I introduce to you “The CrAzYbLaZe”. Some projects from the past just need some props and proper documentation. I actually got rid of this billy-goat of a vehicle a couple of years ago, but it’s legend lives on to this day. Since it would take way too much work to re-document all of the modifications to this vehicle, I instead present you “THE CrAzYbLaZe – IN 50 PICTURES”

The CrAzYbLaZe was the vehicle that got this whole shin-dig started. When I was 16, I got a bone stock s-10 blazer. This was in ~2003 and there was almost no aftermarket support for off-road modifications on S-10’s, so needless to say, This vehicle is where I learned a LOT about fabrication.

Being a high school then poor college student, I had to fix things myself when they broke. This experience taught me to be very resourceful. Slowly over the years I built up my tools and skills into the impressive collection that they are today.

I have 100’s probably 1000’s of man hours in this dumb truck, but I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. I had this vehicle for ~8 years, and it went through countless modifications including but not limited to having 4 different front axles and 4 different rear axles and suspension setups. I broke nearly every part there is to break and learned a lot of lessons along the way.

The end of the road came when I got to the point where I had modified everything on the truck and was starting to modify my modifications. I was ready for something different. In early 2011 I traded it for my current project “Ol’ Blue”, which I will be starting a modification article on soon.

Without further ado, I present you “THE CrAzYbLaZe – IN 50 PICTURES”

Some projects are HUGE and can span many years to “completion” (are they ever really done?). But I think the message here is to not be afraid to let a project go and start a new one. With the experiences that I learned from the CrazyBlaze, the new Ol’ Blue is already on a whole new level of fabrication and quality in less than 1/2 of the time it took me to build the blazer up.