These days, building a show-winning custom car isn’t easy. It takes a pretty big commitment to even get noticed, let alone take home a trophy. Nevertheless, this 1971 K5 Chevy Blazer from the folks at South County Auto Salon succeeds in that endeavor, rocking a Big Block V8 under the hood and a body that drops straight to the pavement.
Under the skin is a one-off chassis built by Old Anvil Speed Shop in Orange, California. Old Anvil also took care of the headers and exhaust system, plus some of the sheet metal work. The SUV was tubbed out to accommodate the drop, and the dash was modified as well. After Old Anvil had a go at it, the Chevy Blazer went to South County Auto Salon.
Lifting the hood, we find an absolutely immaculate engine bay painted in matte blue to match the exterior. The bay was also completely shaved and tucked, while the powerplant of choice is a LSX 454 from GM Performance. The long block is stock, but the custom intake manifold was provided by Plazmaman. Output was measured at 517 horsepower and 540 pound-feet of torque on the dyno. All that go is routed through a 4L60E transmission by Westminster Performance, mating with a Currie 9-inch rear end and 31-spline axles. Spent gasses exit via a stainless steel dual exhaust system and Borla mufflers.
Interestingly, the SUV offers a full lock-to-lock turning radius with just a half inch of ground clearance. There’s also a set of Wilwood brakes at all four corners, with six-piston calipers in front and four-piston calipers in the rear. Slamming it to the ground is an AccuAir E-Level+ air suspension system.
And of course, we have to mention the gorgeous body, finished in a two-tone paint scheme with blue on white. A set of Raceline wheels roll in the corners.
This custom K5 Chevy Blazer first hit the show circuit at C10 Intervention last year, taking the honor of Best K5. The SUV has nabbed several other awards since then. Check out the full build by hitting play right here:
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Comments
That is not a big block that is a variation of the ls motors which are considered small block, they are able to create larger displacement than a standard SBC, but it’s still a small block
Ian you beat me to it appears, you no longer have to be an actual gear head to be an automotive journalist which doesn’t surprise me since the “tech” on most of your automotive shows aren’t actually capable of building the cars they are just actors.
Looks so stupid sitting on the ground like that. What ever happened to form follows function? Notice the damage to the left half of the rear bumper.
Ugly! Nuf said
Another totally impractical, Fugly vehicle with stupid wheels that completely ruins the body style.
I own a 1971 k5 blazer myself and I think your truck looks badass!