Why S10 not commonly lifted??

Hey
I was wondering why there arnt many S10's lifted id think theyd be a good 4x4 with a small wheel base and able to drop a 350 in it. I dont see anything wrong with them other than the IFS but that can be changed to a straight axle. im just confused on why they arnt common. And would like to know what u guys have to say about it?

[MouseMotor]

yea, that would be a good off roader. but you can get a jeep of the same size with a solid already. most people don't bother with the s10 swap.

[c_rock]

I had a 92 S10, and it was just too expensive to lift it enough to put a decent size tire on it. I would have loved to put a solid front axle and leaf springs under the front.
I agree with you, it would be a good package. Mine had the 4.3 and 5speed, which I think is the absolute best package for that truck.

[4x4mike]

Cost to lift it can be as much as a k series truck. I see trucks in town that have 3" body lifts and one that has a stacked frame. Online there are more SAS S-10's but with full width axles like Rockwells. Way overkill for a DD.

I wanted to lift my '90 s-10 blazer. The 5 in suspension lift is costly. To get around that i wanted to swap to solid front axle, thinking ones from a cherokee or wrangler, I could fab and lift at same time. That would just as costly. Jeep axles around my area are expensive.

Hopefully i'll make it easy and come across another cj5, and forget about the s-10

[lumberjack94]

What everybody else said, its too expensive to try and fit a 33" tire on one without going SFA. Then your looking at a lot of time and money to do that swap. Then if you wanted more power, the 350 swap is "easy" in major terms. But if you don't know what you're doing, you can get in over your head too quick. I own a 1995 ZR2, and its good for daily abuse type of stuff stock... But I plan on doing the SFA one day- not sure about the 350 just yet though.

I go the s-series route because its unique compared to everybody else's jeep with the 4" lift and 35's. Gets boring after a while. I would rather see something someone didn't copy from his neighbor two houses down if you know what I mean.

[Hanr3]

You guys are just looking in the wrong places. There are tons of lifted S10's out there. Even a site dedicated to Extreme S10's.

Yes, you can fit 33" tires inexpensively if you know what you are doing. 3" body lift, minor fender trimming, a little firewall massaging and they fit just fine.

Don't waste your time or money on stock Jeep axles. They aren't any stronger then your IFS stuff. The only exception would be the D44 front axle.

there used to be a kit made for the solid axle swap, many are dublicating it in there own swap.


I prefer the S10 over a Jeep Wrangler style for many reasons.
Better wheel base, boxed frame, 4.3L V6, easily swap in a V8 (especially if you have a 4.3L, hooks up to the same tranny), flat bottom, and parts are everywhere. Not too mention the 700R4/4L60/4L60E tranny has great gearing, 3.06 first gear and .70 overdrive. Plus the t-case is a NP207/231/233 with 2.72 low gear. I my personal opinion the S10 is a much better platform for a serious off-road rig then a Jeep. The only thing you need to do on the S10 is swap under beefy soild axles. With the Jeep you need to stretch the frame, swap in bigger axles, and swap in an engine/tranny/t-case. Sure the Jeep is better suited for out of the box wheeling, but after that, the S10 has the advantage. Check out those bigger Jeeps, what engines are they running? What trannies are they using? Where did they get those engines and trannies?

[MouseMotor]

http://www.s10extremist.org/

That is an s10 website.

The v8 swap is not hard. I've never done it, but i've read about it. It basically requires some different motor mounts if you already have the 4.3. If you have a 60 degree motor it gets a little harder. There are some issues that come up, but none are major.

As for lifting the stock IFS, i've seen it done. But none of the kits out there are all the great. I've seen more than one s10 with a body lift combined with a set of shackles and cranked t bars. This allows for 31's or 33's, but is really not a good idea for a number of reasons. Yea, it will go down the road. But it will have poor road manors and not hold up to any hard wheeling.

The s10 was never meant to be hard core off roader. But, with a posi rear and a aggressive tires you should be able to go many places.

[Hanr3]

[ QUOTE ]
http://www.s10extremist.org/

That is an s10 website.

The s10 was never meant to be hard core off roader. But, with a posi rear and a aggressive tires you should be able to go many places.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hahahahahaa
The only true hard core rigs are built, not bought.
Here is one example of a hard core '92 4dr S10Blazer, and the entire build up. Were talking military 2 1/2 ton axles, the stock 4.3L pushing monster tractor tires.
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=225549

If you prefer something with more eye candy, check out this truck. http://www.s10extremist.org/bad-bowtie.htm or how about this one? http://www.s10extremist.org/dieseljeff-sfa.htm

Yes, S10-Extremist is a great website if your serious about building your truck into a capable off-road rig. How capable depends on how much work your willing to put into it. Like I said, Jeeps are great out of the box, but after that I prefer the S10 platform to work with.

Here is a teaser pic. lol
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attac...p;d=1109392882

[lumberjack94]

The last link(teaser link) don't work... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

I don't like the body lifts, just because too many people do them half ass and make them look like crap. I might do a 2" just so I can get my transmission out to change clutches without having to jack the body off the frame every time...

The BDS and Superlift suspension lifts aren't bad but I would rather trim and add minor t-bar adjustments to fit 33's...


Tom