1974 Chevy Blazer – Tim K.

Back in my college days I had a 1981 Chevy Blazer. I did what all young men do – climbed hills, got it stuck in mud, tore up a transmission and a transfer case, a rear end and an engine. I sold it after owning it 3-4 years and always regretted it. Fast forward 20 years or so and I had never given up the dream of owning a full convertible blazer. I have always wanted one since I was a kid growing up in the 70’s. I set my mind to it and after several months of looking and a few near misses, I found one in Little Rock, AR that fit my criteria: drivable with good bones that I could drive while slowly updating and upgrading it. The end goal was to have a nice vintage daily driver. I had a worker who volunteered to drive it back from little rock. He had family there that he had not seen in some time and had previously worked many years at an auto dealer so I assumed he would be a good guy to drive a 40-year-old car on the 10-hour trip.

This was the first of many bad choices I would make regarding my new blazer. I flew him down and instead of changing the oil and getting the car checked out for the trip he pocketed the money I had given him for that purpose. By the time he got to Hope, AR the engine had seized and no oil was showing on the dipstick. I had it towed the rest of the way. The picture you see with the white top is the day it was dropped off at my house. The first day of ownership, engine locked up, most of the interior had been removed at some point while it sat and thrown in the back of the cab – not exactly as advertised. With quite a bit of effort, I managed to unlock the engine but it sounded like two diesel engines falling down a flight of stairs while running full throttle. I decided to drive the car around my neighborhood in 1st gear – either blow out the smoke and reset the rings or finish the job he had started on the engine – of course that is what happened, I ended up with a few holes in my oil pan and a fully trashed engine. So I bought a long block 350 and put it in and started on the slow upgrading of the truck.

First off was a new factory tach from LMC in place of the huge factory fuel gauge and white gauge labels for all the gauges from LMC. I also added blue LEDs and led lighting below the dash since there is no overhead interior light on convertible blazers. I also added seats from a 2002 Tahoe. After 5000 miles the 350 started giving me trouble. After throwing some parts at the problem which seemed to work temporarily it finally blew a head gasket. It was still under warranty so I took it out and back to the shop where they totally rebuilt it. That lasted about 2000 miles and it blew another head gasket. This was going to be the third time I pulled the engine in less than a year – this blazer was quickly becoming a part-time job between the engine, fabbing the new seats, the soft top I had installed and 100 other small items I had bought over time from LMC to make the truck more presentable/respectable.

A local 4wd shop was advertising a 454 complete engine with an RV cam and a 60,000 warranty they had pulled out of one of their shop trucks. That was another childhood fantasy of mine – I had never owned anything with a big block. So motor mounts and radiator support from LMC and away I went swapping the big block into my blazer. I also added new rubber door seals, window runners and handles along the way. The big block was an absolute beast….but it only lasted about 2000 miles and spun a main bearing…the shop refused to honor their warranty – which I had in writing by the way – so I am down yet another engine. My love for this truck had not diminished at all, I mean none of this was its fault. I decided to swap in a late model LS engine and hopefully have a more dependable engine and transmission setup and stop my run of bad luck. LMC has the mounts and parts needed for the swap (even a fuel tank and sending unit) and I had located a GMC Denali that was complete. I would have the computer, the harness and all the parts I would need for my swap including the 4l60 transmission. It broke my heart to pull the 454 – it was perfect and looked like the engine that belonged in my truck. The low end torque was unbelievable and I did not even mind the 4 miles per gallon – a fair trade for the big block rumble and power on demand. It took me 3 months to complete the swap, sometime waiting for parts and others waiting for the time to work on it. Though lacking the stump pulling torque of the 454, the 6.0 is much better suited for a daily drive. I get good mpg’s, easy starts and with some cheater echo tips somewhat of a rumble. I am now looking forward to getting a 4.11 ring and pinion from LMC because 33 inch tires, overdrive and 3.08 gears do not mix – my truck is chugging 1200 rpms@ 60 mph in overdrive. I am still writing the story of my truck, it has been my daily driver for a few years now and I would not trade it for anything.