ViRuS 1993 s10, V8, 6 speed project

[ViRuS]

Okay so i had a few people show interest in my s10 project from my other post so i figured i would add some pics of the truck and my goals.

I started looking for a 2wd low milage 1st gen s10 that was a standard cab short bed. It had to be black with a V6 and a 5 speed. It took me about a year to find one that was local and didnt have any rust!

I found one about 40 minutes from me at a small used car dealership and out the door it cost me around 1,700.

Here it is the day i purchased it






So i was originally using it as a work truck but im not the type to leave something stock so i was looking into making a 2wd pre-runner type off road truck outa it hence the roll bar in the 2nd picture lol...






Then.. i found out that the only lift kits they made were for 4wd trucks and wouldnt bolt up so i decided to lower it 3 inches front and back for starters...

thats a 3 inch drop block on the tire



dropped 3 inches





tinted the front windows 20% and then switched the rear window to a 1 piece and tinted it 5%



I then went on to paint the frame, de-badge it, strip the sidemoldings off and whatnot and make it like new again..

















Well one day i was driving on rt 22 and my oil pump went and it only had 85K on it so i decided to fix it and hope i didnt mess up the main bearings...

you could tell that whoever owned the truck previous didnt take care of the oil changes,there was alot of sludge..



I put it back together and it had an engine knock... so it was on its way out... it lasted about another 500 miles that way.

So with a broken truck i wanted to make something fun to play with. I already had a V8 engine that i had built for my camaro as well as a 6 speed manual, so i figured why not!

I bought a harwood cowl hood for the clearence i needed and started collecting the engine swap parts...















pulled a rear outa a mercury moutaineer suv..
8.8 with 373's disk brakes vs the stock drum brakes, and it has a lsd in it





Bought a brand new corvette radiator for it



1985 pontiac fiero gt bucket seats, mint condition! and they have the speakers in the headrest's





And the motor...and yes i am going to repaint it bc it didnt come out the color i thought it would be

Its a 350 block bored 40 over, with many extra's... thats all im going to say














Old engine and tranny is out!





hehe...





Motor and tranny going in for a test fit...













serp belt setup off a vortec motor





had to cut the radiator support to mount the corvette rad in the forward location..



mounted the fenders





measuring room for some electric cooling fans...









And thats how it sits as of now.. i added front drop spindles and with the v8 and 6 speed it lowered the front a total of 6 inches now, and now im having rubbing issues so im going to have to tub the front firewall. After that is the rear suspension,then the exhaust and fuel system. Followed by the clutch and flywheel and finally rims and tires. Im hoping to have it running by summer and right out of the box it should do high 12's with no tuning. After i set up the suspension at the track i am going to swap in another engine that im currently having built with even more hp. And the best part about this build is that even with a V8 and a 6 speed, it only weighs in at 2,900 pounds

[Turbo_CitrusEs]

Looks awesome!!! Now get the dam thing running

[Nick Merrone]

SEXY!!!!!!!!!

needs more low!

[97slocav]

love the truck, my buddy has a white blazer xtreme that he wanted to swap in an lsx.t56 the only way to go.

[lagos]

I'm not a truck guy by any means, but thats a really cool project you got going on. Props! Looks like its fairly easy to work on too.

[Protege v2.5]

Very cool project

[TROLL]

I really like what you've got going on here.. this isnt normally my style either but I really appreciate the quality of your work, and the truck looks really nice. Keep it up! And glad to have you as a part of TST...

[sundaybikes]

Originally Posted by TROLL

I really like what you've got going on here.. this isnt normally my style either but I really appreciate the quality of your work, and the truck looks really nice. Keep it up! And glad to have you as a part of TST...

+1

did the rear from a mountaineer come from a parts car or did you get it at a junkyard? it just sounds like you robbed the rear from a perfectly working car haha

[Honest_Bob]

Nice progress.

[Slowlane]

nice work. what's involved with installing the 8.8? this gives me inspiration to go work on my fullsize. i'm planning a drop and a 5.3 4l60e combo when work picks up.

[HickRocket1258]

Nice build. Love the s10s with a 350. But hopefully you can go bigger. I have somewhat similar plans in the future when I pick up a truck.

[ViRuS]

Originally Posted by TROLL

I really like what you've got going on here.. this isnt normally my style either but I really appreciate the quality of your work, and the truck looks really nice. Keep it up! And glad to have you as a part of TST...

Thanks, i appreciate it!

[ViRuS]

Originally Posted by sundaybikes

+1

did the rear from a mountaineer come from a parts car or did you get it at a junkyard? it just sounds like you robbed the rear from a perfectly working car haha

LOL nah i pulled it from a junkyard mountaineer.. i also forgot to mention that since its from an suv instead of a mustang, it has the stronger 31 spline axles instead of the 28 spline! so i should have no problem running drag radials at the strip And best part is i only paid 56 dollars for it

[ViRuS]

Originally Posted by Slowlane

nice work. what's involved with installing the 8.8? this gives me inspiration to go work on my fullsize. i'm planning a drop and a 5.3 4l60e combo when work picks up.

well im not sure with your fullsize. I used to have a 85 c20 with a 1 ton suspension but that was a few years ago. As far as the s10 since its a narrow truck the 8.8 is 6 inches wider than the old axle, but the spring perches are all within 1/2 inch clearence of the old axle, plus the e-brake is on the same side as the s10's 7.5 axle so its really easy to make eveything work. The best part is that alot of the axles came with disk brakes,compaired to the s10s drum.. and most of the rears are either a 373 or a 411 gear and if the tag reads 3L73 or 4L11 it has a locker in it. Its fords version of an lsd.

Since the rear is 6 inches wider im going to have to buy some CRAZY back spaced rims and im gonna have to tub the rear bed. I was looking for a decently priced rear that would fit with minimal changes and that would take the abuse i intend to throw at it so it works for my project quite well. You might be better off switching in a 14 bolt rear from a fullsize chevy idk though.

[ViRuS]

Originally Posted by HickRocket1258

Nice build. Love the s10s with a 350. But hopefully you can go bigger. I have somewhat similar plans in the future when I pick up a truck.

Bigger? hehe ive got something in the works...Im sticking with a long stroke small block though no matter what bc a big block would make the truck even more nose heavy. Im either going with a 383 stroker or a 400 bored out to a 406. I bought a few books on engine building and have yet to decide which engine build im going to use. I will have over 500 hp with the new engine no matter which engine i choose to copy

[Got Insulin?]

Love it. My best friend had an 88 s10 with a 350 SBC and a turbo 350, and a custom girraffe suede interior (it was as rediculous as it sounds).Aside from the total bitch of changing the spark plugs, it was an absoulute blast. I wish you all the best with the swap. Unfortunately, a drunk driver pinched him at a stop light, and destroyed the truck.

[97slocav]

i vote 383 stroker. a friend on mine did that with his noma gt and it hauls ****ing ass without the 150 shot hes got on it.

[HickRocket1258]

I think a 383 would be good for that truck. My camaro has a 383 and I love it. Thing moves when it needs to.

[Vtecepidemic]

im jealous of how far that front end breaks down... that makes it soo much easier to do anything.

But **** dude, your garage space is rediculously close to the road side. You ever worried about ppl just pulling up and taking your ****?


reguardless though, great work thusfar. nice clean truck & im def. loving the fact it'll have a 6spd.

[Brazen06]

Nice project! i Just bought a 97 S-dime that i plan on using as a DD...mines only a 2.2 5 speed though, gotto have one car that uses 87 octane...lol