Nate's 1991 Chevrolet S10

350 V8

This is my S10 When I First Purchased It!

I purchased this truck in the fall of 1998 from Pierce Auto Sales in Eagle Lake, Minnesota. I had just gotten my driver's licensce and enough money to get a vechicle and I really wanted a S10. The truck came with a 4.3 liter V6, and a 700R4 Automatic Overdrive Transmission. Other factory options included the Tahoe package(AM/FM Radio, Map Lights, Upgraded Interior etc..) I drove the truck for the remainder of my senior year in high school and loved it! On my 18th birthday, i took some of my graduation money and had dual exhaust put on, which was the best thing i have done to my truck except the V8 swap!

I've done many modifications to this truck, and it no longer looks or drives the same way anymore.

In the summer of 1999, i got the chance to drive a 350 V8 S10. That forever changed my life. I had to put a V8 in my truck! So, the journey was about to begin...

First, I went looking for a V8. It so happened that my uncle had a 1992 350 TBI motor from a Suburban in his garage that he would sell. I picked the whole thing up including heads, new manifold, new TBI unit, and the whole works for $100 dollars. Not a bad deal. I brought the whole works home from St.Charles one weekend, and then proceeded to have all the machine work done at NAPA Auto Parts in Mankato. After a few weeks of working hard for the money, i finally had all the machine work done, bought the rebuild kit, and a new DANA camshaft for the motor.

The next step was to have someone show me how to put this thing together! It just so happens that my uncle Gene is a GM techician at House Chevrolet in Stewartville Minnesota. Things were slowly falling into place. It took about two weekends to finish the motor up, and it went very well. I had the camshaft degreed so that I could reap the all of the benefits of having a performance camshaft. We also installed a high volume/high pressure oil pump, and moly piston rings. Late that night, we loaded up the V8 in the back of the S10 and headed home to Mankato.

Well, weeks went on until I could get into my buddies shop in North Mankato. My good friend Jason Thate helped me with all of this..I owe a lot to him.. he's great. On the third weekend of November of 2000, the swap had started! I painted the 350 block and heads Chevrolet Orange, the manifold was painted a aluminum color, and the water pump, valve covers, oil pan,and exhaust manifolds were painted gloss black..it really looks sweet! We started by pulling the truck in, and disasseblying the 4.3 V6. Everything went really smooth and easy at this part. We had the motor stripped down to nothing by 2:00 pm. I had sold the 4.3 already, and the guy was anxious to get it, so my buddies Ben Albrecht, Andy Jensen and Dan Kramer helped take the old motor to New Ulm where the guy lived. I dropped the V6 off and got my money . We stopped at the McDonalds in New Ulm, and I bought everyone dinner.

The next day, we started cleaning the engine bay, and putting in the 2.8 motor mounts. This was a pain in the ASS!! To get the 4.3 mounts out, you had to undo the lower control arm. Was almost impossible to the bolt back in. It took like 3/4 of the day to get the mounts in. Later that night...it was the moment of truth..with all of us there, we took the engine off the stand, and put it on the hoist. We left the trasmission in the truck, so it went pretty easy. We lined everything up, and on the first try, we got it to mate up with tranny! AWESOME!!!. We left the swap mounts and exhaust maifolds off. After the engine was bolted in...we called it a night..finally I now have a V8 S10.

Today, we started hooking up all the accesories and wiring. A few wires had to be extended, like the coolant temp sensor and a few other things, but everything bolted up nicely. Everything was starting to come together today. We bolted on the Throttle Body and got everything hooked up. I had one problem though..the throttle cable and TV cable would not mate to this style TBI! That sucked ASS! We had to fabricate some new brackets to get to work. After the TBI unit was together, and all the wiring was done, we tried running it..it fired for about three seconds and quit. We had a hell of a time with timing and such...which i guess is something i learned from this swap..timing is the key.

A few days went by and we could not figure out why this thing would not run! It would pop and kick, and run really rich for some reason, but never run just right. Well, after checking all the timing and spark plugs and all the stuff, we were really stumped, because it was all on. Jason, being the master mechanic that he is, suggested we do a vacuum test...and that gave us our answer..the needle was bouncing all over the place. This meant that we had some kind of valve timing problem. It ended up that we had the valves adjusted wrong, and on about three cylinders the exhaust valve was not even opening!! After getting this fixed, she fired right up, and ran perfect, but a little rich yet. I topped the engine off with a chrome Edelbrock Air cleaner assembly with a K&N Airfilter element.

During the next week, Jason put in the radiator, installed the electric fan, put the front of the truck back on, and other things. This guy is a genius folks...he fabricated some awesome brackets for the fan, and still managed to use the factory air shroud. I love it! The truck drives great now, and has that great lumpy idle to it!

Also during this week, Jason, the Exhaust pro, fitted a new crossover pipe and ran temporary dual exhaust. Jason works/owns/operates Exhaust Pro's in North Mankato, so he is a expert at this stuff! I would recommend if you need any exhaust work, including dual exhaust, come to this guy or give him a call at (507)385-0885!

Two weeks later, after driving the truck, i took 3rd and 4th gear out of the tranny. It just burned them up! I think the engine had too much horsepower and torque for the V6 tranny. I was now in search of a new tranny! I posted a add of S-Series.org. It just so happens, that Andrew Rathbone replied to my message and said that he had a built 700R4 for sale. The tranny had kevlar racing bands and clutches, corvette servo and boost valve, and a B&M Street/Strip shift kit installed. I picked it up for $450 dollars shipped to Minnesota. I want to thank Andrew for selling this to me, its really gonna help me out!

Well, it is now the end of Feburary and I just started swapping my tranny. The swap is going fairly well, the only thing i've had to change is the speedometer ring because I have a VSS on my truck! I can't wait to get the truck moving again.

I also picked up a rearend from a S10, which has 3.42 gears and a posi. I'll keep you updated on the swap!

Body and Interior/Exterior Mods!!!

Now the real fun begins! I've got a "buddy" that lives in Vadnis Heights, Minnesota that is going to be shaving my door handles/locks, installing the poppers, power windows, shaving the tailgate, and welding in a steel rollpan. I'm also having some minor surface rust taken care of at this time too. This is really going to set my truck off. Thanks a lot Dylan for helping me out!!! This should all be done by April of 2001. I'll post some pics ASAP!

I've got a good lead on a Checkmate Flush Tonneau cover which is in Foley Minnesota. I'm waiting on the auction to end, so I can go get it. Gonna look Sweet!!

Earlier this year, I purchased some lowering equipment. I bought a 3/4 drop for it. It included the lower control arm drop for the front and leaf springs/ blocks for the rear. It's gonna give it the stance I want! SWEET!

I also have purchased a smoothie bumper for the front of the truck from Stylin' Concepts. I would suggest buying from this company! They have very nice stuff! \

My windows will be tinted by Toppers Plus in Mankato. I'm going 50% on the sides and 5% on the rear window. That is the legal limit in Minnesota.

I'm now waiting for the funds to get some Street Scene mirrors from AIM industries. These will replace the ugly factory "dumbo ears" mirrors for a sleek look.

I've got some clear tail lights and bumper/corner lights to install too...

After the body mods are done, I'm having the truck painted Ford Chrome Yellow. This is the brightest yellow I could find. It looks awesome! Truck should be painted in second week of May.

To finish the exterior off, I purchased some 15X7 Billet Centerline Stars from my buddy Ben Albrecht. I'm going to use the tires that are on the truck now, BFGoodrich Radial T/A's, although I might get some bigger tires for the rear, something like 255/60/15. I've got 235/60/15 all around now.

For interior mods, I've installed a set of black S10 Blazer buckets and center console. I've also installed a three guage cluster w/tranny temp guage, water temp guage, and a voltmeter. I also picked up a B&M Light Truck MegaShifter from Wayne Winsett in Waco, TX. Thanks Wayne!!! I also have installed a steering wheel from a 1993 S10 Blazer, much nicer, has a performance feel to it.

My system...Well I just purchased a Clarion DRX9375r for a head unit, and some DEI amps to power the surround speakers and the subwoofer. My friend Steve is going to flush mount the deck and amps for me this spring, I can't wait. I've got a Rockford Fosgate 10" Punch Subwoofer in there now, but am going to get a 10" JL 6w sub. Should sound real nice when finished. Also going to install a Viper Alarm System soon!

Well, there you have it. It has come along way..and I would like to thank all the people that have helped me through this..I owe you big time! I can't wait to go cruzin!!

I'm now looking for a 1991 GMC Syclone! If you have one for sale, and live in the Minnesota area, please let me know. I've always wanted one, and want to get one for my collection of S10's!!! I would perfer one near stock if possible.

Thanks To:

Darwin Hanson, Arly Hamman, Jason Thate, Gene Spitzer, Jeff Grimmier, Ben Albrect, Andy Jensen, Dan Kramer, Dylan, Randy Christensen, Rich Losletter, Wayne Winsett, Andrew Rathbone, Richie Taylor, Nate Philippi, CarQuest Auto Parts of Mankato, NAPA Auto Parts of Mankato, NAPA Auto Parts of Rochester,NAPA Auto Parts of St.Charles, Clements Auto, House Chevrolet, Exhaust Pro's of North Mankato, Western Auto of Mankato, Toppers Plus Inc, Stylin' Concepts, Summit Racing Equipment, Jegs Automotive, B&R Auto Salvage of Beuford, Viking Auto Salvage, Van's Auto Salvage, Hyvee Food Stores, JTR Swap Manuals.