Off-Roadweb Magazine Homepage Off-Road
Get Adobe Flash player

1996 Chevy S-10 Blazer Almighty Dime Project

We Get Our S-10 Blazer Ready For Project Truck-Dom With Help from Dr. Injector, Volant, & Optima
From the April, 2010 issue of Off-Road
By Lindsay Valance
Photography by Lindsay Valance
1996 Chevy S10 Blazer Side View
We haven't seen this Blazer... 
   
  read full caption
1996 Chevy S10 Blazer Side View
We haven't seen this Blazer run this strong...ever! After realizing this, we tried to list Dr. Injector as our primary physician for our company health plan, but all it got us was a nasty call from the HR department.
Is it worth all the trouble? Is that old vehicle in your backyard destined to some day blast down dirt roads, kicking up big rooster tails of dirt-or is it a lost cause, too tired and in too poor of a shape to put any effort into? In this case, our friend had a '96 S-10 Blazer that hadn't run in a few years, plagued with fuel injection problems and other telltale signs that showed a lack of general maintenance. There was a choice to be made: let our friend get rid of the thing or give it to us to build into a dirt-hungry beast, capable of eating miles of rough trails and desert roads. And with all the letters and emails we get from readers asking about S-10 trucks, there was no question that we had to get our hands on this thing. We finally had an S-10 project. We made a plan and got to work on how we would build this off-roader, first dealing with the fact that it wasn't running.

1996 Chevy S10 Blazer Dr Injector Spider Kit
Here's the solution to our... 
   
  read full caption
1996 Chevy S10 Blazer Dr Injector Spider Kit
Here's the solution to our injection problems: the spider kit from Dr. Injector, all shiny and new. The good folks over at Dr. Injector always recommend using a new fuel filter when installing a new injector kit, and they stock these kits for just about every vehicle. We chose to have a pro do the install work, but with a little help from the knowledgeable crew at Dr. Injector, we think we could have done it ourselves.
1996 Chevy S10 Blazer Replace Plugs Distributor Belt Etc
Cracking into the Blazer's... 
   
  read full caption
1996 Chevy S10 Blazer Replace Plugs Distributor Belt Etc
Cracking into the Blazer's 4.3L V-6 wasn't really all that fun, but needed to be done. We figured it would be a good time to replace the plugs, distributor, belt, and a few other items. We also flushed all the fluids and gave everything a good check. We were lucky-besides the injectors, filters, and the battery, nothing else had gone bad on us.
1996 Chevy S10 Blazer Dr Injector Fuel System Maintenance
There's been a lot of progress... 
   
  read full caption
1996 Chevy S10 Blazer Dr Injector Fuel System Maintenance
There's been a lot of progress in the fuel additive marketplace during the course of the last few years, and the Dr. Injector gang is all about keeping your injectors healthy. They recommend and sell the FSM (fuel system maintenance) solution on the right, and offer the Stanadyne Performance Formula on the left for diesel applications. These aren't bottles of snake oil-they help keep the injectors clean, protected, and lubricated.
1996 Chevy S10 Blazer Remove Stock Air Intake System
We've ripped out about a million... 
   
  read full caption
1996 Chevy S10 Blazer Remove Stock Air Intake System
We've ripped out about a million stock air intake systems, and it's always pretty similar. Unscrew a few bolts, grab the airbox housing, and start pulling. It's an easy process, and in a few short minutes the factory intake was history.
1996 Chevy S10 Blazer Volant Intake System
The Volant intake we chose... 
   
  read full caption
1996 Chevy S10 Blazer Volant Intake System
The Volant intake we chose for the Blazer retains the hose that connects to the throttle body, so after the stock intake was removed, we were ready to get the install started. It took less than a half hour. A new airbox bolted in right behind the driver side headlight, the supplied filter fit right in, and hose clamps secured a connector to the air hose. That's really about it. We like parts that go on easily!
1996 Chevy S10 Blazer Pro 5 Filters
Volant's Cool Air Intake for... 
   
  read full caption
1996 Chevy S10 Blazer Pro 5 Filters
Volant's Cool Air Intake for this '96 S-10 Blazer utilizes one of their Pro 5 filters. Four cotton gauze layers and one synthetic layer comprise the pre-oiled filter, which is cleanable and reusable. We were already impressed with the engine's power after the injector replacement, but paired with this intake we were astounded. The Blazer seems pretty happy now that it sips gas and gulps air more effectively than ever before.
1996 Chevy S10 Blazer Battery
Our old battery looked like... 
   
  read full caption
1996 Chevy S10 Blazer Battery
Our old battery looked like some kind of science experiment gone bad. Corrosive growth covered the beat-up posts, and it hadn't turned a starter in many months. Optima came to the rescue with a brand-new Red Top. It won't ever leak, provides us with 720 cold cranking amps, and can take one heck of a pounding (we've run these in our trucks for years). Now we don't have to think about the battery anymore-it's good to go.
Volant Cool Air Intakes
8759 Lion St.
Rancho Cucamonga
CA  91730
909-476-7225

www.volant.com
Dr. Injector Eastside/Kirkland Transmission
11920 124th. Ave. N.E.
Kirkland
WA  98034
425-823-4208

http://www.docinjector.com/
Optima Batteries
5757 N. Green Bay Avenue
Milwaukee
WI  53209
888-867-8462

www.optimabatteries.com

Discuss in Our Forums

Related Articles

1987 Chevy K5 Blazer - Blazer In Black
This 1987 Chevy K5 Blazer is equipped with Rancho shocks suspension components, Corporate front and... more
1989 Chevy Blazer - British Invasion
The British Are Coming: Sir Martyn Atkins' British-Inspired, American-Built Blazer Prerunner... more
1992 Chevy Blazer - Upper Level
George Adams' Elevated '92 Blazer... more
1970 Chevy Fullsize Blazer - Old Faithful
A '70 Blazer That Just Keeps Going And Going And Going... more