Distract yourself with these distinctly different SUVs from across the decades. Bringatrailer rarely disappoints when I’m in the mood to drool over all the Porsche 356s. I did find the Porsches that I was looking for, but I also found a bunch of vintage SUVs.

1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer

Kia recently adopted the K5 monicker for its Optima model sedans. This disappointed me because it meant that Chevy wasn’t thinking about a K5 Blazer to replace the current disappointment that is the Blazer. They let their ownership of the model lapse…

This K5 is not the stock restoration that many purists would desire, but something much better. The engine is a modified LS-based V8 attached to a 4L80E and an Atlas transfer case.

 

The full build is a frame-off restoration as well as the added modifications. The interior has the appropriate bucket seats up front. The fabric inserts are not the stock GM fabrics, but look fantastic.

It really is a clean Blazer build and the price is increasing based on the fact that there are not many modern equivalents of such good looking Blazer. Some, but definitely not many.

1979 International Harvester Scout II

This International Scout II was completed as a project with IH and the Midas Van Conversion Company in the late 1970s. Features that tell this story include a front bull bar, dual pop-up sunroofs, and a trailer-hitch ball on the rear. Any references to Midas Van after cursory Google search include vehicles that have been modified by them, but none results about the company itself. I’ll keep digging.

The engine is a 354ci V8. I can guess at power numbers, but the cylinder heads are supposed to have been milled 0.030 inches with mild porting. Any guesses are horsepower and torque are pure speculation. A quick glance at the underside pictures shows the usual Scout color, rust.

The interior is everything about the 1970s that I was scared of as a kid. The orange and brown combine into quite an experience on the inside especially when you take into account that the outside is maroon.

Really it’s quite a looker. Like a fail video where you can definitely tell that someone got hurt. Not my particular cup of tea, but someone on BaT is definitely interested in it. That price is much higher than I would have estimated.

1982 Toyota Land Cruiser BJ42 Cummins Swap 5-Speed

It’s funny how a vehicle built three years after the Scout II can still look like it was built 20 years before it. This 1982 Toyota Land Cruiser was originally a BJ42, meaning it was a diesel even before the Cummins R2.8 turbo-diesel was swapped into it. The engine is mated to a Dodge NV4500 five-speed manual as well. A really nice setup for a vehicle this size.

The interior is as utilitarian as normal for an older Land Cruiser. This one does have an on-board intercom from Rugged Radios and the front seats have been replaced by ScheelMann replacement seats.

This Land Cruiser has completed a 10,000-mile adventure from Paso Robles, CA to South America. The truck was run on biodiesel throughout the trip and tried to maintain a net-zero impact on the planet throughout the trip.

Supercharged 1995 Toyota Land Cruiser FZJ80

This 1995 Land Crusier is great. It has the Toyota optional supercharger. These are getting harder to come by. A guy in town has a couple available and his price begins at $5,000 for a used unit. The engine is the stock 1FZ-Fe inline-six, but the supercharger increases the power outputs by 60%. When you’re dealing with less than two hundred horsepower, 60& increases are huge.

The interior has been accessorized with “everything.” That’s a bit of an understatement but it looks like the owner “Pep-Boys’ed” his way through the overland catalog: second battery, drawer system, double din touch screen, Recaro seats, and gauges that go on for days. It actually looks like a pretty decent build. There is a lot of “stuff” going on inside in the driver’s sightlines and I’m more of a minimalist. *shrugs*

I like finding these trucks. As soon as I was done writing this up, BaT sent me a Defender 110 too. It has an unfinished cargo compartment. Basically a blank slate for anyone looking to do some car camping. Maybe…

Which one would you pick?