Nostalgia, from the Greek word "nostos," meaning "return home," is defined by Merriam-Webster as: the state of being homesick, or a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to or of some past period or irrecoverable condition.
Newstalgia-there is no actual definition, but this new-age word means: something new and original that captures the look, feel, and essence of something treasured from the past.
With the car industry desperately trying to recapture the past with yesterday's designs and styles, and the PT Cruiser and Chevy SSR doing their best to capture the nostalgia market in trucks, it took a kit car company to turn that craze into a "newstalgic" truck...embodied in the Rodster Pickup.
Henry Caroselli at Rodster Street Rods (dba Caroselli Design) has been building the classic-looking Rodster Sedan Delivery for about five years. He and a customer, Robert Crosbie, a retired Navy CPO from Jones, Michigan, soon discovered that with a few modifications the Sedan Delivery front clip would fit on a donor S-10 and transform it into something that out-nostalgias the Chevy SSR; this vision is now being marketed as the Rodster Pickup.
Crosbie caught several articles in KIT CAR showing off the Sedan Delivery and discussed the possible front-clip conversion with Caroselli. After locating a bank-repossessed '93 S-10 short box pickup, the project began.
He disassembled the donor, relocated the tailgate handle to the inside, and filled in the original hole. The taillights were discarded, and prefabbed metal plates were welded in place. The rearview mirrors were removed, the bed was placed on sawhorses, and the frame was wirebrushed, then painted with a rust-preventative coating.
To drop the truck 3 inches for that low ride, lowering blocks and the front control arms were installed along with new Heckethorn Rough Country shocks. The original 13-gallon gas tank was replaced with a 20-gallon tank, and a new sending unit and fuel pump were added. Crosbie followed the easy-to-read-and-use manual and installed the kit-supplied radiator and electric fan. Next, the bed wheelwheels were spaced wider, and fender flares were epoxied and belted to the bed. The front clip was fitted by trial and error, as he slotted the mounting boltholes in the frame.
With the truck partially assembled-bed held on by two bolts, and nails for door pins-Crosbie trailered the partially primered truck to Rick Wheat Paint and Auto Body in Three Rivers, Michigan, who finished the truck off in a '95 Chevy Metallic Raspberry tinted a couple shades darker.
Following installation of the grille, hardware, headlights, and some toggle switches, the truck was ready to roll. Crosbie harvested the donor for the interior and engine-a 4.3L V-6-and modified the system with a high-capacity, super-flow catalytic converter and two Cherry Bomb Turbo II mufflers
The finished project is so striking that Crosbie said, "I caught one guy taking a picture with his camera phone while passing me at 55 mph on a two-lane road." Nostalgic? Certainly. Newstalgic? Absolutely. This was the first one, but with Rodster promoting this S-10 rebody, the SSR had better be looking in its rearview...but not for too long, 'cause the Rodster Pickup is in passing gear.