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Second S10Extremist Bash
May
18-20, 2001
Eldorado North Carolina USA
As much as I hate air travel, I had the
Bash on my mind and I was still a little excited to get on the plane last
Thursday night. I tend to believe in signs, and when I got the pleasure of
watching a thunderstorm from 20,000 feet as we flew around it I was confident
that I was watching an omen of an exciting weekend to come!
A short flight... less than 2 hours and I
was at the curb to be picked up by none other than a new Lexus! Cheers go to
Mark's sister, Diane, for helping find me at the airport as well as for offering
the lavish ride in her Lexus! (While I'm on the subject, Grand Cheers go to my
friend Eric and my Mom for making this trip possible during our current state of
financial ruin!) Another 20 minutes or so took me to meet the first of many
Bashers to come over the weekend. Aaron was putting a quick coat of paint on
the new receiver mounted tire rack that he and Mark had put together in time to
be tested for the Bash! After some chit-chat about the upcoming excitement,
Mark and I left Aaron to pack and headed for Mark's homestead...
And that's when it all started... It
seemed like an innocent enough idea... A quick look at last year's Bash videos
before we got some shut-eye. And then we couldn't help ourselves! My mouth
watered at the sight of the awesome trails that awaited us! Here in Michigan,
the trails are pretty flat and I have to go pretty far north to get to the
really good stuff. And there I was less than a couple hours and not so many
miles from outstanding 4x4ing... and without my truck! The Bash hadn't even
begun yet and I already knew I had made a terrible mistake! Next year, come
hell or high water, I would be driving the trails and not just riding
shotgun!!! Anyway, we watched 4x4 videos nearly all night in preparation for
the Bash!
Friday morning came quickly... Our droopy
eyelids didn't slow down our enthusiasm in the slightest, and by 10am we were on
our way to have some quick breakfast for the road... I don't know if this is
unique to North Carolina or not, but at breakfast I was treated to a completely
unique experience. We're all familiar with the latest and greatest in fast food
technology-- the gas station with a fast food restaurant attached. What could
possibly be better than this, you might ask? A gas station with 3 fast food
restaurants attached, of course! Between KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut, we had
quite a variety of breakfast options. I myself started with a KFC biscuit to
settle my stomach a little before dumping greasy fast food into it, but Mark,
Aaron, and Jessica were far more aggressive. I watched in amazement as all
three devoured Taco Bell at 10am... I consider myself to have somewhat of an
iron stomach, but a burrito for breakfast?!? It only took a few minutes to
devour our meals and we were on the road again! Thursday's late night caught up
with me and I slept most of the way to Uwharrie...
My introduction to the Badin Lake area of
the Uwharrie Forest started with a stop at the Eldorado Outpost... It's exactly
what you probably picture in your mind when you think of an outpost... A rustic
looking building in the middle of nowhere that offers just about anything that a
visitor to the forest might need... Hot, fresh-cooked food, beverages, camping
supplies, candy, etc. I loaded up on M&M's, candy bars, and Cheetos while Mark
and Aaron fueled their trucks. The Outpost is only a few minutes away from
Arrowhead Campground. I'm new to camping, and was excited to find out that our
campground had clean, new-looking bathrooms and showers! And those showers were
badly needed after a long, hot day on the trail...
Friday afternoon's trail ride drew
together all of the trucks that had shown up early... Eight in all. trucks
driven by David Greer, Craig Sapriken (copiloted by Scott Eickerman), Chad Perry
(copiloted by wife Dawn), Aaron Shenefield, Mike Volpe (copiloted by son
Anthony), Jeremy Slone, Mark Hall (copiloted by me!), and Jeff Henderson
(copiloted by wife-to-be Angie). We started off at the south end of the 'Rocky
Mountain Loop'... It was easy to see how this trail got its name... Lots of
hills and big rocks! My mouth started watering for the second time when I saw
the trails in person! And my truck was 750 miles away, parked in the middle of
the city next to a curb! Blast! Well, at least I got to watch, and probably
got to experience more of the trails by watching and walking along with the
camera.
Anyway, just as things were
getting good and juicy, we had a couple of mechanical failures. David's
radiator mysteriously sprung a leak, and Jeff's front differential lost a
mounting bolt, allowing it to pivot far enough forward to interfere with his
steering. We continued to play on the rocky hill you see above until everyone
that wanted a shot at it had given it a try, and then headed back to camp to
bandage up the wounded. Dave crimped off the core that had mysteriously sprung
a leak and coated the ends with an ample amount of JB-Weld... The miracle cure
for many vehicular ailments... And Cheers go to Aaron for wrenching on Jeff's
truck and helping him get it ready for the big event Saturday!
Saturday, The Main Event
After a long, hot shower Friday night I
slept like a baby... almost 12 hours! I guess the great outdoors were good for
me! Cheers go to Sandy and Phil for letting me borrow the sleeping bag that
kept me toasty warm and comfy all weekend! I awoke to find that more Bashers
had arrived and most were ready, willing, and able to hit the trails again! And
so was I... We had a dozen trucks now, and 3 days still remained to hit the
many, many trails that Uwharrie still had to offer. Friday night's teaser left
me even more anxious to see what many told me were the 'real trails' that we
intended to see on Saturday... Now, for the cast of the upcoming saga,
appearing in no particular order...
Aaron 'Four20' and
Jessica Shenefield are sure to make their soon-to-be-born baby proud
by driving an S10 Blazer with a total of 8" of lift and 33" tires on it!
Details... 1988 S10 Blazer Tahoe 4x4, 3/4 350ci (4.3L Modified), Edelbrock Cam,
Jacobs Ignition, Flex-A-Lite Electric Fan, Trailmaster 5" lift, Dick Cepek 3"
body lift, Bushwacker cut-out fender flares, Ultra 15x10 wheels, Smittybuilt
Nerf Bars + Prerunner light bar, 33x12.50R15 (2), BFG + (2) Dick Cepek Mud
tires.
Craig 'Hay'
Sapriken and copilot Scott 'Fyrman' Eickerman drove all the way from
British Columbia, Canada to attend the Bash! By far the longest haul of anyone
in the group! One of the many cool things about the Bash was listening to all
the different accents that the attendees had, eh? Craig's truck is a 1994 GMC
Sonoma with a 4.3 Liter V6, 5 spd transmission, 3 inch Superlift Suspension, 3
inch TrailMaster Bodylift, 31X10.5 BFG A/T Grippies, Emperor AM/FM/SSB radio,
and a Kenwood VHF Radio.
David Greer kept
things lively with his 'Puddle Skipper'... Would you believe that
this '85 S10 has almost 600,000 miles on it?!? Downright impressive, to say the
least! A 3" body lift makes room for 31x10.50-15 Courser AWT tires turned by
stock 3.42 gears, and Dave has made extensive modifications to the rebuilt 2.8L
V6. Here's the short list of modifications to his truck: Edelbrock Performer
cam and Torker II intake, Holley 600cfm 4bbl carb, MSD ignition system, Flow
Master exhaust, roll bar, and Baja lights.
Jeff Henderson and
Copilot Angie McDaniels impressed all of us with Jeff's truck. A
short-list of goodies includes a 5" trail master lift kit, 3" body lift, 1"
t-bar crank front, 2" shackle lift rear, Bush Wackier cut out flares,
33-12.50/15 TSL supper swappers, duel optima red top batteries, 3 150w KC
Daylights, simttybuilt tub bumpers front and rear, Warn malutily mount winching
system, custom cut 31 spline ford 9" with currie shafts 4:10 gears Detroitt
locker, and disk brakes setup, stock 2.8L V6, and a home-made snorkel setup.
Jeremy Slone
from Jacksonville, NC, mastered the trails in his 1991 GMC Sonoma. It has a
4.3L, torsion bar tweak , rear shackles and 30 inch mud terrains. Stock
Drivetrain and 2 Hella 55 watt driving lights. He is a nationally Registered,
North Carolina, Florida licensed Paramedic for the Bash. He didn't give any
specs on his trailer, though! As you'll see later in the story, it's a good
thing we had Jeremy's medical skills for the Bash!
Mark Hall's 'Baby
Blazer' doesn't seem appropriately named when you find out that it
has a 3" body lift, 32" tires, 350ci engine, 700R4 transmission, and kick-butt
stereo system... But when you see it sitting next to his 'Big Truck', a V8 S10
with custom-built SFA conversion and 38" tires, it's easier to understand why he
calls it his 'Baby Blazer'...
Mike
'Volpster' Volpe and Son/Copilot Anthony had a great time in their
1988 GMC S15. The truck still powers around with its original 2.8 v6, has an
automatic transmission, 31x10.50-15 BFG's, torsion bar tweak and shackles, Accel
Power and K&N filter, hand-made tube bumpers and winch.
Bryan
Schoch and Copilot Kelly Griffin brought this great-looking S10
Blazer for the Bash... The truck is an 86 S-10(T-10) Blazer 4x4, 2.8L 158k
miles. Everything has been replaced except the motor, radiator, and axles. It
has the Tahoe package, towing package, Reese hitch, flip-up sunroof, sliding
rear side windows, power everything, and all the good stuff. Bryan bought it in
1995 with 90k miles on it. Can you believe that Bryan traded his 76 Plymouth
Valiant for it?!? It's been beaten, abused, and rattled, but still goes strong.
It's a little rusted, but so is every other old Blazer. Mods he's done are the
Flowmaster 50-series dual-output muffler with custom dual pipe system, K&N air
filter, Rapidfire plugs, custom Cargo Rack with 4 100W Eagle Eye off-road
lights, Uniden CB, Sony CD player, and 130W Pioneer 6"x9" speakers in the back.
Dawn
Perry was kind enough to let her husband, Chad, drive her truck in
the Bash! Dawn's truck is a 1995 Chevy S-10 Blazer with stock suspension. It
recently received a 4.3L Jasper Proformance Class 1 Engine and rides on 30"
B.F.G. A/T tires on Stock Wheels. It breathes through a K & N Air Filter System
(New this Week).
Mike
Keane wrote that his '92 4-door S10 Blazer is simply 'stock'... How
could he forget to mention the single most impressive modification of any truck
in the Bash? His backup-beeper!
John
'Tech' Maher brought more than just his cool New York accent! The
following is a list of his upcoming engine mods! Intake : Edelbrock
intake 3713($225+) ; Holley TBI 502-7($300+) ; K&N off road kit($65)
Ignition : Jacobs Electronics ultra team {coil, wires, box & harness}
heavy-duty cap & rotor Valve train : Edelbrock cam 3714 ($225*), timing
set 7801($66*) , valve springs 5814($40*) ; Comp cams pro magnum full roller
rockers 1317-12($228), OE style roller lifters 850-12 ($163), roller push rods
7808-12 ($26) Bottom end :Federal Mogul sterling pistons; Vibratech
street dampr harmonic damper($155*); Clevite main bearings and connecting
bearings ; Speed Pro piston rings ; Melling mv55b oil pump; Felpro gasket set
Exhaust : Edelbrock headers 6856($200*), Jet-Hot coated ($250) ; Random
Technology hi-flow cat converter($277); Pacesetter TFX cat back exhaust w/3"
stainless tip($200) Misc. : Made for you wire loom 5035612($42*); Energy
suspension 1116 engine mounts, 1108 trani mounts; Stage 8 header bolt kit 3911;
Flex-a-lite electric fan 60($190*); 160 t-stat, Dex-cool anti freeze Felpro
gasket kit Machine Work :Heads- ported,
polished & matched in/out ; Block-hot–tanked ,decked and bored .030 over
Let me think for a minute... We've got trucks, we've got
trails, we've got nutball gearheads ready to drive both... OK, we've got all of
the ingredients for a successful Bash! Like kids running down the stairs to see
what Santa brought on Christmas morning, our dozen trucks filed quickly out of
the campground in search of our first adventure... Falls Dam...
This was the first trail ride of the day,
and the first trail ride of the weekend for many. Uwharrie continued to throw
rocks and hills at the train of S10's, very similar to what we'd seen the night
before. However, Falls Dam offered an occasional mudhole to play in! In the
good, gooie ones, we all stopped to watch each other take turns...
Unfortunately, there wasn't enough mud for anyone to get stuck in. There was,
however, just enough mud to spin around in and get the trucks dirty! The first
mudhole wasn't deep enough for Super Dave Greer, so he proceeded to ram across
the mudhole and the surrounding embankments... Several Bashers were concerned
that he might roll his truck, but I was ready for action with the camera! As
you can see from the pictures, he was able to keep it dirty-side-down! In fact,
the only 'stuck' we had all weekend was Chad Perry's leisurely drive off into a
small ditch that was deep enough to swallow an entire front wheel.
At the very end of the Falls Dam trail,
Jeff Henderson found a nice, big rock just waiting to be conquered! After the
rest of the crew watched and photographed him climbing it, many more had to give
it a try as well!
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