Ringbrothers’ 1,200-Horsepower “Bully” K5 Blazer Unveiled at SEMA

For a few years, Ringbrothers has made a reputation for itself by constructing a number of the most intricate traditional automobiles and vans ever seen on the SEMA Present in Las Vegas. Up to now, they’ve displayed autos starting from a 1948 Cadillac to a 1971 DeTomaso Pantera, however this 12 months the store determined to construct a 4×4 — particularly a 1972 Chevy K5 Blazer often called “Bully.” With a 1,200-horsepower supercharged V8 engine, a {custom} Roadster Store chassis, Currie Dana 44 entrance and Dana 60 rear axles, twin Warn winches, and a one-of-a-kind leather-based inside, this Blazer construct did not depart a single nut or bolt unchanged.

On the coronary heart of the Ringbrothers Bully Blazer is a 6.8L LS3 V8 engine constructed by Wegner Motorsports, topped with a 2.9L Whipple supercharger. The mixture sends a whopping 1,200 horsepower by way of a Bowler Tru-Avenue 4L80E computerized transmission into the Currie axles. The truck’s physique sits on a Roadster Store {custom} chassis with a triangulated four-link and two Fox 2.5 Race Sequence coilovers per nook.

Above: Opening the hood reveals a collection of custom-fabricated steel trim panels and a {custom} consumption that attracts chilly air from grilles on both sides of the hood.

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This K5 rides on 18×12-inch custom-designed HRE wheels wrapped in 325/65R18 Cooper Discoverer STT Professional mud tires. Six-piston Baer disc brakes on all 4 corners present stopping energy.

Ringbrothers painted the physique a custom-mixed colour they name Bashful Blue, and it contrasts properly with gold exterior accents and wealthy brown leather-based inside upholstery. Within the mattress, there is a vivid purple jerrycan with a Ringbrothers billet cap, in addition to a Warn Zeon 10-S winch that passes by way of a singular floating fairlead lower out of the tailgate. A second Warn winch sits beneath the {custom} Ringbrothers entrance bumper.

With an estimated 8,500 hours invested on this challenge, Ringbrothers used it as a check bench for quite a lot of one-off machined and 3D-printed elements. One factor that instantly caught our eye is the usage of picatinny rails to connect modular tie-down factors alongside the mattress sides:

As with earlier Ringbrothers builds, the “Bully” K5 Blazer is certainly extra of a present piece than a workhorse; we do not think about it will obtain many paint scratches on tight off-road trails or mud baths whereas fording rivers. Some will certainly decry it as a trailer queen for that reason. Nonetheless, whenever you view it as a proof of idea and a check mattress for the quite a few small elements Ringbrothers gives for the K5 Blazer and Chevy C10 platforms, it makes a variety of sense. And with four-wheel-drive, a four-figure horsepower output, and an open-air cab, we have now little question it might be a ton of enjoyable on- or off-road.

Written by Patrick McCarthy