Ben's Pimpin' Purple S10

[bennelson]

Hey Guys,

I just bought a used truck today.

It's a 1998 Chevrolet S10 extended cab.

• 2.2l 4-cylinder engine
• 5-speed manual transmission
• Lowered from stock about 6 inches. (It is LOW!)
• Custom paint job - I believe it is a metallic red coat over a black base. It looks red, purple, or even brown, depending on the light.
• 240,000 miles (engine rebuilt 100,000 miles ago)
• Air-conditioning (First time I've had that on a truck. Nice to have the OPTION to use AC when it's really hot.)
• Very Dark Window Tinting (Helps keep cool in hot summer sun.)
• Manual everything else - No power windows, locks, etc.
• Manually adjustable air suspension in rear

The interior is very clean. Extended cab features two fold-down "jump-seats". These are good for children. My wife and I have a 3-year old girl. This will be perfect for us to be able to pull a camping trailer while seating three.

Driver's seat is worn out, as it seems like they always are on S10s. The driver's seat tilt is broken, and replaced by a Vise-Grips left permanently in its place. I saw some used bucket seats on Craigslist I am going to try to get and install. And I think the joke is on the seller, because I've really been looking for a new pair of Vise-Grips!

The inside of the bed is a bit beat-up, but I have a drop-in plastic bed-liner which should make that look much nicer.

Gas tank leaks.
Power-steering gearbox looks like it has a slow leak
Differential looks like it has a slow leak.

Didn't come with an air-box. Nope, not just missing the airfilter, but the entire air-filter housing was missing. Good thing I just happen to have a large pile of spare S10 parts around.... Let's see here.... Why yes I do just happen to have an air-box. Now for the right hose to attach it with.... Hmm, might have to mod something.

I drove it back home on the freeway about 35 miles, and then some running around town today. Looks like I should be able to hit 30MPG in good weather.

The tires are 44 psi and look pretty new. LOTS of good tread on them. They are the narrower of the stock tires I've seen on S10s.

This will be my long-range daily-driver/work truck.

I don't have too much in mind for immediate eco-mods, other than just fixing what isn't working right on it right now. I have a block heater I may try adding sometime soon.

I'd also like to work on an aero-cap as a winter project.

That's it for now! My old S10 was pretty good for what it was. Got 30 MPG and could tow, haul, carry my motorcycle, etc, but no amount of will-power could hold it together anymore. Once the rear bumper AND exhaust system fell off on the same day, that should have been a good indication that it was time for something different!

[deejaaa]

paint looks slick.

[Joggernot]

Nice looking truck. Fix the leaks and you're set to go. Maybe moonies...

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

I love the look of those extended-cab ones even more than the double-cabs.

[bennelson]

Here's some more photos for you.







You get a little more sense of the size of the truck when it's parked next to someone else.
Height is pretty close to a Gen 2 Prius. (Keep in mind that the Prius in the photo is an inch lower than stock as well!)

I did a little work on the truck. The big thing is that it was missing the air-box when I got it. I dug through my pile of spare S10 parts, and found an air-box, but it's from an earlier model. It's a slightly different version than what should go in there. However, I did notice that the sheet metal inside the truck is still the same, so I could mount the older-syle air-box, but then didn't have the right 3.25" hose to connect it to the air intake baffle-box. So I used what I had, and made the seal with metal foil HVAC tape.







Yea! Now, at least the truck is breathing filtered air, instead of sucking dirt into its engine!

I also adjusted the headlights. They were GLARINGLY high mis-adjusted. I figured out how to tweak them, and got them pointed about where they should go.

Moon hub caps were mentioned. I have ONE full-moon hubcap that fits 15" rims. (I used to have two, because that's how many the junkyard had, and somehow lost one while driving once!)
I popped it on the rear rim, just to see how it looks. I also had a flat wheel cover that I made a few years ago, and put that on the front.



I like the look of full-moon hubcaps. The bright finish doesn't match the paint-job though. It would look great in gun-metal gray. I have a travel coffee mug that would be just the right color.



Here's one more possibility for hub caps. This one is a Wal-Mart 16" pizza pan. I think they are something like $4 each. These are sheet-steel (NOT Aluminum) and is just held in place by magnets so I could take the photo. They don't look bad (not as nice as the actual full-moon, but not bad) and are dirt cheap. I just don't know what the best way to keep them on would be, and how well they would hold up to the weather.



One other odd thing I'm wondering about.... This truck is somewhat de-badged, but it says "STS" on it. I've never heard of a Chevy S10 STS. I would imagine that STS is from some other make of vehicle. Anyone know anything about STSs? I think whoever worked on this truck did it as some type of joke - like that time I saw the Hemi badge on a Prius.

[bennelson]

I SOOOOO want a Prius-shaped truck cap.

Maybe I should start walking through junkyards with a Sawzall...

[bennelson]

Oh, I guess I did an eco-modd. Removed the antennae. The one radio station I listen to can come in without it.

[Sporty Modder]

Sts badge is from a Cadillac, as in sport touring sedan. color match the wally world pizza pans. I think it might look good.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by bennelson

One other odd thing I'm wondering about.... This truck is somewhat de-badged, but it says "STS" on it. I've never heard of a Chevy S10 STS. I would imagine that STS is from some other make of vehicle. Anyone know anything about STSs? I think whoever worked on this truck did it as some type of joke - like that time I saw the Hemi badge on a Prius.

That badge might be from Cadillac.

[spacemanspif]

Plenty of "gun metal" colored spray cans on the shelf of your local auto parts store. You'll want to paint the pizza pans with something otherwise they will rust quickly. Black might blend in well considering you are running on black steelies already. Plasti-dip also makes a 2 different shades of grey that might fit the look you are going for.

Older S10s had optional manual steering, pretty sure the front ends are still the same on the newer ones. You could grab a steering box and idler out of a JY and swap in manual steering in no time. With how light the engine/truck is, you probably won't notice much more steering effort at all.