I found this truck quite a few years ago on eBay. A guy in Indiana had listed it but it came from the deep South (Arkansas). He bought the truck to daily drive it but described it as "too nice for a daily driver". My son and I drove up to Indiana to pick it up and it was really nice. It had a 2.8 V6 and 5 speed manual and was painfully slow. It was super clean though and everything worked including the AC. The drive home to Kentucky was uneventful.
The truck is very original; the paint is original and so is the interior. It is not perfect but it is very presentable. The older man that owned the truck for most of its life kept a seat cover on it so the seat is like new.
Work began on the LS swap in 2017 and it was finished in 2018.
It has a Chevrolet Performance LS3 crate engine and T56 Magnum 6-speed manual transmission. The engine is controlled by a Holley EFI Dominator ECU. We put it together with a lot of Holley LS swap parts.
We also wanted it to drive and handle well so we did a lot on the chassis. Over the years GM made numerous improvements to the S10 platform. Here's a summary of the work on the chassis:
S10 8.5" 2WD rear axle with disc brakes
This was a factory option so it was a bolt-in deal. We put an Eaton Trutrac diff in it with 3.73 gears and new axles, an aluminum cover, refreshed the brakes, and freshened it up with a bit of semi gloss black paint.
S10 Blazer (4 Door) 2WD spindles in the front with modern sealed bearings and larger 2-piston disc brakes
Since these came on the later (round body) 2WD Blazers this was also a bolt-on
We later swapped the spindles out for Belltech dropped units (and springs) for the same late model Blazer application
I love how the modern sealed bearings allow the flat caps on the wheels which really updates the look
S10 Extreme (ZQ8) sway bars front and rear
Also a bolt-on and really improved the handling
We tried a ZQ8 hop shock on it but the LS3 overpowered it and we ended up removing the hop shock and going with Caltracs springs and bars to control the wheel hop with lowering blocks to dial-in the ride height
I originally thought about a quick ratio ZQ8 steering box but figured anything used would need to be rebuilt anyway so I had Lee Power Steering build an upgraded box for me with quick ratio gears and a 25 lb. valve for a light steering feel. The Lee box is awesome.
A set of Rocket Attack wheels and Michelin tires round out the handling package.
Front
Wheels - 18" x 8" with 4.75" backspacing
Tires - 245-40-18 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+
Rear
Wheels - 18" x 10" with 5.5" backspacing
Tires - 285-40-18 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+
The truck handles great and is super nice and easy to drive. The 430 HP LS3 will spin the tires at will and and yet the drivability is awesome. I love shifting the T56. The truck is comfortable too. The AC is ice cold. When the Caltracs are tightened up the ride in the back is a little too stiff but it's tolerable with them loosened up a bit. I may check into some bars that have rubber in them instead of spherical rod ends. The Hooker BlackHeart exhaust is reasonably quite at idle and at cruising speeds but it really let's you know it's there when you get into it.
The truck still isn't a daily driver although I often drive it to work when the weather is nice. I've put over 1500 miles on it since was finished. Sometimes in the past I've gone too big (tires too big, gears too big, cam too big, etc. etc. This truck was built with a little restraint and although it's super quick it is an absolute joy to drive.
Since we didn't repaint it the project got done a lot more quickly than it would have otherwise and didn't cost nearly as much. No paint meant no waiting which has allowed me more time to enjoy driving it. I've been asked why I didn't paint the chassis (it is wearing a light coat of surface rust). My answer is always that I just having too much fun driving it! This has really been a fun project and we learned a ton!
GM LS2/LS3 Engines and 2007 to current 4.8/5.3/6.0 Truck Engines with 58x crank reluctor - with DRIVE-BY-WIRE, No Laptop Required, 3.5" Touchscreen Included
Future plans include:
Power steering cooler
New links with rubber bushings to replace spherical rod ends on Caltrac bars
Try 255-40-18s on front
Extra set of wheels and tires for drag racing
Shift Light
Autocrossing
Drag racing
GM LS2/LS3 Engines and 2007 to current 4.8/5.3/6.0 Truck Engines with 58x crank reluctor - with DRIVE-BY-WIRE, No Laptop Required, 3.5" Touchscreen Included
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Comments
Colin
07/17/2019Keith
08/16/2019Vincent
08/23/2020Ry
04/22/2021Mike
12/07/2021