Rather than scrapping old vehicles, the government will often offer them to the public as military surplus and these can be anything including bobbed deuce trucks, cabover medium tactical trucks, M-series heavy duty trucks, Hummers, and smaller trucks such as M715 Kaiser Jeeps, and M1009 Chevy Blazers. These are all purpose built tools of the military that have specific tasks or functions and often best serve the civilian world for car shows and parades. The Blazer is in the CUCV category, Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicle.

For consignment, a 1986 Blazer 4×4 with a title verified 28,715 actual miles, camo paint, and with some serious height. As with many military vehicles, it has a diesel engine and, in this case, a 6.2 liter, so it’s got plenty of civilian life left! At one time, this truck roamed the Valley Forge Military Academy that’s about 25 miles east of Morgantown.

Exterior
Set the polish aside for this one as the camouflage paint does best in its natural condition. After doing a deep dive into the dozens of camos used by the U.S. military, we find that Woodland would be the best to describe the pattern on the truck. Everything from the brush guard to the grille, the side mirrors, and bumpers are covered in three flat colors. Shackles are mounted up front along with items on the grille found nowhere in the civilian world, but that’s the charm of old military vehicles even as many components are removed before they go to market. Eight lug, 16.5-inch wheels carry 37×12.50R16.5LT tires which look like they could traverse just about anything. A pintle hook receiver is bolted to the heavy duty back bumper and a spare wheel and tire are on the tailgate. Doubtful this truck has seen combat, but the paint is rough with plenty of chips. There’s one spot of rust where the roof line meets the quarter panel on the driver’s side and some bubbling under paint on the cap.

Interior
Brown plastic door panels show some patina and are mounted on slightly glossy green painted inner doors. The gray bucket seats up front came from a Dodge Ram and are split wide across the big Blazer with one seat suffering a crack in the leather. In back, a brown vinyl bench in a stitched pattern in decent condition. The basic steering wheel fronts a sparse dashboard with minimal gauges and there are two switches to the left for blackout drive light and service lights. A start button warns not to start the truck with the radio on which should be easy since there’s no radio in the truck. While the gear shifter is on the column, the range selector is floor mounted surrounded by tan carpet that shows plenty of usage. Drab green paint covers the ceiling all the way back through the rear.

Drivetrain
Under the hood is a driver quality 6.2 liter Detroit diesel V8, fuel injected and rated at 130 horsepower. A TH400 3-speed automatic sends power to both axles where a Dana 60 with 3.08 gears are found in each. Power disc brakes are in the front and power drums in the rear.

Undercarriage
Surface rust city underneath where everything that’s not painted drab green is colored by rust. Invasive rust and missing pieces are noted on the inner and outer rocker panels. This tough mudder probably did not shy away from rain and snow and that’s the story being told on the underside. However, we don’t see a lot of oil or extra grease around. Leaf springs are found front and rear and the dual exhaust meets stock style mufflers before exiting behind the rear wheels.

Drive-Ability
As the owner of an Italian military based SUV, this is not an unfamiliar feeling as we roll this big rig onto the test loop where the diesel’s torque excels at moving this 5,000+ pound vehicle with adequate acceleration and the power brakes do their job. Some of the remnant military functions are no longer on board but everything functional on the truck worked as they should. While Classic Auto Mall represents that these functions were working at the time of our test drive, we cannot guarantee these functions will be working at the time of your purchase.

Sometimes it’s just great to have a utilitarian vehicle that you don’t mind getting dirty, that will take you where you want to go in snow, mud, and floods, and that carries with it the mystique of the U.S. military. This is just such a truck. Of course, we’ve seen these restored and painted too, so that’s certainly an option for the next commander of this retired vet.

1G8ED18J4GF145654

1-USA
G-General Motors
8-Chevrolet MPV
E-6001 To 7000 GVWR
D-Military SUV 4×4
1-1/2 Ton
8-Blazer/Jimmy
J-6.2 Liter 130hp Diesel V8
4-Check Digit
G-1986
F-Flint, MI Assy Plant
145654-Sequential Unit Number

For the full listing, please visit www.classicautomall.com.