S-10 5.8L

[Atilla the Fun]

I'm about 1/2 done putting a 355 inch SBC into my daily driver '86 S-10. The red one. Actually, the engine is in. Also installed a 700R-4, headers, lowering it 2", and adding a CD player and speakers. I'll have pics tomorrow morning. I wanted to do power steering, as I have the accessories from my black '89 S-10 that had a 4.3, but it turns out a Camaro pitman arm is the wrong length, so the camaro 12:1 box isn't going in, I'll start looking for a ZQ8 box to make it a no-hassle deal.

[The Dark Side of Will]

If only GM had chassis/bodies that were actually cool into which we could put all these mix/match & plug/play parts...

[Nashco]

If only GM had chassis/bodies that were actually cool into which we could put all these mix/match & plug/play parts...

...such as? GM has a hell of a lot of chassis and bodies to choose from over the last century, so it's definitely not lack of options! If you wanted a smallish pickup frome the last few decades, but didn't want a Luv/S10/Colorado, what would you use? Just about the only other smallish modernish pickups I like are Toyotas, which have bolt in kits available for the SBC/700R4 just like S10s.

I have several friends that would defend how cool S10s are (blazers and pickups) to the death. I like the first gen S10s, but I'm not even close to the level of fan as they are. One has a second gen blazer with a T56 and supercharged 4.3. The other has a slammed second gen blazer with an LSx and T56 project in progress and just drove a first gen pickup from the west coast to Michigan so he could have a rust free first gen as his daily driver. He also has a racecar S10 pickup laying around that will probably never happen. My brother has gone through several first gens (blazers and pickups), mostly 2wd and lowered/slammed. Another has a ZR2 blazer and a second gen pickup, etc. etc. etc...they really think they're a cool chassis/body. Part of the coolness IS the mix and match, plug and play parts, part of it is the styling.

Bryce

[The Dark Side of Will]

The versatility and modularity IS interesting, as is the low weight for the first and 2nd gen trucks. I'm just not into body on frame. I understand why they're attractive for drag racing and moving things and the fact that they're fast is undeniable. A guy in Pensacola with a beat up S10 and 383 was definitely faster than a guy with a REALLY NICE 3rd gen Camaro with thousands of dollars--and a 383--in it... Ironically the truck was lighter...

If only they were unit body, I might have one.

[Atilla the Fun]

Will needs one of those old VW Rabbit pickups. Those were unit body. But for what trucks are supposed to be able to do, you must use a real frame. Let's see you put a Duramax and a Dana 80 in a Rabbit pickup and hitch it to a 20,000 pound trailer. I wanna watch you rip it apart before the trailer even moves one inch. On level pavement. I feel a daily driver should be something that's fun, (that's vague, no?) can put down 300+ rwhp, can get 25 mpg at 65 mph, can be parked in any parking lot with no worries, can survive potholes, is cheap to insure, and noone will cry if it gets totalled or stolen. And for me, something that can drag home any cars or parts I might find while out driving. I do like the way the pre-tacoma pickups sit like a sports car interior, but they won't fit wide tires or big radiators, and compared to the S-10s, they are rare, especially the short wheelbase 2WD versions. Plus the S-10 frame is far stronger, making it a better platform for upgraded rear springs and axle, big torque, and then big abuse. And if you want a small pickup which can be made to pull 1 G cornering, there are NO alternatives. The S-10 has bolt-in rollcages, bolt on big brake kits, bolt on fiberglass body panels, bolt on traction bars, the list is unrivaled among small pickups. Now, I have some pics of it to upload to my build thread at www.s10forums.com

[The Dark Side of Will]

A VW enthusiast friend and I have been tossing around the idea of taking an old Rabbit pickup and grafting in the stickshift driveline from an R32 GTI or Audi TT quattro, then putting the new 2.0 TDI diesel in front of that... How's that for a diesel 4WD pickup? Ought to be good for at least 13's if not 12's with the boost turned up.

[Atilla the Fun]

If you can get the goods at a fair price, then it'd be an interesting build. I just got the first batch of pics uploaded. There will be more pics in another week. Plus pics for my Fiero thread here in non-tech discussion.

[Atilla the Fun]

finally got the headers done.

[Atilla the Fun]

just drove the thing for the first time, left twin black stripes! now, back to our regularly scheduled programming

[Atilla the Fun]

It's still driving, but it's still one of those rides that you dread making any trips in, so it's still not really done. It won't upshift until around 3300 rpm when cold, but after a half hour of continuous driving, it gets to third by 15 mph. And still won't go into OD until above 70. Maddening. and I don't like how high the engine is sitting, with some custom mounts I could get it 2" lower. But not until I get something else running. And now I've resumed work on the fiero, so I gotta keep going on it. The S-10 is running strong, but I won't be happy until I do heads, cam, and better-flowing mufflers. at least it doesn't overheat or die or anything.

[Atilla the Fun]

Just ordered a more serious cam, to match my very high compression ratio. 280-degree advertised duration, 110-degree lobe separation angle. Single pattern, because these heads have relatively high exhaust flow.

[Atilla the Fun]

The new cam is running strongly, this morning I killed a black Ram 3500 with a Cummins. It's not really a kill story since I expected to win this one easily, and I did. No diesel I've ever raced has ever beat any gas V8 I was driving. The torque is great, but they're not for winning contests of acceleration.

[CincinnatiFiero]

Auto or stick Ram? In my experience the autos are light years faster than the sticks.

[Atilla the Fun]

I have no idea. I killed it that quickly. My S-10 GOES! like RIGHT NOW! Next spring I'll be swapping this 700R-4 for a 200-4R, and the taller first gear will be interesting. If I don't like it, I'll go to a 3.73:1 axle ratio.

[Atilla the Fun]

This is just stupid. I'm getting 6 mpg. That's partly because this trans won't go to second until 3600 rpm, and likewise for the 2-3 upshift. It won't go into OD at all, where it should be in OD by 30 mph. I'm still planning the 200-4R for next summer, but I suspect I would enjoy this truck more often if it had an L67 in it. Of course, when I drop the 6.8L LSx in the Sierra, I'll then have the L35 freed up.

[CincinnatiFiero]

Is the trans torn up or is it just wildly shift kitted?

[Atilla the Fun]

I'm not sure. When I pulled it from Pick-N-Pull, it came out of a low mileage and cherry but T-boned '92 Firebird LO3. I did a new filter then stuck it in my '91 Camaro LO3. It worked fine. So when I pulled it out of the Camaro, I ordered this stuff from TCI: a .570" Throttle Valve Boost Valve, a .400" Low/Reverse Boost Valve, a pressure regulator spring, and a billet second gear servo. I installed all that, and stuck it in my '83 C-10 6.2L diesel. That's when the trouble started. 100 miles later, I pulled it out, changed the spring and the TVBV back to stock, verified the 1-2 accumulator spring was right, and stuck it in the S-10. So now I have 2 new troubles. The alternator isn't charging, but I have 2 spares, one of which should work. Second, I'm losing fuel out the top of the fuel pump, but again, I have a spare and a Holley chrome, so one of those should work. I think I'm going to have to drop the tank and replace the pump in there with a siphon tube, since the TBI 2.5L is ling gone. That pump is pushing 12+ psi into the pump on the 350 block, and that may explain the leak, but that's the way all '87 LG4 f-cars were, right from GM. Anyway, the alt and the pump on the 350 will be this afternoon, and the tank will be when I get close to an empty gas tank.

[Atilla the Fun]

Again I'm reminded why I love EFI. The damn thing has developed a lean surge with this cold weather, I'm going to have to open up the Q-Jet, adjust the APT screw, change the primary rods, reassemble it, then readjust the idle mix, then idle speed, and maybe even play with twisting the distributor. It's not just laziness, it's knowing that even doing this with a wide band EGO, I'm still not as spot-on at all times like closed-loop. And even if I had a stock-style hot air setup, it still wouldn't help with traction in the snow. I hafta get a new ignition module in the Probe so I can drive that. The LTD has electrical gremlins too.

[The Dark Side of Will]

The shoemaker's children never have shoes.

[Atilla the Fun]

Ain't that the truth.