1994 S10 Blazer 4.3 Daily Driven Project
 

Alright, it's time to start a build thread for my Blazer to help motivate me to get it done and hopefully have a helpful resource page! I am going to also try and have a YouTube series running along side this. Thanks for checking out my truck, here's the story.

Okay, so my first car a 1995 Pontiac Sunfire had been in a small accident which over time caused it's transmission to poop out on me. With a possible head leak, a handful of other issues, and the lack of an aftermarket I decided to scrap the POS and move on with my life. With little funds after Christmas Shopping (which is about when this all went down) I pulled together about $1300. When it came to searching I got more into foreign cars because they are usually small and handle well which to me is more fun than a huge engines and sloppy steering. I needed to haul gear because I am in a band and my amps aren't small, so I tried to keep it to mostly hatchbacks. I kept the S10 trucks and Blazers on my list even though they didn't meet my handling criteria by a long shot because they have a big aftermarket. I knew that out there they had a solution to remedy that personal preference of mine (If you like spongier suspension that's all for you!).

One day on good old Craigslist I found this Blazer for $1000. It had rust which really scared me, but it was very low mileage which scared me even more knowing that the engine has probably rarely had it's oil changed for it's 20 year run.

Alright, picking up where I left off...
In dire need of a vehicle we deicded to contact the owner of this Blazer which honestly seemed too good to be true because I've seen plenty second generation Blazers for around $1400 with like 200K on the odometer. I was positive we were going to be looking at a POS. Things got more complicated because my work schedule was the exact oppiste of the previous owners'. After much postponing I ended up sending my Dad to look (I know more about cars than him and god I spent that entire day at work second guessing my decision when he told me he bought it).

Anyways it comes home and in real terms I got exactly what I need, a car that ran really well. We lowered the price to 800 bucks and with good reason because this car needs some cosmetic work, but the oil was clean and damn does this engine run pretty good. I was scared owning such an old car with such low mileage, but I had found an empty bottle of seafoam in the back and I knew that my 4.3 was free of leaks and squeaky clean on the inside (the guy wanted to restore it supposedly but his wife wanted them to invest their money in a house instead).

These pics aren't from the day I got the car, but not too much has changed!

Well that was the good, here's the bad...

Another reason we had the price lowered was because the muffler need replacing (not that I was worried I had extra repair cash when he wanted $1000). After a quick stop at the local muffler shop and $90 I had a quiet car that I could live with.

ALSO this mother****er needs some new front shocks which I should be doing this weekend, but I know i'll forget to post about it for some time lol.

Another thing... My brake light is on always, even when my e-brake isn't on, I am not sure what will cause this, but the car does stop for now. I plan on tackling that, but more on that later.

The A/C unit is leaking so it will need replacing sometime this summer.

MR. 4X4 also doesn't work, I've already found someone else's very nice 4X4 troubleshooting thread and I will definitely be going through that before the next ****ty winter because this car likes to slide around in the back (and I freaking love that it does that!!!!!)

Now even with all these mechanical issues piled up I have no fear or doubt in my abilities to tackle those issues, however one thing is scaring the **** out of me. This was a farm truck (from the first owner, second owner whom I bought from was just a city guy) and it has a lot of MN rust on it below the trim line... If there is anything about this car that makes me second guess my decision it is that... Here are some pics for reference, you can also see more of the rust in the full car pictures if you look toward the rear of the car more. I've been cleaning off some of the rust on the drivers side so it's harder to see, but i'll show some detailed pictures of that area later.

Another issue I have been running into isn't mechanical or cosmetic, but more just a function issue. I bought this car because I like modding cars and I need space to hold my equipment because I am a musician. S10's have a huge aftermarket, and obviously they have space but mine has managed to be less practical than my old Sunfire because of this one issue. The tailgate wont open and the rear glass doesn't lock down... Any ideas? Anyone?

Looks like you may have to take the tailgate apart to see why the latch isn't working. It could just be stuck or rusty.

Sweet, thanks for the response! the only thing that scares me is that it looks like you can't really put a key in there. I'm not sure what I'd do after it was repaired to actually get it unlocked and use able. I'll dive into that project soon enough and I'm sure i'll figure something out.

Alright I hope I am not documenting too much on the my build, don't worry i'll be showing photos of the work being done very soon.

The interior overall is in good shape, the carpets and seats were just horribly dirty. The only real interior damage in the car is the dash, and I think I have a solution for that.

Pic 1: Crack in the Dash
Pic 2 & 3: Before and After Seat Cleaning

Your tail gate and hatch is missing it's knob. Try a screwdriver turn left to open the glass hatch and right to open the tail gate.

Also, get a fuel pressure tester, and check around the Plenum for signs that it's been worked on. That looks a lot like mine, I have the 4.3W with the spider assembly. I'm serious when i say this, go ahead and squirrel away about approx. $350 just for the spider assembly. If you start having rough idle, or sputtering/flooding issues it's most likely that. Lol otherwise they're great trucks.:icon_surprised:

Where did you buy your spider assembly that it was 350? :icon_eek:
AC delco's are 170 on Rock Auto.

But, locally, they are EXPENSIVE.


Also, if you do your spider assembly, you will need to get the new plenum gasket, and I would definitely do the nut kit (injector fuel lines inside the plenum)