Project: sport handling on a college budget

[S-10Driver]

i've posted a few pics of the truck before but i've decided to throw it all together in one thread. Got this truck in nov of '02 and remained pretty much stock through high school. (played football, had no time to work)



2.2 auto LS, nothing special.....did do a decent burnout though....



in the fall of '04 i installed a undercover tonneau cover, apc clear corners, and 13% tint. also modifed the factory intake (removed silencer, cut open lower air box) and installed a k&n filter.



looked better, still not cool.

summer of '05 i traded my swirls to a guy + cash for a set of old style Zq8's w/ some bald ass tires. so i got some tires too.



finally startin to look better....

Before i got the zq8's i had takin the truck to an autocross race and i was hooked. here is a pic of it right after i got the new wheels:



so the next thing i did was purchased a 4dr blazer front sway bar (same as zq8) off a guy who bagged his for $40. for those wanting some how to it's easy as can be, take old one off, put the new bars frame mount in and bolt it in place of the one one. also got a flowmaster 40 series for free and had it installed.


(pic from ebay)

then i de-badged the truck:





next came me fav part....

in the spring of '06 i picked up a pair of 3" coils from the same blazer guy for $50 and then got a set of 3" blocks from summit and began to lower the truck. the rears were easy except for having to cut the u bolts down w/ a hacksaw. the front we removed the LCA blots and dropped the arm down using a jack. worse part of this was the arms wanted to stick in teh perches and the bolt were a pain to get out. here it is lowered:





the truck handled great....for a while...took it to an auto x and it hauled some ass compared to what it used to do.

VID: http://videos.streetfire.net/search/...4bf25fa284.htm



then the stock shocks gave out. so i relied on cuttin bumpstops more and more till i finally got some new shocks.

fronts: doestch tech ($28 each on clearence from summit)



Rears: monroe air shocks ($73 for both + air line kit)



i got the air shocks so i could adj the rear end stiffness and now i can haul some decent loads in the rear again.



ok...well thats kind of an exageration. lol

also i do not recogmend cutting the front bumpstops down. you gain a little bit more clearnece but it bottoms out much harder.

well anyways, here she sits now:



i just got my refund check from my student loan which means i'm browsing around for more parts. lol for now i think my next mods might be an 'vette tranny servo and maybe a pair of electric fans....and possibly a GM rollpan....

[mattryanmusic]

Looks good, try gettin a zq8 rear swaybar if your into the autocross, I'm sure you can get one cheap. I think the Belltech one is like 150 bucks.

[Verz]

some polyurethane bushings will help tighten things ups, energy suspension makes an s10 kit.

[S-10Driver]

yeah, i might be gettin my hands on a beltech rear bar here soon.

i have the poly sway bar endlink bushings, and poly shock bushing. need some poly sway bar frame mount bushings but i've been lazy. lol

[98layinframe]

actually a rear sway bar can hurt the performance during a autocross conditions. The front of the truck dives hard into a corner, and so the rear sway bar actually ends up trying to pull the inside rear tire off the ground... hense loosing traction and slowing ya down.

I my self have the zq8 bar front and rear on my daily. The front bar is great all the time, while the rear bar is nice for normal driving... but once i get hard into the corners it doesnt ususally help much.

[S-10Driver]

well a sway bar is kind of a bandaid mod to help a poor suspension. it all depends on how hte rest of the rear setup is. teh rear bar should tighten up the rear and will hopefully aid the understeer the truck has in the turns.

i also plan to get a good set of 245/50's after my 235/55's wear down.

[jtcfanof3]

Dont forget a ZQ8 steering box,if your gonna keep auto Xing it would be a worthwhile investment,there are some how toos around on mounting it.

[S-10Driver]

just a small update:

installed the vette tranny servo the other day.

(link to how to thread: http://www.s10forum.com/forum/f105/how-to-vette-servo-install-on-a-2-2-auto-272615/)

going to another autocross this sunday, i'll post a thread w/ pics and vids (hopefully) sometime next week.

[S-10Driver]

I guess i gotta redo some of my thread cause of the site crash...(both my server and the s10forum server. lol)

here are teh vids:

1. YouTube - My S10 truck at an autocross (auto-x vid #1, 3-3 drop w/ stock shocks)

2. YouTube - S-10Drivers '02 S10 autox (auto-x vid #2, 3-3 drop w/ doeschtech front shocks and monroe max airs out back, and vette servo)

3. YouTube - my slow ass truck. (did it for shits and giggles....18.8@71mph..think i'll stick to turns. lol)

when i get some free time at work, we are gonna see if we can get a cherokee rear sway bar to bolt into the truck. (i work at a jeep repair/salvage yard).

[S-10Driver]

well got some good news and some bad news...

the good news:
i got my beltech rear sway bar....it rubs the gas tank a little so i gotta do some customizing to it...



the bad news:







i hydroplaned off the road the other day and stopped in a ditch on top of a tree.....the truck is fine other than the body damage....which i hope will be fixed during spring break.

oh and i also got a billet bowtie from a guy on here...but it needs some massaging to fit into the grill shell, i guess it was homemade...

[sdime98]

i love your truck man...i'm striving for something a little different myself...than the typical, rims and bags truck as you usually see on here...i like what you've done so far...well except the hydroplaning

keep us updated with it man...i'd like to turn my truck into something similar...

maybe eventually 4 wheel coilovers on a front to back fabbed frame, built 4.3, or 5.3, 4-wheel discs, 4 linked, sittin static with some fat thick tires out back...

[S-10Driver]

Quote: Originally Posted by sdime98

i love your truck man...i'm striving for something a little different myself...than the typical, rims and bags truck as you usually see on here...i like what you've done so far...well except the hydroplaning

keep us updated with it man...i'd like to turn my truck into something similar...

maybe eventually 4 wheel coilovers on a front to back fabbed frame, built 4.3, or 5.3, 4-wheel discs, 4 linked, sittin static with some fat thick tires out back...

thanks man, i really appreciate it. yeah, bagged trucks are nice and all, but i just don't wanna do it to my own...it's not my style i guess. i would much rather have a 5.3 between the frame rails, but thats outta the budget...for now. my next mod is some new tires! esp after my offroad excursion. lookin at gettin some 245/50's to replace my 235/55's. little wider, little shorter, should look good and preform well i hope.

[S-10Driver]

Update:

got the new shoes on. got some cheapo Falkens for $290 shipped to the shop....truck is currently in the body shop getting the passenger side fixed. he said that pretty much all of the passenger side will be repainted/blended so she should be lookin good on one side anyways. oh and he's also orderin a new stock front valence for it to replace the busted one.





i'm itching to take it back out to another autocross soon....

[S-10Driver]

good as new!

[95xtreme]

truck looks great. I have thought about auto crossing an s10 but never thought they would preform very well.

[Slammed03]

how much did that cost you to get fix?

[XtremelySLOW]

Quote: Originally Posted by Verz

some polyurethane bushings will help tighten things ups, energy suspension makes an s10 kit.

Yeah they make the kit. I have it. check my sig. for the pictures.

[XtremelySLOW]

Quote: Originally Posted by 95xtreme

truck looks great. I have thought about auto crossing an s10 but never thought they would preform very well.

I race autocross out at firebird in mine. It's all driver skill for autocross and not much about the car. I'm not sayin the trucks are fast, but it's a lot of fun.

[S-10Driver]

Quote: Originally Posted by Slammed03

how much did that cost you to get fix?

$850, my great uncle did the work for me, the quotes from uptown was $1200-1300. it's a pretty good job, theres a few specs in teh clear, but it's not big deal.

Quote: Originally Posted by XtremelySLOW

I race autocross out at firebird in mine. It's all driver skill for autocross and not much about the car. I'm not sayin the trucks are fast, but it's a lot of fun.

exactly! it's fun as hell to autocross, I'll have to find the next time they're running down here. i wouldn't mine putting poly control arm bushings in...but i don't feel like taking the front end apart....cause I'm lazy.

[95xtreme]

Quote: Originally Posted by XtremelySLOW

I race autocross out at firebird in mine. It's all driver skill for autocross and not much about the car. I'm not sayin the trucks are fast, but it's a lot of fun.

I know but I have autocrossed a 914 and and more recently my 06 ss cobalt.
Its alot of fun but seems like the s10's push to much in the front and body roll like no tomarrow.

but mine are all 4x4 or awd.

still looks good. keep up the good work.

[S-10Driver]

Quote: Originally Posted by 95xtreme

I know but I have autocrossed a 914 and and more recently my 06 ss cobalt.
Its alot of fun but seems like the s10's push to much in the front and body roll like no tomarrow.

but mine are all 4x4 or awd.

still looks good. keep up the good work.

you'd be surprised how much a larger front and rear sway bar will tighten up the body roll. my truck doesn't have much at all now. they do tend to plow into the turns, but u can aid it a good bit. my truck was actually a little tail happy last time i took it between the cones, and that was before the rear sway bar....

course....it's not gonna handle like a Porsche though. lol

[ProTouring2.2]

bump for updates

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[S-10Driver]

Quote: Originally Posted by greenflameS10

bump for updates

subscribed

lol, thanks for the bump. my spending funds on teh truck are a little small right now....so i doubt you'll see much new stuff on it for a while. just need to find when the next race is that i can make. i do need to polish and wax it though, theres a little bit of over spray i need to take off the driver side.

[556mm]

man i love your truck. those zeeks look great on there. i can't wait to get mine put on. it's also nice to see someone taking a different route with their truck. are you gonna keep it at 3/3 or are you gonna go down anymore?

[S-10Driver]

Quote: Originally Posted by inprogress10

man i love your truck. those zeeks look great on there. i can't wait to get mine put on. it's also nice to see someone taking a different route with their truck. are you gonna keep it at 3/3 or are you gonna go down anymore?

i wouldn't mind going a little lower, but that would require forking out the cash for new leafs and spindals, which i don't have right now. plus i think a 5/6 is a bit too low for some of these crappy Ga roads...a ZQ8 + 2/3 would be nice though....

[556mm]

Quote: Originally Posted by S-10Driver

i wouldn't mind going a little lower, but that would require forking out the cash for new leafs and spindals, which i don't have right now. plus i think a 5/6 is a bit too low for some of these crappy Ga roads...a ZQ8 + 2/3 would be nice though....

i hear that man. we have some bad roads here as well. i am considering upgrading my front swaybar. what brands do you recommend and what kinda pricing am i looking at? thanks.

[S-10Driver]

Quote: Originally Posted by inprogress10

i hear that man. we have some bad roads here as well. i am considering upgrading my front swaybar. what brands do you recommend and what kinda pricing am i looking at? thanks.

just go to a junkyard and find a 4dr blazer and take the bar and frame mounts from it. the blazer bar is the same one used on the zq8's. 33mm, it's a big mofo.

[ProTouring2.2]

Quote: Originally Posted by S-10Driver

just go to a junkyard and find a 4dr blazer and take the bar and frame mounts from it. the blazer bar is the same one used on the zq8's. 33mm, it's a big mofo.

i'm doing that next week. does it make that big of a difference?

[greencactus3]

good idea! hope you dont mind me stealing that idea!
imgonna take a pic of mine like that sumday too! lol

[S-10Driver]

Quote: Originally Posted by greenflameS10

i'm doing that next week. does it make that big of a difference?

i mean, it's no gigantic improvement, but it's well worth it....esp if you get new poly frame mount bushings and endllinks.

Quote: Originally Posted by greencactus3

good idea! hope you dont mind me stealing that idea!
imgonna take a pic of mine like that sumday too! lol

yeah, i was gonna do the whole cluster, but i don't think i coulda held the camera steady driving down the road. lol that and i wish that stupid neutral limiter wasn't there....cause it woulda looked a lot cooler going to redline.

[ProTouring2.2]

Quote: Originally Posted by S-10Driver

i mean, it's no gigantic improvement, but it's well worth it....esp if you get new poly frame mount bushings and endllinks.



yeah, i was gonna do the whole cluster, but i don't think i coulda held the camera steady driving down the road. lol that and i wish that stupid neutral limiter wasn't there....cause it woulda looked a lot cooler going to redline.

stick shifts dont have rev limiters

[XtremelySLOW]

Hehe yeah they do push.

Just into the corner though. drop a gear and dump the clutch. Makes mine turn every time.

Nice truck btw.

[556mm]

s-10driver what do you use to polish your zq8s, or make them shiny?

[s10W]

nice truck, it looks good. Glad to see your having fun with it. I put a ZQ8 front sway bar on this winter but my truck still has studded snow tires on it so i havn't really been able to try it out yet. You should look into getting an efan for that thing, probably one of the best mods i did to my little 2.2. makes it rev up a lot faster and smoother.

[S-10Driver]

Quote: Originally Posted by inprogress10

s-10driver what do you use to polish your zq8s, or make them shiny?

hehe, my camera.... they really need to be re-cleared. but i usually just wash them w/ soap and water, every once and a while i'll put some wax on them to help keep brake dust off of them...

Quote: Originally Posted by s10W

nice truck, it looks good. Glad to see your having fun with it. I put a ZQ8 front sway bar on this winter but my truck still has studded snow tires on it so i havn't really been able to try it out yet. You should look into getting an efan for that thing, probably one of the best mods i did to my little 2.2. makes it rev up a lot faster and smoother.

i do have an efan on it...that post may have been deleted during the crash.

i guess to bring it up to date:

Mods so far:
33mm front sway bar (w/ all urethane bushings)
25mm beltech rear sway bar
3" ground force drop coils
3" summit blocks
flowmaster 40 series muffler
modified stock intake w/ K&N
e-fan
corvette tranny servo
16" ZQ8's w/ 245/50r16 Falkens
Undercover tonneau cover
APC corners
Sony Xplode CD/MP3 player
old kenwood amp w/ temporary 6x9 "sub" (gonna put a 10" in there....eventually)
billet bowtie ( not installed yet...doesn't quite fit )

[S-10Driver]

Next autocross is May 20th...been getting it ready to race. changed the oil, flushed the rad, put in a 180 deg t-stat (it was running a little hot in traffic w/ the A/C on).

going to Unite on may 19th in live oak, Fl.....gonna give it the old good 'ol polish/wax job after school get outs out.

oh and since theres nothing new to take pics of....heres a little photoshop magic for yall. doubt it'll ever be bagged....but ya never know. lol

[S-10Driver]

went to an auto-x sunday.

thread is here:
http://www.s10forum.com/forum/f29/my...-w-vid-296900/

[Prime.]

That looks like fun..

[sleepr_sonoma]

...a lot of fun makes me want to hurry up and get those new shocks, lowering spindles, and blocks, too haha

nice truck

[S-10Driver]

Quote: Originally Posted by sleepr_sonoma

...a lot of fun makes me want to hurry up and get those new shocks, lowering spindles, and blocks, too haha

nice truck

yeah man, it's a lot of fun to race.

there another race this sunday back up where i'm from....doubt i'll go though, i can't afford to eat my new tires up too fast. lol

[whosbad]

Your truck looks great and looks like you're having fun with the autocross. I have run some too, the first one was funny, it was at a local oval and eveyone was pitted in the middle, I roll in just before it is to start and they were all...you're gonna run that aren't you...Hell yeah. I lead the class until the last run of 5 and the points leader just beat me, in his SVT focus on A compound stickies. But I did beat out some Celicas, Supras and Stangs.

Drop yours with spindles and the roll will decrease, I also went with poly bushings all round. The truck now is rear happy with a little throttle.

Here I am running out through second, four wheel drifting between the cones...



and a pic under the front



keep representing the pick me ups.

[S-10Driver]

man, your truck looks pretty badass on teh oval. the thought of going lower has been slippin' into my thoughs lately, but i can't afford the time or money to do it right now.

[monsterjam5000]

sweet ride

[S-10Driver]

minor update (finally):


got my new valence on from LMC truck and took the old busted one off from the wreck.



thats me and budracing, waited a bit too late to take the pic though.

as for whats next on the list of thing todo:
-major cleanup before the summer showdown (in 2 weeks)
-clean up and hide the efan wiring better

[ProTouring2.2]

yo what wiring diagram did you use for the e fan, and do you have any pics of the relays?

[S-10Driver]

Quote: Originally Posted by greenflameS10

yo what wiring diagram did you use for the e fan, and do you have any pics of the relays?

like i said, it's a work in progress but here ya go:







the hot for the relay is on the lead for the fuse/relay box.
ign source for the relay is in the oxy senser fuse slot (20A)
relay is behind the fuse/relay box on the fender

i wanna hide the wires better and move the thermostat over to the driver side and move the ground from the batt to the frame to make it a "stealth" install.

[ProTouring2.2]

did you notice a difference?

[S-10Driver]

yeah, i noticed a good bit of improvement. i was given the fan, so i didn't have much invested in it. the biggest gain was the gas mileage though. i gain almost 2 more mpg (21 to 23).

the only problem with my fan is that w/ the A/C on sitting in traffic it tends to run hot. if it pulled a little more cfm i imagine it would be fine though.

[S-10Driver]

update!

Taurus fan FTW!!!

thread of setup, wiring, etc here:
http://www.s10forum.com/forum/f105/m...d-pics-310878/





and i bet yall are wondering why the grillshell is off huh??? well you'll find out soon enough...

[sleepr_sonoma]

Quote: Originally Posted by S-10Driver

and i bet yall are wondering why the grillshell is off huh??? well you'll find out soon enough...

What is it with the people on this forum and teasers? Hurry up!