New Project (S15 Jimmy)

[Zimnij Volk]

Well, at long last I got myself a new truck. I really had my heart set on another old Suburban, but the situation called for a new vehicle, and fast. Lucky for me, I came across this little gem. No, it's not mint, but for $550, I really can't complain.

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Knowing me, I can't wait to dig into it. I've got a lot of things to clean up on it, but overall it's looking pretty well maintained, minus the fact that it's loud enough to make a dragster cringe. I chose the 4 door model because of one crucial fact. It's easier to take a baby in and out. The only 2 door vehicle I'd buy would be a full-sized Blazer or Jimmy (Or Ramcharger if I could find one). I've had my fill of trying to get into the backs of cars. Getting into the back of an SUV I'd be able to do, purely for the fact I could stand up to do it...

I've heard that the small S10/S15 vehicles have a pretty good reputation for being tough and reliable, however I haven't seen many used for Expo, and I'm a bit curious why that is.

I'm thinking of a relatively mild build, hoping to fit some 33" BFG ATs under it with a minimal lift. Does anyone know how wide you can go with a set of 33's on a S10/S15? The 33x9.5 I saw on one just look really skinny.

Now for the pictures:

Not too bad of rust for a WI native vehicle...

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Could use a new center console, or just a new hinge. Depends if I can find a better use for the space...

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If anyone has some ideas for building on the backseat but making it removable for putting a baby seat in when we need it, I'm all ears.

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Kinda a crappy picture, but looks like space is going to be one commodity that will be in very short supply...

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Found this nifty little built-in shelf under the dash. Not quite sure what to do with it yet.

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So today I finally got the chance to take a look under it more in-depth. (It was one of those weeks last week) Found out why it's so loud. Not only does it need a new muffler, it doesn't even have one at the moment. After where the pipes join together, the pipe ends. Further down the line, the part I thought was the most amusing, the final bracket is still holding the end of the tail pipe. There's a big gap of nothing in between. No cat, no muffler, no pipe to speak of. So it looks like I have my first real step here.

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Input, questions, etc. welcome. Helps get the creative juices flowing.

[blaz]

First thing I would do is see what gear ratio and motor it has. If it has a 4.3L motor and 3.73 gears then you will be fine with 33's. If it has a 2putt8 and 3.08 gears then 31's would be the max I would go. I have been looking @ 32's for my 2nd gen blazer. I will see what the future holds because the 31's I currently have are performing well. 3" body lift on the first gen blazers usually clear 31's. If you want to go bigger there is a 2.5" lift from rough country that just came out. Lots of research before each mod will keep you and your bank account happy.

GoodPost up questions and of course pics of the mods!

Good Luck,
Paul.

[whistle pig]

Nice little truck you got there for small money. I would take care of any maintenance issues first. Plugs, oil, front, rear diff, transfer case and tranny. Once your certain of the reliability of it then start the fun stuff. 3'' body lift, some 33'' tires, maybe some cheap pro comp shocks, and then go wheel the hell out of it!!! I've always liked that body style 4 door blazer. Pretty tough little trucks. Through a cheap powertrax no slip locker in the back for tracktion and you'll have a lot of fun with that thing for not a lot of money! good luck

[4BT]

FYI

2nd generation blazer/Jimmy buckets are a nice upgrade over the 82-94 seats. I had a pair of cloth 98 blazer seats and console in my 91 2 door S10 Blazer. Just swap the 1st gen tracks over to the 2nd gen seats.

[98dango]

You can clear 33 9s with 3" of lift and a little trim I had 34s with a 3" body and some tweak ran that til i did the sas. If you have the 4.3 your good if it has the 2.8 keep looking use this as a daily and find some thing else.

[Zimnij Volk]

Man, you can sure tell I was tired when posting this, I forgot to mention that it's a 4.3 Vortec with 3.73 gears. The nice things is, my first truck was the same. Is there a significant difference in the V6 Vortec of '94 than of '97? I can't think of anything right off hand...

The interior swap is very temping. Especially thinking of doing it and using an S10 bench seat to free up the space where we can fold down the 2nd row.... Although I wonder if that would be enough room in the middle, even if the middle person IS a toddler...

[98dango]

the 4-3s are different but the same. injection is different but intake down they will swap

[Rot Box]

Cool!

I've always had a place in my heart for those. Can't wait to see what you do with it.

[4BT]

94 style vortec will interchange with TBI with some modifications, CPI Vortec basically runs one large TBI injector to 6 nozzles and balance shafts started with the Vortecs. Later 96+ vortec had a better flowing head, intake bolt pattern and aluminum lower/plastic upper with poppet injectors. Even later vortec 4.3's such as my 2006 silverado have non egr intakes and LS1 style pedestal roller rockers.


Although this blazer is 2wd, it is running a Fabtech suspension and 32" tires
http://www.off-roadweb.com/features/...aze/index.html

[Zimnij Volk]

Boy am I in for it if I decide to stay with this thing.

It's losing favor with the wife real quick as I'm finding the problems. I haven't really had much time to get into it, but the rust (Although non-existent on the frame) has found other places to take hold. The bottom of the doors are rusted out worse than I thought and will have to be replaced. The engine is starting to act up in more ways than one. The most concerning is after about 15 minutes of highway driving it shifts high and chugs hard, vibrating the entire vehicle, when climbing any hill. When parked I can walk around and smell gasoline. Also, I can't fill the tank over half or it leaks like a sieve. The window's crack has now spidered out and will have to be replaced. And the PW motors in the front just died, the rear looking like they're next. There's probably more that I'm forgetting...

Is this sounding like a lost cause to anyone, or is she just starting to convince me to get rid of it?

~ Micheal