Yup, that caught a lot of us. Although for what it's worth, "explorer" was still a ford thing even back then. It was a trim package for their fullsize pickups. Much like the "ranger" name, for that matter.
@talldude123 why everybody cares about 0-60 it doesn matter anymore if its a purpose built race car or a garbage truck all of it needs to be fast. Vehicles like the s10 back in the day were built for one purpose to haul crap around town not to race around if it were any faster it would be unsafe.. I dont see the reason why minivans have 300hp today no airbag or crumple zone will save you from your own stupidity..
I remember my mom had a white With bright Red Rear drive it was a pretty clean car when I was young. I do miss that little Thing. It was a two door as well.
I’m not much of a GM fan, especially from this era, but I have to agree. The S-10s/Blazers were a bright spot in the Chevy lineup even though they were very slow and didn’t handle well by today’s standards. Initial reliability wasn’t great due to the usual laissez-faire build quality shown by Detroit in that period but these were well-designed and rugged for long-term durability. I don’t see too many Bronco IIs on the road compared to these...
@@nlpnt - yeah, but all vehicles are far better than they were, in terms of features from almost 40 years ago. It's all relative. But what is not relative is the fact that manufacturers gouge people on P/U's and SUV's. And so long as people are dumb enough to pay the premium prices - the manufacturers will keep gouging them. Trucks and SUV's (especially the more loaded/higher end ones) are some of the worst new vehicle buy's in America right now. Sure, they are great - but their prices are often ridiculous.
I got a used one of these in 1988 when I was 17 years old. I loved it because it was just the right size for my girlfriend and I to go into the woods and utilize the fold down rear seat for some fun. The good old days! Lol
It was the early 80s, you'd actually still see people riding horses if you got outside the city. It wasn't super common, like you didn't see it every day, but you'd see it a couple of times a week.
Whenever I hear the prices of these 80’s era vehicles my first reaction is, “I’ll take two of them!” These were such good looking little trucks - to this day I give them a long admiring look if I happen to see one driving down the highway!
This isnt a real SUV, it's a reworked G body that was a pretty poor compromise between capability and car like drivability. The new Blazer like ot or not curb stomps this thing in every way possible short of accepting lifting blocks and tires that prematurely destroy the ball joints.
@@DrewLSsix Yea the new Blazer perhaps the best street CUV SUV and with the 3.6 Camero tuned motor sprints to 0 to 60 in around close to 6 seconds and that puts in 1960s muscle car range GT0 range. It will outrun any stock Jeep Cherokee. It has plenty of the 2000 type techo . It could take days to learn it all. I guess modern people love that. So in those categories, it beats old Blazer. But the old Blazer was not bad on the highway . In fact, Chevy invented it to ride better on the highway than a Jeep wrangler. And be a good offroad. And then you realize A S10 Blazer could go anywhere off-road as a Wrangler. And then it comes clear it is better off-road than new Blazer RS. The new Blazer Rs would battle in the snown mud sand goat pasture fire road wooded trail, but then rock crawler RS is dead S10 goes on and could get as you say lift kit for extreme rock. Old S10 Blazer not too bad Chevy. Hey, CHevy build a new little S10 truck and two-door S10 Blazer for the offroader you have enough family four-door and many people want a small affordable small truck.
I had an 86 stripper model with the 2.8l & 4wd. Pretty good truck but under powered. The fix for me was to swap out the tbi intake for an Edelbrock carb intake and made an adaptor for the tbi. Worked really well.
My folks owned one when I was a kid, and I remember how underpowered that 2.8 liter was. It’s amazing to see what current model SUVs have for HP compared to their counterparts in the 80s. I think the 2.8L V6 had a whopping 120hp. 😄
Had one too. It belonged to the (ex) wife before we were married. She hated it and wanted to get a Dodge Neon. I liked the beast, but the engine was definitely underpowered if you wanted to do truck stuff with it. I guess it was fine if you treated it like a station wagon with better clearance. I believe GM intended to have the S-10 with a four hanger only when first designed. Even that small 6 had to be shoehorned in. Later generations allowed more room under the hood.
I finally gave up my s-10 Blazer Tahoe 4×4, it was a beast 500k plus miles. Sold it to a neighbor who made repairs and it is still on the road. 30mpgs with the 4.3L V6.
I had one of these I bought used from an old neighbor for $1,500. It was a base version with a bench seat and four wheel drive and the 4.3 V6. It ate gas but I loved it! Mine was the four door.
That 4.3 was a good engine. I drove a 91 throughout highschool then my dad drove it til about a year ago. Had over 300k miles on it. He sold it and still see it riding around town
The 4.3 wasn't THAT bad in gas. Considering it was one of the most powerful V6s produced at that time. The 4.3 to me is like the 440 to old Mopar heads of old. I raced 4.3l with my 4.0L all the time. The 4.3 was not a weak motor or a slow one
Always wanted one of these as a kid. Still a great looking SUV 37 years later. Notice how there was no “SUV” term in ‘83. They called them covered pickups.
TargetRender - there was an SUV term back in '83, but then it was only for Jeeps, IH Scouts (remember those?) OG / 2G Broncos and full-sized Blazers and Jimmys. The smaller ones (today's midsizers) would be akin to OG Toyota 4Runners / HiLux Surfs, the original "covered pickup" (looked the part too).
I had a 84 . The guy I bought it from must have ordered it as it was set up with 16" wheels and tires and swing out rear spare but it was a plain Jane otherwise. 2.8 V-6(DOG) with a 5 Speed(YES) 4X4, rubber mat, not carpet, no A/C. Tilt, PWB and a nice stereo were about the only options. For a 21 year old that liked to hunt, fish, hang out with his dog and beer drinking buddies it was the ultimate truck. It would go through snow and mud (Uniroyal Laredo's) and was easy to keep clean. It was a North Dakota truck that was rust free until the Iowa DOT salt brine destroyed it by 1999. :( All in all if they would make something like this again with a modern 4.3 I would buy one in a heartbeat.
Our family had a 1993 Jimmy 4-door with the 4.3L Vortec motor - it certainly had power. The biggest fault was that the ABS computer packed up after 10 years and would apply the ABS when not necessary. Oil changes and regular maintenance - it was reliable, though.The Vortec made the car much more enjoyable to drive than the standard 4.3L TBI V6.
I still have my original 87 S10 blazer 2.8 L in 2wd. It was a great vehicle for what I needed it for on paved roads. Now I live in snow country and wish it was the 4.3L with 4wd. I mostly use it for running around on errands when there is no snow. It is a pleasure to work on it as the engine bay allows you to get your hands to the parts you need to remove. Still looks good and runs well. Lots of memories with it with bird hunting, dogs and fishing. Wish I could find a replacement y pipe as the original has a hole that I keep patching.
It's well worth the search! My dad and I have ours for 5 years now and no major breakdown, which is a miracle considering we bought it for 4000 PLN (about 1000 USD at the time). Only needed a few fixes and it served us ever since.
Sadly I don’t own a blazer, but I do own a 1992 Chevy s10 pickup Tahoe trim. It’s my daily and she’s a beaut to drive around town and haul things around. For a small pickup she handles well and outstands me every time when my bosses bigger and beefier dodge rams can’t keep up with the work we do but I bring my truck to work and she handles all day long and still takes me home. This platform 10/10 I plan to keep trying to find and restore.
My first vehicle was an 1984 2WD S10 Blazer. Then I bought a lowered hot rod style 1986 S10 Blazer. I loved those things haha. Very cool look and lots of room inside.
I love watching these videos & shows of older/classic vehicles back in there time periods, in 2020 getting a kick out of how much these cars were worth brand new until now.. About 20 years later & $40,000 more expensive :( i won't ever be able to afford a new car in my life due to how insane these vehicles are now.. To upgrade from my 98 silverado to a 2020 silverado your looking at at least $50,000 price tag.. I know currency has changed from the 90s era but now its like literally the only way to afford a new truck now adays is only if that truck is making you money to help pay its self off. I do enjoy watching these videos seeing how shiney & beautiful they once were, from the glimmering factory paint jobs to the new plastic interiors.. Basically untouched from wear/tear & weather.. Its like a modern Back in the day carshow!! Thumbs up!!
Here's an idea, don't buy new. In 2009 I bought a 2007 Trailblazer EXT 4x4, fully loaded, literally every single option, had a sticker of almost $50k, and in 2009 it was still under warrant and only had 23k miles - and it cost me $12k. However the thing was so boring to drive, I only had it for a few months before I traded it in on a 2005 GTO w/ 400hp, now that was worth driving, not some dullard SUV.
This older model Blazer is reliable than the new one we see today. I still see a few of the old Blazers. The new Blazer will have problems with or without being under warranty, and cannot go off-road, which it was meant to be.
Literally no true, new cars are dramatically more reliable than previous generations of vehicles. I'm so sick of poor people who are on welfare talking about how old stuff is so great, and they only reason they say it is because they can't afford anything new.
-BS! The NEW Blazer is already on Consumer Reports SHORT list of "Best Used Cars". The OLD blazer was NEVER on any "best" list except in car magazines car ads!
My sister's first car was a 1983 S-10 Blazer 2wd V6. Good Lord it was a gutless wonder! It seemed like such an old car at the time, but it was only 11-12 years old when she got it. Stuff was always breaking. We had to stuff a reman long block in it at some point. It still wouldn't get out of its own way. I can't imagine one with an 83 hp 2.0L 4 cylinder.
I had one. Was my first vehicle from 2011 to 2012. Had rust issues big time, water leaked through the roof, Digital transfer case didn't work right, Transmission slipped like driving on butter, had two engines replaced (going on it's 3rd), over heating cooling system, blower motor had to have a bypass switch installed, brakes were spongy, but *I LOVED that thing* It ended up getting totaled by a person rear ending me at a stop light. Oh well. Great memories.
Uncle had a 1985 top of the line S10 Blazer in brown with tan interior. All I remember was the constant loud roar of the cooling fan making the 2.8 V6 sound like it was struggling to move the truck. Always sounded like it was at near redline, lol. Classic design though.
I had an 85 s-10 blazer. My first vehicle. Rebuilt the motor, then the auto trans started to slip. Had that rebuilt. Motor (2.8)v6 lasted another 2 years, then cracked block. Junk yard motor swap, then months later, the trans started slipping again. Sold it for $500. I still have the "committed to excellence" keychain and the memories.
Thank you for sharing this Chevrolet/ GM footage. I appreciate. I hope to see more GM and footage from its brands past and present. I would like to see the downsized 1985 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight.
My father owned several of these trucks. Each one never had a problem with running. He beat the piss out of these, and they took every bit of punishment. Only after a decade of driving in harsh winters did they start falling apart due to rot. Hands down the best running little trucks money could buy, until 1997. And then the quality dropped right off a cliff and into a lake.
I actually like this Blazer, and having sat in a late 90s one, feels like it runs better too. Just can't get over that high-speed breaking test where the end came around. Definitely take ABS for granted these days.
Wish I saw more of these, see a bunch of lost 1990s and early 2000s and sadly 2019/2020 models I’ve only seen 1 blazer and 1 jimmy from this generation this entire year
Remember the version with the racing stripes? Hah. My buddy in high school had the S10 pickup truck version with the racing stripes and I remember seeing Blazers having the same option. Wasn’t it called Xtreme or something? Hilarious.
When I was in the market for a small SUV way back in 85, I couldn't even get two salesmen to talk to me at Merollis Chevrolet, they pointed to sales brochures on the wall, I walked out and went to Roy O'Brian Ford and had a saleswoman who took me for a test ride in a Bronco II. What a totally different sales experience, bought the Ford that day.
My P.E. Coach at Little Woods Elementary in New Orleans, Louisiana to be exact, had one of these in the early 1990s until he died in early 2000s. It was a 4 door Jimmy from GMC
Ive got one word to describe the early S10 Blazer....here it is. Squeak squeak squeak My dad had an 86 Blazer and everything made noises when you drove down the road . From the back glassto the door panel left of you. Squeaky
The S10 Blazer was not meant to be a speed demon ... but a decent SUV at mpg, towing, and off and on-road getting around... The 2.8 or 4.3 were more torque than speed. As well as the later Vortec 4.3. Today the 3.6 is in Colorado and will get to 0 to 60 in some models in 6.1 seconds as fast as some muscle cars but some truck people say they would want the 4.3 for low-end power .. All in all,S10 Blazer was decent work and play SUV...
I bought the 1993 S10 Blazer Tahoe version It needed a few work such as fuel pump and a new starter, will be finishing up on the mechanical payment for it on the September 30th 2022 can't wait to for a new adventure in it, it also the same year that I was born in
0-60 in 15.8 seconds lol. I bought one of these back in 1985 with the V6 and 5 speed. I really liked it and only sold it because the Rabbit GTI caught my eye, which you can see on the track in this video. This was before the SUV craze hit full stride and I really enjoyed the practicality it gave me when frequently moving in college. Never had any trouble with it although I only owned it a couple of years.
I bought one for my wife as a back up vehicle when we lived in the mountains. The 2.8 v6 was horrible climbing to over 4000 ft but it always made it. I still prefer k5s and full size Tahoe's though.
My step-mom bought one of these in the early 90's. I think it was an '88. I liked it as a kid. It looked and felt rugged. For some reason they hated it thought and got rid of it real quick. I think it had a 2.8L V6.
That moment you sit there and realize at one point when your Blazer was new it was super quiet..now due to rust its hog ass loud with exhaust ticks and squeaks and rattles.. but I got to say 260 plus thousand miles and I just rebuilt the transmission.i think its a real work horse in my book.i may not drive it across country but around town shes my hard worker
Man we used to beat the living shit out of these things. All my buddies had em. Cheap and plentiful in the late 90s, early 2000s. Well built vehicles especially in the 4.3 years.
I have a time capsule 1987 S-10 Tahoe, 4X4, 2.8 V6. Original 2 tone blue paint. This was an estate sale . 62K original senior citizen garage kept miles. I got it with the original title. The interior looks like it was never sat in. Under the hood it looks like it is still on the showroom floor. It is still unmolested, senior owned and a garage queen. First 11K takes it.
My neighbor once owned one of these beasts, and by the time he got rid of it, there was a rust hole in the front left fender the size of a silver dollar. EDIT: I don't remember what model year, but he replaced it with...a used 90s Blazer. Because of course he did.
I love my Blazer to bits! It's the perfect size for me (talking about 4 door version)- not so huge I can't park it anywhere here in Europe, but also large enough for me to sleep in it when I'm going on a trip around the country. Also the 4.3 is surprisingly economical- 12l/100km isn't bad for a car this size with an engine that big. The only thing that's bothering me is the lack of serious suspension lifts- there used to be a 5 inch lift kit but now I can't find it anywhere and It would be very helpful to fit larger tires and just do better off road.
Had one when they first came out. Had to have it so I paid $3000.00 over list. At 20,000 miles, they'd replaced 3 rear main seals. By 50,000 miles, the monthly repair bills were more than the payments so I traded it (I think for a used full sized Blazer). Drove nice when it was running, though.
This was the best SUV that G.M. Ever made in my opinion. If G.M. Would have re intruduced this body on fram concept made off the Colorado platform they would have sold like hot cakes. But typical G.M. they cannot even get this rite. Very disappointing!
Rick Reid the colorado is a pile of shit. Has been since they started making it. They rot out super quickly. The s10 blazer is a great design for the future. But its too cost effective to rape customers with a $50k bill, so here we are with another crossover.
Rick Reid - actually GM does make what you're looking for, just they make them in Thailand for overseas markets, the 2020 4-door Chevy TrailBlazer SUV, made out of the 2G Colorado. That's the one that will take on the 6G Bronco in Asian and Oceania's markets, BUT NOT HERE!