V8 Chevy S-10

[johnzillia54]

Well this year I got a 91 S-10 4x4 for free and it needs a clutch but!!!!! I had a stupid idea to put a fuel injected 400 small block with a 700R4 tranny and a 208 transfer case..... Because if I do all that that means I can make it a solid axle truck!!!! Wouldn't be that awesome??? And the cool thing is it was free!! Also I have everything to do this what do you think guy????
Thanks

Here's the truck

[rjm2519]

I don't think you can get all of that into a 4wd, I know it has been done on 2wd plenty. What axles were you thinking of using? Just seems like a whole lot of powertrain for such a small truck. But I suppose less sane things have been done in jeeps. Probably not a bad place to research the parts you would need. Are you trying to build a rock crawler, mudder, parking lot crawler?

[Redsawacs]

they make kits to assist along the way - not sure about the sold axles but for sure you can make the V8 work....heck, the 4.3L V6 was a chevrolet V* block with the back 2 cylinders removed!

[johnzillia54]

Haha well I've got Chevy half ton axles out of blazers and trucks, and the drive train would be full size stuff so it should take the power fine, but I would need to cut the ifs out and make mounts for the leaf springs, and yeah it's a parking lot crawler...... I hate not having a good place to park at the LHS lol

[johnzillia54]

they make kits to assist along the way - not sure about the sold axles but for sure you can make the V8 work....heck, the 4.3L V6 was a chevrolet V* block with the back 2 cylinders removed!

Yeah it's a good engine it needs those two cylinders though lol

[rjm2519]

Well I wouldn't say it needs them, the vortec v6 was plenty powerful, but that brings to light a whole host of issues. What I am thinking of is that the 700r4 tailhousing may not be symmetrical so you can just swing the tcase down like you can the jeeps case, but you can get a clocking ring to make it work, then it is a matter of keeping it lubricated well. You will also need to consider how high you want to lift the truck and plan your driveshaft angles, high angles and lots of torque don't mix.

That is what I was getting at with the comment on the powertrain for that truck. With such a short wheel base there won't be a lot of wiggle room to set it up properly.

In any case the tranny and tcase should hold up just fine, depending on everything else though, I would look into a dana 44 front axle over the stock 10 bolt. But then again if it just for looks you probably will be fine on stock axles, especially on a smaller truck.

[harry697]

Sure you can put a SBC in a 4x4 S-10. Seen tons of them, Blazers included.

I used to have a 2wd 87 S-10 pickup and stuffed a worked 355 in it. All I can say is it was a fun truck to drive! Not the most sensible combination, but who cares about that, right?

In all honesty, if I were to do another S-10 project, I would probably use a 4.3 for the powerplant. You can make plenty of power with some minor mods to the 4.3L and won't have to do all kinds of fab work because it already fits in the engine bay properly. The SBC will fit with little effort, but it really just wasn't meant to be. Stuff wears out quicker (I was replacing door pins and bushings frequently from the vibrations caused by the high compression/ huge cam), and certain things can be a real pain to access when you need to work on it. A V-8 in a 4x4 is even tighter than the 2wd.

Don't let me talk you out of it. I would go for it and be sure to share some pics and videos!

[johnzillia54]

Well I don't have to do a 208 tcase but I can't think if any way to mat the 700r4 to the stock tcase... And the point of the solid axles it for durability, also I've got a Dana 44 and a 10 bolt In my back yard lol then again I have a blazer frame that I could have all of those thing and just put the s10 body on the blazer frame???

[johnzillia54]

Oh and the other reason for the Dana 44 and the 10 bolt is because it didn't want to waste the 1 ton axles on this project lol

[rjm2519]

There are a whole host of adapters available for different tcase/tranny combos. But their is nothing wrong with the 208 tcase it is plenty strong you just need a clocking ring to swing it down a bit to keep the axle angles less extreme. Really for what you are building the parts you have should be just fine. If you are thinking of using large, heavy, wheels and tires then you may want to consider stronger diffs. Although the dana 44 would probably be fine Idk about the 10 bolt long term though.

[jem450r]

I put a LT1 engine in a jeep... Sensible?? No... Fun... Heck ya!!

[djbrun]

I am not much of a 4X4 guy, my only project was putting a 96' drivetrain in a 79' Bronco. My question is in the rear driveshaft length, using any adaptors to clock or a longer than original tranny setup, (not sure if this is the case.) any issues with rear driveshaft angles?
I would say for a project, do what ever makes you happy. That's what it all about, you just have to post pictures when your done!

[johnzillia54]

Yeah the 10 bolt long term my not be the best but ill find something lol
And I will need to do custom drive lines ..... I have a few pic if the axles and engine ill put on later..
Thanks guys

[rjm2519]

Maybe some toyota axles?

[djbrun]

Do you have to worry about smog inspection where you are?

[johnzillia54]

Or jeep Waggoner axles because they have a smaller wheel base... And nope I don't have to worry about smog inspections

[djbrun]

I miss the days of no smog inspection.

[rjm2519]

It won't be long and there won't be any, because the oil will run out.

Sent from my Torch!

[johnzillia54]

Haha yeah..... Buy a crap load of it I guess lol idk