Hey everyone, I thought I would start up a thread on here about the Bitch' S-10 project. This is a 1983 S-10 that was owned by my father in law and now belongs to my wife. It has (stock) a 2.8L V6 in it with a 4 speed manual transmission. No idea on the rear end gears. We have been planning for years to get this truck done, and now, it is finally happening. The plan is to do not only a V8 swap, but to also put a 700r4 overdrive transmission in it. There is not a part of this truck that we will not touch. It needs a lot of work, but that is half of the fun. So here is part 1 of a very long series on this truck. Every project has to start somewhere, and this one starts with pulling and pushing it with my tractor into the garage which we just cleaned out just for this truck. And the guy in the picture with me is my brother in law Bryan.
I always wanted to do an S-10. I bought a new one back in 1984, but it was a 4x4, 5-speed w/2.8L V-6. Really want to do an S-10 2-wd, V-8, Auto with my 14 Yr Old Grandson. Think he'd drop his iPhone for a good while, and get interested in cars/trucks. Planning ot take him to the Drag Strip to watch "Gramps" and his 98 SS this spring. As for the S-10; I always though a good drivetrain, parts vehicle would be a crashed/rebuildable/running Corvette or Camaro. from the mid 90's and then swap and cut to fit as needed.
A Grand National drivetrain would fit and be plenty of HP, likely on the pricey side though... Tough to beat a SBC for bang-for-the-buck.
I need to see what all this rear end has. I have no idea on gears, I'm sure it's an open diff and I'm sure I will have to put axles in it that are a little stronger. But I have thought about having to replace the rear and put a limited slip rear in it. The engine and transmission are going to be great, but like I stated, I'm just not sure how much engine I want. The more I think about it, the more I'm thinking about not going to radical and just doing a mild RV cam. Just something to give it a little lope and some bottom end grunt. Add that with the OD 700r4 and what I think are probably 3.08 gears (will find out later) and I will have a sweet little highway truck.
Just looking at it, it's not that bad. I think about 400hp is all I would put to it, but I doubt I will even be going that high with this build.
/ GU4=3.08 GU5=3.23 GU6=3.42 GT4 or GQ1=3.73 GT5=4.10 HC4=4.56 G80 - limited slip differential Check the codes in your glove box to know which gear ratio you have.
Oh trust me, I already know about the codes (see my sig ), and they are no where to be found. Everything has been removed by someone... So I get to do this the old fashioned way lol.
Light as that thing is it'll move with a good V8 build. Do you plan to paint it or are you going to keep it like it is, maybe a sleeper?
We are definitely going to paint it. The paint that is on it is coming off in multiple sections, the back of the cab, inside the cab, door jambs and so on are the factory baby crap yellow that this truck was originally painted in. You will see what color we are talking about in the next video after I clean out that bed lol. Man, any horizontal surface around here is a catch all for anything and everything lmao.
It will definitely be lowered. This thing is jacked up lol. The V8 will give the front a little bit of a lowered stance just with the weight and I want to wait until we get the engine in the truck before we decide on how much lower we want to go if any. The rear, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. The only way to lower the rear is with lowering blocks since the axle sits on top of the springs. And to get it down where we want it, we would need a 4" block and that would get the spring hangers really close to the ground. I have thought about notching out the frame and getting a litle lower stance that way, but hell, that is a lot of work. I know there are other kits such as coil overs, 4 links and so on that I could do, but I think that may be out of our price range...
Speedway motors part number 91782113 has 3" drop leaf springs for the S10. My neighbor sold an S10 and I missed getting it. I've got a Chevy 400 sb and 700r4 in the shed looking for something to sit in.
My old man had a 84 2.8 auto . LOVED that lil truck. I to would love a v8 in one.... stock ls1 would be perfect for me. A friend had a 91 with a 4 cyl 5 speed... he got a suspension kit from godfather customs... spindles shackles ,etc. The kit was WAAAAYYYYYYY to stiff, used to beat all tue suspension stuff out of it yearly... so be careful who you decide to get your suspension from. Looked good with the 3rs gen GTA wheels ...245/50/16. A friend had an early ford ranger, with a weak 302 in it.... mild shift kit. Was two tone....White and red with a picket fence side rails in the back.... California slots for wheels. Looked like a great redneck truck.... and even with the weak 302.... that light weight rearend....made it a real fun truck to zip around in the city.... tires lit up easy...no drama lol.... didnt need gobs of power to enjoy it. I remember the frame looking pretty dang beefy for a little truck on my Dads 84 s10... dam ....miss that truck Have ya done much to it yet?
