1985 K5 Blazer Safety Features

[dgillette.az]

Hey guys,

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I found a K5 that I’m seriously considering buying. My only holdup is my wife’s concerns with safety. She wants a fairly detailed list of safety features that the truck offers ‍ I mean obviously there aren’t any modern safety features but what are some of the common features of the 85’? In general, are they pretty safe trucks? We have 3 boys ranging from 6-11 that I’d love to be able to cruise around with. She is just really concerned with the possibility of getting into an accident. With no air bags, headrests etc... she’s afraid

I feel like I found a really good buy and hope I can put her at ease with some facts.

Thanks guys! Take care,

 

[Bigb55]

Shoulder belts in the front, reinforced B pillar for roll protection ( it's slightly thicker then just sheet metal) and a collapsible steering column. That's about it.

Get a roll cage installed and put in some 4 point harnesses. You can get PRP seats that bolt to cage. After all that it will be safer in a pretty bad accident.

If it's stock, for safety on normal fender benders, should be fine. In Major accidents it obviously won't compare to newer vehicles.

Defensive driving is the key. Keeping head on a swivel and predicting crazy drivers actions.

 

[dgillette.az]

Really great feedback, thank you. Very helpful! If I can talk her into it, I’ll share some pics

 

[imiceman44]

Hey guys,

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I found a K5 that I’m seriously considering buying. My only holdup is my wife’s concerns with safety. She wants a fairly detailed list of safety features that the truck offers ‍ I mean obviously there aren’t any modern safety features but what are some of the common features of the 85’? In general, are they pretty safe trucks? We have 3 boys ranging from 6-11 that I’d love to be able to cruise around with. She is just really concerned with the possibility of getting into an accident. With no air bags, headrests etc... she’s afraid

I feel like I found a really good buy and hope I can put her at ease with some facts.

Thanks guys! Take care,

I can tell you from experience, crashing into a concrete jersey head on going 55mph, we didn't even feel the impact, the frame did bend and wrapped around the block, but we backed up, and drove home.
It was all stock.
No new car can even do that.
Old heavy cars and trucks can absorb more impact and protect you better than some newer cars.
Your wife might not believe it because of all the hype on safety in New cars but having crashed cars of all ages and all sizes, I would take a k5 any day over a brand new Honda

 

[Wes Harden]

tandem dual circuit hydraulic power disc brakes. means if 1 axle gets a leak the other still has brakes. I feel like a used car sales man. Truck has steel bumpers and full frame.
It weighs more than most cars, and small trucks.

 

[dgillette.az]

I can tell you from experience, crashing into a concrete jersey head on going 55mph, we didn't even feel the impact, the frame did bend and wrapped around the block, but we backed up, and drove home.
It was all stock.
No new car can even do that.
Old heavy cars and trucks can absorb more impact and protect you better than some newer cars.
Your wife might not believe it because of all the hype on safety in New cars but having crashed cars of all ages and all sizes, I would take a k5 any day over a brand new Honda

That’s a pretty incredible testimony. Glad you came out safe! Crazy how it didn’t even phase you. I wonder if you pooled 100 K5 accident cases, it’d be similar. Sounds like it, if you were going 55 and ran into a concrete barrier and it didn’t phase the occupants. Pretty awesome! I was born in 80’ in Colorado and remember all the Broncos and Blazers. They felt like tanks they were built so dang solid. Like Arnold driving down the mountain in Commando ha ha. Didn’t even phase it

 

[dyeager535]

IMO the main feature of a K5 is the space offered to passengers. These vehicles are not made to crumple like newer ones, so occupant protection is generally going to be worse, but the "worse" portion is In relation to passenger compartment intrusion...crushed legs, torsos, etc. Not many people are able to "fill out" the space afforded them in the K5 four seat arrangement, so even with a pretty brutal side or corner impact, the seats are a significant distance away from the exterior of the vehicle. I can't comment on the relation of the seats to the frame, but my guess is the outer edge of the seats are at or nearly aligned with the frame rails. Anything pushed towards the occupants is going to have to go through a lot of structure to reach average size passengers.

Really, the main thing is wearing belts. Fatalities resulting from SUV crashes that were making huge waves with the explorers and what not a few years ago, (which then drove massive redesigns to increase rollover protection, which just increased weight) were really driven by occupants that were not wearing belts being killed. Wear a belt, your chance of surviving accidents goes up exponentially.

 

[dgillette.az]

tandem dual circuit hydraulic power disc brakes. means if 1 axle gets a leak the other still has brakes. I feel like a used car sales man. Truck has steel bumpers and full frame.
It weighs more than most cars, and small trucks.

Sweet thanks Wes, really helpful

 

[dgillette.az]

IMO the main feature of a K5 is the space offered to passengers. These vehicles are not made to crumple like newer ones, so occupant protection is generally going to be worse, but the "worse" portion is In relation to passenger compartment intrusion...crushed legs, torsos, etc. Not many people are able to "fill out" the space afforded them in the K5 four seat arrangement, so even with a pretty brutal side or corner impact, the seats are a significant distance away from the exterior of the vehicle. I can't comment on the relation of the seats to the frame, but my guess is the outer edge of the seats are at or nearly aligned with the frame rails. Anything pushed towards the occupants is going to have to go through a lot of structure to reach average size passengers.

Really, the main thing is wearing belts. Fatalities resulting from SUV crashes that were making huge waves with the explorers and what not a few years ago, (which then drove massive redesigns to increase rollover protection, which just increased weight) were really driven by occupants that were not wearing belts being killed. Wear a belt, your chance of surviving accidents goes up exponentially.

Awesome thanks man

I think you nailed it! Most fatalities are due to no seatbelts.... ejections. I like the idea of getting the harness seat belts and the cage. We’ll see how she’s feeling about it when I share all this info

 

[centexk5]

The way I look at it, it was safe enough in 1985, still passes current safety inspection, good enough for me.

 

[Fastereddie]

Good thing you don’t want a motorcycle

 

[8seater]

I feel for the safety concerns of you wife, However I hit a 4" aspen tree going 10 mph in my subaru, it broke the bumper and the fender is crushed... same tree and any squarebody, and the tree would have been bent over, I took my bumper off the 1991 suburban for the plow, or I'd show pics of what a deer did at 65 mph to it, car would have been totaled. Here is the subaru and the burb bumper.

 

[Bent77]

 

[dgillette.az]

The way I look at it, it was safe enough in 1985, still passes current safety inspection, good enough for me.

Amen to that! I just bought it! I want to share some pictures with you guys

 

[dgillette.az]

Good thing you don’t want a motorcycle

Ha ha exactly!! She’s a tough nut to crack when it comes to keeping our kids safe

 

[dgillette.az]

I feel for the safety concerns of you wife, However I hit a 4" aspen tree going 10 mph in my subaru, it broke the bumper and the fender is crushed... same tree and any squarebody, and the tree would have been bent over, I took my bumper off the 1991 suburban for the plow, or I'd show pics of what a deer did at 65 mph to it, car would have been totaled. Here is the subaru and the burb bumper.

View attachment 381648

View attachment 381649

View attachment 381650

 

[dgillette.az]

Oh wow that’s crazy! Yeah I agree with all the feedback. The foundation/structure of the vehicles we built back then would destroy anything build now. I’d feel bad for the tree

 

[dgillette.az]

Hey guys,

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I found a K5 that I’m seriously considering buying. My only holdup is my wife’s concerns with safety. She wants a fairly detailed list of safety features that the truck offers ‍ I mean obviously there aren’t any modern safety features but what are some of the common features of the 85’? In general, are they pretty safe trucks? We have 3 boys ranging from 6-11 that I’d love to be able to cruise around with. She is just really concerned with the possibility of getting into an accident. With no air bags, headrests etc... she’s afraid

I feel like I found a really good buy and hope I can put her at ease with some facts.

Thanks guys! Take care,

UPDATE!!!! I bought it this morning. Have goosebumps and feel like I’m dreaming ha ha.

What’s the best way to post pictures for you all to see?

Thank You for all the feedback

 

[centexk5]

Ha ha exactly!! She’s a tough nut to crack when it comes to keeping our kids safe

She should know how resilient they are after three boys haha. Congrats on the truck! Mine love it.

 

[imiceman44]

That’s a pretty incredible testimony. Glad you came out safe! Crazy how it didn’t even phase you. I wonder if you pooled 100 K5 accident cases, it’d be similar. Sounds like it, if you were going 55 and ran into a concrete barrier and it didn’t phase the occupants. Pretty awesome! I was born in 80’ in Colorado and remember all the Broncos and Blazers. They felt like tanks they were built so dang solid. Like Arnold driving down the mountain in Commando ha ha. Didn’t even phase it

It felt like we hit sand and slowed to a stop.
To be clear we were in the fast lane and someone cut us off and my brother just swerved and we hit a gap where cops do u turns and hit the edge head on, full speed no brakes.
The bumper became a U wrapped around the barrier.
The transmission cooler did get hit and we had a leak in the radiator but we made it home 35 miles away and transmission and engine were still fine.
And congrats on the purchase.