Caroselli Design Adds A Sedan Delivery To Its Rodster Line And Gives A New Street Attitude To A ’40s Look (Originally Published In Kit Car Illustrated)
An exciting new design has hit the kit car world in the form of a '40s-style truck. It is Henry Caroselli's new-design of an old look, the Sedan Delivery. Caroselli Design has made a solid reputation of building a new-look street rod kit through the success of its Rodster, built on a Blazer platform. His credo has been to make affordable kits that you can have fun in and have fun building without spending a ton of money.
Caroselli introduced the Rodster in 1996 as a means of bringing affordable fun back into the street and kit rod hobby. Now, joining the Rodster in the Caroselli line, is the Sedan Delivery, another Blazer S-10-based vehicle that combines a '40s street rod look with new technology, a fully functional back seat and modern cruising comforts. The Sedan Delivery is consistent with the affordable-fun credo which Caroselli describes his new creation as "the entry-level street rod for the new millennium."
Utilizing a Chevy S-10 Blazer donor (model years '83-94), the new conversion kit keeps the back seat and general utility of the Blazer and turns it into yesterday's dream--today.
Caroselli said, "It is all about affordable fun. No one NEEDS a kit car or kit truck, but this one is fun and can be enjoyed by the entire family both in the building process and the driving and tooling around town. The build is an easy one and the cost is low. That's what car fun is all about...fun, family, ease, and low-cost."
Todd Gerstenberger, designer of the Brubaker Box, helped with the design and prototype construction of the truck that has a wheelbase of 100.5 inches. The finished rod has a ring-and-pinion ratio of 4:32, and includes an antiroll bar Monroe shocks and stock S-10 rear brakes and springs.
The front suspension is supplied with the kit and includes lowered A-arms, Monroe shocks, stock brakes, stock springs, and a stock S-10 power booster. The steering box is a Saginaw with tilt, and the vehicle sits on 17-inch-by-8-inch wheels.
Caroselli powers his kit truck with a Chevy 4.3L V-6 engine and cools it with a Spal cooling fan (supplied with the kit). He uses a stock alternator and Power Pull custom engine pulleys.
He said, "We try to utilize everything we can off the donor to keep cost down, and it seems to work very well."
Utilization is the keyword here as the transmission is the stock S-10 770R4. Other stock items include the manifold, the air cleaner, the HEI ignition, the seatbelts, and the rearview mirror and exhaust. But he uses Gibson mufflers in place of what the S-10 used.
The body is the Rodster fiberglass/dovemat/carbon fiber Sedan Delivery shell, which fits easily on the frame. The radiator is custom and comes with the kit, as does the grille shell and LaCarra steering wheel. The paint on this beauty was PPG Satin Black, with red graphics and purple pinstriping.
Since speed is important to kitrodders, Caroselli's newest can reach 100 mph and has done the 1/4-mile in 16.9 seconds and 80 mhp--not bad for a car that weighs 3,100 pounds.
The Sedan Delivery Rodster may look old and nostalgic, but it is all new and all kit on a very usable and utilized donor. It delivers.