Swinging spare tire

[PHAT TONY]

Just wondering if 2wd blazers commonly had rear swing-out spare tire mounts? Ya know; the ones bolted to the quarter and latched to the gate.
There's a 2wd Blazer for sale too cheap and has holes for the tire carrier in the qtr.

[71jimmy]

I guess they could have, but I haven't seen any 2wds with that. Would look butt ugly IMHO. Wonder if what your looking at started as a 4whl drive.

[bouncytruck]

I've only seen pictures of one 2wd with a swing away. Swingaway's were either aftermarket or dealer installed and they really seem to fit better with a 4wd IMO.

[PHAT TONY]

My 2wd chassis now has a 4x4 tub and said tub has a reinforcement plat seemingly factory spot welded inside on the upper r qtr, factory paint and all. My query comes from a local ad selling a "rare 2wd" Blazer way too cheap for Alberta and you can see the same holes as I welded up on mine. I'm assuming it's a converted 4x4.

[thekidd]

My original 2 wheel drive blazer that I bought last fall has a swing away spare carrier on it. It was one of the reasons I bought it. I am going to put it on my 71 4x4. I thought it looked OK on it but when I restore her I think I will leave it off.

[old man jimmy]

Originally Posted by PHAT TONY

My 2wd chassis now has a 4x4 tub and said tub has a reinforcement plat seemingly factory spot welded inside on the upper r qtr, factory paint and all. My query comes from a local ad selling a "rare 2wd" Blazer way too cheap for Alberta and you can see the same holes as I welded up on mine. I'm assuming it's a converted 4x4.

they didn't come from factory with tire rack. If you take off the right rear marker light you will probably see a steel rod hanging down. Thats how you drive them up into place. And they are a very tight fit. As far as putting them on a 2 wd. why not. The first time your out camping, and all the gear cramed into the back, and have a flat tire. You find you have to unload most of it just to get to your spare. That is when I put mine on. It was July between Yuma and Tucson. No fun.

[old man jimmy]

I know you guys like pictures. So here's a couple of pictures of the best reason for a tire rack. This is what mine looks like when it's packed up for a hunting trip.

[Firebirdjones]

I'm the opposite. Since ours is a daily driver, we are in the back alot for groceries etc.....I got tired of swinging the tire out of the way every time I wanted to open the hatch. Not to mention if someone parked behind me I had to pull the blazer forward before I could swing the tire out to access the back, adding more procedure. So it came off in favor of the factory inside tire mount. Couldn't be happier. Really cleaned up the outside appearance of the truck too. Not to mention, they can be a bit noisy on rough road, so it got rid of alot of squeaks and rattles in the back.

[BigRed Beast]

Good...then sell me your swing away and everyone's happy

[Firebirdjones]

Sold it on Ebay several months back.

[BLUE THUNDER]

Sweet pics of the jimmy in the wild. Got anymore? I love to see pics of Blazers and Jimmys being used as the should be.

[old man jimmy]

Originally Posted by BLUE THUNDER

Sweet pics of the jimmy in the wild. Got anymore? I love to see pics of Blazers and Jimmys being used as the should be.

yep, I've collected a few of the old girl in the last 38 years. All I've ever used it for was hunting, fishing, and camping. But I think I've dumped on this tire rack thread enough. My 3 kids used to call the back of it their playground. Good thing they didn't have all the child seat & saftey laws back then. They use to just rattle around in the back. I know I'm going to have to take a shot for that statement. But hey, that's the way it used to be. Now their's 6 grandkids, and 5 great grankids. But I don't let them do it.

[PHAT TONY]

Originally Posted by old man jimmy

they didn't come from factory with tire rack. If you take off the right rear marker light you will probably see a steel rod hanging down. Thats how you drive them up into place. And they are a very tight fit. As far as putting them on a 2 wd. why not. The first time your out camping, and all the gear cramed into the back, and have a flat tire. You find you have to unload most of it just to get to your spare. That is when I put mine on. It was July between Yuma and Tucson. No fun.

I stuck my hand up there; you're absolutely right, there's a rod I can barely touch bent in a horseshoe above the right marker light on mine. The bummer of this is that when I bought mine as a project I seriously never saw another 2wd Blazer around these parts, somebody in town just bought a "driver"(I don't know it's condition) 72 2wd Blazer that was advertised for not much more than I paid for a pooper!
This happened with a Olds Cutlass ragtop a few years back. I did a body-off resto on a '70, but by the time I was done there were 3 others surfaced meantime! Whadaya do.