I know I cannot be the only one here who loves a good V8 swapped S-10. I think they are in-league with the fox body Mustang when it comes to being a good, plentiful, and light platform to easily drop a hopped up engine in and go fast for little cash. I built my truck in 2000 with a 283, Drove it a few years and swapped a vortec-headed 355 in it. It could run an 8.7 second 1/8 mile p*** at the strip one day and haul a thousand pounds of gravel the next. Drove it for 25 years and a branch fell on it and squashed the roof and windshield. Found a much more solid truck of the same year with no engine and bought it to swap drivetrain over.
I had a 97 Sonoma with a Vortec 350/NV3500. Fun truck even with the stock Vortec with all the fuel inj, P/S, P/B and A/C. Not so fun replacing the engine with another same Vortec when the first one had a rod decide to break. Spark plugs and headers were major PITA until I pulled the headers and welded up cracks and replaced the old collector flange. Hate exhaust leaks like those. I lowered mine about 4/5 total, but it was a ZQ8 which was about 2 inches lower stock. ZQ8 had the extra big sway bars, factory anti-hop third rear shock, and quicker ratio steering box along with the wider wheels as seen on mine. It would be a lot easier to work on without all the accessories under the hood that mine had. I built a V8 Vega when I was a kid and that was easier to work on than the Sonoma.
I had multiple of those when I was a kid and always thought those were some of the best cheap little trucks ever built. I never put a 8 in one, but I knew a guy who put one in a fiero.... Lol
my setup is much simpler with one v belt for the water pump and alternator. Manual brakes, manual steering. Plugs pretty easy to get to. Taking the hei cap off is pretty tight.
We have an ‘87 at work with a 6 liter LS and a 4L80 in it, it has 200km. Yes 200km. Still has the tires it left the factory with on it.
The Jalopy Journal
