Need advice: best engine swap(sick 2.8 in '85 S-10 Blazer)

[Wild Turkey]

Bought an '85 S-10 Blazer (2/5-speed) for oldest son -- body looked great, nice folks selling it assured me it was ready to go to college.

Yeah, right-- new radiator, CAT, engine, carb and redone vacuume lines (and two years) later it's still sick. and we need it for youngest son.

I've been doing a lot of reading about the 60 degree family and am just getting more confused All I know for sure is I don't want a 2.8 -- twice burned, not much power, etc.

Can someone tell me in plain English (no "W"bodies or GenII, etc ) what years and models of vehicles would make good donors for the truck?

I know some years of the Astro had a 3.4 that should fit, but what years?

Would that 3.8 (Pontiac? Buick?) bolt up to the 5 speed?

I am mechanically inclined, but am seriously out of date (know more about flatheads than OHC)

thanks

[bszopi]

Astro had a 4.3L, not the 3.4L. There will be a guy chiming in soon to direct you in the right direction. I would, but I can't say for sure what exactly is the "best" engine for your money. But I will say a 3.4L out of a 93-95 Camaro is gonna be on the list...

[Guest]

Yes, bang for buck best would be 3.4 from the ('93 to '95) 4th gen Camaro. Almost everyone that has an S-series that has done that swap has been happy with the results. Pretty straight forward swap, there is some parts swapping, like the intake and front cover/water pump, etc, to make it easier to install in the Blazer.
S-series.org has a nice write up about it, in the 660 forum.

Other swaps that would work/have been done are:
SBC - but requries custom mounts, tranny swap, if it's a 4x4, a custom oil pan, etc.
BBC - requires firewall modification in addition to the same as SBC.
3.1 from the 3rd gen ('90 to '92) Camaro (similar work to a 3.4)
3.8 - same or more work than a SBC.
And a few oddballs, like an Olds wide block I had seen started once, A Japanese 4 cyl, couldn't figure out why that one was done, and mine, that is the Franken60, a combination of all generations of 660, plus turbocharged, but I really don't think this is the type of swap you're after. hehe.

[geoffinbc]

Yup 3.4L all the way. It is litteraly a bolt in swap.

http://members.shaw.ca/betterthanyou/2.8l%20to%203.4l/engine%20swap.htm

[Wild Turkey]

OK, but what if I can't find a 3.4?

If I get a donor truck with a 4.3L how much extra work is involved?

engine mounts
Trans mounts (and trans)
radiator

what else?

thanks

[geoffinbc]

Swap everything man. Even down to the washer bottle, it is on a different side

Also the ECM or at least the ECM chip will need to be changed. The sensors are all the same but wire lenghts might different between the 2 so you might have to swap the harness too.

Plus if you have smog it will never pass the visual or running test. But a 3.4L will fool even the smartest eye and pass the running test even in Cali.

So lets see. Swap a whole engine compartment and drivetrain over a week or two and spend up to a thousand on replacement parts. Or drop in a rebuilt donor motor for less money over 2 days and get the same power output and even pass the strictest smog test.

[Wild Turkey]

Thanks. I needed that.

Time for a great Camero hunt.

[Guest]

Hehe, yeah I was about to bring up the carb vs fuel injection issue, since '85 were carb, all 4.3 S-10s were fuel injected, in fact I think all 4.3s were fuel injected from the factory.

From my personal experiance 4.3s are dogs, I'd rather spend more time building a 2.2 than attempt to use a 4.3. They just don't seem to be a good design.

[geoffinbc]

Oh right 85 is carb'd

Ok well when you do this swap I would recomend the Weber carb to you. Everyone who runs it just absoutley loves it.

Also know that if you buy the crate motor from GM you will get a warrenty with it since you have a carb'd application. The crate may seem expensive at first (1600 is the cheepest I know of) but I would recommend it over a donormaro motor.

If I did mine again I would go the crate route because will all the changes I did to the Camaro motor to make it perform like the crate would and the rebuild I probabally spent the same amount of money. Plus I had to labour over it for a couple weeks to rebuild it in my garage.