2.8 4wd

[technine]

I have a 1987 GMC s-15 4wd with a 2.8 automatic. would it be possible to make this into a nice mud truck? or does the motor just not have the capabilities. I would like to do as much as possible to it, but still leave the factory motor, tranny, etc in it.(still have machine work done of course) anyone have any tips or experiene with s-10's or s-15's that could be of any help?

[patgizz]

more gear! lots and lots of gear to multiply the little bit of torque the engine has .

[technine]

what are the lowest gears i could put in it tho and it still be road worthy?

[sharkey]

the 2.8l in the s and t trucks was known as the motor to avoid. it was pretty under powered. if your looking for some serious offroading, i would deffinitly do a complete rebuild upgrading everything. a better start would be a 3.4l f-body motor and build that up, as the extra displacment means more torque.

a 4.3l is a better motor for offroading, or even swapping a v8 would give nice power, but may be out of the budget.

as for offroad s10/blazer, i dont see a lot of point in lifting them unless you do a straight axle front end swap. many people will argue, but when you lift one of these ifs trucks, the whole front suspention gets moved down with it, and still gets bottomed out very easily. also the torsion bar crossmember must be moved down aswell, and this also creates a spot that easily gets hung up.