1979 Chevrolet Blazer Custom Deluxe 305 5.0 from North America
Summary:
Built like a rock
Faults:
Interior was shot.
Engine needed major help.
Needed body work and paint.
Rust in the floor pan and some on the body.
New shocks and springs.
Engine belts and hoses were shredded/torn.
A couple of more small details.
General Comments:
What can I say? The truck is a tank on wheels. Bought the car maybe 7 years ago, just to have, and recently started a full restoration.
Practically rebuilt the engine with a new blower, spark plugs, fuel lines, oil and brake lines, plus belts and hoses
Tore out all carpet in the interior, and went ahead and did a roll on bed liner on the floor and painted the inside, top and sides, rebuilt the steering column and painted the dashboard.
Has 18" cherry bomb glass packs with 21" tips with a 4 1/2 outlet. The truck sounds great.
Fresh paint that's charcoal grey with metal flake, plus body work and a small 3" body lift.
Hoping to swap the factory manifolds with hooker long tube headers, and run true dual 18 glass packs or maybe header mufflers.
Has a 3" body lift, which was ordered off LMC Truck, but hoping for a 6" rough country suspension lift.
Have to say it's a great first car for a 16 year old.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 1st October, 2013
6th Oct 2014, 18:35
Update from owner: The day I drove it home, the previous owner told me "I guess there must be a way to make her go faster". He was right. The vehicle was really slow. After one week in use, I decided to put in a new thermostat (the car did not have one), which helped with maintaining steady temps; I also did a full tune up, including new spark plugs and wires. Finally, I ended up replacing the clutch, which helped a lot. Rear brakes needed some work too, especially one of the hand-brake cables, which was rusted beyond repair and needed replacement.
Performance has improved greatly, although it still lacks some power going uphill. Next time I get some spare time, I will take apart and wash the LPG condenser.
The car is truly a gem. I replaced all the lights in the dashboard, easy. Since it did not have a thermostat, the temp gauge was not working, and that was one of my fears. The gauge works accurately. I also had been working solely on LPG for more than 2 years; I finally changed the fuel filter and poured in some gas... no problems, it works just fine! Fuel gauge, fuel pump, fuel lines... the thing is unbreakable!!! As it is now, I am getting almost the same mileage (cost wise) as my 1996 Suzuki Sidekick (1.6L)... so I guess that, by cleaning the condenser, it will improve both mileage and power...
On the road, the car is just impressive, and usually I get questions from older folks who grew with those things. The interior is fine, the upholstery needed a few missing screws, all sorted out. I redid the wiring for the stereo, installed speakers and a new antenna, and the car is ready to go.
I can say, I really like it and plan to drive it forever.