just another Chevy ... the s10 DD

[Beagle]

I don't feel right saying it was free cuz it was a gift from Dad. The trans is fubar, and the front end is pretty sloppy. Probably worth 3 grand without the problems, and I'll say 1500 as is because it needs attention that would be expensive. I'm not sure I could get that in trade.. lemme know if that chaps anyone's seat covers.

In true bangshift fashion, my tow truck will probably be faster, but what the hell. I did a little checking on my new favorite turd and found G80 and GU6 on the Service sticker (SPI). That translates to:

3.42's on a Posi carrier

Here she is in all of her just got home glory...



The LQ8 stuff means 235-55-16's on Camaro wheels, shorter springs (1.5") and swaybars. I should hide a nitrous bottle in the toolbox.

[SuperBuickGuy]

those things need a V-8... solves all of their ills.
As for gifts, it's not like it's a driving truck - you must spend dollars on it just to make it go.

[Mater]

with a bad trans here it would not even sell for $900 so no issue with the $1500 price form me

[Bamfster]

I'd love to find Stewie one of those and ditch the POS Saturn.

[SuperBuickGuy]

I keep thinking I should get another one as I already have the V-8 conversion headers hanging on my wall.... "really honey, I'm just using up some spare parts."

[Beagle]

I picked this one out for my dad back in '98 - he said "s10" and I said "that one" - it drives like a big go kart but I forgot how many blocks it takes to do a u-turn in it.

I noticed CC is doing theirs with manifolds to make it legal - I think I would have had it inspected before doing the swap and then worry about smog next year. I cannot imagine doing one with manifolds. The headers are pretty inexpensive.

I was reading JTR's site for a while this morning, and looked for a clutch pedal for a while this morning on CL and feebay. Found one with 300k on it, I almost bought it for grins. I found where a guy did a 302 / 5 speed install into one and that is pretty tempting since all the parts he used except a few fabbed pieces I have laying around collecting dust. An aluminum headed carbed 302 probably weighs in close to what the 4.3 weights, and after picking the 4l60e up out of the Escape, I'm thinking it would actually lose weight with a T5/302 over the 4.3/4l60e. You can put the 302 pretty far back since it's distributor is in the front. Ford used a Saginaw power steering pump on some of the vans, so I think I'd be covered for PS brackets. Need conversion hoses for A/C and PS maybe. I'd be curious to know if the 350/305 full size truck computer could be adapted somehow and maybe think about keeping the EFI.

I ordered the solenoids and then went impatient after thinking about the sun carrier issues in a 4l60e and bought a rebuild with 12 month unlimited mile warranty for 650.00 - the core was 100.00, I'm thinking about keeping the original and rebuilding it for the experience because I've never rebuilt an automatic. I'd consider doing a 4.8 or 5.3 LS for it, but CC and HRM have driven up the 5.3 / 4.8 market. I have a couple of 350's still, both of them have suck heads... I think there's a set of 993's, the rest are even worse. One is a four bolt, and I entertained the idea of forged everything 327 and hiding the nawwwwwssss bottle in the toolbox.

Then again, it runs like a top, particularly for having 3 year old gas in it. A marine intake manifold conversion, 30 pound injectors, and a hairdryer or two would let me keep the mpg, it turned in 20-22 pretty regularly with split city/hwy. Or just leave it stock and drive it. lol.

the rear is a 7.625 so I'll be looking at swapping in an Explorer rear if I do any of this other than stock.

[SuperBuickGuy]

LKQ doesn't buy into the hot rod/cc halo effect - you can still get 5.3s for 500 from them. However, after watching the hassles they had putting an LS motor in an S-10 blazer on Hot rod TV I'd really reconsider the why do it.... 350s almost drop into your pickup - you already have all the right parts (the oil pan and the V-8 bellhousing), the motor mount is really just a plate that moves the motor mounts back 4"(ish) on the block. The only other thing you have to do is get your BFH to fold the seam over and cut a chunk out of the A/C box. The rest bolts up. Buy a LT-1 or TPI motor and you'll have all the right parts.... way easier than a 302 conversion (although that would be interesting and a good idea if the other weren't so darn easy).

And do buy the JTR book... my headers are the 200 ones from Summit Racing with the ball flanges.... shorties. It wouldn't be a smog issue - especially if you put the cats back on. Dirty little secret - a 350 with non-functioning cats is cleaner than a 4.3 with functioning cats (ask me how I know this )

[Mater]

yeah CC said they need to keep it cali legal becuase there going to use it as a DD. and the only swap headers do not have a CARB EO number for them

[SuperBuickGuy]

does Texas follow that rule as well?

[Beagle]

I'm in an EPA disaster zone - we have probably the strictest rules courtesy of neighboring Dallas County. It's pretty straght forward though. Anything ODBii they plug in and check for codes. They check Mustangs for cats sometimes.

That's the fun part. If I put a full size truck ECM in it and they pull the codes, will Johnny Oil Change realize it is a V8 powered C1500 being reported on the printout?

If they get really crappy, I'll register it in Denison. They don't care all that much up there as long as it's not throwing codes.

If it throws codes in Denton County, the State will mail you if you don't also get it to pass later - they refused to renew the registration on my 2000 Lightning a couple of years ago because it was throwing a left bank lean code and I parked it in the garage at the lake. I never got around to getting it reinspected and didn't need to register it because it was parked. I wasn't in a hurry to put more miles on it.

[Teddyzee]

However, after watching the hassles they had putting an LS motor in an S-10 blazer on Hot rod TV I'd really reconsider the why do it.... 350s almost drop into your pickup

I believe most of those issues were due to it being a 4x4.

Should be a fun little truck, no matter what you throw in it.

[SuperBuickGuy]

4 wheel drives are actually easier because you have more room between the floorboard and the frame. Also, the cross member doesn't exist on the 4x4 - the differential acts in the same capacity, and it's a bit lower than the 2wd cross member (and in that swap an inch is a mile).

ya know, all this v-8 s-10 talk is really making think about doing another one... though the one in my mind is a 4dr awd boxy style blazer... swap in a front diff from a full-size truck, 9" rear and go terrorize the subarus and imprezas.... something with a turbo... To be continued....

[milner351]

See how it drives with the rebuilt trans - go from there.

KISS -if you've already got most of the 350 parts - wouldn't you be ahead of the game getting a set of "good" AL SBC heads for the 4 bolt you already have?

[Beagle]

It would make more sense, but like Autohack said, an inch is a mile in an s10.. the 4.3 is already tight, the 350 with a/c and PS is a squeeze. BFH and sawzall, pusher electric fans and pray they work well enough in the always over 100* dog days of summer here. I think we have at least two months of right at or above 100*.

The biggest bitch kitty from what I can see is the EFI that I have to keep. Stoopid emissions.

I looked at the truck yesterday and can't see the upper bellhousing-block bolts. I read that the GM manual suggests lifting the f*ing body off the frame to do a trans R&R. WHAT?!

I'll be yanking the engine / trans out the front before I do that. Looks like less work... and I want to see the 302 / T5 in that hole anyway. This truck has spent a little time next to the water in Bayview (gulf of mexico, house is waterfront, EVERYTHING rusts) so I might as well take the time to brush off surface rust and paint whatever needs attention. My dad spends about 2 weeks out of the month down there... I tend to forget about the rust because I think of him as living in Dallas. It's not bad, just needs some loving before it gets bad.

[SuperBuickGuy]

ah padawan, you miss the bestest part about doing a swap 4.3 to 5.7. It's plug and play - really, buy a TBI chev motor and it all plugs in, swap the computer and you're back on the road.
As for cooling.... it's not a problem, and you don't even have to do what was done on one of my v8 S-10s - windshield oiler (aka louvers)