairs.
Two, the design of the unit prevents simple repairs and explains why they are a pain about number one.

EDIT: I had written much more about this, but decided to remove that part of my post. I don't want this to become a bashing type of thread. I PM'd Silverscout with details. If anyone else needs to know I will PM them as well.
 
Last edited:

matt s

Explorer
Love it!! My dad had a '71 when I was a kid and my grandfather gave me his '72 when he passed. I drove it all through high school and sold it when I went to college in the 80's. I still drool over these whenever I see one. Yours looks awesome! I can close my eyes and remember where every thing is, how it drove, etc... I even miss the original push button radio!

Thanks for sharing!

Blazers are cool! I really like the color combination!

Awesome rig!!! Thanks for the story and the pics!

Cool thanks for sharing :drool:

I am a firm believer that you cannot beat old iron or function over form and the early blazers are a model of both. Looks like you have all the right equipment along with the fact that parts are everywhere and cheap is also a bonus. I never had much luck with Carters/Edelbrocks if you get irritated with yours a refurbished Q-jet from AutoZone will do wonders for off road performance.

Thanks Guys! And Roger is sounds to me like you need to find one again!!
 

pint

Adventurer
Thanks for the writeup! Great truck! A buddy of mine had a white one with a 4 speed in high school. We used to abuse the crap out of that thing. :smiley_drive:
 

silverscout

Adventurer
Ok well you asked for it. I will try to keep it simple.

Two main reasons.

One their customer service policies are not conducive to repairs.
Two, the design of the unit prevents simple repairs and explains why they are a pain about number one.

EDIT: I had written much more about this, but decided to remove that part of my post. I don't want this to become a bashing type of thread. I PM'd Silverscout with details. If anyone else needs to know I will PM them as well.

Thanks Matt. Got your PM and appreciate it.
 

biglos454

Adventurer
great blazer man! i still remember your original post when u first got this thing. i love it! im still shopping around for my 75 blazer:smiley_drive:
 

85K54WC

New member
Nice looking K5

Boondocking in Alaska, you are tougher than I am. Use to handle the cold a lot better when I was younger.
 

Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
Nice! 1st Gen Blazers are awesome.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the green/white color combo. IIRC that was a factory option, as I remember seeing quite a few of them 'back in the day.'

I actually owned a '71 Blazer myself, from 1983 to 1985. Unfortunately I was broke most of the time (often because of the Blazer!) so I didn't have the $$ to give it the treatment it needed. Even back then, I got a lot of favorable comments about it, though!

There's something very cool about those old vehicles: Metal dashboard, key in the dash instead of the steering wheel, big dogleg gear shifter, and of course that intoxicating oil/grease smell that all old trucks seem to have!

71BLAZ01.jpg
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,538
Messages
2,875,659
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top