This can be fun, I have a few s10;s and a 79 malibu wagon just sitting under carport for years. I gutted the AC yrs ago. man what a dummy. One of these will be built for the shop. The budget is use what is in the garage-Cash out of pocket$0 unless its fuel or oil. I have a bone stock 406 sbc runs perfect, Cam is almost stock. Gonna run 1 5/8ths headers with quiet turbos in the back. The rear is a 373 posi. Turbo 350 trans 2000 stall.One of the s10;s has AC so I might be persuaded to use it. Most everybody has a 12 sec shop vehicle. Chad Speires did you ever get a test pass on the Iroc? Nosey people need to know
I had an S10 for a while, and I found it to be a fairly handy vehicle. I was impressed with the load carrying capacity, and with decent rubber it drove and handled very well. The problem I had was the reality of driving it for any distance. Anything more than 45 minutes of seat time and my back got really tired. If it snowed, I was in real trouble. I sold it and got a 79 El Camino and I will never go back. Your wagon drives like a real car, and if you have to make a long haul it will can be done with less fatigue.
exact opposite for me, had a 80-81 don't remember the exact year El Camino I bought because I needed to haul upright file cabinets infrequently, the steering was the numbest of any vehicle I had ever driven, and my folks had various Cadillacs, it didn't have huge mileage less than 90 thou, replaced with a 94 S10 which was a huge improvement, I think the front end parts are very similar between the vehicles but the short bed truck was much better driving, obviously sbc into S10 is the most common engine swap ever maybe 10 to 1 over anything else
I’ve been tossing around the idea of building a smyth truck converted tdi Jetta. My wife’s at 400k mi is still nice to drive comfy and gets 60 mpg on a regular basis. Throw a tune on it maybe some heavier springs and it would be a perfect shop beater. I’ve had several el caminos, all either LS or LT swapped. Wouldn’t own anything with a old school sbc in it myself especially carbed
rfoll wrote: ↑Thu Aug 29, 2019 11:05 am
I had an S10 for a while, and I found it to be a fairly handy vehicle. I was impressed with the load carrying capacity, and with decent rubber it drove and handled very well. The problem I had was the reality of driving it for any distance. Anything more than 45 minutes of seat time and my back got really tired. If it snowed, I was in real trouble. I sold it and got a 79 El Camino and I will never go back. Your wagon drives like a real car, and if you have to make a long haul it will can be done with less fatigue.
That has been my experience as well. I’m 6’4” and found that pretty much any of the small trucks kill my back when used for anything more than short distance driving. And yes...the short wheelbase can be quite a handful in the snow. One thing I like about wagons is that you can lock up your stuff in the back and keep it out of the rain as well. That’s one of the big things I like about my suburban as well.
Most of the wagons and el caminos of that era came with REALLY tall gearing...2.29’s, 2.41’s, and 2.56’s. Something to consider if you’re looking for performance or towing/hauling ability.
I really liked the S10 until I tried to make a 200 mile round trip. It got 20 mpg in town, and where live nothing is more than 3 miles away. I put a canopy on it to lock up mu stuff, but at the end of the day, it's a truck, and if you encounter speed bumps it really lets you know. Both vehicles came with 14" tires an the same set of 225/70 15 Bfg tires improved handling dramatically. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=55245&p=777400#p777400
what a dummy. One of these will be built for the shop. The budget is use what is in the garage-Cash out of pocket$0 unless its fuel or oil. I have a bone stock 406 sbc runs perfect, Cam is almost stock. Gonna run 1 5/8ths headers with quiet turbos in the back. The rear is a 373 posi. Turbo 350 trans 2000 stall.One of the s10;s has AC so I might be persuaded to use it. Most everybody has a 12 sec shop vehicle. Chad Speires did you ever get a test pass on the Iroc? Nosey people need to know 
