page_title: Chevrolet K5 Blazer
section_title: 1969–1972
hierarchical_section_title: Chevrolet K5 Blazer / 1969–1972
caption_attribution_description: 1970 GMC Jimmy photographed in Ste. Anne De Bellevue, Quebec, Canada at Crusin' At The Boardwalk 2011.
context_page_description: The Chevrolet K5 Blazer is a full-size sport-utility vehicle that was built by General Motors. GM's smallest full-size SUV, it is part of the Chevrolet C/K truck family. Introduced to the Chevrolet line for the 1969 model year, the K5 Blazer was replaced for 1995 by the Chevrolet Tahoe. In 1970, GMC introduced its own model of the truck, called the Jimmy, which was discontinued in 1991 and replaced by the Yukon. The "Jimmy" name was chosen to reflect how GM may sound in a similar manner to how Jeep was thought to be a pronunciation of GP in the competing market. Both were short-wheelbase trucks and available with either rear- or four-wheel drive.
  The K5 Blazer and Jimmy had "full convertible" removable tops until 1975. For 1976, GM introduced a half-cab design that was less prone to leaks and slightly safer in a roll-over. These half cabs had the convertible top begin a few inches behind the driver/passenger doors and run back to the tailgate.
  The Blazer's long-wheelbase relative, with an integrated rear body and doors for 2nd row passengers, is the Chevrolet Suburban.
context_section_description: The original K5 was a short wheelbase truck. It was available in 1969 model year as four-wheel drive only; for 1970, a two-wheel drive model was offered. There were four choices for power plants: the 250 straight-6, the 292 straight-6, the 307 V8, and the 350 V8.
  The Blazer was designed and marketed to compete with International Harvester Scout and the Ford Bronco. Both of these were originally aimed at the short Jeep CJ series, which were much smaller than other trucks. The innovation of the Blazer was to simply offer a shortened pickup truck, which both increased interior space, and lowered the cost of production with a shared platform. The Blazer quickly became popular. For the first time, it married the off-road capabilities of the Scout with the "luxury" features like air conditioning and automatic transmissions routinely available on pickup trucks. By 1970, the Blazer was already outselling both of its older rivals. Ford, Dodge, and even Jeep would counter with similar shortened pickups, with the Dodge Ramcharger and Jeep Cherokee. It also came as a convertible.
  The two-wheel drive version came with independent front suspension and rear trailing arms, both with coil springs. The four-wheel drive version had a solid front axle and used leaf springs front and rear. Both versions used drum brakes at all four corners until 1971, when the entire GM light truck line got standard front discs. A tachometer was optional.
  There was also a choice between a three-speed automatic transmission Turbo Hydromatic (TH350), a three-speed manual transmission, and a four-speed Synchromesh (SM465) manual transmission, often referred to as the "granny gear" due to its 6.55:1 low first gear. Two transfer cases were offered: the Dana 20, available only with the manual transmissions, or the NP-205, available with both types of transmissions. The Blazer had 8 inches (200 mm) of ground clearance and an approach angle of 35°.
  In October 2019, a customized version of the first generation K5 Blazer was made using the entire body of a 2018 Chevrolet Tahoe was circulated throughout the social media world ahead of a scheduled display at the 2019 SEMA Show, and in honor of Blazer’s 50th anniversary.
  Engines:
  250 in³ (4.1 L) I6 (1969–1984)
  292 in³ (4.8 L) I6 (1970–1971)
  307 in³ (5.0 L) V8 (1969–1973)
  350 in³ (5.7 L) V8 (1969–1991)
  Transfer cases:
  NP-205 - gear driven part-time four wheel drive
  Dana 20 - gear driven part-time four-wheel drive
  Production Totals:
caption: 1970 GMC Jimmy
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