Help Tracking Down Grandfathers Blazer
 

Hi Everyone,

My grandfather was the original owner of a white 1972 K5 Blazer. I have fond memories of riding in it as a child with my grandparents. As a kid it was "The Big Jeep" to me and I thought it was so cool. Sadly, my grandfather sold the truck when I 8 or 9 years old. At the time of sale in either 2002/2003 it was still the original white with a big block 454 swapped into it sometime in the late 1980s, lifted a few inches with 31 inch tires, and a rollbar.

A few weeks ago my grandfather was able to find the original window sticker for the blazer along with some of the sales documentation and warranty information. Which means I also have the VIN and Oregon Title number for the truck. I'd love to track the truck down to see what condition it is in, and possibly see if I could bring it back into the family. My grandfather could not remember if the man he sold it to lived in Oregon or not.

Does anyone have any experience or suggestions on how go about this? Oregon's DMV has a record request form but it seems to obscure any of the important information I would need to contact the current owner because I am not the current owner. Online resources didn't provide a clear answer....so I figured I'd check with the experts here.

Re: Help Tracking Down Grandfathers Blazer
 

Good luck with your search. Any chance you have pictures of the Blazer?

Re: Help Tracking Down Grandfathers Blazer
 

I searched for over 20 years looking for the truck my father and I restored in the mid '90s. I had the VIN from an old insurance card. I would frequently pop the VIN into a Google search. Eventually, I got a hit from a classic car dealer in Michigan (the truck was originally in Alabama). To my astonishment, there it was, almost identical to how we had last seen it, down to the '90's OBS seat and steering wheel and Pioneer cassette deck I thought was "cool". A snap tonneau cover had been added to the bed, the "deluxe" badge added under the custom 10 (in the wrong location) and wheel/tire change, otherwise almost the exact same. Good luck with your search, and if you happen to know a local insurance agent, I think they have access to a database where you could try the VIN.

Re: Help Tracking Down Grandfathers Blazer
 

did you buy it back?

Re: Help Tracking Down Grandfathers Blazer
 

No, I didn't. I couldn't justify the $35k asking price, and that was in 2019. Either way it was nice to see that it was still around, and in more or less the same shape. I did talk to the dealer and apparently when I sold it, it ended up with a gentleman in his private indoor collection in Mississippi where it stayed for 25 years until his passing, with the dealer picking it up afterwards.

That led to me starting the Blazer project I'm still currently working on.

Re: Help Tracking Down Grandfathers Blazer
 

you probably have the best luck hiring a private investigator. the trick will be the "reason" you are asking for the info. Most states are strict about disclosing owner info...it's nearly like medical info.