Remember 1990? I don’t, ’cause I was barely a year old and probably just beginning to grasp the concept of Hot Wheels and solid food. If I had been older though, say, 16 or 17, I would have gone bananas over something like this.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is the Chevrolet S-10 Baja Edition, Craigslist no. 4133131973. I know a lot of you are just going to say, “Meh, it’s just an S-10 with an appearance package,” but, Lord help me, I can’t get over how cool it looks on a truck that I otherwise would find very boring.
The late eighties and early nineties spawned some really swell-looking trucks, when decals and odd color choices were a sign of pride and status in one’s pickup. Hauling performance didn’t really matter all that much–if you wanted that, you could just as easily go for a mid-size quarter-ton or half-ton cousin, but then you just kind of blended in with all the other drab pickup drivers. Talk about bogus.
Enter the sporty lightweight options: the Shelby Dakota, Ford Lightning, and GMC Syclone. These were the trucks that weren’t meant to tow your crap around, but just to have fun in at high speed.
And to take care of the off-roading crowd, Chevy made the Baja S-10. Here was a truck offered in standard 4×4, with an optional 4.3L V-6 to give you 160hp and 230 lb.-ft. of torque. And beyond just looking awesome, it could go off-roading too. The number of extras included can attest to this: black front double brush guard, tinted windows, RPO ZM6 off-road suspension, the light bar overlooking the cab, optional aluminum wheels–que bella, no?
They’re pretty hard to find nowadays, as they were only available from 1988 to 1991. To find one in this condition however, is remarkable.
By the looks of things, it’s missing the light bar and brush guard, and its rear end is broken. But there’s good news for anyone holding an operational four-door; the S-10 owner will do an even trade with you.
Barring that route, cold hard cash works just as well, and he’ll part with the white beauty for $3,000. Not bad for a busted, yet great-looking ride.