The
Chevrolet S-10 is a
compactA compact car , or small family car , is a classification of cars which are larger than a supermini but smaller than or equal to a mid-size car...
pickup truckA pickup truck is a light motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area which is almost always separated from the cab to allow for chassis flex when carrying or pulling heavy loads....
from the
ChevroletChevrolet is a brand of automobile produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant in 1911, Chevrolet was acquired by General Motors in 1917...
marque of
General MotorsGeneral Motors Company, often known as simply GM, is a United States based automaker with headquarters in Detroit, Michigan. GM was the world's 18th largest corporate entity and third largest automaker as ranked by 2008 revenues on the Fortune Global 500. Ranked by global unit sales for 2008, it...
. When it was first introduced in 1982, the
GMCGMC is a brand name used on trucks, vans, and SUVs marketed in North America and the Middle East by General Motors Company...
version was known as the
S-15 and later renamed the
GMC Sonoma. A high-performance version was released in 1991 and given the name of
GMC SycloneThe GMC Syclone was a high-performance version of the GMC Sonoma pickup truck. Produced in 1991, the Syclone spawned the similarly powered 1992-1993 GMC Typhoon SUV. Another vehicle, the GMC Sonoma GT, offered less performance but was seen as a companion model.At the time it was introduced, the...
. The truck was also sold by
Isuzu, is a Japanese car, commercial vehicle and heavy truck manufacturing company, headquartered in Tokyo. In 2005, Isuzu became the world's largest manufacturer of medium to heavy duty trucks. It has assembly and manufacturing plants in the Japanese city of Fujisawa, as well as in the prefectures...
as the
HombreThe Isuzu Hombre was Isuzu's pickup introduced in 1996 as a rebadged Chevrolet S-10/GMC Sonoma. It replaced the Indiana-built Isuzu Pick Up. The most important difference between the two is in equipment — while the S-10/Sonoma boasted an extensive array of optional equipment, the Hombre was...
from 1996 through 2000. There was also an SUV version, the
Chevrolet S-10 BlazerThe Chevrolet Blazer and the similar GMC S-15 Jimmy were mid-size SUVs from General Motors. Production began alongside the larger K5 Blazer and Jimmy in 1983 and lasted through 2005. In the United States retail sales after 2004 were limited to two-door Blazer models, all other models being sold...
/GMC S-15 Jimmy. An
electric versionThe Chevrolet S-10 Electric was introduced in 1997 by General Motors, updated in 1998, and then discontinued. It was an OEM BEV variant of Chevrolet's S-10 pickup truck which ran solely upon electricity, and was marketed primarily to utility fleet customers....
was leased as a fleet vehicle in 1997 and 1998. Together, these trucks are often referred to as the
S-series.
In North America, the S-series was replaced by new models: the
Chevrolet ColoradoThe Chevrolet Colorado and its counterpart, the GMC Canyon, are General Motors' mid-size pickup trucks introduced in 2004 to replace the Chevrolet S-10 and GMC Sonoma. Isuzu, which participated in the design of the truck, began selling its own version in late 2005, named the "i-Series"...
, GMC Canyon, and
Isuzu i-SeriesThe Isuzu i-Series mid-size pickup truck line was launched at the 2005 New York International Auto Show. The i-Series replaces the Isuzu Hombre, which has been out of production since 2000....
in 2004.
The current S-Series remains in production in Brazil.
First generation
The first compact pickup truck from General Motors was the rebadged Isuzu KB sold since 1972 as the
Chevrolet LUVThe Chevrolet LUV is a rebadged Isuzu KB light truck. Sales began in the United States in March 1972 as a response to the Toyota Hilux and the Datsun pickup, as well as Ford's Mazda-built Courier...
. The 1973 Arab oil embargo forced GM to consider designing a domestically-produced compact pickup truck. As usual, parts from other GM chassis lines (primarily from the
GM G-bodyThe General Motors G platform was an automobile platform designation used for mid-sized rear wheel drive cars from 1982 to 1988...
intermediatesA mid-size car is the North American/Australian standard for an automobile with a size equal to or greater than that of a compact...
) were incorporated. The first S-series trucks were introduced in 1982. The Chevrolet and GMC models were identical apart from the grille. An extended cab and "Insta-Trac" four wheel drive were added the next year along with two new engines.
Track width was similar to the former
GM H-bodyThe General Motors H platform or H-body is an automobile platform designation used for the 1971–1980 model year rear wheel drive line of subcompact cars...
subcompacts (
VegaThe Chevrolet Vega is a subcompact, four passenger automobile produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 1971–1977 model years....
/
MonzaThe Chevrolet Monza is a subcompact, four-passenger automobile that was introduced September 1974, and produced for the 1975 through 1980 model years...
).
The sport utility S-10 Blazer and S-15 Jimmy debuted in 1983; GM was the second to introduce compact sport utilities behind
JeepJeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler. It is the oldest off-road vehicle brand, with Land Rover coming in second. The original vehicle which first appeared as the prototype Bantam BRC became the primary light 4-wheel-drive vehicle of the US Army and allies during the World War II and postwar...
but ahead of
FordThe Ford Motor Company is an American multinational corporation based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury brands, Ford also owns Volvo Cars of Sweden, and a small stake...
. This trend occurred again where 4-door variants were introduced in March 1990 as 1991
modelsThe model year of a product is a number used worldwide, but with a high level of prominence in North America, to describe approximately when a product was produced, and indicates the coinciding base specification of that product....
alongside the similar
Oldsmobile BravadaThe Oldsmobile Bravada was a mid-size luxury sport utility vehicle from the now retired Oldsmobile marque of General Motors. There have been two different vehicles to bear this model name, the first and second-generation GMT330, and the 2002 to 2004 GMT360.The third generation model was the only...
.
New heavy-duty and off-road suspensions appeared in 1984 along with a hydraulic clutch, while the big news for 1985 was the discontinuing of the
CavalierThe Chevrolet Cavalier, also known as the Savvy Cavy, was a compact automobile produced from 1982 to 2005 by General Motors. Built on the company's J platform, the Cavalier was one of the best-selling cars in the United States throughout its life....
's OHV
I4The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is a four-cylinder internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a...
in favor of
PontiacPontiac is a brand of automobiles first produced in 1926, and sold in the United States, Canada, and Mexico by General Motors . Pontiac has been marketed as an "athletic" brand, specializing in mainstream performance vehicles....
's Iron Duke. The OHV-derived 2.2 L engine and Isuzu 1.9
L
were both gone the next year, leaving just the Iron Duke and updated 2.8 L V6. A much-welcomed 4.3 L V6 was added for 1988, and anti-lock brakes came the next year.
The GMC S-15 became the GMC Sonoma in 1991, and the Sierra trim packages are dropped to avoid confusion with the new GMC Sierra full-size pickup. The GMC Syclone also appeared that year. The Sonoma GT bowed in 1992. Added to this was the 4.3 L V6 Vortec W code engine. This generation's last year, 1993.
The Vortec is essentially the standard Z code
engineThe internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine the expansion of the high temperature and pressure gases, which are produced by the combustion, directly applies force to a movable...
. The difference is the W code used a balance shaft, roller cam shaft, different heads, and Central Port Injection. The 1992 and 1993 engine came in either a or rating. The High Performance version came with a larger diameter Y pipe, and was only installed in some of the Blazers and S-10 Jimmies.
Engines
| Years |
Engine |
Power |
Torque |
VIN Vin may refer to:*Voltage input -People:*Vin Diesel*Vin Scully*Vin Suprynowicz*Vin, the name of a character from the video games Jak II and Jak 3*a diminutive of the name "Vincent"-Other:...
code |
| 1982–1985 |
1.9 L
Isuzu, is a Japanese car, commercial vehicle and heavy truck manufacturing company, headquartered in Tokyo. In 2005, Isuzu became the world's largest manufacturer of medium to heavy duty trucks. It has assembly and manufacturing plants in the Japanese city of Fujisawa, as well as in the prefectures...
I4The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is a four-cylinder internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a...
, 2 barrelA carburetor or carburettor is a device that blends air and fuel for an internal combustion engine. It was invented by Karl Benz before 1885 and patented in 1886...
|
|
| A |
| 1982–1985 |
2.8 L 60°The General Motors 60° V6 family of engines began with the 1980 Chevrolet 2.8 L V6 and continues to be produced today . Its use in the X-body cars leads some to refer to it as the X engine.It is a 60° vee block with pushrod heads, except for a single DOHC member, the LQ1...
V6, 2 barrel Rochester |
|
| B |
| 1983–1985 |
2.2 L Diesel A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber during the final stage of compression...
I4The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is a four-cylinder internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a...
|
|
| S |
| 1985–1989 |
2.5 L Iron Duke TBI |
110 hp |
|
E |
| 1986–1993 |
2.8 L 60°The General Motors 60° V6 family of engines began with the 1980 Chevrolet 2.8 L V6 and continues to be produced today . Its use in the X-body cars leads some to refer to it as the X engine.It is a 60° vee block with pushrod heads, except for a single DOHC member, the LQ1...
|
|
|
|
| 1988–1995 |
4.3 L GM 262inch 4300ccVortec is a trademarked name for a line of piston engines for General Motors trucks. The name first appeared in 1993 on a 4.3 L V6 but is now used on a wide range of different engines. Modern Vortec engines are named for their approximate displacement in cubic centimeters.-2200:The Vortec 2200...
V6, TBITBI may mean:* TBI plc, an airport owner and operator.* Tennessee Bureau of Investigation* The Bourne Identity* Total body irradiation, a form of radiation therapy used most commonly in bone marrow transplantation....
|
|
| Z |
| 1990–1993 |
2.5 L Iron DukeThe Iron Duke was a 2.5 L I4 piston engine...
I4The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is a four-cylinder internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a...
, TBITBI may mean:* TBI plc, an airport owner and operator.* Tennessee Bureau of Investigation* The Bourne Identity* Total body irradiation, a form of radiation therapy used most commonly in bone marrow transplantation....
|
|
| A,E |
1993 Sonoma
Some 1993 Sonomas came with a factory equipped L35 W code engine. For 1993 no specialty labeling or limited edition tags were known to be used with the W code engine. Production totals for these vehicles are unknown.
Second generation
The second-generation trucks appeared in 1994. All of the special models (the Syclone, Typhoon, and Sonoma GT) were gone, but the changes to the truck brought it in line with arch-rival
Ford RangerFord Ranger is a name used on two distinct compact pickup truck lines by the Ford Motor Company and by a marketing arrangement with Mazda.* A Ford-designed compact pickup truck, which is sold and manufactured in North America as well as Brazil, Chile, Argentina and South Africa. It is also...
. The Iron Duke and 2.8 L 60° V6 engines were dropped, leaving just the 4.3 L Vortec and a new 2.2 L engine, itself a derivative of the old Cavalier OHV. This design generation was the first one to introduce airbags as safety features.
Much of the chassis components were the same as the first generation (the A-frames between the first and second generation were the same although they were originally sourced from GM's G-body vehicle lineup), along with the steering knuckle, leaf springs, and differential assembly.
Generally, for the 2WD trucks, the 8.5" rearend was only used when it came with both a
manual transmissionA manual transmission, or manual gearbox is a type of transmission used in motor vehicle applications...
and the large
V6 engineA V6 engine is a V engine with six cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of three cylinders, usually set at either a right angle or an acute angle to each other, with all six pistons driving a common crankshaft...
; it was standard for 4WD trucks with either
transmissionA transmission or gearbox provides speed and torque conversions from a rotating power source to another device using gear ratios, including for a motor vehicle partly because of the limitations of internal combustion engines...
. This was also the year that GM introduced the
ZR2 Offroad PackageThe RPO ZR2 was a special off-road/suspension package offered by General Motors primarily on their 4x4 2nd Generation S-Series line. It made itsdebut in 1994 when it was introduced in both the Chevrolet S-10 and the GMCSonoma pickup trucks...
.
The 4.3 L engines were refreshed for 1996 and a third (rear) door was added for extended cab models, along with the sportside bed option. The third door was on the driver's side unlike in the GM full-size pickups which had it on the passenger side. The exterior, interior, brakes, and 2.2 L
I4The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is a four-cylinder internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a...
engine were refreshed for 1998, and "Auto-Trac" all-wheel drive was optional starting in 1999 for the Blazers. Also the SS package was replaced by the "Xtreme" package. In 2001 a Crew Cab option was added and was available in 4WD and
automatic transmissionAn automatic transmission is an automobile gearbox that can change gear ratios automatically as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually...
only.
Base 2WD models came with 15x6.5 inch wheels with directional vents, Xtreme and
ZQ8ZQ8 is an RPO code designation for the Chevrolet S-10, GMC Sonoma, and Chevrolet Colorado.- Chevrolet S-10 and GMC Sonoma :The suspension package comes standard on the S-10 Xtreme and 1996-1998 S-10 SS models, but was also available as a separate package...
models came with 16x8" wheels while 4WD models (including the
ZR2The RPO ZR2 was a special off-road/suspension package offered by General Motors primarily on their 4x4 2nd Generation S-Series line. It made itsdebut in 1994 when it was introduced in both the Chevrolet S-10 and the GMCSonoma pickup trucks...
) used 15x7" wheels. The wheels used on the first generation were discontinued.
Second-generation S-series were also produced locally in
Brazil; and are still in production even though the North American version of the S-series was discontinued in 2004. Brazilian S-10s have a different front grille, lamps and bumper, and are available with a 2.8 Diesel engine built by MWM with 140 hp and a 2.4 Petrol/E-85 FlexFuel engine with 147 hp.
SS
The Chevrolet S-10 SS was a high performance version of the S-10, introduced in 1994. Fewer than 3000 SS's were produced yearly on average. When introduced, the SS was sold in only three colors: Onyx Black, Summit White, and Apple Red. The SS was discontinued in 1998. In 1999, it was replaced by the S-10 Xtreme.
A 4.3 liter V6 (which was optional on regular S-10s) was the primary engine used in the SS version, producing between 180 and 195 hp. The SS included lowered suspension, cosmetic changes such as a different grille, body-colored bumpers, 16" wheels, and other sporty touches. All SS versions were regular cab models.
Engine swaps
The 2wd S-series Truck shares several front suspension components with the GM G-body platforms . Along with the fact that the optional 4.3 liter V-6 shares several characteristics and dimensions of the early small block Chevy V-8 it has become a popular platform for Hot Rodders. Since the introduction of the S-series the ingenuity of its owners has made the V8 installation one of the most popular American domestic
engine swapAn engine swap is the process of removing a car's engine and replacing it with another. This is done either because of failure, or to install a different engine, usually one that is more powerful or more modern and maintainable....
s. With relative ease the V-8 swap has seen almost every size small block Chevy displacement produced from 262 in³ to the large engine, including the popular LS series engines. Some owners have even been able to install the big big block GM engines such as the 396-427-454 in³ engines with minor modifications.
The chassis and running gear are also a common swap under older cars and trucks. This gives the advantage of using off the shelf parts, full independent front suspension, disc brakes and a complete late model drivetrain. Most commonly, these are retrofitted under the body of an early 1950s Chevy pick up.
Engines
| Years |
Engine |
Power |
Torque |
VIN Vin may refer to:*Voltage input -People:*Vin Diesel*Vin Scully*Vin Suprynowicz*Vin, the name of a character from the video games Jak II and Jak 3*a diminutive of the name "Vincent"-Other:...
code |
| 1994–1995 |
2.2 L I4 2200 I4 The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is a four-cylinder internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a...
, MPFI |
|
| 4 |
| 1996–1997 |
2.2 L Vortec 2200 I4 The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is a four-cylinder internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a...
, SFI |
|
| 4 |
| 1998–2003 |
2.2 L Vortec 2200 I4 The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is a four-cylinder internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a...
, SFI |
|
| 4 or 5 |
| 1994–1996 |
4.3 L Vortec 4300, TBI TBI may mean:* TBI plc, an airport owner and operator.* Tennessee Bureau of Investigation* The Bourne Identity* Total body irradiation, a form of radiation therapy used most commonly in bone marrow transplantation....
|
|
| Z |
| 1993–1995 |
4.3 L Vortec 4300, CPI A consumer price index is a measure of the average price of consumer goods and services purchased by householdsCPI may also stand for:*California Psychological Inventory*Center for Public Integrity*Central Port Injection, see fuel injection...
|
|
| W |
| 1996–2004 |
4.3 L Vortec 4300, SEFI SEFI may refer to*Sequential electronic fuel injection*The European Society for Engineering Education *The Sambayan Educational Foundation, Inc. of St...
|
|
| W, X ('03-'04) |
Engine code options
- 4- 2.2 L w/ MPFI or SFI,
- 5- 2.2 L w/ SFI and Flex Fuel Capable,
- Z- 4.3 L w/ TBI,
- W- 4.3 L w/ CPI,SFX- 4.3 L w/ MFI,
For 1994-2004, the "W" engine code was used to denote the 4.3L V6 with 190hp. The "X" code for 1996-2004 was used for the 4.3L with 180hp.
External links