By Rob Fortier & the Owner – Images by Tim Sutton
I love a good story, especially from a fellow Chevy guy—and I really love when that story is told well enough to be in print! What I love most about this story is that two of my good friends, Randy Clark and Andy Meeh, are responsible for the build on Matt de los Cobos’ immaculate Blazer. So, without further ado … take it away, Matt!
“I’ve been a Chevy guy from a young age, specifically Chevy trucks. My first truck was my dad’s ’94 OBS Silverado [that I drove] in high school; original owner, he still owns it today, and it’s in immaculate showroom condition. My first classic purchased was a white ’69 C10 that was a blast to build and cruise in, but with a growing family we wanted something with a back seat so we could enjoy it together. The first-generation Blazers always had my attention, so I started searching for one, and wanting to keep it like my C10, lower to the ground, I focused on finding the rarer factory two-wheel-drive model. One finally popped up in Northern California, so I hooked up the trailer the following morning and drove seven hours each way in a single day to snag it. I only had it for a week before I knew it was going to be a full frame-off build … and the rest is history.
Beefy Blazer: Best Of Both Worlds: LS Swapped ‘72 K5 Blazer
“While I don’t know the complete history of the truck, as to how many owners, cool stories, and so on, based off the VIN it was built in the Flint, Michigan, plant as a factory two-wheel-drive model in 1972. The original color was Medium Blue, which we found while stripping the vehicle. The first year of the Blazer (1969) had no two-wheel-drive options; in 1970 they only made 985 of them, 1971 produced 1,277, and then 3,357 in 1972. A much more limited number than the nearly 80,000 total 4×4 Blazers produced. When I purchased it out of San Jose in January 2021, it had already been modified slightly, painted a metallic green/silver, and some average interior and motor work done. It was decent from afar, but far from good. It came on the original two-wheel-drive chassis that had seen better days, but it had a good mix of original and aftermarket parts. After a full teardown and sandblast, we discovered a few more problem areas than initially expected, but this gave us the opportunity to do it the right way and fix some of the sloppy work previously done. I also made the difficult decision to start with a complete aftermarket chassis from Scott’s Hotrods, ditch the rare frame (sorry purists), and use all high-end components (Wilwood discs, Aldan coilovers, and so on) to take the build to the next level.
“I envisioned a not-too-wild restomod; custom in all the right places, modern driveability underneath while still maintaining a lot of the period-correct classic Blazer style. In my opinion, the perfect blend that came out even better than what I designed. The whole build took just about two years to complete—not bad considering the amount of time and meticulous work that has gone into it, down to every last nut and bolt.
“I chose Randy Clark and his team over at Hot Rods & Custom Stuff in Escondido [California] for the majority of the build, plus he was nearby and had a great reputation. Andy Meeh was in charge of paint and body there. The stainless exhaust (with Hooker headers and MagnaFlow mufflers) was done at RPM (Richard’s Performance Muffler) in Oceanside [California], and interior was done by Old Town Upholstery in Escondido. Some of the final assembly was done by myself and some good friends.”
Don’t Miss This One: Skillfully Refined: 1982 Custom K5 Blazer
Now, for those who were wondering, Matt’s Blazer is powered by a crate LS3 (6.2L/525 hp/376 ci) with a Holley Sniper EFI and GM 4L70E. The aforementioned Aldan/Wilwood-equipped chassis features Scott’s tubular-arm IFS and parallel four-link, each end fitted with 20-inch Hot Rods by Boyd HRX-3 two-piece wheels, and Nitto NT5555G2 35-series radials. Underneath Meeh’s flawless PPG Cavalry Blue and GM White two-tone paint is a multitude of custom work (not to mention the retrofit ’67 sheetmetal) by Clark’s crew at Hot Rods & Custom Stuff. Inside, the Old Town Upholstery–installed TMI Products interior (done in distressed brown vinyl with blue Highlander plaid inserts) is complemented by a Budnik Velocity steering wheel atop an ididit column, Dakota Digital RTX instrumentation, Vintage Air Gen IV, retro-modern sound system (all wiring done by Kyle Montoya, including the Coach Controls harness), and Relicate square-weave carpet and floormats.
Click on this issue’s cover to see the enhanced digital version of Matt de los Cobos’ 1972 Chevy Blazer, a Two-Door Family Funster.
