A 14-Year Journey From First Truck to Masterpiece “1986 Chevy S-10”

THINK ABOUT YOUR FIRST TRUCK FOR A MINUTE. Was it a beat up hunk of garbage or brand new off the lot? Once you had the truck, did you run out, copy of Street Trucks in hand, ready to customize your ride? And if you did, did you make a few mistakes along the way?

That’s a lot to think about, but most people who get a truck for their first vehicle don’t always make the best decisions.

It makes sense; we’re young, dumb and excited about our first car or truck, so slapping on some crappy sticker pinstripes and wheels from Pep Boys kind of makes sense.

It’s not often that someone takes that first ride and creates something cool right from the start, because more often than not, those trucks end up as a landscaper’s workhorse or in a junkyard.

This 1986 Chevy S-10 is Tim Pennington’s first truck, and no, he’s not under 18. He’s actually in his late 20s, which means that he’s had this truck for more than 14 years.

What started out as a father-and-son project when he was 14 years old has turned into an amazing truck that’s worthy of a lot of praise. More importantly he did it his way, with the help of a few good fabricators.

One of those fabricators is Eric Saliba, the man famously in charge over at The Little Shop. They’ve been building killer trucks for decades, and when Tim came to Eric in 2010 to ask for help with the build, the project took on a collaborative nature.

Tim came into The Little Shop wanting a body drop and a smoothed and painted bed floor, which Eric promptly talked him out of doing. Why? Because everybody does those things, Eric postulated, and why be like everyone else?

Instead they decided to lay the truck out on 24-inch wheels—a monumentally difficult feat for a square- body S-10—and Line-X the smoothed bed floor so that it would still be usable.

WHAT STARTED OUT AS A FATHER-AND-SON PROJECT WHEN HE WAS 14 YEARS OLD HAS TURNED INTO AN AMAZING TRUCK THAT’S WORTHY OF A LOT OF PRAISE.”

From start to finish, the build took about two years. In the end, Tim had a clean and primered truck. All of the bodywork was done, and at that point, it was more or less ready for paint.

Enter Brad Wurzbacher at Driven Fabrication. Brad previously worked with Eric at The Little Shop, and he liked Tim’s truck so much that he wanted to finish it up at his new shop (which was then located in Maryland, but is currently in York, Pennsylvania).

The two struck a deal: the truck would be painted and the interior completed at Driven Fabrication.

FROM START TO FINISH, THE BUILD TOOK ABOUT TWO YEARS, AND IN THE END, TIM HAD A CLEAN AND PRIMERED TRUCK.”

There are tons of things about the finished project that make it stand out from the rest—24-inch wheels on an S-10, the stunning Nissan blue paint, the clean bodywork—but some of the finer details reside on the inside, and they’re worth a second look.

Take that back seat, for example. For one, it’s not a seat.

The middle panel lifts up to reveal a custom sub box and amp enclosure that just looks like a seat, so not only is the setup stealthy, it looks amazing as well.

The second big thing to note (other than the dash from a 1957 Bel Air, of course) is the center console. It’s made to bridge the gap between the two bucket seats for a bench seat look, but it’s actually a hidden pocket.

Flip the top towards the dash—the opposite method used on most center console pockets—and you get a cup holder in the top half, and the gauges, climate controls, power window switches and stereo in the rest.

It allows the dash and door panels to keep a clean look, while remaining completely functional for Tim and his passengers.

The truck that Tim’s named “The Blue Demon” is full of other great details, and one could get lost just digging into them all at a local car show.

What started as a first truck became something that he could be proud of and take to all of his local shows with his club, Low Rollers.

To think Tim did this all to the very first truck that he ever built, one can only imagine what he could do with truck number two.

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1986 Chevy S-10 Truck Specs

OWNER:

• Tim Pennington
• 1986 Chevrolet S-10
• Smyrna, DE
• Low Rollers

ENGINE:

• Motor swap by The Little Shop, Lawrenceburg, TN; paint and detail work by Brad Wurzbacher at Driven Fabrication, York, PA
• 1993 Chevrolet 4.3l V-6
• Stock AC and heating run by a Vintage Air unit
• Shaved and painted Vortec engine cover
• Cold air intake with smoothed and painted intake tube to match truck
• Custom computer chip
• The Little Shop engine-driven compressor kit
• 2 ¼-inch exhaust painted high-temp black
• Magnaflow stainless-steel muffler
• 1993 GMC 4L60E automatic transmission
• Billet shifter
• 3.42:1 rear gears and chrome differential cover
• 1996 Chevrolet Astro Van Hydrobooster with 1998 Chevrolet S-10 master cylinder
• Stainless steel brake lines
• Stock AC and heat

SUSPENSION:

• Eric Saliba and team at The Little Shop, Lawrenceburg, TN
• C-notch
• Custom 5-link
• KYB shocks rear
• Speedway Motor rear disc brake conversion kit
• Airlift D2600 airbags front and rear
• Raised upper control arm mounts
• Thorbros upper and lower control arms
• The Little Shop S-10 steering system
• 2-inch Bell Tech drop spindles
• Battery relocated under the passenger side bedside
• VIAIR 450 compressors
• All air management hidden under the bed

WHEELS & TIRES:

• 24×8.5-inch Bonspeed Huntington wheels front and rear
• 255/30R24 Nexen N3000 tires

BODY & PAINT:

• Final prep and paint by Brad Wurzbacher at Driven Fabrication, York, PA; bodywork and initial bodywork by Eric Saliba and team at The Little Shop, Lawrenceburg, TN
• 1993 GMC Sonoma front grille with billet insert
• Smooth chrome bumper
• Grant Kustoms Cali Combo skin
• Shaved door handles
• Shaved gas door with motorcycle gas cap in bed
• H3 headlight conversion
• Stock taillights with Kandy clear
• Trailer fenders front and rear
• Line-X bed liner
• Smoothed bed floor
• Factory Nissan Blue BASF

INTERIOR:

• Bobby Moore and Brad Wurzbacher at Driven Fabrication, York, PA; dash swap and metal door panels by The Little Shop, Lawrenceburg, TN
• 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air dashboard
• Brown upholstery wool headliner
• Smoothed and painted upper extra-cab panels
• Root beer-colored vinyl
• Dakota Digital gauges
• Late-model Chevrolet Monte Carlo bucket seats
• Custom sub enclosure molded into extra-cab side panels
• Billet Specialties Anthem steering wheel
• Vintage Air AC control panel
• Airplane-style seat belts
• Kicker II pxi 50.2 iPod controller
• Kicker Front Row EQ
• Two Kicker IIds 652 6.5 component systems
• Two Kicker 12-inch CompS subwoofers
• Two Kicker 6.5-inch speakers
• Kicker ZX 650.4 amps
• Kicker PX100.2 amps
• Two Kicker PX 200.1 amps
• Custom center console made to look like a bench seat with all audio, gauges and switches located inside
• Lokar door handles
• Steering column painted to match interior
• Billet pedals

SPECIAL THANKS FROM THE OWNER: “I would like to thank my parents and my brother Dave for helping me through this build. If it weren’t for them, who knows where the truck would be today. I would also like to thank my girlfriend Dina for being understanding through the years and letting me work on the truck. We put a lot of things on hold to try to finish it. Also, thank you to Eric Saliba and his crew at The Little Shop for making my dream come to life; Brad Wurzbacher at Driven Fabrication for paint and interior work; Bobby Moore for the interior design and my club, Low Rollers, for all of the support over the years. Last, but not least, I would like to thank everyone that has helped work on the truck over the years: my dad, brother, Phil Fowler, Tommy Worwick, Jason Hurlock, Bradley James, Andrew Zeck, Chris Pollock, Greg Neal and Sam Smith for all the times I needed help taking the bed off.”

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Frequently Asked Questions

What makes the Blue Demon 1986 Chevy S-10 unique?

Its 24-inch wheels, Nissan Blue paint, Bel Air dash swap, concealed center console, smoothed bed floor, and multi-year father–son build make it a standout custom truck.

 

What engine is in this custom 1986 Chevy S-10?

It uses a 4.3L V6 from a 1993 GMC Sonoma, enhanced with a custom chip, cold air intake, MagnaFlow exhaust, and upgraded brake and drivetrain components.

 

How long did the Blue Demon S-10 build take?

The major fabrication and bodywork phase took about two years, but Tim continued improving it over the following decade.

 

Who built and painted the custom S-10?

Fabrication was handled by Eric Saliba at The Little Shop, while Brad Wurzbacher at Driven Fabrication completed the paint and interior.

 

What interior modifications were made to the S-10?

It received a 1957 Bel Air dash, Monte Carlo bucket seats, custom subwoofer enclosure, Dakota Digital gauges, custom center console, and Kicker audio system.