1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer Restomod
The first-generation K5 Blazer has become one of the fastest-climbing segments in the collector market. Built from 1969 through 1972 on the K10 platform, with a full removable top and a solid front axle, it’s the shape most people picture when they picture a Blazer — and demand for clean first-gen trucks has pushed prices well past what they were commanding five years ago.
The restomod side of the market has moved faster still. We’ve spent that entire run building first-gen K5 Blazers, and each one has taught us something we carried into the next.
“TUX” is our black-tie interpretation.
6.6-Liter L8P Power
We built this 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer around a GM 6.6-liter L8P V8 crate engine producing 401hp and 464 lb-ft of torque, mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission and an Atlas 2-speed transfer case. Exhaust is polished 3-inch stainless steel, fed from a stainless fuel cell.
Roadster Shop RS4 Chassis, Fox Suspension and Baer Pro Rotors
TUX rides on a new Roadster Shop RS4 chassis, which we refinished in high-gloss black with the wiring fully concealed and the brake lines hand-formed in stainless. Damping is handled by Fox reservoir shocks at all four corners, a Fox Factory 2.0 bump stop kit and a Fox ATS steering stabilizer, with anti-roll bars front and rear. Stopping power comes from four-wheel discs with Baer Pro 13-inch cross-drilled rotors.
We start with the chassis because that’s what a truck like this lives or dies on. Everything above it is easier to get right once the foundation is correct.
Tuxedo Black Over Porcelain White
The Tuxedo Black body carries a Porcelain White removable hardtop, a contrast we picked up again in the white grille and edged in red and chrome trim. The CHEVROLET lettering across the tailgate is hand-painted.
It rolls on 17-inch billet KMC wheels wrapped in 35-inch BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain KM3 tires. We wanted the off-road hardware this generation was built with, on a truck finished for the street.
A Red Interior, Built Around the 1969 Cabin
Inside, we kept the 1969 Blazer’s proportions and layout and added the amenities the original never had. The cabin is red. Not accented in red — red, floor to headliner, with new seats, seat bases and dash pad carrying the color through alongside door panels and a center console we built in-house.
An ididit tilt steering column and billet steering wheel sit ahead of digital gauges. We fabricated the roll cage specifically for this truck, tied into the cabin for protection and finished so it reads as part of the interior rather than something added to it.
Climate, Audio and Convenience
Climate control is a Vintage Air digital system. Power windows operate through billet switches, and the doors lock automatically. Audio runs a flush-mounted Fusion head unit into an amplifier and a subwoofer, which we positioned and integrated into the truck rather than dropping it in, tuned for the way sound actually moves through this cabin. The tailgate handle conceals the button that lowers it automatically.
The Details
There are thousands of hours in this K5, and most of them went into things nobody will ever ask about — the underside of the chassis, the routing of the lines, the fit of the head unit into a 1969 dash. We finish those the same way we finish the paint, because we know how this truck gets looked at.
Completed in March 2026, TUX is delivered with a 1-year limited warranty and personalized delivery.