First Year Driver: 1969 Chevrolet Blazer 4X4
Chevrolet was on the right track when it introduced the Blazer as a 1969 model, an SUV that quickly gained popularity and became a strong contender in the sometimes off-road market. It was also larger than many of its competitors and offered optional comforts such as A/C that weren’t typically found on vehicles of this type, with production numbers steadily increasing as time went on. By 1972, nearly 45,000 managed to find homes, but for the first year fewer than 5,000 were made, making this 1969 Chevrolet Blazer K5 here on eBay kind of a rarity. The 4X4 is located in Liberty Lake, Washington, with bidding already up to $15,100.
If you like the idea of being able to drive your project and work on it just in your free time, this one delivers as the seller states his 350 to be a strong runner. There’s also a 3-speed manual transmission, but at least one of these components isn’t original, as when you ordered the 350 only a 4-speed stick-shift or an automatic was available. Or maybe it’s actually a 307, but in any event, the small block has received a recent tune-up plus a fresh oil change, and the Blazer is said to drive very well.
Originally, this one came from the factory in a Light Green color, but at some point was changed to black. While the seller maintains that the body is overall solid, there are also some areas with rust, such as the lower section of the doors and the passenger side rocker. There’s also a dent in the guest door and the rear bumper looks like it got tapped, but hopefully, all the panels here will be salvageable, and the top appears to be in nicely preserved condition.
Inside, we get to see some of the original color paint and an instrument cluster that seems pretty much still intact with all of the gauges stated as working, although the radio has been removed and accelerator pedals are really overrated anyway. The floor pan appears to be a mixture of some solid and other areas not so much, with a patch already installed on the driver’s side. I’m guessing quite a bit of the corrosion we’re seeing here is only on the surface, but I’d examine the metal carefully and make any needed repairs before I got too far along with the restoration.
We get a good shot of the Blazer up on a lift, and from the parts we can view it appears reasonably solid under there with a couple of areas that could stand some attention. This one must have a nice rumble too with those Cherry Bomb-type mufflers and the exhaust exiting in front of the rear tires on both sides. What are your thoughts on this first-year Chevy Blazer K5?