I’ve been spending too much time at the concept car section of Pinterest. When I ran into this one there, I drew a blank. I wanted to say Chevy, as in an early long-bed concept of their 1969 Blazer, but I’ve dissuaded myself of that on a number of points. My second wild guess was International, but our inhouse IH expert Scoutdude says it rings no bells for him. Anyone else know?
Just to refresh your memory, here’s the Blazer. way too different, except some very minor superficial similarities.
The mystery concept sits on leaf springs front and rear that hang pretty low, which is what led me to International. And are those wheel covers recognizable? I’m stumped.
Update: Your many good guesses have helped me narrow down the scope of this vehicle somewhat. Here’s what we know and don’t know:
It’s a long wheelbase chassis. The US Big 3 would not at all likely ever have considered a 2 door lwb utility like this. GM had their Suburban, and Ford and Dodge would have made a four door long before they would have made a lwb 2 door.
The rear leaf springs are an important clue. None of the Big 3 pickup/utility chassis have their rear leaf springs hanging down this low, clearly attached under the axle. This makes me think strongly it’s based on a foreign chassis. Also, it doesn’t look as big as a Big 3 full size pickup chassis.
I see what appears to be the front end of a front leaf spring. That’s significant, if so, especially how low and visible it is.
The wheel covers look like units used by both Ford and Chevrolet.
The door handle is not like one used by the Big 3 on any of their trucks. That suggests a foreign effort. looks like a 70s Ford truck door handle.
The front door has some similarities around the window to the ’67-’72 GM trucks, but a closer look shows it to have different dimensions and proportions. Also, there’s no vent window, and the window frame looks very “coachbuilt”, not like something from the Big 3 studios.
I’m quite convinced it’s from a foreign manufacturer, and not even on an American-based chassis. I’m not sure that helps, but that’s where I’m at with it now.
I think it’s a photoshop exercise. Old C10 doors or at least window shape. Sloping front character line from first gen Dakota, tallights too maybe. Wheel covers from 70s chevy?
Nope. If you look at the door carefully, it’s decidedly different than the Chevy door.
You mention Dakota? My first though was a Dodge Ram Charger concept/
Actually those hubcaps look like some that I’ve seen on Ford Club Wagon vans late 70’s-early 80’s ish.
They do look like the Ford caps.
I’m thinking this is from the early 70s, and I still wonder if it might be an International exercise, out of fiberglass. It does not look like it’s from Ford.
The setting also makes it unlikely to be from the big 3, with that small curtain drawn around it. Low budget vibe.
They look exactly like the stainless-steel wheel covers (not hub caps, if we’re being precise here) that our 1971 Ford LTD came with, sans the center emblems. Of course, those covers were no doubt made by some supplier to Ford, who could have sourced these to another automaker (depending upon who paid for the tooling).
IH used wheel covers that were obviously from an outside supplier who had first sold them to Studebaker. The IH version lost the stylized S in the center and later the fins, but they have been compared side by side and had to have been through some of the same dies.
Wheel covers were one of the reasons I don’t think it is IH since they would just have grabbed one out of stock, would have cost too much to do anything else unless it was specifically about the wheel cover design and not the vehicle.
The size is all wrong but the slope of the hood and the shape of the leading edge of the front fenders really evoke the late ’70’s era Mitsubishi mighty max/ram50/Plymouth arrow. Nothing about it says GM or Dodge from that era, so maybe a Ford? Doubt it could have been an AMC (because Jeep) but as a wildcard…Studebaker?
I was thinking there was something about the slope of the hood that looked Japanese to me, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. You’re right, it does have a sort of Mighty Max look to it. The Isuzu Faster/Chevy LUV also had a similar slope to the hood, but not quite the same. And those turn signals are wrong. It does make me wonder if GM ever considered a LUV-based SUV, or one with similar styling cues.
The Isuzu Faster/LUV 4×4 had independent front suspension. I’m pretty sure I see a front leaf spring up there.
Looks like something cobbled together from an Opel. Yet it also has the look of an influence from this parts bin, something from that parts bin, something maybe even from another corporation. But there’s something overall that looks like GM to me.
From an Opel? Opel wasn’t exactly building big pickups/SUVs in the 60s and/or early 70s.
Chevrolet Brazil was building both pick ups AND Opels (Chevrolet Opala and Chevrolet C-10/Veraneio). Front bumper looks newer than early/70’s. If it’s not American (Brazil, Argentina, Australia, or?) it would explain some of those. BTW, the panels are strange-looking. Fiberglass perhaps?
Yes I agree, the first thought I had was Opel, as it has similiar lines, especially in the front fenders, to the Kadette. It also looks more car than truck based
The fender line kinda says Ford/Mazda Courier to me…
Well It has what look like Ford Wheel Covers But It looks more like a Dodge Ram Pick up so it must be a RangeCharger
A site called “GM Photo Store” claims it is just a “1970s Chevrolet Concept.”
http://gmphotostore.com/1970s-chevrolet-concept-poster/
“Here’s an interesting Chevy C/K concept model for a future Blazer from the mid-1970s. Hard to determine exactly when it was shown to management as the photo is not dated.”
Edit: They claim to source these photos from GM. “Through a collaboration between the General Motors Media Archive and Mall Services Group LLC, Inc., the GM PhotoStore enables automotive enthusiasts to view, select and purchase high-quality GM automotive photography on the Internet.”
You may have solved it. Because those wheelcovers look awfully Nova-ish to me. I wonder if this was some kind of early Blazer concept, or perhaps some kind of compact Scout-type concept, perhaps on a Chevy Luv chassis.
I look forward to more opinions.
JP, my first thought was some sort of Chevy Luv related vehicle, more due to overall size and shape, not necessarily due to styling.
The wheel covers are definitely Ford, as used on Econolines.
The Nova LN had very similar hubcaps.
Agreed. They could just as well be those.
Raphael beat me to it. Also that door upper looks very Chevrolet, as in 67-72 pickup.
A closer look shows all the key proportions and dimensions to not be like the 67-72 Chevy pickup door.
Doesn’t make sense though. By the mid-70s, the new C/K line of trucks was out (1973), and this doesn’t exactly look much like them, eh?
Hmm… I wonder if this photo was “liberated” from Ford at some point and ended up in GM’s archives 😉
But those seams in the top on each side of the rear window are similar to the concept and are one of the reasons I was leaning GM.
In the fall of 1972, I doubt that anyone expected that the new K5 Blazer would be in production for almost 20 years. Stylists would have been working on a replacement immediately.
Yes and no, the automakers were already aware of the escalation of safety and emissions regulations and were forced to focus their resources on that and their bread and butter at the time, cars. Plus to me it looks back to the earlier trucks, so I would think that if anything this represents the early work on the 73’s and an attempt to make it more of an evolution of the 72 and less of a dramatic change like what made it to market.
It’s too long.
The K5 was just based on a shortened C/K chassis/body. This is not predictive of the next gen C/K. Plus it seems ridiculous thta Chevy would consider a lwb K5, when they already had the Suburban 4×4. No one in the US would likely have even considered a lwb 2 door 4×4.
A lot of design cues and details that seem so clearly related to the ’67-72 GMs would’ve been a real step back from the ’73-up GMs. I doubt they’d have gone back to separate window frames (as, indeed, they didn’t when the GMT400s finally did happen).
I want to say a proposal to update the ’67-72 for Brazil or some other South American market, and that’s what I’d go with if we were looking at a pickup or Suburban, but something like this would be left for a third-party converter there.
Could it have been a study to replace the Brazilian Chevy Veraneio?
The crease on the lower part of the body looks Dodge-y to me, as does the window shape at the back.
Stretched Ramcharger concept?
Too many big differences.
Would have to be a Dodge, right? The fenders and lighting don’t match the F-150 that was used for the second generation Bronco.
I think the door handles could be the giveaway if someone can I’d the parts bin they came from.
My first thought was that it’s an attempt to recreate the Dodge Ramcharger on the first generation Dakota platform.
However, after looking at it again and reading the first few comments I wonder if it is perhaps an attempt at an early SUV by either an overseas Ford or GM division.
A Malibu SUV!
My initial thought exactly…a 1964 Malibu wagon. Sort of.
Was this an early rendering of the soon to be S-10 Blazer?
The door pull and lock are older Ford (lock is the old-type 5pin ) and the RHD leads me to guess Aussie Ford. The leaf springs front and rear would be perfect for their road conditions in the outback or FNQ 40 years ago.
Going by the RHD (look closely, the wheel’s on the right) and recognizing the door lock as Ford 5pin double-sided, from 1966-85, and the door handle – Aussie Ford is my guess. The leaf springs front and rear would have been perfect for outback or FNQ use 40 years ago, too. Probably four-wheel drive.
You may be getting warm. It does look like it’s RHD.
The low hanging leaf springs make this unlike any of the Big 3 US trucks. They just don’t show like that.
Hmmm. The only logical market I can think of for a vehicle like this in RHD would be Australia.
So can any of our Aussie friends recognize any lines? The design has pretty light-weight bumpers and no -separate side marker lights.
Possibly even an Aussie Ford concept for U of SA export. Jacked-up suspension with likely 4WD…not your boulevard cruiser for Santa Monica or Naples Fla. 🙂
Much as I’d like to claim it for my country, I doubt it. The Australian market wasn’t into this type of vehicle in this time frame. Although there was a ’71 Falcon 4WD ute, it wasn’t a big seller and was a technological dead end.
I say early Blazer concept. I don’t think it was originally conceived as full-size, that came a little later in the design process.
The Blazer came out in 1969. This is undoubtedly later.
There were small Chevy ute concepts in the early 60s, sized like gen 1 Broncos and Scouts.
The original styling models of the K5 Blazer use 1967 K10 styling details.
They wouldn’t have been lwb version like this. They were compact 4x4s.
The front end looks like the Brazilian-market Chevrolet pickups and SUVs. I can’t explain the hubcaps though the Brazilian Chevys had a lot of Ford characteristics. Either they flat-out copied the design or didn’t care if the concept used Ford wheel covers.
It doesn’t to me.
http://gmphotostore.com/1970s-chevrolet-concept-poster/
“Here’s an interesting Chevy C/K concept model for a future Blazer from the mid-1970s. Hard to determine exactly when it was shown to management as the photo is not dated. “
Boy, it’s honestly hard to tell. It doesn’t even look like a real car. It’s like a video game car that makes all your car-recognizing receptors go off at once. Like a simulacra of what a 1970s pickup would look like.
But whatever it is, I feel like it’s GM.
OK, I’ll take a stab at it. I’m thinking it is some kind of Dodge concept. The door window frame looks MOPARish to me. The hubcaps look like a smaller version of the ones on my daughter’s father in law’s ’89 Dodge Ram Diesel 4X4 pickup. The angular lines also resemble that generation of Dodge pickups. Well, that’s my 2 cents worth.
I’ll go with some sort of Dodge, too, maybe a Dakota concept that eventually wound up instead being that convertible they had for a couple years.
After I posted that I went for a walk. A friend of mine passed by in his 87 or 88 Dodge Ram and I noticed that the tail lights were very similar to the concept. I also see a resemblance to the first Dakotas too.
My thought was a Brazilian Ford concept. It reminds me of a Ford Corcel.
Almost like a hybrid of the Corcel wagon and an American Ford Ranger
I wonder if this is a Bronco prototype for the 2nd gen Bronco? Ford came out with Project Shorthorn to replace the original Bronco with one that would be a direct competitor to the Blazer. Maybe this is one of the early mock ups?
With the Ford wheel covers, and 4 leaf springs, I’m also looking at the contour of the front, if you took a first generation Bronco with wrap around lights added. The rear lights look 73-up Suburban/PU but those are pretty generic. It at first glance looked Scout II, but door handles don’t match, but outside mirror does. Looks like front fender and door may have existed and bed made (a little rough on the body line) If it was Ford prototype Bronco II, could have been shelved for looking “too Chevy”. If the wheel covers were Nova I know both well from detailing and they still look Ford, but Nova were 14″, Ford 15″ it would change proportions. The Bronco II and Ranger pickups shared body parts when built, Maybe a Bronco II removable top version of a Ranger pickup?
What’s the deal with the front tire? Whitewall looks very wavy!
May just be tire treatment, but a lot of rubber then when new had a waxy look from the protectant that coated the whitewalls.
This is something from left field but I’m thinking something for the Mexican market?
I know a lot of their earlier SUVs were basically pickups with the cab torn open and a permanent cap attached.
This looks a lot like that.
Was there a Mexican half ton that looked something like this?
What a puzzler! How am I ever going to sleep tonight?
The hubcaps look slightly more like the GM ones rather than Ford. They look more like the ones often seen on Novas, Malibus and some Impalas. My first impressions of the truck is that it looks a lot like what became a ’78 Malibu front end, and I’m guessing that maybe this was a concept for a ’78 El Camino? It sits higher than an El Camino normally would, but perhaps it’s their attempt at some sort of multi-purpose utility vehicle like a Jimmy, crossed with an El Camino to see if there was any use/ market for that sort of thing?
Even that is a wild guess, because I just Googled the front end of the Malibu/ El Camino and the side marker lights are not anywhere close to the same shape. But the front end definetely reminds me of it, and does remind me of a mid/ late 70’s Nova like JP Cavanaugh suggests.
Rather puts me in mind of an AMC concept or styling exercise. Looks kinda boxy like a certain generation of the Rambler American. But don’t know if AMC ever considered going in this direction. As others have said, some of it appears a bit like a Ford or even a Dodge.
And, yes, possibly even International (IH).
I’m actually thinking about ordering this photo to help figure this out. It’s maddening.
I doubt that will help, as the photo already has a caption. But it’s wrong.
True, but it’s 16” x 24” and if it was actually scanned in properly it’d be a lot easier to catch any details.
If I do, I’ll offer to scan it then ship it to anyone here who might be able to help.
There is only one vehicle that I can think of that was built with these proportions. The International Traveler. The sloping hood would indicate that aerodynamics aren’t being ignored. The styling suggests late 70’s, or early 80’s. Perhaps this is a never built, next generation Traveler?
Here’s a clay for the never-built Scout III. No apparent similarities.
Where did you find that one? It is a different view than what I’ve seen before.
Of course the Man on the Tractor on the stretcher cabinet clearly identifies it as an International but I see some definite IH parts bin items. Those wheels straight off the SII, the door handle as well as the lock location so far from the handle again like the SII.
https://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/have-a-look-at-the-1980s-international-scout-that-never-1758491270
Thanks
This looks really conservative, almost like it’s more of a facelift of/new roof for the II compared to the wild fiberglass prototype.
The Jalopnik article has one incorrect assertion in the comments that nobody ever mentioned – the XJ Jeeps were available with two or four doors from launch, and sold well enough that it probably fairly quickly became obvious to others that four doors would soon be a must in the segment but it was still a market niche and there were other priorities over punching an extra pair of holes into (admittedly BOF in the case of Ford/GM/Nissan?Toyota) shells that were never meant to have them.
Perhaps an early concept for what became the s10 blazer?
I’m going to throw in another vote for that door handle being a Ford piece. Looks like the handle used on numerous mid-’70s Fords; viz these. I also note the lack of vent wing windows, which suggests a design newer than roughly ’73, which I think sheds some additional light: if we’re in 1973, the overall design of the vehicle is outdated in North America. That, plus the possible RHD, plus the leaf springs, minus the immediate identifiability of its provenance, minus any hint of US-specification equipment provisions required since ’68 (no separate sidemarkers which all the makers were using at that time, questionable bumpers, etc) puts me onside with the idea that this is perhaps from another country. Maybe Australia or South Africa if it’s actually a right-hooker; maybe Brazil or Argentina if not.
Agreed, on all counts. The combination of Ford door handles and wheel cover makes it some kind of Ford, with little doubt. I really can’t tell well enough about the RHD. Your deductions about other aspects also confirm my feeling that this is from the mid-late 70s, and from one of those places. Dearborn would never shoot a vehicle in such a crude environment. It looks like a corner of a factory/shop has been crudely curtained off.
Great analysis. My gut keeps pushing me towards South America for some reason, I think mainly because those front fenders are very Kadettlike and GM do Brasil was building them at the time. Were light trucks still able to have bumpers this flimsy by the mid 70s?
I don’t think those are Ford door handles, what they remind me of is of the LUV ones. The ones on the mystery vehicle look like the ends are curved and they are convex while the Ford ones are straight on the ends with a radius and have the recessed flat area to inset the color key on higher trim levels.
(…but damn, that pic sure does keep on elbowing me in the ribs and whispering “Chevrolet!”)
It’s because that the front door window shape is similar to the Chevy, and the whole roof/topper is clearly influenced by the gen2 Blazer.
It smells of Opel to me too. Those hubcaps especially, are standard issue Kadett B
I can’t see it being a USDM Chevy. The basic design was in full clay by 1964.
I do see a little of the front clip in this one model but only barely. Definitely influenced by Chev/GMC
I’ll hazard this guess…an exercise for a possible blazer based off the Suburban. The dimensions look like those of a Suburban , the wheel covers are definitely from the 73-74 Chevelle/73-77Nova/73-81 Camaro, and the rear bumper is from a 73-80 pickup/Blazer/Suburban. The front bumper looks very similar to the 81-87 refresh of those models, making me think this was an early prototype for a blazer version of the refreshed 81 Suburban., that never made it to production. Just my guess.
On other thought. Even though there are large rear windows, there is no third seat. This feels more like a combine than a coach, to borrow a railroad analogy. More station wagon than SUV, which is what the Veraneio was in Brazil. But it would also take the concept of the Aussie Ute in a new but understandable direction.
Those rear leafs puzzle me – any ideas as to why you’d mount them like that? They’re underslung, too.
I have not researched it to any length but I’m surprised no one mentioned the word “USSR” – it could well be another cribbing exercise by one of the Soviet usual suspects.
Bumpers – To me, the rear bumper, resembles the profile of ’73-on GM truck with a channel for the missing rub strip.
The front bumper fit and clearance looks poorly thought out, at best.
Springs – The leaf springs, don’t put too much weight in (on?) those.
A big pack of leaves never terminate to leave a single leaf with a lot of overhang, per the front spring. That may be shadow or Pushmobile suspension.
Of course too, a production chassis wouldn’t have a low hanging “catch all” for the rear spring’s anchor.
Finally, there doesn’t seem to be any sign of RH springs.
Cowl – Paul says no match to ’67 “C” cowl and windshield. Okay then, but it sure seems similar.
Wing (window) looks freshly clipped.
Fit-up at catwalk and door’s rear edge looks like it would’ve been a production nightmare.
All said, the GM bumper is the only solid clue I see.
The front end looks very early ’70s Mitsubishi. Front end like a ’71 Galant mixed with the later ’78 Forte. The side has been carved out like a mid-70s Dodge D-series. The taillights are also very Dodge, with the no frills rectangular wraparound design. The door handle design and placement are also Mitsubishi staples. The windows are late ’60s Chevrolet/GMC with the curve at the outside top corner. I’d say it being Japanese would definitely explain people saying it’s RHD.
All day the front fender, door, and wheelcovers bothered me. I remembered polishing that shape on one of my own cars, it finally hit me, the slope of the hood,and contour of the fender is the same as the ’64 AMC Ambassador 990-H two door I had years back. But the wheel covers, I seemed to remember AMC having some like that. So went to 70-79 AMC wheel covers, there it was,black center and all, it said 1973-1979 JEEP and amc. JEEP?…Hmmmm. Earlier I ran across experiments with hornet and bigger AMC cars being made into pickups. Jeep had made their Wagoneer more carlike in the 60’s and was very successful, how about a smaller car like vehicle, where they were headed with the Cherokee eventual release. so looked at the mirror again and thought of all the round mirrors with the chrome upsweep to it, with AMC engraved in the mirror. The Jeepster never seemed to live up to expectations, but I think it was a friends Jeepster 4×4 that had the leaf springs looking similar in profile. Also about the steering wheel, smaller wheels had started going into vehicles through the 70;s and it may be a matter of perspective, I’m also an artist and smaller can look further away…Although Jeep and AMC made RHD vehiclles for rural carriers. Just can’t shake the AMC feel, hadn’t thought about Jeep.Also get the feeling presentation may not have been high on the list.
Did have a quick look and found a fair few AMC internal presentation photos in front of curtains. Mopar too but those are on a polished floor.
Yes, the design speaks Ford to me too – and the front appears very similar to the Ford Courier (Mazda) small pickup. I’ll take a stab and say it may be some type of styling concept for a extended wheelbase Courier pickup, given the Bronco treatment, i.e, a full roof and interior.
OK, I have now spent all the mental energy on this one I am going to. My final conclusions. First, I think we ignore the photo source at our peril. Has anyone ever seen a non-GM picture from the GM Photo Store? I think it’s GM. There is also a GM logo at the bottom right of the picture on the GM Photo Store.
Second, that rear suspension looks like that of almost every Japanese pickup from the 70s. Isuzu was part of GM and this suspension looks not at all unlike that of the Isuzu Faster/Chevy LUV.
Third that door handle also bears a strong resemblance to that used on Isuzu pickups of the era. I still think that wheelcover is Chevy, not Ford. This probably coming from one of the smaller studios, the modest background would not be surprising.
Fourth, that design language just shouts GM to me. The upper door shape and the soft shoulder along the beltline ape the 67-72 Chevy/GMC pickups. Also the lower body that is slightly indented from the upper body was also an idea seen on some GM vehicles of that era.
My conclusion is that this is an early proposal for a Scout-like vehicle based on the Isuzu Faster chassis. The front end looks a lot like the 1981+ Faster and the rest of the vehicle draws heavily on the 1968-72 American GM pickups for inspiration. So I think we have an early SUV prototype based on a long wheelbase Isuzu Faster.
You win!!
I was going down a similar path last night when other demands cut that short. It became clear to me that this was not a full size pickup/utility. And that what I saw as a front leaf spring was probably something else.
Here’s a lwb Isuzu Pup. Huge similarities, right down to the underslung rear leaf springs.
I can’t find any support for it, but my memory tells me that this generation Isuzu Faster was designed by/with input from GM Detroit. It certainly has a very familial look.
Exactly when this concept was made is another question. Was it before the gen2 Pup came out? Presumably so. One thing that made me think it wasn’t a GM product is the poor quality of the body work; it looks a bit primitive and the accent line doesn’t match up.
Of course, the question as to why they would consider a lwb version over a swb version is another question.
Congratulations.
The lower cowl and front fender look to be Rambler American components. I’ll go way out on a limb, opine it’s an AMC concept for a Scout/Blazer/Bronco competitor.
Ok, I’m now recanting on Ford/Mazda and throwing my hat onto the Isuzu bandwagon…
I noticed on your update this morning that you’ve found leaf spring peaking out at the front of the truck….
Could it be that the Avanti Motor Corporation was attempting to find a use for some number of Studebaker truck frames they must have inherited in their buy-out of all Studebaker parts and materials and were trying to expand upon their limited appeal as a custom-crafted sports-car niche? (How a limited-appeal two-door covered truck would help is a question I couldn’t answer.)
The truck has an oddly Brooks-Stevens-style quickie-update feel, no? Maybe it’s an all fiberglass mock-up (but I don’t see any old Stude parts on this thing)….