This truck started life just as any other 1989 S10-4x4. It was pretty much loaded from the factory with such options as Apple Red paint, a 4.3 V-6, 700r4 Od. tranny, and most other factory options with the exception of power windows & door locks. (It's a truck who needs those anyway.) A few dealer-installed options also came with the truck such as rear sliding window, Stainless Steel vent shades, and a bed mat. The one option it did not come with was the optional tires, it was wearing tiny 205-75r-15s. It stayed pretty much this way with the exception of 30-9.50-15 All Terrain tires until fall of 1993 when the bug bit.

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Mark bought the truck brand new 89 and in 93 the mods started to accumulate.	33's are mounted on the S-10 in its early stages.

The bug brought Toyota Garnet Pearl paint to cover the now faded red, a 3 inch body lift to give a bit more room for some bigger and better meats, 1.5 inch torsion bar tweak along with 1.5 inch shackles for just a bit more room, a set of rubber c-v-joint boots to compliment the increased c-v-joint angle, a set of 33-12.50-15 Wild Country M/T tires for traction, a tool box for the bed (4wheeling tends to break parts every now and again so its only good practice to have tools readily available), a bug shield for those dark country roads, tinted windows to keep the glare out, Baja driving lights on the front bumper, dual tow hooks front and rear (you have to have tow points because everyone gets stuck sometime), a tailgate mat to match the bed mat, and finally a chrome tailgate protector. These additions made the truck much more trail worthy and gave it a more aggressive look.

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Mark added a 383 stroker which is plenty of power for the S-10 and the 38" meats.	A large tranny cooler is added to cool the TH-475 transmission.

Have you ever noticed when you finally take a step forward to doing something, something always sends you backwards two steps? A few months after the above modifications were done someone, turned in front of the truck and sent it on a true off-road adventure at 60+ mph. After going across a ditch big enough to swallow the truck whole, riding 100 feet on two wheels, and hitting a road sign the truck was deemed totaled by the insurance adjuster. True to the old saying, "Its not what you buy but what you build that counts", the truck was now at stage three of its build up. After a new bed, two new doors, a fender, a complete front suspension makeover, and some fresh paint it was back on the road once more, or was it. Nope, it was time for more additions to the list while it was out of commission. It was time for a more aggressive look and a little beef under the hood. This time the additions changed the look of the truck more drastically. With a new set of 33 inch Wild Country M/T tires in the new tread style, a shiny set of 15x10 chrome wheels for a little added width, double-single tube rollbar for looks as well as a bit of safety, four KC daylighters w/covers for added off-road visibility, a new double slider back window since the latch on the stock one had broken, Bushwacker cut-out flares to cover those wide wheels, a Bearcat scanner, an RCI 2970 cb/ham radio housed in a custom console w/102 whip for communicating with others, a class III Reese hitch for towing duties, a fresh Z71 TBI 350 to pull those 33s with ease, a fresh rebuild on the 700r4 which included a shift kit-corvette servo- & 1800 stall converter, and a set of dual exhaust equipped with 3 chamber Flowmaster mufflers. In this form the truck was driven 60,000 miles with no major problems other than the typical rear end and c-v-joint failure. (Mostly because of the drivers heavy foot off-roading in the mud.) With less constant pressure on the go-pedal this combo works great as a daily driver as proven by the Baby-Blazer that has this exact combination and is driven daily (The drivers other vehicle).

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The top view of the custom console.	Side view of the console.

As with any off-roader the bug was steadily chewing away. With the constant c-v-joint failure from the weekend trips off-road combined with the heavy foot of the driver, something had to give. This brings us to stage four of the truck build-up. After searching measurements, strength, versatility, and all other options 77 Bronco axles seemed to fit the requirement perfectly. With the addition of a 77 Bronco dana44 with disc brakes, posi with 4.56 gears, 77 Bronco ford 9in. rear with a spool & 4.56 gears, 2.5in. progressive coil springs in the front, custom rear springs, Trailmaster shocks, dual Trailmaster steering stabilizers, scout II steering box equipped with a 2in. drop pitman arm, 75 Bronco steering linkage, Poly. bushings, and new 15x12 Eaton wheels the truck was now almost a foot taller and bulletproof. With the new height the need for back-up lights and Steel Horse steps arose quickly. This set up was great for articulation and smooth street driving but more was wanted, (that bug again.)

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To eliminate any breakage in the rear, a 9" Ford axle with 35 spline shafts was added.	A Dana 44 from a Bronco was added to the front. Crossover steering and coil springs help control where this bad boy is going.

This time (now on Stage 5 of the build-up) brought stiffer coil springs for Mudpit racing in the form of 4 inchers and set of 16-38.5-15 Super Swampers TSLs. Not long after this a new engine-tranny combo was installed. A Big Block was tried but cooling problems made a Small Block stroker motor a better choice. A 400+ h.p. Small Block 383 was deemed perfect for the chore followed by a TCI Turbo-400 tranny built to the hilt with a 2800 Stall converter. Shifting actions were left to a B&M ratchet shifter. Exhaust was expelled by a fresh set of headers and 2.5 duals equipped with 2 chamber Flowmasters. With the new found power parts breakage became a problem again. This brought on more modifications in the form of 3/4 ton driveshafts, 35 spline Detroit Locker for the rear with Moser axles, Dana44 shafts equipped with the larger dana60 joints, and a fresh upgrade on the Turbo-400 which converted it to the current Turbo-475 w/ a bigger 3800 stall. The last edition to this truck was a custom removable winch mount-pushbar and a shiny new Ramsey Pro-Plus-9000lb. winch for tow duties.

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Radius arms are used to keep the Dana 44 under control.	A custom winch mount and a Ramsey Pro 9000 winch are added. The winch can also be mounted in the rear.

Future modifications to this truck will consist of a larger capacity radiator since the current one is borderline, possibly 5.38 gears, a set of 18-39.5-15 Super Swamper Boggers, and a custom overhead console for the numerous switches & gauges. This truck is a never-ending story of ongoing modifications to say the least.

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Did we mention this truck has a minor lift.	After a fun day in the mud!

Mark's Page:
www.s10-4x4.com
Questions or Comments about this page should be directed to:
chevy@off-road.com.