TOP SHELF

Do you remember that old truck your dad used to have when you were a kid? Don’t you wish he still had it? Well, we are happy to report that there are dads still out there who still own the very same truck they used to pick you up from school with. It really is an incredible feat to hold onto a vehicle for so long for many reasons, and there is never a shortage of nostalgic tales that go along with holding on to a set of wheels nearly 50 years old. A lot of things change in that amount of time, but there are just as many that stay exactly the same.

Jim Norton of Gainesville, Georgia, can relate to this sentiment, since he still holds the keys to the 1977 Chevy Blazer that he purchased brand new many moons ago. Even though the truck hasn’t been on the road that entire time, there wasn’t a minute when Jim was interested in letting go of one of his most prized possessions. “I special ordered my Blazer from Beasley-Cross Chevrolet in Kannapolis, North Carolina back in May of ‘77”, he adds. “I wanted the Cheyenne package, but money was tight back then, so I settled for the Custom Deluxe instead. In order to get better gas mileage, I chose the 4-speed transmission and dual exhaust options. I also selected the optional hitch platform and wheel package, the basic AM radio and the Colonial Yellow paint I liked. Man, I was so excited back then. My daughter, who was 9 years old at the time, and I flew to North Carolina on July 6th that year to go sign for the truck and drive it back home. It was her first commercial flight, and it still is a very special memory for both of us.”

The Blazer served as much more than just a regular mode of transportation for Jim when he first got it. It was the family vehicle that did meet daily driving duties, but also worked overtime while taking his kids to school and sports practices, as well as pulling their 19-foot trailer during numerous camping and off-road backpacking trips throughout the years. The Blazer turned into a reliable member of the family, but even though it was well-loved by everybody, the time had come to give it a well-deserved break.

“In February of 1994 after racking up 186,000 miles on my first Blazer, I purchased a new one and parked ‘the Cheese’ as our children called our ’77”, Jim says hesitantly. “I parked it in an old, abandoned chicken house on our family property, where is sat for some time until I noticed it had just disappeared in December of 1999. After calling local law enforcement, I found out that it had been involved in a domestic dispute in which a weapon was discharged. There was a bullet hole in the windshield, three bullet holes in the hood and one in the passenger side door. The VIN number had been changed, which is why I hadn’t been notified of it being stolen in the first place.”

It’s so hard to imagine what Jim and his family must have felt knowing what their old family truck had been involved in. Theft alone makes for such a vulnerable feeling, but the fact that it had been shot at and used in the way it was would be downright disturbing. “I discovered that the Blazer was sitting in an impound lot for over a year after all that crazy stuff went down”, Jim says. “The proprietor of the lot charged $1,000

to release the truck to me, which I was happy to pay. Surprisingly, it was still perfectly drivable, so I drove it back home where it was once again parked until April 2022.”

After a longer stretch of inactivity, Jim felt it was time to finally do something with his old Blazer. So many years had passed since he enjoyed the truck – plus, considering what it had gone though, it was deserving of a little pampering and recovery time. “I wanted to bring it back to life like it was the day I took delivery”, Jim exclaims. “After considering multiple local shops that could help bring it back from the dead, I stumbled across one that I was excited to entrust with the project.

Andy and Jamie Mayes at Maz-Coat Customs in Toccoa, Georgia, reassured Jim that they would do everything in their power to return his Blazer back to its previous glory. Maz-Coat specializes in paint, body, engine work, and everything else required to execute a full custom build. While Jim was interested in ridding his ’77 of all existing crime scene evidence, he wasn’t really looking to venture too far into the realm of building a wild custom truck. All he wanted was to see the old truck he once knew years ago—the one that he used to pack his kids into for fun summer vacations. With that simple request on the table, Andy and Jamie had a very clear plan of action to guide their journey.

The bullet holes in the body were taken care of, and all the truck’s other blemishes in the metal were smoothed out before a fresh coat of Colonial Yellow paint was applied to its surface. From this point onward, Jim and the team at Maz-Coat weren’t just interested in calling it a day once the paint dried. Instead, a full restoration seemed like the right path to embark on. Every single nut and bolt all throughout the Blazer was either retouched or replaced in the process. Even though the shop is well-versed in LS swaps, Jim opted to overhaul the factory 350ci and 4-speed transmission in order to hang on to the nostalgic driving experience he had grown accustomed to. The entire interior space was revitalized, and the suspension and undercarriage were refreshed to deliver a ride quality that Jim would remember from his Blazer’s golden days.

In only 18 months, Andy and Jamie were proud to reintroduce Jim and his family to their fully restored ’77 Blazer. While there were times of neglect and misuse in its history, the future in store for it looks mighty bright. To celebrate the completion of the project, the Maz-Coat crew has taken the K5 out for a righteous victory lap at C10 Nationals and C10s in the Valley, and the response they received for their hard work was just as great as you’d expect. Jim considers himself lucky to be the proud owner of a beautiful second gen Blazer once again. Even though every aspect of the truck looks shiny and new again, the original soul of this Chevy remains very much intact.