as much as i love the look of toyotas, enjoy their size and decent gas mileage.... im stuck. i dont know what to do atm. im considering selling my 85 std cab for a 70's k5 blazer. simply for more power, bit of boot space, and they are dirt cheap. the toyota extended cabs are soo fuggin expensive its pathetic.

i dont know what to do, and i cant decide. can i get some feedback, pros/cons of toyotas and the k5 blazers. i want to hear it all. thanks for your input in advance.

 

There is a REASON why the blazer is so cheap and the Xtra Cab is so expensive.... the market determines the value.

That being said - when I was a yung un and saw Charlton Heston in Earthquake driving that Blazer with the top off... cool.

 

what do you think that reason is??? are the k5's unreliable? gas hogs? body style? etc etc?

 

First, what do you want the new truck to do? What kind of wheeling are you into? Are there build-up plans in the future?

There was a 89 extended cab with the turbo 4cyl that sold in the town I live in. I think he got $2300 for it. Asked $3000. It didn't seem too expensive. I don't know what old blazers go for, but i'd guess $1000 and up for a decent one. The price difference doesn't seem that big to me, but I like toyotas better.

You could just do a cab swap for a few hundred.

 

extended cabs around here are going for 4k+ for bone stock, often times with rust. thats for the 84-85 mind you. only years im willing to look at. cab swap are too much of a hassle for me. primary purpose is to be a dd, and follow up as weekend warrior... k5 is pretty big, but much smaller than a full or mid size pickup. im more of a trail guy, i like a mix of everything, so size does matter to me. only drawback to k5 are how wide they are. that and pretty hard to find a manual in the 70's, which is what i prefer. i hate autos.

 

Daily drivin gas hog? Hmm go yota. I only bring out the Chev when I need to do some work or recovery. And it's maybe a couple inches bigger then my coworkers 1984 GMC Jimmy being a short bed and all. It's not nearly as capeable as the toy. And have fun finding a standard blazer or jimmy they are about as rare as chicken lips. Did you question the reliability of a chevy small block? Come on now. Four ups for the GM being parts availablity, prices on those parts, size, and its almost as dependable as the toyota just almost though.

 

i dont question the chevy engine.. i question the running gear. and for the record, any rig is just as capable behind the hands of a comptent driver. my daihatsu rocky is proof of that. go the daihatsu(its for sale).

from my research, the yota isnt going to do too much better than a blaser gas wise... maybe 2-4 mpg better but thats it... and considering the hp/torque output for costs.... its appealing.... i sure cant find an extended cab toyota for a decent price. they're all outrageous.

 

they are a tad bit thirsty, with the 350s at least, with the 305s, they r pretty reasonable to the wallet. nothing wrong with lookin into a different make vehicles, i did, i'm keepin my 79 pickup for offroad n such and i just bought a 95 Grand Cherokee as my DD

 

I have a co-worker with a '78 Blazer with a 350. He really loves the rig, but his largest complaint is gas milage. Before he replaced his cam, header, and carb he was averaging 7-8 mpg the replacements improvements gained about 2 mpg. So it all depends on what you want to spend on a DD if that is you're going for. The benefits in my eye seem to be replacement and upgrade parts are not that expensive.

 

Oh yeah, and to solve his mpg problem, he bought his grandfathers Mazda 4 banger truck.

 

For the record my toyota will woop my Chevy or my friends Jimmy any day O' the week off track even if it were one of those competent drivers you mention, driving either vehicle. 2-4 miles per gallon? I will tell you the 22re before tires and gears and lockers was gettin 21 maybe 22 round town last I checked thats better than the 12 or tailwind 13 I am getting in the shortbed. the toy would probably put the chevy to shame at the strip too, those 700rs sure are sluggish. Not so with the Jimmy though its got a 400 built to the hilt. Now that i think of it his has got a 700r too but done by Monster trans so ya. Well any way I am sorry to give my feedback sounds like your gettin pretty hostile there neighbor. Take it easy and good luck with your purchase.

PS2cents Buy a cheap but good honda or yota to dd and hold out for a smokin deal on a clean 4wd Yota. It happens.

 

YOu might be able to get $3500 ish for your truck and pick up a blazer dirtcheap but you are probably gonna end up sinking any money that you 'were ahead on' back into the blazer. I admit that I would love to have a 70-72 blazer but you are looking at a truck that is 35 years old. IMO you would be better off gwith the 22 'ish Toyota.
I sold my '84 X-cab 10 years ago, I still see it running around the Beaverton Area periodically. You will have issues with any older vehicle your buy, I am still sorting out some master automotive electricians misunderstanding of DC circuits on my 81. But as far as gas mileage etc, i would recommend a toyota. Only real pros I can see to the Blazer is that you will have more room for People but 8-10 MPG at $3/gallon kind of kills that advantage.

Unless your current truck is a total POS, i would recommend sticking with the truck you have. Just my 2cents...Post up some pictures of your Toyota and any problems you are having with it, that always help too...

 

not having any problems with my toyota... just a lack of boot space and power really stiffs me. for how much i could sink into the toyota now, or upgrade to an extra cab, i could get a blazer done up quite a bit for real cheap and sink a bit more money into it and come out ahead, considering i'd pay about the same for a stock extracab. i would love to have an extra cab personally.. but the blazers are also appealing, lol... i cant decide!

 

Find an extended cab with a crap engine and get it, then repair the engine. Or, buy just a cab and drop it onto your frame. Comparing the toyota to a K5 is a waste of time. The only thing the K5 will do is suck gas and leave you dead on the side of the road.

 

Have owned both and unless you are trying to pull something, should have a full size PU for that, then the Toy is 10X the truck and much cheaper to own. That said it sure was nice to step on the gas and feel the 340hp but not realy worth it. Was a K5 with, 6in SL, 2in BL 38's then 44's, 4.10 then 4.56 gears (multiple axle setups and drive shafts - kept br4eaking them till I spent the $$$), and fully built and tricked 350 on dyno at 340hp+. A real nice ride but had lots of problems when off road. Looks and kuwl factor were a 10 but off road was a 3, on the other hand, Toyota can be a 10 in both hands down. ...and still get the mpg.

 

ok, found an 84 ext cab for $1600.. said it needed a new timing chain as it broke while engine was running... should i be concerned about the head, valves, and/or pistons? is this a good deal to start from scratch? if i buy it, i can swap all the goodies from my std cab onto this rig and sell it for what i paid for it. hmm, suggestions?