Looking at buying a truck need some advice.

layinthesmack31

Registered User
Hey guys

My uncle has a 1988 chevy 4.3 liter s-10 for sale. It has about 220000 miles on it and is 4 wheel drive. He said everything works good on it and the car runs real good. He is looking to get 300 out of it and i was wondering if i buy it what would be a good motor to swap into it. I am looking for a nice v8 that i can make the truck into a project truck and kinda restore. I dont know much about chevy's so all the help would be greatly appreciated. thanks

Matt
 
That's going to be reeeeeeallllll expensive I would think. I personally wouldn't put that kind of money into a S-10. If I had a truck like that I would build a prerunner out of it. You know, a Baja type of truck. That would be fun. I don't know about restoring a S-10 though. If you wanted to V-8 it I would think you would need the entire drivetrain out of a fullsize Chevy of some sort. I could be wrong though. 4x4's aren't my area of expertise. It depends on the compatibility of the trannies of a Chevy V8 and V-6 I would think. :confused:
 
The best and cheapest chevy motor that you could build up would be a 350. They are a dime a dozen and make decent power for a chevy. You could always throw a ford V8 in it, but that would be to expensive compared to the chevy.

Shane
 
See i would kinda like to make it a mud runner just for fun. sorry i didnt mean restore the whole thing just some of the rust on the body and give it som power. so what would i need for a 350 to bolt right in. Probly a new tranny right? thanks for the replies.

Matt
 
motor mounts (there is a kit), transmission (th350) and a custom drive shaft probably, with strong u-joints and wheel joints. Its a popular swap.
 
If its a 4 wheel drive Id assume you want to keep it 4 wheel drive..A 350 should bolt up to thattransfer case...But Id look into it...They do have headers/motormounts for teh v8 sway..if you do have to change transfer case it will start getting difficult and expensive
 
well your lucky since it is the 4.3 all your electrical will bolt up, same thing with the trans since the 4.3 is a 90 degree block and it is a 350 with just 2 cylinders chopped off. they sell kits for like $150 to complete the mod. the only thing expensive about it is the motor and also getting a v-8 radiator. you will also have to use a dead-blow and hit your firewall to make room for the trans. i used to be a mini-trucker myself :cool:
 
Or you could just put a decent cam in the 4.3 and call it a day. :p

My dad had a 89 S10 4.3 4wd. I'd actually built a 86 4.3 bored .040" over and a mild RV performance cam (the 86 block was for a flat tappet cam where the 88 should be a roller). New valves & valve job, little port work and a Holley 2" TBI unit. That thing would haul *** even with the stock exhaust and 3.00 gears. Dad use to love out running full size Z71s and V8 Dakota's with it.

If you have a 305/327/350 laying around, that's an easy swap. If you have to buy everything, I'd just touch up the 4.3. They're practically bomb proof and can make incredible power with readily available parts. A simple exhaust, cam and TBI upgrade will get them in the 250hp range.

With a $2500 budget, you could replace the fenders, repair panels for the sides of the bed, paint it and get 250hp outta the 4.3. A 262 CID V6 is still a pretty decent sized engine. Considering the upward spiralling gas prices, I wouldn't be real quick to slam a premium fuel eating 350 that gets 12 mpg when the 4.3 can get 18mpg and run just as well.

Later,
Steve
 
Last edited:
Back
Top