This beautiful time capsule is a 1983 Chevrolet S-10 Blazer is a loaded, Tahoe Edition and it’s in Woodinville, Washington, 40 minutes northeast of Seattle. It’s listed on eBay with a current bid price of just under $4,000. This thing is in amazing, original condition!
This beautiful Blazer spent pretty much its whole existence at the seller’s parent’s vacation house, in the garage. They would drive it when they were there and then put it back. This Blazer looks about as close to new as you’ll probably ever find, and a rare Tahoe package adds to the desirability.
I see a small dent in the first photo, on the light-tan portion on the top of the RF fender, but that’s it for damage of any kind, as far as I can tell. You can also see that small dent in this photo. But, they do show a few close-up photos showing some paint marks, but from a distance this Blazer looks new.
The interior is stunning with nothing that catches my eye as far as a flaw. Everything looks perfect, from the door panels to the back seat. Even the rear compartment looks unused, as does the rest of the interior. Even the tires look new.
This is Chevy’s 2.8L V6 with a two-barrel carburetor, pumping out around 115 hp and 150 lb-ft of torque. The base engine in the early S-10 Blazers was a 4-cylinder with 83 hp so this was a nice upgrade. This engine was also used in the early-1980s Jeep Cherokee and Comanche. This is an amazingly-preserved vehicle. 1983 isn’t exactly the “classic” era, but it’s probably older than a good portion of the Barn Finds readers are. What do you think about these small Blazers? Is this one old enough to be considered collectible, in your viewpoint?
that mini Blazer is in awesome condition and would be great in the snow. but I really don’t consider these as collectible myself, though when new this was was about as nice as they come. the 2.8 motors run smoothly and with proper maintenance can last a real long time, but it is hardly a powerhouse, esp when the vehicle is equipped with four wheel drive like this one. the bidding is almost up to 5k which is way to rich for my blood. but these are reliable and solid vehicles. but you can buy a lot of nice AWD vehicles for 5k many of which would be much more comfortable than a mini Blazer as these have a real cramped area for the drivers feet.
Nice truck but GM’s use of the 2.8 proved it to be the fatal flaw. Spun bearings and other issues prompted the eventual use of the much more reliable 4.3. Even Jeep’s Cherokee suffered at the hands of the GM 2.8 until their vaulted 4.0 arrived. Otherwise a decent truck
I had an ’84 similar to this, not the Tahoe, but a nice truck. Went great in the snow, comfy, darn nice heater, but the 2.8 I had, as others stated, was a miserable motor. Went thru 2 of them in the time I had it ( couple years) and were a hassle to change. ( conversely, I had a Chevy S-10, 2 wheel drive with a 2.8, and ran great) No power and not the best mileage, especially in 4wd, but all 4wd’s suck gas. I liked it, had a ton of miles on it, finally rusted out. Great to see one in such nice shape.
I have no love for the 2.8 but it’s not nearly as bad as you have said, maybe there were some changes made to later ones but I have owned two S-10 both has over 180k when I sold them in running condition. not to mention they went on to bore and stroke these motors to 3.1 and 3.4 liters, I even think the newer 3.9 is based on this design though not sure bout that. the later ones in cars were plagued with intake gasket problem which perhaps resulted in the problem you mentioned? BTW I do agree that the 4.3 is vastly superior.
I bought an 85 new with the 2.8 and the rear main seal went out twice – once at 25k miles and then again at 40k. Former under warranty, the latter not. This is a beautiful example. If it had the later 4.3 I’d bid.
I had an 83 S-10 Tahoe Edition (yes you could get that package on the truck too) It was the extended cab 4X4 truck with the 2.8 and 5-speed manual, same wheels in this exact color combo. Those vehicles were painted before GM switched over to water based paint. The paint still looked great long after the water based later models had the clear coat falling off. The other cool thing was, at least on mine, it had the factory tachometer and gauges in an instrument panel similar to the Vega GT layout. The 2.8 was reliable but slow. Eventually I swaped in a later TBI 4.3 and that really woke that little truck up.
Anyone remember the Baja pkg in the S-10 pick-ups? Back in the days when dealers let you “test drive” all day, I beat the shiggity out of a black one all day long once in VT. Memories (sigh)
I think stating “this beautiful truck/time capsule” is about two beautifuls too many…..
Ummm? What ? English is preferred in the Americas.
The 2.8 -W SPO code engine, superseded by the 3.1-M and T code engines would prove to be the “mainstay” platform engines within the General Motors divisions for many years regardless of the responses posted here. That is statistical fact and not merely conjecture. As with any engine family within any manufacturer….they all sought to improve upon their base V6 power plants. Hence multiple Generations.
The key word there is “superseded”. The architecture may have been basically the same, but those later engines were improved in a number of ways. The 2.8L as used in the Tahoe of this generation was indeed problematic; we used to change them out like yesterday’s socks. And it wasn’t all because of abuse, either. They weren’t as bad as the HT4100 Cadillac motor, which was a real dumpster fire, but they were bad enough. The 4.3 is a much preferred powerplant in one of these.
Having said all that, considering the way this particular truck looks to have been babied, you could probably do all right with this 2.8 – IF you treated it gently and didn’t lead-foot it. But no guarantees……
Not a collectible car by any stretch of the imagination. A nice car though. From all the rocks chips on the front it must have driven most of the low miles on a gravel road.
Great time capsule condition, and brings back memories of my college years working as a car stereo installer. Had the opportunity to drive many of these and the S-10 pickups. Mechanicals seemed okay enough, but the interior fit, finish and materials were just awful. Especially compared to contemporary offerings from Japan. It’s not by chance that 4Runners and Pathfinders built their stellar reputation in the 80s.
The 2.8 engine was inherently a bad choice for the s10 blazer. It was too heavy of a truck for the power that the 2.8 put out. Back in the 80’s, I had several friends who made the mistake of buying these. Most had blown head gaskets in hot south texas summers. None lasted with the 2.8. Some got swapped for 5.7 v8s. One for a 4.3 v6. The rest, unfortunately, went to the scrap yard. Even the four cylinder pickups lastest longer than 2.8s!
I have a 4×4 blazer sitting in my pasture. Not sure of the year but it Has a 4.3. No title. I took it on trade from a guy who needed a th400 trans i was selling. I wouldnt agree to take it until verified that it did not have a 2.8. I guess i should have known it was a 4.3 when he said it has 190k miles and still ran. The truck has no dents or rust, but the front clip has been changed (must have been wrecked) no front or rear bumper or carpet (floor not rusted). Would make a good “deer lease” truck. I tried selling it on c list for just above scrap value ($500) with bill of sale (no takers) so i am keeping it for the engine to swap into my 55 3100 first series on an s10 lwb pickup chassis.
I live in Redmond, right next to Woodinville…it’s in nice shape, but I would not pay nearly that money for that S-10. Not even interested in driving by to look at it
Auction update: this Blazer sold for $5,600.
Takes me back! My Dad had an ’85 with the 2.8…which was underpowered and mated to an overworked 4 speed. The 4×4 was great though, got us around in Minnesota winters and through some country road muck in the summers.
The summer I got my license, this was my vehicle of choice while saving for my own.
Das had it for nearly 20 years too. Everything was starting to wear and rust so he had it scrapped.
I Still Own One, Literally Identical, Except Mine Is Decked Out With Tinted Windows All The Way Around and A Sunroof.. I Know These Little S10’s Inside & Out!
This Advertised S10 Blazer Has Been Up For “Auction” For At Least 8 Years Now, Maybe Longer. They Have No Honest Intention Of Actually Selling It. Otherwise They Would Have Taken The Highest Bid Of $4,000 Where It Has Been Sitting For The Past 4 Years. To Bad, Because I Would Buy It Just To Have Another One. But Obviously They Believe If They Sit On It They Will Get An Outrageous Price, But It Will Only Continue To Depreciate The Longer It Goes. Good Little Rigs In Their Own Time But Not Worth Over $2 or $3 Grand At The Most In This Era. Certainly Not, and Never Has Been, A Collectors Item. They Are Only Worth What Someone Will Pay For Them.
If They Seriously Wanted To Sell It They Would Just Get It Sold, But It’s Still Up Here Just As A Conversation Piece Not A Legitimate Sale Item.