Opinions on small trucks

[JasonC]

S10/S15's are carbs up to 1985. After that they are TBI.

[mrsleeve]

^^^^^^^^^^^^

so the 1st 2 years of production then. Shit I have not seen a 84-85 S10 in almost 10 years man. Lots of 88 and ups running around though.

[JasonC]

A good way to tell if one is carb or FI, is by the dash. The carb models (82-85) had a flat dash. Where the 86+ had the dash that sticks out on the drivers side for the gauge cluster and other switches.

[Mulholland]

JasonC while I appreciate you trying to help the OP and probably your knowledge of E30's, all of your information in the last 2 posts is wrong. Carb's were carried through on many of the engines into the early 90's. I don't believe they were fully taken out of the lineup until 92/93 model year, but regardless, they stayed around much longer than just 85. Also the dashes on the trucks are also quite varied from the guages you described to an entirely different one on the digital gauge equiped trucks, which I see many of.

Regardless, carb'd or or injected, they are great, dependable, indestructible trucks, that with very minimal maintenance, which is all easy to do in the massive engine bay, will run for ages.

However this remains true for most of the small trucks of the 80's and early 90's. They were built to be rugged dependable commuter work horses, and they were made to last. I prefer an S-10 with a big v6 vortec that is rear wheel drive and has the power to actually perform normal truck duties by far over a 4banger front wheel drive truck the same size, most of with were made with crappy beds and for an entirely different demographic. Pick the truck you want based on your needs. It will likely come down to toyota vs. nissan, or chevy vs. ford. Personally I recommend nissan trucks and chevy trucks for superior quality and performance, however there are enough toyota's in the world that survive and get airtime on TopGear that it has a reputation for being the import small truck king, but in all honesty it goes the same as any used vehicle. Any car can last well taken car of, and even the greatest cars in the world will be demolished by irresponsible people who treat their stuff like shit. So decide what you want/need from a small truck, and then look at local listings for both trucks that fall into your wants and needs, and just find the best buy regardless of prestige, becaus you pay for that prestige and don't always get the good condition vehicles that were well taken care of survivors who merit such prestige. Happy hunting let me know if I can help.

[JasonC]

I will admit when i'm wrong, but i'm sticking to my guns on this one. The only carb s-series trucks that i can find after 85 is a 1986 1.9L. The rest are fuel injected (TBI or CPFI on the 93-94 4.3).

As for the dashes, the digital ones are very cool (started as a option in 89) I like how the turn signals flash in the cluster. But they are good little truck if taken care of. Only proplems i've had with mine was on my 82, moisture would get in the distributor cap once a blue moon. and on my 94 blazer the CPFI unit (spider) went out of it, like most of them do. My current one it just has a lower rust problem.

[mrsleeve]

I have had lots of s10's an never had one with a carb. Had 2 2.hate, and 3 4.3's one with the CPFI. The best one of them all was the 93 4x4 4.3 exe cab, bought it w70k on the clock and sold it 3 years later with 230k on it to a buddy that just uses up at his cabin. The only problem I had was the input shaft on the torque converter had gotten a grove worn into it and pissed tranny fluid all over. Its now got 250+k on it and you can just about throw a cat through the cab corners, but it starts every time an will do any thing you ask of it.

[Mulholland]

the 2.8litre V6's 91's are carb'd, ask me how I know? I cannot recall wether or not all 4 pots went to fuel injection in the 90's, I believe so, however only the 4.3l vortecs went to fuel injected, while the 2.8 smaller v6's stayed carb through to the 93/94's. I promise you.

[JasonC]

Sorry, you're still wrong.

[Mulholland]

Again, all respect to you, BUT I HAVE ONE IN MY DRIVEWAY. I have 2 friends with 2.8l carb'd blazer's of the same years, and I have chilton's and hayne's manual for both the 2.8l carb'd and 4.3l vortec fuel injected.

Agree to disagree.

[JasonC]

pictures....

[e30e]

wikipedia says : 1986–1993 2.8 L 60° V6, TBI 125 hp (93 kW) 150 ft·lbf (203 N·m) R

[mikeedler]

if its not a Chevy, its not worth it!
S10 or an older C1500- which is small in comparison to the newer trucks out there.
the 2.8 only was avail. till the 4.3 came out.- which was 87 or so.-- I also am 1000000000000%sure you have no carbed 91 S10.
also, the 1982 had a crappy plastic clutch adj. pedal thingy that broke alot- till I made one out of metal.

[Mulholland]

who cares, let's just all agree, chevy s10> other small trucks. Go with an S10. Fuel economy isn't even much less than toyota/nissan given power advantages depending on model, and RWD... and actually being able to perform truck duties still.

[JasonC]

wikipedia says : 1986–1993 2.8 L 60° V6, TBI 125 hp (93 kW) 150 ft·lbf (203 N·m) R

Here's a little more detailed list straight form a S-10 forum.

1982
Pickup:
The S10 model was first introduced by Chevrolet replacing the Isuzu built Chevy LUV pickup
Manual transmissions used a rod & linkage style clutch
Available engines:
84 HP - 101 Torque / 1.9L 4 CYL 2 BBl carbureted
110 HP - 148 Torque / 2.8L V6 2 BBl carbureted

1983
Blazer:
The S10 Blazer series makes its debut
Pickup:
The extended cab was introduced
Common:
The first and so far last Diesel Engine was introduced
Insta-Trac 4x4 system was introduced
Available engines:
58 HP - 93 Torque / 2.2L 4 CYL Diesel Engine
84 HP - 101 Torque / 1.9L 4 CYL 2 bbl carbureted
83 HP - 108 Torque / 2.0L 4 CYL 2 bbl carbureted
110 HP - 148 Torque / 2.8L V6 2 bbl carbureted

1984
Common:
A heavy duty suspension and off-road package was introduced
Hydraulic style clutch introduced
Available engines:
58 HP - 93 Torque / 2.2L 4 CYL Diesel Engine
84 HP - 101 Torque / 1.9L 4 CYL 2 bbl carbureted
83 HP - 108 Torque / 2.0L 4 CYL 2 bbl carbureted
110 HP - 148 Torque / 2.8L V6 2 bbl carbureted

1985
Common:
The 2.0L engine was discontinued and replaced with the 2.5L "Iron Duke"
Available engines:
58 HP - 93 Torque / 2.2L 4 CYL Diesel Engine
84 HP - 101 Torque / 1.9L 4 CYL 2 bbl carbureted
92 HP - 132 Torque / 2.5L 4 CYL TBI
110 HP - 148 Torque / 2.8L V6 2 bbl carbureted

1986
Common:
The 2.2L Diesel was discontinued
The 1.9L 4 CYL engine was discontinued
The 2.8L V6 received Throttle Body Injection (TBI) and the TBI engines became computer controlled
The interior was redesigned (dash board and door panels)
Available engines:
92 HP - 134 Torque / 2.5L 4 CYL TBI
125 HP - 150 Torque / 2.8L V6 TBI

1987
Common:
The 2.8L engine was converted to a single serpentine belt
Available engines:
92 HP - 134 Torque / 2.5L 4 CYL TBI
125 HP - 150 Torque / 2.8L V6 TBI

1988
Common:
The 4.3L V6 engine was introduced
Available engines:
92 HP - 134 Torque / 2.5L 4 CYL TBI
125 HP - 150 Torque / 2.8L V6 TBI
150 HP - 230 Torque / 4.3L V6 TBI

1989
Common:
Rear wheel Anti-Lock brakes introduced
The digital instrument cluster first appeared
2,198 Rare S10 Cameo's were manufactured
Available engines:
92 HP - 134 Torque / 2.5L 4 CYL TBI
125 HP - 150 Torque / 2.8L V6 TBI
160 HP - 230 Torque / 4.3L V6 TBI

1990
Common:
Improvements were made to the 2.5L 4 CYL engine and the 5 SPD manual transmission
Available engines:
105 HP - 135 Torque / 2.5L 4 CYL TBI
125 HP - 150 Torque / 2.8L V6 TBI
150 HP - 230 Torque / 4.3L V6 TBI

1991
Blazer:
A 4 door version of the Blazer and Jimmy was introduced
A new Sport Package is offered on the 4 doors that includes two-tone paint, alloy wheels, and chrome trim
A front bench seat option gave the 4 door models a six passenger capacity
Pickup:
4WD models receive the 4.3L V6 as standard equipment
Common:
The front grill is redesigned to be one piece
Available engines:
105 HP - 135 Torque / 2.5L 4 CYL TBI
125 HP - 150 Torque / 2.8L V6 TBI
150 HP - 230 Torque / 4.3L V6 TBI

1992
Blazer:
The high performance Vortec 4.3L V6 engine debuts
Four wheel ABS becomes standard equipment
Pickup:
Extended cabs were offered with leather seats
Common:
The front bucket seats were redesigned and a new speedometer and 4 spoke steering wheel are added
A premium sound system with CD player becomes an option
An electronic-shift transfer case becomes an option on 4WD models
Available engines:
105 HP - 135 Torque / 2.5L 4 CYL TBI
125 HP - 150 Torque / 2.8L V6 TBI
150 HP - 230 Torque / 4.3L V6 TBI
195 HP - 260 Torque / 4.3L V6 CPFI Vortec (Blazer only)

1993
Blazer:
2 door model available in LT trim package
All models receive two-tone paint scheme in LT trim
Manual lumbar adjusters on front seats become standard
Common:
The front grill is redesigned
The 4.3L V6 engine received an internal balance shaft to reduce vibration
Available engines:
105 HP - 135 Torque / 2.5L 4 CYL TBI
125 HP - 150 Torque / 2.8L V6 TBI
150 HP - 235 Torque / 4.3L V6 TBI
195 HP - 260 Torque / 4.3L V6 CPFI Vortec (Blazer only)

[ethree]

Fuel economy isn't even much less than toyota/nissan given power advantages depending on model, and RWD... and actually being able to perform truck duties still.

What kind of mileage are you guys seeing with the s10's?
Mileage is far more important to me than power, I drive teh eta ofcourse. ;)
The truck will mainly be used to make small dump runs, lumber yard, salvage yards (both vehicle and building materials) basically just diy house fixerupper shit, no real hauling.