Having gone from a Bronco to a Blazer, and owning Fords now, here is my .02. I had a 90 Bronco with 7" of lift, a Sterling 10.25 swapped into the rear, Warn bumper with winch, and a few other goodies. I enjoyed it, it wheeled just fine, but I didn't like having all the electronics in the engine compartment. Since I go way out in the boonies, I wanted to get away from computer chips. The TTB worked very wheel for wheeling, except that you had to align it pretty much after every trip. The TTB really absorbs the bumps and when my buddy in his 86 SFA rig tried to drive as fast as me on washboard or bumpy roads, his teeth would rattle out of his head. The 5.7 I had ran well and never gave me any problems. So, why Blazer? Well, since I wheel out in the middle of nowhere it was more practical to drive a rig that had an abundance of parts readily available, was easy to fix, and had no fancy electronics to fail.
One of the pro's and con's of Fords is that they pretty much completely change everything it seems like every 2-3 years. Now, if you are a person who buys a new car as soon as it is paid off, then that is ok. If you want to find parts, it makes it problematic. But, I cannot stand the interiors of the newer Chevy's at all. They look cheap to me. And the exterior styling doesn't do much for me either. The pickups are blase and can't hold a candle to the new F-150 in the looks department. But, that is my opinion and everybody isn't going to have the same view.
Having completely broken down two Blazers to the frame and rebuilt them back up, I will say that they are pretty simple but there are some things that are poorly designed or cheap and some things that are brilliant as in any other rig. My initial plan was to get a 78 or 79 Bronco. They have the straight axle front, but on coils instead of springs which rides a bit smoother. I also love the look of those two years. The 78 and 79 were the first big Broncos before they went to TTB. Now, having sold my two 74 Blazers and being nearly done with my 76 would I do the same thing again? Hard to say. Knowing what I know now on the smog issue, and the decision not to do a full top off rig, I would probably have stayed with Ford. When I started my Blazer project I was going to do a 73-75 Blazer with a soft top and the smog laws in Ca. were a rolling 30 yr. exemption. Then they changed it so my 76 will need to be smogged forever. To be honest, if I knew these two things way back when, I probably would've stayed with the 78 Bronco. But, I'm already into my Blazer for major bucks and will stick with it. For new cars though, strictly Nissan and Ford. Other than the Vette, I wouldn't touch a new Chevy for anything.
... which inspired my comment on the gas V8.
I give up.
