The base two-door starts at $29,995,

When I bought my first Blazer in 1976, it was stripped down with three on the tree, a straight six and lock out hubs. I had skid plates under the oil pan, transfer case and fuel tank.

The total cost was $5,400. That truck lasted quite a long time. I had the engine rebuilt after I got 80,000 miles on it. I went to a lot of places doing my mineral collecting, Arkansas and New Mexico and Oklahoma too.

When I finally got rid of it the guy I sold it to pulled the six out and put in the V-8. He blew the rear end and then couldn't find parts. There were not many of the 4.11 rear ends made since you had to special order them with the straight six.

The guy that bought that truck from me got drunk in Wisconsin. He went off the road and hit a tree and killed himself. He left behind a widow and two kids. No idea what ever became of them but they might have grown up as delinquents since Mom could not handle them very well. :-/

$1 in 1976 is worth $4.55 today ~ time value of money.

It's impossible to purchase a rig as "stripped" as your Blazer today.

Currency devaluation -- rising prices with a reduction in purchasing power -- is commonly called inflation (though not by some purists). The Time Value of Money (TVM) is different; it's the concept that money you have now is worth more than the identical sum in the future due to its potential earning capacity.

www.inv estopedia.com/terms/t/timevalueofmoney.asp

Of course, if you leave $100 lying in a drawer or locked in your gun safe for 40 years, not only will you miss any potential earnings, but also -- as you pointed out with the '76 Blazer example -- inflation will eat it, too.

It's impossible to purchase a rig as "stripped" as your Blazer today.

That's right. When we were kids "basic transportation" was just that -- a $300-400 car with no AC, hand cranked windows, no power anything, and an AM radio with one speaker that maybe worked. Only rarely did all four tires match.

Nowadays the "entertainment system" alone in a new economy car would cost more than my first three pickup trucks.

My dad's first brand-new pickup was a '63 GMC longbed, stepside, with their 305E V6 engine (possibly the most bullet-proof engine ever built), three on the tree and a 4.11 differential. $1703.00 + TT&L that included the AM radio, drop down heater with one outlet, and a dealer-installed HD, steel rear bumper with three holes for different sized tow balls. Daddy thought that he paid too much.

Forty years later I sold it to my friend and maintenance man, Doug from Bastrop, for the same $1703. Doug was thrilled.

My dad's first brand-new pickup was a '63 GMC longbed, stepside, with their 305E V6 engine (possibly the most bullet-proof engine ever built), three on the tree and a 4.11 differential. $1703.00

My first vehicle was a 1976 Blazer with a straight six and three on the tree with 4.11 rear end. It had lock out hubs. I went a lot of places with that rig. And it was great in the heavier snows we would get in Chicago.

I sold it to a guy a long while later. He pulled out the six and put a V-8 under the hood. He blew up the rear end and then couldn't find parts. It is long ago in the junk yard.

The guy that bought it is dead too. He got drunk in Wisconsin and went off the road and hit a tree and killed himself. :-/

B, did you ever know anybody that ain't dead yet?

B, did you ever know anybody that ain't dead yet?

Yes. There are a few of my old bro's that are still alive, though they moved out of the 'hood long ago.

Quite a few of them though ate some lead at some point in time.;)