If you’ve been following our Almighty Dime project, you know it began like a lot of our readers’ projects — a stock vehicle without any serious off-road prowess. Over time it has evolved from a highway queen into a capable off-roader; however this type of build doesn’t happen overnight. As is the case with a lot of builds, our S-10 Blazer project vehicle is being done in stages. Most of us do not have enough extra cash lying around to turn a stock truck into a killer prerunner overnight, so we’ve been doing things a little bit at a time to improve handling, performance, functionality and looks. If you’ve built your own truck you know how the itch starts and eventually turns into a fever, and small projects somehow turn into full-scale overhauls. You do one modification and then another, until eventually all your upgrades have been upgraded and you’re left with very little of your stock vehicle. With our Almighty Dime showing a little off-road prowess, we wanted to concentrate on revamping the looks and turning a cheap 4x4 into clean-looking off-roader. After we added the Cervini hood, Glassworks fiberglass front fenders and a sweet satin black paint job, we couldn’t quit staring at the dull stock front grille and old cloudy headlight lenses. Luckily we knew just who to call, and our buds at T-Rex were happy to indulge our never-ending upgrade obsession. We finished off the body’s front end (and subsequently the rear’s, too) with some Prerunner bumpers straight from the lair of the Metul Munky. Not only did they add to the intense look of the S-10, but the rear now holds a full-sized 33-inch spare tire while the front holds two 10-inch-diameter Baja Designs HID lights. Totally evil S-10. Once we had the bumpers installed and painted and the lights mounted, it was finally time to take the Dime to the desert. We met up with the Metul Munky and the Dezert Dimers from our favorite online S-10 resource dezertdimes.com at the Barstow racetrack for their annual BBQ to put her to the test. A quarter of a mile into the first ride, a fellow ’Dimer flagged us down to let us know we were dumping coolant... and so begins the next round of upgrades. We chose a traditional billet grille with the stacked headlight system, so our old ’96 now looks like the later model second-generation S-10 Blazers, which were produced in the final years of production from ’98 to ’05.We chose a traditional billet grille with the stacked headlight system, so our old ’96 now The shiny new grille was a perfect fit and an easy install, and with all new lights and housings up front (not included with the grille package but found easily online for about $100) we definitely could see the road a little better than before.The shiny new grille was a perfect fit and an easy install, and with all new lights and ho Once our visibility was slightly improved, we couldn’t help wondering how much we could light up the night with the addition of some real deal off-road lights. Give us an inch, and we want a mile. We asked our resident S-10 expert Metul Munky if he had any ideas, and he immediately came up with a plan for a hefty custom front bumper outfitted with mounting tabs for giant HIDs.Once our visibility was slightly improved, we couldn’t help wondering how much we could li While he custom built one of the raddest front bumpers we’ve ever seen on an S-10 out of 2-inch tubing, complete with an aluminum skidplate, we called Baja Designs who recommended a pair of 10-inch LaPaz HID driving lights—a standard in Baja. At 35 watts per light, they put out some serious power. The lights are fully adjustable by hand without any tools needed.While he custom built one of the raddest front bumpers we’ve ever seen on an S-10 out of 2 When we went by the Munky Cave to drop off the lights, he had a surprise in store for us. Not only did built a front bumper, but he also designed a sturdier rear bumper with a much needed improvement over the original—a spare tire carrier.When we went by the Munky Cave to drop off the lights, he had a surprise in store for us. Our 33-inch spare didn’t stand a chance of being mounted in the factory spot under the truck, so we’d previously been tying it down in the back with a single ratchet strap, which obviously isn’t the safest way to do it. These new aggressive bumpers give the Almighty Dime a one-of-a-kind look and some much needed functionality.Our 33-inch spare didn’t stand a chance of being mounted in the factory spot under the tru Sources T-Rex Grilles 2365 Rail Road Corona CA 92880 800-287-5900 www.trexbillet.com Metul Munky Fabrication n/a 909-534-3794 http://www.metulmunky.com Baja Designs 185 Bosstick Bouelvard San Marcos CA 92069 760-560-2252 www.bajadesigns.com By Doug Mitchell Enjoyed this Post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed, or use your favorite social media to recommend us to friends and colleagues!
