Car Feature Video: Hatfield’s S10 Returns With Another Burnout

In late Novemeber we ran a quick video news item that involved a turbo Chevy S10 truck performing a righteous burnout. The article received a lot of views and saw a lot of comments on our Facebook fan page. The comments were all positive, with most viewers commenting on the power that this little S10 laid down. It was a pleasant surprise however, when the owner of the truck responded.

All photos by Bryan Donald Photography

“Hello the S10 burnout you have posted is mine. Appreciate you guys posting it,” wrote James Hatfield. “Its a 408-cubic inch LS with a single billet 88 mm. It’s been 8.81@157 mph at the track. Full interior, cruise control, power leather seats and a stereo. Weight is 3,838 pounds with driver.” We had to know more so we reached out to Hatfield and got the full details on his project truck.

Hatfield has owned the truck since purchasing it new 13-years ago. “I ordered it new from GM in 2001 with a 2.2-liter and five-speed manual transmission. It arrived in April 2002,” he said. “I picked the 2.2-liter initially for fuel mileage. It was my daily driver for a couple years. I hoped one day to put a V8 into it.”

According to Hatfield, “The 2.2-liter saw a super charger and nitrous which put out a whopping 175-horsepower to the tires. In 2005, I swapped in a GM 5.3-liter and a 4L60E. The never ending quest really took off at that point,” he said with a chuckle. “The 5.3-liter was all stock with a mild cam and short tube headers. It ran 12.90s on motor and 11.20s on a 200 shot of nitrous. In 2006 I put a healthy 6.0-liter that ran 11.60s on motor and 10.60s on nitrous.” The lack of a roll cage caused him to get booted from the track. While the crew was adding a cage, he teamed up with Finishline Transmission and they gave the 4L60E many needed updates.

Hatfield changed the pistons in the 6.0-liter and bought his first turbo, mounting it under the bed. “The first turbo setup was foot braked using nitrous to spool and methanol injection with no intercooler. This setup went a fuel pump limited 9.88,” he said. “In 2008 The engine was bumped to a 408-cubic inches with an 88 mm turbo, which is still under the bed.”

Launch Time.

“This setup ran 9.38 at 154 mph. At this point it was still very much street focused, including a full stereo that featured two 10-inch subs, spare tire, with heating, and air conditioning still on board. I would drive 300 miles to the track, race it, and drive home.”

The truck stayed in this configuration though 2009 but the urge to go faster brought about some changes in 2010. “The need to run in the 8s had me looking at some rather extensive changes. Some weight reduction and the removal of nitrous were top of the list,” Hatfield explained. “I got together with Ryan Bell of FPS engines and gave the 408 ci quite a few improvements. TH400 with a trans brake was installed, the heat/AC and many unneeded items were removed. The whole exhaust system was changed while the turbo remained at the back. Approximately 200 pounds were removed.”

In 2012 the truck hit the road again in the current trim. The truck is raced almost every weekend and cruised occasionally with a couple of car shows thrown in each year. All the mechanical work, except the cage was done by Hatfield. The latest engine was even done in his home garage. “The last chassis dyno at Horsepower Solutions in Edmonton, Alberta made 980 rear wheel horsepower at 17-psi,” said Hatfield, “It currently runs 24-psi at the track,” he added. “The engine has been in service for over 175 passes. It needs freshening-up and a couple of updates.”

“I like it because it is a truck, it has cruise control and is tame enough that my fiancee can drive it. With the exception of the roll cage out the rear window, most would never know it’s an 8-second ride.  It still uses a factory GM computer tuned VIA HP-Tuners by me.”

Hatfield is a die hard GM fan and also owns a 2005 GTO. “The GTO was never available in Canada. I imported it in July of 2008 when the import ban was lifted,” he said.

As for the S10, he still has a few plans. “It has taken 10-years to get where it is. I would like to run it out of roll cage, which is 8.50 ET,” Hatfield claims, “At this point its relatively low maintenance and a lot of fun. Fun is why I built it, so I want to continue to enjoy while working on going a little bit faster.”

Awards:

  • Best street machine in Lethbridge Albertas “Street Machine Weekend” in 2014
  • Super Street class winner at Power to the Pavement in 2014.
  • 4th Place at Alberta’s Fastest Street Car Shootout.

Truck Details:

  • Name: James Hatfield
  • Home Town: Edmonton, Alberta Canada
  • Year: 2002
  • Make: Chevrolet
  • Model: S-10 Xtreme
  • Paint: Onyx Black
  • Body Mods: Goodmark 2″ Cowl induction hood
  • Engine: FPS Engines 408-Cubic inch LS (LQ4 Block) Callies Compstar crank, Compstar I-Beam rods, Diamond pistons, Trickflow Cylinder heads, Custom bullet cam, Yella Terra rocker arms,Edelbrock Pro-Flo XT manifold. Injector Dynamics ID1300’s, Nick williams 90mm Throttle body
  • Transmission: TH400 With PTC 9.5-inch converter by Dusty Bradford
  • Interior parts: Hurst Pistol grip shifter, AMS-1000 Boost controller, Autometer Carbon series gauges
  • Underhood parts:  Moroso Vacuum pump, Billet wheel GT5088 turbocharger mounted under the bed, Chiseled performance IC2000 intercooler, Tial Wastegate and Blow off valve
  • Brakes: Wilwood 4-Piston disk front and rear. Strange Master Cylinder provided by TRZ Motorsports.
  • Rims and Tires: Centerline Telstar wheels. 15×10 rear 15×6 front Mickey Thompson 275Pro Radial.
  • Suspension parts: Calvert Racing split mono leafs, Smith Racecraft Assassin bars, Strange Double adjustable shocks (provided by TRZ Motorsports). TRZ Motorsports upper and lower control arms and front coil overs provided by TRZ.
  • Driveline parts: Dynotech 3.5″ Chromoly driveshaft, Currie Enterprises 9-inch with Strange 33 spline hytuff spool and axels.

About the author

Bobby Kimbrough

Bobby grew up in the heart of Illinois, becoming an avid dirt track race fan which has developed into a life long passion. Taking a break from the Midwest dirt tracks to fight evil doers in the world, he completed a full 21 year career in the Marine Corps.
Read My Articles

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