4 Of a kind! It only took four S10 Blazers to make one!

[Tig]

Any updates?



I was out at our local farmers market and someone pulled out in a nice V8 s10, it wasnt a blazer but still nice.
I immediately thought of your build. Man, what I would do for a V8 2dr 2wd first gen s10 blazer.

[tornadocaster]

So the good news is I got the coilovers in and the uca's in all greased up and tech inspected ready for Saturdays autocross. Went for a drive first thing in the morning and hated the stance.
The springs felt right where I wanted them in stiffness but because of this it raised the truck into 4x4 territory.
I hated the high centered-ness of the truck and I didn't have all day to be there so I went as a spectator.
I drove it hard there and back and liked what I felt. I went straight to the speed shop and ordered race wheels for it and then to summit.com to order the 3" lowered lca's which should be here this week. I went with 27x10.5x15's all around so I can rotate my tires and went with a shallow backspace so the tires stick out enough to warrant some bolt fender flares. I would like to eventually be streetfighter.com worthy.

Last night I got the blazer on jack stands and started plotting how to install my universal 4-link kit and decided I am not grinding sh*t off upside down or welding in that case so first thing this morning when I got to work, I started rearranging the storage areas so we can clear the old bay that we had set up for winter hot rod projects. We have a 4 post hoist that I am trying to get to, to tackle this project. I have to get this done because I can't wait to drive this truck the way it is meant to be driven and our summer is so short....
I will keep you informed!
Cheers
Gio

[TRUK]

hey, great read on your buildup, thanks for the hookup, this site is awesome! are you gonna be at the track this weekend?

[tornadocaster]

June 22 is the next one. I got my lower control arms from Summit today. Hopefully my wheels will show up so I can tune up the supension.
Make sure you come for that one.
Gio

[tornadocaster]

Got the passenger side in tonight.

Wasn't too bad since I already went through the install of the coilovers last week so I kind of remembered all the fastener sizes.
Last week I shortened the link to the front sway bar and as you might see in this picture it doesnt line up any more.
So tomorrow I will try and move the sway bar forward around an inch and it should restore the geometry.

Cheers!
Gio

[tornadocaster]

So I got the truck lowered.

Lower than I want it which is fine as the adjuster to the coilovers is at it lowest.
I even cut the connectors to the sway bar so it sits more parallel.
I know that there shouldn't be any suspension parts lower than the wheel scrub line so I can't go for my 15" NASCAR style wheels...
But look at how low these stupid LCA's sit.

Even if I raise the coilovers my ground clearance is horrible. I think I might have to go to 20" wheels.
The tires that are on there are about 2" too short so I know I will get some clearance when I buy the new tires and wheels.
It feels like two steps back.

I'll tackle it tomorrow.
Gio

[driveit]

Patiently awaiting new pics.

[Tig]

Wow, that's low, not only is it low but the those LCAs are stupid low to the ground.
I think you should've gone with the coils instead of the arms, even spindles or both.
That would have put you down safely and with enough ground clearance.

[tornadocaster]

Wow, that's low, not only is it low but the those LCAs are stupid low to the ground.
I think you should've gone with the coils instead of the arms, even spindles or both.
That would have put you down safely and with enough ground clearance.

Good morning. After sleeping on it I realized that I have every possible lowering trick on there. I tried the lowering springs but they were too soft and I really wanted the adjustability of the coilovers.
I think I read somewhere that you don't or can't use everything together. So today I'm going to dig up the stock spindles which should raise the LCA'S 2 inches plus the taller tire should put me in the safe zone

I'll let you know
Gio

[shizzy]

have you thought about going back to stock height lower arms and having the top spring mount in the frame modified to give you the 1-2" of drop?

[Tig]

Good morning. After sleeping on it I realized that I have every possible lowering trick on there. I tried the lowering springs but they were too soft and I really wanted the adjustability of the coilovers.
I think I read somewhere that you don't or can't use everything together. So today I'm going to dig up the stock spindles which should raise the LCA'S 2 inches plus the taller tire should put me in the safe zone

I'll let you know
Gio

Good morning.
I'm sorry, I completely forgot that you had coil-overs.
I agree 100%, having that adjustability is key for track use. Plus the smaller package will save you some weight to

You are correct, you cant use all of the components together. I believe you'll have alignment issues if I remember correctly. I went with spindles and coils or just coils on my previous vehicles. Shizzy also recommended another option.
The stockers should do the trick.
Cool, lookin forward to your updates.
Later
Sam

[SS PUNISHER]

You couldn't get a shorter spring with the same rate? ?

Kinda lame coil overs won't go lower than that. ..

[tornadocaster]

You couldn't get a shorter spring with the same rate? ?

Kinda lame coil overs won't go lower than that. ..

Nope. I asked. The springs aren't lame they're pretty impressive. What's lame is the geometry of the truck. To have coilovers, there is very little room in the spring pocket incorporated into the frame.
So you can put lowering springs but you have to relocate the shock which ends up getting in the way of steering. One thing that Viking recommended originally was a lighter spring so the weight of the front end would compress the spring a bit. I insisted that I wanted a stiff ride so that is where I started this suspension overhaul.
Later I'm going to go to my shop and sand blast the stock spindles and try to get them in tonight.
Cheers
Gio

[SS PUNISHER]

Nope. I asked. The springs aren't lame they're pretty impressive. What's lame is the geometry of the truck. To have coilovers, there is very little room in the spring pocket incorporated into the frame.
So you can put lowering springs but you have to relocate the shock which ends up getting in the way of steering. One thing that Viking recommended originally was a lighter spring so the weight of the front end would compress the spring a bit. I insisted that I wanted a stiff ride so that is where I started this suspension overhaul.
Later I'm going to go to my shop and sand blast the stock spindles and try to get them in tonight.
Cheers
Gio

Never said the Springs were lame, just too tall.... They should've gave you a shorter spring knowing you wanted a stiff spring and wanting a lower ride height. It's kinda pointless to have coil overs that you can't adjust any lower. Just my opinion. ..

[tornadocaster]

Never said the Springs were lame, just too tall.... They should've gave you a shorter spring knowing you wanted a stiff spring and wanting a lower ride height. It's kinda pointless to have coil overs that you can't adjust any lower. Just my opinion. ..

I see what you mean and I agree.
I just want this to work. I can't move on to the next project until I dial this in. Got some good news today (potentially good news)
I went to the last tire shop town that might know their domestic stuff where there was a parked 68 Camaro with American eagles 2 piece 18"/20" after hours. It happened to be the owners car and he is willing to sell them. There is nothing worse thn waiting for mail order for me. If they fit I will buy them.
But suspension first so I can leave my garage.
Cheers
Gio

[tornadocaster]

I think I got it...
I found a set of stock spindles and just got them installed. I got the lca's 3-5/8" off the ground so what this means is when I put in the 18's in the front, it will take care of the danger of the suspension bottoming out before the rims, so they will raise the clearance another inch.
I also installed urethane bushings in the front sway bar and they fit in the stock location. I may need to trim the bump stop depending on the travel.




Tomorrow I will get everything greased up and go for a spin.
Cheers
Gio

[tornadocaster]

Bought these off of the owner of King of Wheels here in Edmonton. They're 2-piece American Eagles. They only had 400-500 miles on them. Not as wide as I would have liked but I'm happy with the fit so far. I will fill you in later.
Cheers
Gio

[SS PUNISHER]

Looks like you need to bring the front back down XD

Looks good though man. ..

[tornadocaster]

Looks like you need to bring the front back down XD

Looks good though man. ..

Thank you..
I've got no more travel in the coilovers. I don't know if I should put in the lowering spindles again. I have to look at the old pics. I just drove it around the block and the suspension feels good.
Cheers
Gio

[CruizinKev]

wow nice wheels! before I got my black wheels for my monte carlo I ordered your 2 piece american eagles but they were backordered like forever.. blazer looks good! needs little more lowering now!