"Chevrollac" - 1996 Chevrolet S10 LS

[GTR]

Sick man. Do you keep all the stock parts?

[hondaman]

Thanks man, and yeah I'm saving all the old parts. They're being kept in storage for now.

Originally Posted by Sir Tristan

First of all, congrats, man. Your ride's tight. You're tastefully modifying it, well done.
You need some power windows and air conditioning if you haven't already. It would be nice to put on some pre-2002 Chevy/Caddy truck/SUV wheels on it.

The steering wheel is aligned almost like in normal cars. Cool. You're doing a really awesome job with this ride.

Thanks, and yeah power windows and eventually wheels are on my agenda, although it already has air conditioning. My truck isn't that basic, lol!

Thinking about changing directions a bit. I still want to do all the stuff above but I'm wondering if I'll hold off on that for a while and start saving up for this.

http://www.wynjammer.com/ALM1115/GM_S10_4_3__V6.html

It's not cheap, but the power gain would make me very happy.

This guy's truck was more or less the same as mine before he added the s/c. This is what it can do now.



iLike.

So right now I'm debating between doing the stuff above or pinching pennies for the next few months until I can afford to do this...and do it right. Beyond that, I probably wouldn't do a lot else power wise, because I still need my truck to be a reliable daily driver. Even so, this power gain would have me right at 220 rwhp (or about 260 at the crank) and couple that to a light truck with the 3.42 gear ratio...

5-6 second 0-60 times wouldn't be out of the question. That's pretty good for a V6 truck.
.
.
.

[hondaman]

Okay, forget the "maybe, maybe not" tone of the last post. I'm doing this. I hope to have my truck supercharged by sometime in May.
.
.
.

[Sir Tristan]

What's the estimate BHP after that?

[GTR]

Can't wait

Just one thing, Dan. Look into turbos too. See which one will get the most out of the engine. Back when I was researching on the possibilities of the Impala I figured most people who have a 3.8 in a RWD car get turbo chargers instead of superchargers.

@Sir Tristan: Probably anywhere between 240-300hp, depending on whether he gets those fuel injectors or not. But there'd be a shitload more torque than the normal factory cars claiming those HP figures.

These engines are very capable, there are videos of these getting it up to 600hp.

[Sir Tristan]

Originally Posted by GTR

Can't wait

Just one thing, Dan. Look into turbos too. See which one will get the most out of the engine. Back when I was researching on the possibilities of the Impala I figured most people who have a 3.8 in a RWD car get turbo chargers instead of superchargers.

@Sir Tristan: Probably anywhere between 240-300hp, depending on whether he gets those fuel injectors or not. But there'd be a shitload more torque than the normal factory cars claiming those HP figures.

These engines are very capable, there are videos of these getting it up to 600hp.

Pretty damn good then.great truck.

[hondaman]

Thanks guys, and yeah Amir is about spot-on with the power estimates. Supercharger by itself should net me about 260 hp / 360 lb-ft of torque at the crank. Maybe a couple extra since I've opened up my exhaust a little.

Here's another video of the s10 with the s/c, this one is bone stock other than the s/c. He says he didn't floor it until the tach hit 3k. D: Even so, it looks like he still managed a 6.something 0-60 time once the wheels stopped spinning.

http://videos.streetfire.net/video/S...S10_645012.htm

It's pretty clear that I'll have traction issues after the s/c, so I'll probably invest in some wider wheels and tires later on down the road. I think Cragar SS wheels would look nice on my truck.



Something else sort of new. I found my old digital camera and rescued it from dissolving in some strange chemical. It was a bit like starting an old junkyard car trying to get it to work, but eventually I got it to work right and take pics again. It dies if I try to use the zoom though. Oh well. This is part of the whole pinching pennies thing, between this and my camera phone, I should be set for picture taking until after the s/c.

Yes, it is very dirty. I just wanted to test out the old thing and it looks like it works.











This is why I will never lower my truck. Aside from it being retarded, I like exploring in it too much. I have covered so many new places in it, with just the little compass on the dash. I don't need GPS!
.
.
.

[GTR]

Had it been 3 years ago, lowering it would the "cool" thing to do. Now...not so much. It'd be ghetto as ****, lol.

Now I know you're trying to keep it simple because of the history of this car, but I think if you're dumping 3 grand into the engine, you might as well show it off a little. Crager SS is cool, but with the 5x120 lug pattern, you'd be spoiled for choices.

I came across this with nearly no research. 200 bucks for 4 rims.

Lemme know if you wanna photoshop your choice on the car to try it out.

[Sir Tristan]

You should put on an SS badge after you're done with the tune, man. Do not lower it, it's retarded like lowering SUVs, destroying the off-road capabilities.

This car kind of begs for a more shiny, elegant paintjob (you know, darker shades and that).

[GTR]

Originally Posted by Sir Tristan

This car kind of begs for a more shiny, elegant paintjob (you know, darker shades and that).

Yeah, but it not only would be expensive to get a good paint job, it'd lower the resale value too. Not a logically sound move IMO.

Not that Hondaman would ever sell it, though.

[hondaman]

I hate to say it guys, but it looks like I won't be doing this after all. Practicality stepped in. My Buick needs attention a lot more than my truck does.
.
.
.

[hondaman]

Okay, so here's an update on this little project.

I took another step towards finishing the Chevrollac project with these HIDs.

Since the mud incident destroyed both my headlights and the HID kit itself, I've been driving around with sealed beams for a while. To be honest, my last conversion headlight housings sucked. The beam pattern was awful, and they were so cheap that they had a crack in them within a week. Unfortunately, that seems to be the problem...most H4 conversion housings either suck or are prohibitively expensive.

But then after a ton of researching, I found these. Autopal E Code H4 conversion housings.



E Code is a European standard for headlights...kinda like the United States' DOT except theirs doesn't suck. DOT requires that headlights be able to cast some light upward to illuminate overhead signs. This is where your glare comes from with PNP HID kits. E Code lights mandate a sharp cutoff and even light distribution instead. Definitely the better choice.

Quality is great too. They feel just as hefty and well built as a stock sealed beam. No cracking from a tiny pebble with these. All metal and glass construction.

I coupled this with a high/low H4 HID kit from DDM tuning. Wow, I wish I could put HID high beams in my Buick...they're great!

But the best part is the cutoff. These are actual pics of mine from my truck.



It's not as good as a projector, but damn...show me a halogen reflector housing with a better cutoff!

Those two spikes aiming up and off to the right are intentionally designed into the headlight lens...they are meant to illuminate roadside signs. And I do need to do a little more adjusting. Ideally there should be no gap in the middle, it should be one even bar of continuous light. But you get the idea.

I'm pretty pleased. As I said the light distribution is fantastic.



Low beams.





High beams.

As you can see there are no hotspots or unnecessarily scattered light.

I also chose 5000k for these. I like 5000k because it provides excellent light output and the color looks exactly (to me) like factory HID equipped cars.

Here is about what opposing traffic sees:



As opposed to what it looks like inside the cutoff:



HUGE improvement over sealed beams!
.
.
.

[Bl0cks]

Wow now I am really interested in doing this. Awesome write up.

[EVO9MR]

looking nice HondaMang! definite change in lighting

[Shake]

E-codes are fantastic, I have e-codes in both my working vehicles right now that take H4 bulbs as well and they have spectacular cutoffs. Not sure if yours are the same (they should be) but mine also dip down on the drivers side so as not to blind oncoming traffic. The only downside I've noted because of this is you spot deer a little later than you would without that dip down, I've had a few close calls because of deer coming from my left side and that.

[Kracka]

I had those on my MK1 GTI, but never got the HID kit.

Found a set of Hella 90mm H4 Conversions...think I paid 90 bucks a few years ago.

[hondaman]

Shake yes, they do dip down a bit on the driver's side. Still loving these, because of that I was able to aim them up a little higher, and now my low beam and high beam is even better. Really, it's like a narrow projector pattern. Can't complain.

I was unloading some stuff from the truck out to the shed in the side yard today and thought "hey that would make a pretty cool picture" but it ended up looking a lot cooler in person, lol! I blame the crappy camera. Now the live view doesn't work anymore and I have to use the viewfinder. Seriously getting a new camera soon.









Had a lot of material in the back...you can see the rear sagging a little...the towing package with the stiffer springs helps that a lot though. Bringing in stuff to rebuild the very back yard which you can sorta see. Neighbor built a dam on the creek and it ended up bursting, trashing everything immediately downstream. Most of it is cleaned up but I've got to fill in a few spots.

Not sure I ever got 'quality' pics of the interior, so here's my best attempt with a craptastic camera.

Here's one of several attempts without a flash, the only 'successful' one. Kept giving me error messages and if it has an error, it won't take a picture. A good smack and it decided to take a picture, albeit a blurry one. This is to give an idea of the ambient lighting.



With flash. Removable floor mats are very dirty but that's what they are there for, to keep that dirt off of my carpet and the rest of my truck.



That's it for now. Nothing really major planned anytime soon.
.
.
.

[hondaman]

A bump for some paint restoration and a little bit of new stuff.

Spent today cleaning, polishing, and waxing the outside, and uncovered some things I didn't even know about my truck.

I thought the mirrors and the cowl were flat black from the factory...by accident I discovered I was completely wrong, and continued until I found this...



Who knew? I never would have guessed that they were supposed to be glossy. Here's what they looked like before, a pic from many moons and many mods ago:



I can't even begin to say how that small change made a huge difference in my truck's appearance, along with the rest of the polishing and waxing. It looks like new again.

More whorage:



Both of the Buicks wanted to slip in that shot...











And now for a minor bit of new stuff.

I haven't been completely satisfied with my HID setup. Since completion of my retrofit in the LeSabre, I began to feel that my cutoff wasn't as sharp as it could be, and that my high beam wasn't doing as well as it could be either. Plus, if there is one thing I've learned about HID kits, it's that kit bulbs SUCK. Go OE D2S or don't bother. Kit bulbs are cheaply made and they colorshift and lose luminosity fast.

There's nothing wrong with a good set of halogens, which is what these were designed for...and with that in mind, I set out to find a set of uber high wattage halogens, since these housings were also designed to take the heat. I ended up with a set of 90/130 watt H4 Hellas, meaning that the low beam filament is 90W and the high beam is 130W.

The end result is that the 130W is very close to HID in light output, the 90W is less, probably on par with HIR lighting. But both light up the road very well.

AND, I got my cutoff back...



That's how an E Code cutoff is supposed to look.

Output shots:



Low beam...



High beam.

The high beams are unreal. I have noticed that the few people I've had to flash with my high beams for leaving theirs on, generally don't leave them on for very long. The high beam as you can see in the above photograph, is a very centrally concentrated beam with less escaping to the sides. Whatever is in the concentrated area...such as an oncoming car who left their brights on...is met with an ungodly amount of light, more so even that OE bixenon setups which tend to scatter the light out to the sides as well. This also allows the beam to cast further down the road as you can see, at the expense of side lighting. On a straight section of highway, it lights up around a mile down the road. And I don't mean reflectors, I mean actual lit highway...

In any event, that's where my truck is now.
.
.
.

[GTR]

My car definitely needs that mod. Especially that I'm buying those smoked-headlight-aero mods for it. Can you list the parts you used and where you bought them?

[hondaman]

Amir, I'm not sure what I have will work for you...your Camaro has those weird sized sealed beams I think, plus you have separate high and low beams unlike my truck. I'll have to see what I can dig up. I definitely agree though that your car's headlights have a lot of room for improvement. Sealed beams suck, and I can't imagine half sized sealed beams being any better.
.
.
.

[hondaman]

Took some HDR pics of my truck today.

Excuse it as it is very dirty!






.
.
.

[Linkin]

Nice HDR work!

[hondaman]

Thanks Linkin!

I tried another HDR pic today. I think this one turned out better!


.
.
.

[nfslover101]

Nice to see some new pics
HDR is sweet, my friend did some to my Cavalier back when I had it...

[Sir Tristan]

Those headlights are badass. Xenons?

[Bl0cks]

very surreal looking sure makes the chrome pop

[hondaman]

Thanks guys!

Originally Posted by Sir Tristan

Those headlights are badass. Xenons?

No, they are halogens. 90/130 watt halogens though, so they pretty much match HID light output. D:

Got a couple more that turned out pretty good:





You can almost see how nice and soft the leather is from regular conditioning. : D

Although, the outside of my truck is getting dirtier and dirtier. I think it's time for a wash.
.
.
.

[fd2black]

awesome HDR's hondaman! love the truck. the interior looks quite good in that second picture