# Murray Blaz-O-Jet



## djheffer (May 29, 2015)

I found this tricycle and just couldn't walk away and leave it.  After scouring the internet, I was able to find only one other example, but not much information.  I did find lots of miniature replicas that tend to suggest that this one is a 1960.  However, I can't find it in Murray catalogs.  

Does anyone know anything about this trike?  year? value?

Does anyone have truss rods that will fit this model?


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## ridingtoy (Jun 1, 2015)

The model name "Blaz-O-Jet" and big letter "M" on the front fender do cause some confusion as to the tricycle maker. Murray did have a Blaz-O-Jet model very similar to this one. In the case of your trike, the "M" stands for MTD/Midwest. Not sure how they got away with producing a very similar tricycle with the same model name as Murray. Maybe they purchased the rights after Murray ceased production, or Murray did the purchase after MTD stopped making them? Anyway, if you Google "Blaz-O-Jet" you'll see one image from the MTD products site where they show their product history. Hope this info helps!

Dave


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## djheffer (Jun 2, 2015)

Thanks for the info.  

The reason I thought that it was from Murray was because Google displayed so many links to 1960's Murray Blaz-O-Jet Kidde Classics.  The Kidde Classic is a miniature of a tricycle purportedly produced by Murray, but I cannot find an actual, regular sized Blaz-O-Jet made by Murray.  

I missed the Blaz-O-Jet image on the MTD site since it was on the 1940's tab of their history page.  The MTD history page adds a few more clues to the mystery.  It seems that "MTD bought partial interest in Midwest Industries, Inc. and became the stamping supplier for the manufacturing of tricycles and wagons" in 1944.  Add this to the fact that the tires are stamped "Midwest" and it seems that the "M" logo is actually the logo for Midwest as evidenced by head badges from other Midwest trikes.

This leaves me with the question as to it's age.  I have know way of judging it's age, other than by it's styling which makes me think that it was made during the sixties.

I still wonder why I can't find other examples of this trike, especially since someone seemed to think it was worth reproducing as a "classic" miniature.


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## ridingtoy (Jun 6, 2015)

I know what you mean! I'm always looking at older tricycles listed on ebay and saving the photos for reference in ID-ing different models later on. I've very rarely come across a Blaz-O-Jet by any maker in several years of looking. I see a lot of Rocket trikes by AMF and surprised one of those wasn't done as a "Kiddie Car Classic" before KCC production stopped since they were kind of unique in design.

I believe I saved a photo of a real Murray B-O-J like the KCC model but will have to go through my CDs to find it. If I do, I'll post it on this thread.

Dave


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## jd56 (Jun 6, 2015)

I saw this one at a local bike shop. Western Flyer labeled. 









It's all about the Tanklights!!

How did I run out of room so fast?


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## ridingtoy (Jun 6, 2015)

That's a pretty nice Rocket trike model! Still has all it's red lenses intact.

Dave


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## bobsbikes (Jun 19, 2015)

in the book riding toys page 183 there is a pic of one







front of book gives price of $300


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## djheffer (Jun 19, 2015)

Thanks for taking the time to find and upload the pictures.

There are a couple of major differences between this one and mine.  Mine has a 16 inch front wheel and reversed paint scheme.  This seemed to have been restored and staying true to the original may not have been a priority.  The graphics on the front fender differ greatly from mine and the Kidde Classic.  Also, there is no manufacturer marking.  Is Murray's logo the same as Midwest's stylized "M"?  Could it be that Murray made no version of a Blaz-O-Jet?  Could it be that Kidde Car Classic mistakenly attributed Murray as the maker because of the M logo?

As far as the value goes, I'm not sure how accurate Riding Toy's value is.  Since I plan to restore this trike, I'll use the same value formula I use when doing a bike.  I add up all the hours I spend and multiply that by minimum wage.  Then I add whatever I spend the bike plus paint, materials and parts, then multiply the grand total by .5 and that gives me the retail value.

.


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