i know this may sound rather dumb to any one who decides to read this, but im a 16 year old who has just sparked interest in cars. i ditched my 93 dodge caravan for an s-10 in order to have off roading capabilities cause my van got stuck numerous times. heres where i get lost. since ive only been interested in cars since i bought my s-10 4 months ago i am pretty much clueless when it comes alot of things. Since i have the will to do things to my truck i cant stop getting things for it. i changed the tensioner assembly that was easy. next are my 5.5 inch off road lamps to mount on my bumper. these came with no instructions or anything and before i start to put these on i was wondering what the hell i do haha. i know i gotta mount them then i get lost in wiring. on top of that i got a 300 watt speaker system which i have not a big clue about the wiring on that. next, i have an incredible amount of rust on the underbody so i bought 18 grit sand paper and underbody coating, this i can handle because i just cant spray the coating on anything such as the driveshaft and similar components that move while driving or there could be a shaking problem. i also bought bucket seats from the junkyard and this i have looked at and i just need a welder to cut the floor board so the seats will sit evenly. lastly, i have a 3 inch body lift that ive been hesitant to try and put on because i dont want to mess anything up. all of these things seem simple to me and i know i can do them i just dont want to get anything wrong when im in the middle of these projects and loose the best car i have ever ridden in. my family has never owned a chevy and i personally and a huge fan of its performance so far. any input would be greatly appreciated. i work all the time and go to school everyday so the time i have to make this truck look and run well is limited. i plan on the doing the lamps new years eve, the lift kit new years day and the speakers my dad will probably take the task of doing because he was the one who pushed for better sound in it. the underbody coating i may wait until spring because here in connecticut the salt from the snow has clung to the underbody so i need to let that run down a little till i can sand it. thanks everyone.

I'm not clear on what year your s-10 is but i''m aaauming its the newer body style, for the fog lights find a suitable place to mount them to the bumper make sure there is enough space on the otherside for the nut and bolt. Plice the two power wires together and runthem up behing the grill you might want to remove the grill even. then run the wire down the driver side fender tucking it and running it out of harms way. when you reech the fire wall see if you can find an accessible rubber plug with wires running threw it. this is how you can get the wire in the truck . if you cant find a plug often there is other ways around this like continueing threw the fender and in to the door jam. once u get the wire in to the truck cab your done with the hard part. find a good place to mount a switch. there should be plenty of places just make sure you can get behind it to attach the wire you just ran threw your truck. next look at your fuse block and with a test light find a constant or switch power your choice. once you find wich power source your gonna use run a seperate peice of wire to the switch now the power is hooked up the only thing you have left is going back to the fog lights and finding a place to ground them. if your bumper is metal sometimes you can just ground the wires under the fog mounts if not then u might have to splice the two ground wires together and ground them behind the grill somewhere. as for the amp and subs i'd wait till you have the seats out that way you can run the wires under the carpet easier and have a cleaner instal. the body lift is gonna be some work more or less depending on wether you have a manual or auto. also if you have access to a car lift this would help out cause you would unbolt the body mounts and lift the body off the frame. ive helped do a body drop in a driveway with jacks and blocks but the truck wasnt high off the ground any way. well i hope this helps you out in some way. glad you ditched the dodge and went chevrolet cause its the only way.

What year S10 did you get?Might be able to help you a little more.

its a '93 2.8liter standard s-10. thanks so much robert h your explanation was so helpful and detailed. now im positive i can do this.

Just so you don't have to re-do all your rust repair look into this web site first
http://hotrodders.com/kd/body-exterior/discussion

I had problems with my first paint job and had to re-do all the body work because of missing a few small steps, like neutrolizing the rust, and that link has really helped me out

If you can't find enough room on the bumpers for the fog lights you can buy a push bar or bull bar with mounting tabs for the lights. I recommended you use a relay for the fog lights. Auto zone sells one specifically for this purpose, and it has a wiring diagram on the package. Also use heavy enough gauge wire, I wouldnt use anything smaller than 14ga. -12ga. is better.

i went to install my lights. i drilled and mounted them on my bumper. the wiring is screwing with my head. the lights have black and white wires coming out of them so i connected those to the black and white wires. there is a red wire with a fuse on it. i believe that connects to the battery. correct me if im wrong please. there was black ones that need to be grounded. then there is black white and red ones that fit into the switch. i need to find a hole in the fire wall to install the switch. once i do that do i need to go into the fuse box with one of the cables or is this not needed. any advice to help me and my dad is appreciated thanks to everyone who has put in any advice.

The black wires from the lights are grounds (negative) they can be attached to any solid piece of metal on the car. Self tapping screws and a screw gun make this a lot easier, or if you look on the firewall there should be a stud with a nut on it connecting the ground strap from the hood. This is a good place to connect a ground.
The red wire (positive)with the fuse gets connected to a terminal in the fuse box that is only hot when the key is in the accessory or on position. (Use a test light.) The other end goes to the switch.The other wire from the switch goes through the firewall. Look for a bunch of wires going through a rubber grommet in the firewall near the steering column. You will probably have to remove the plastic panel under the dash and peel back the carpet to see this. Sometimes it's necessary to make a new hole. There should be a thin spot in the metal just for this purpose. Make sure you seal any holes you make with a dab of silicone to prevent any engine gasses from entering the interior. The positive wire from the switch should then go to a relay. A positive wire from the battery goes to a 10 amp fuse and then to the relay. The white wires from the lights also go to the relay. And lastly the relay gets grounded. If you connect the positive wire from the switch directly to the lights without using a relay they won't be as bright and you will burn up the switch.