After messing around with that Mercedes hub cap, I realized how the crummy plastic rim covers I have would be a great start for
some aero hub caps!
The master plan on the entire project includes:
Diesel engine swap (and running on Bio-diesel)
Aero-hubcaps
Aero-Cap (possibly hinged, more than likely to be fiberglass)
Lowering the vehicle? (not sure about that one. I lowered the back 3 inches with blocks a while back, but then I couldn't load up my electric motorcycle anymore, the bed hit the bump stops. Maybe airbags?)
Different differential gears (I don't know too much about this, but I think with the extra diesel torque, I could go to a little higher gear in back.
I have a Mercedes 240D sitting in my driveway right now, to use whatever parts off of it I need. The 4 cylinder diesel is almost the exact same size as the S10s 2.2l engine. Unfortunately, only the automatic transmission was available in the US for the 240D.
Unless I can dig up a 240D MANUAL transmission (and customize the driveshaft) the current plan it to pull the diesel engine and figure out what adapter plate would be needed to mate it to the truck's transmission.
I did do a search for the diesel S10s a while back. They were made for about 2 years, and basically DON'T exist anymore.
That's sort of the the starting point as to why I am doing this project. There ARE NO decent (not HUGE) diesel pickup trucks in this country! The old Mercedes diesel engines have a great track record - so, put the two together!