Images: BFG Blazer page on Facebook

Since we started the Vintage Monday series, we’ve brought you iconic off-road vehicles from back in the good ‘ole days every week. But this week, we decided to do something a little different. Instead of giving you an overview of a certain model or vehicle type, we decided to concentrate on one of the greatest vintage off-road racing vehicles of all time–Frank Vessels’ BFG Blazer. Check out this rig’s unique history and where it ended up all these years later!

Wanting to dominate off-road racing, Chevrolet approached Parnelli Jones in 1976 with the opportunity to create a very special race vehicle–the BFG Blazer. Of course, Parnelli accepted the task and took to the project with his build team, creating the famed Blazer with their extensive knowledge of the off-road race world at the time.

Unlike other off-road racing rigs of its day, the BFG Blazer made use of a full tube-frame chassis, custom one-off suspension components, a fiberglass body and a Big Oly-inspired wing across the back of the roof. Built specifically for off-road competitions, the suspension system of the BFG Blazer was a custom IFS system with unique stamped A-arms, Summers Brothers hubs, and Gabriel shocks in the front. Out back, the truck made use of a unique six-link system and Jacobs Ladder setup fabricated and massaged by Dick Russell and Jones.

With this suspension in place, the front wheels had eight inches of travel, while the rear had a whopping 10 inches. That kind of wheel travel was considerable huge for the time. Lockheed four-piston calipers and 11-¾-inch rotors gave the Blazer plenty of stopping power when corners came out of nowhere or the team needed to avoid other racers during competition.

Importantly, the truck also made use of new BFGoodrich All-Terrain radial tires, a new product (and company new to the sport) that many off-road racing competitors and enthusiasts scoffed at.

Powering the beast of an off-road machine was a classic Chevy 350ci small block.

Frank (Scoop) Vessels was selected as the driver of the BFG Blazer for its late-1970s debut, which ended up propelling both recent entry to the automotive world, BFG, as well as Vessels, to increased national fame. (It is important to note that Vessels previously ran these tires on his Ford F-100 off-road truck a year or so prior.)

Vessels’ success behind the wheel of the BFG Blazer also propelled the truck to the off-road racing fame it still maintains to this day. The Blazer saw even more fame after ABC’s coverage of the 1980 Baja 1000, in which Vessels took home the SCORE Class 2 victory and fifth place overall.

Vessel wasn’t the only famed racer that drove the Blazer, either, as Bob Gordon and then Don Adams had their own reigns behind the wheel of the off-road king. In fact, Adams campaigned the Blazer for years, only stashing it away when it could no longer compete with modern off-road rigs.

Image: K&N

An Epilogue

Stored for some 30 years by Adams, the BFG Blazer became front-page news again in the off-road community when racing veteran Cam Thieriot purchased the truck from Adams back in 2012 with the intent to restore it back to racing condition.

For this purpose, the truck was handed over to Sean Hoglund of YT Motorsports for a full overhaul and a number of modifications. In just 60 days, the truck was race ready and actually took to the course at the 2013 NORRA Mexican 1000.

Now, the BFG Blazer is as good as new, featuring a T.O.E. Performance Products-built Chevy 350ci V8 good for 420hp. Helping achieve this power rating is a Holley 750cfm carburetor and K&N air filter, as well as a conversion so the engine can run on pump gas rather than just race fuel. The engine is backed by an Art Carr Turbo 400 3-speed automatic transmission.

Most of the original Parnelli Jones/Dick Russell-built suspension system remains intact thanks to some refurbishing and the addition of 2-inch diameter Bilstein 5125 shocks in both the front and rear. American Racing wheels now carry the beast over whatever terrain is put in its way while the modern generation of BFG All-Terrain T/As do all the gripping work.

Just like the exterior, the interior has been returned to vintage BFG Blazer condition, complete with no modern amenities, like a radio, restored original aluminum work, and restored Superior Performance Products “The 500”steering. New Stewart Warner gauges, and Art Carr shifter and retro-themed MasterCraft Safety seats and harnesses complete the restored interior.

Truly an icon in the off-road community, the BFG Blazer piloted first by Frank Vessels and then by so many others will continue its reign as one of the most influential off-road racing rigs in history. And now thanks to Thieriot, it will live on for generations to come!