Workhorse or truck?
Pros:
This truck is tough! It can also tow an elephant, even with the little engine!
Cons:
RUST! Little 2.8L V6 should be bigger, squeaky tailgate
The Bottom Line:
I can't bring myself to sell it and neither can any of my friends who own them. How's that for loyalty?
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
When I turned 16, I wanted something that stood out and would impress my friends. I also worked on cars and was restoring a motorcycle, so I wanted something that I could haul parts and junk in. I sold my old 1975 Valiant and bought a 1986 S-10 Blazer 4x4. It had almost 90k miles on it, but looked nice and was the top-of-the-line S-10 Blazer. It had all the options - sunroof, sliding rear windows, Tahoe package, OD auto tranny, towing package, two-tone paint, factory 5-star rims, BFG off-road tires, and the AM/FM cassette equalizer deck. It ran nice and looked nice and pretty soon all the guys talked about my truck. I still have the truck and while it is not nearly as nice as it was when I bought it, it still gets the job done.
THE GOOD: It has 157k miles on the original engine, it still looks nice, and it can tow a lot. I've towed 4x4s buried up to the frame in this little truck! It is also very capable off-road. I've taken it through rivers, mudholes, down trails, and through stuff I probably shouldn't have gone through. I've never been stuck - ever. I've towed a couple of guys out of places I just went through. It just keeps going. Try and find a new truck with this much ground clearance.
THE BAD: I've replaced or rebuilt everything except for the motor and radiator. It's not all that bad when you consider all the abuse I put this thing through. At 130k things started to go wrong - tranny, clutch, alternator, and other things of that sort. It got me home every time until a few months ago when it blew the clutch and flywheel. One time the timing chain jumped a notch and I drove it another 100 miles before it jumped again and quit - 10 miles from my house. It still is running though and I plan on taking it on a off-road trip in the near future.
THE UGLY: One word - rust. The entire rear of the truck is eaten up by the stuff. I bought it up in PA, so the road salt took it's toll on it. I'm planning on taking the sawzall to it soon, hopefully that will curb the rust problem, but I doubt it.
In short, if you need a good, cheap work truck, this is the truck for you. I use mine for everything and plan on owning it till the day it rusts to the ground, which might not be too far in the near future.
