84 S10 2.8L Engine Swap

[blazer_87]

Hello, this is my first post. Looking forward to helping others and getting some good advice. Here's my situation:

Currently have and drive an 84 2wd S10 with Auto Trans and 2.8L carb., everything stock.

Yesterday I bought an 88 4x4 S10 with Auto Trans and 2.8 TBI. The 88 engine is knocking and the body is pretty rough (still thought it was a good deal for only $100).

I would like to take the 88 engine and rebuild it and stroke and bore it to a 3.4, still trying to decide whether or not to bring the TBI or leave the carb.

Then I want to rebuild the 2.8 in the 84 and get the 4x4 up and running for a toy and hunting vehicle

Good Idea or Bad Idea??? I know the easiest thing would be to get a 3.4 from a Camaro, but since I have the 88 I am gonna build it.

Does anyone have a list of recommended parts for the conversion of the 88 2.8 to 3.1/3.4?

I hope to make detail pics and step by step instructions for the next person that wants to do this.

Thanks in Advance
David

[sharkey]

well, if the 88 is knocking, its likley a rod bearing. from past experiances, when these motors spin a bearing, the crank is completly toast. to convert to a 3.1l you need a 3.1l crank and 3.1l pisons (3.1l is the same bore as a 2., the conecting rods are the same. to convert to a 3.4l, you need a 3.4l f-body block aswell as a 3.4l or 3.1l crank and 3.4l pistons. in the end, its more cost effective to find a 3.1/3.4l and build that. as far as converting to efi, i would go for it. id skip the tbi though and go straight to an mpfi setup from an f-body.

as far as the 84 2.8l, id toss it in the scrap. its a small main journal crank/block with the horrible rear main seal. the crank isnt that strong, and have been known to break.

[blazer_87]

Well, since I have the 88 as a donar truck, I am planning to use that engine as a start. I am planning to make the most of it, figuring out what the most of it is, is my problem. I was under the impression that a 3.1 was a 2.8 with a 3.1 crank and a 3.4 was a bored 2.8 with a 3.1 crank. Is this not correct?

[geoffinbc]

The 3.1L is a 2.8L stroker yes. But a 3.4L has a different block design which allows for a bigger bore and it also uses the same stroke as teh 3.1L. It is not considered a good idea to make a 2.8L or 3.1L into a 3.4L

[blazer_87]

THANK YOU! I guess now I will just stroke the '88 2.8 to a 3.1, swap over to TBI and drive it!

[vikn1]

More for you $$$

Hey Blaze, how's it going. An 84 S-10, carb fed even; really nice. You might take into consideration looking into the GM performance catalog. They make a long block for your tired 2.8 liter, they upgrade you to a 3.4 liter at that. Just think of the cost of building your engine to the price of the GM crate engine. The crate engine was meant for you carb fed blazer. http://www.gmgoodwrench.com/perfpart...rtsCatalog.pdf
Copy and paste the address above, it the 2006 GM performance catalog. It's a big pdf file (11mb), find page 124 & 125. Some guys might have a different opinion, look at and form you own.

[geoffinbc]

The crate is a VERY good idea. After all the money spent dinking around refurbishing an old motor and then investing in a few performance parts you will be ahead when buying the crate motor. The only thing I would throw on the crate motor is a set of roller rockers.

[pabloconrad]

Go with the 3.4L crate engine. Did the same to my Jeep (2.8 to 3.4) and have lots of power, better gas mileage, etc.

Plus, it's a brand new engine. One piece of advice I have is do all the upgrades to it (camshaft, etc.) before putting it in.

And all parts are a direct swap. Water pump, intake and exhaust manifolds, etc.