Old habit S10

In reply to matthewmcl :

My old red '90 is the one I sold. This one is firmly in the "wife would kick me out if I sell it" category. Which is both good and bad. Good because minitruck, bad because too many projects. 
 

Updates after using the truck to haul an engine after fixing the fuel leak. It seems to fuel starve? Either I kinked the new line, or the full pressure from the pump wrecked the regulator diaphragm. Hopefully I can sort that tomorrow. 

It's a tossup as to which of these is heavier. Note to self, don't lift things alone anymore. 
 

Now I can take them over for a bath at the self-wash. The 465 is going up for sale. And the 4l60 will be manual-converted and installed in the truck with a slightly warm 350. The deal to buy sisters car fell through so I'm back to just one project which is nice. Still fickle though. Good news is I sold the 305 and zeroed the transmission so whatever I get from the 465 is going into the build budget. 

In reply to barefootcyborg5000 :

Right after high school, we joked about "if ya can't lift a TH 400 into the back of a pick up, by yourself, you ain't a mechanic. "

I could, despite weighing in at 125 lbs. 

after getting up to 225, still could. 
By 239, and I'm my 50s, I realized I needed to stop doing things like that. 
Back down to under 210, and I'm not sure I even could, today 

In reply to 03Panther :

You'll appreciate that this one still has the converter installed then. 
I won't be doing it again. 

No idea if you'd find them in a junkyard out there, but when my S10 had a SBC, it had 3rd Gen f-body manifolds, and they fit pretty well.  Probably not the best for performance, but may be a lot cheaper than aftermarket.

In reply to eastsideTim :

Not a bad idea. Cost may force my hand there. Ideally, I can try to keep as much weight as possible off, but used manifolds are usually way cheaper. 

Nothing to really report as a project. I did diagnose my somewhat touchy brakes as caused by leaky axle seals. Which I'm not in a hurry to fix. Also changed the trans oil for fresh synchro-mesh. Glad to report it didn't seem to do anything. 
 

But, I love this little truck. It's been doing all the moving duty, commuting duty, and hauling whatever my wife wants. And reporting 25mpg all the while. 
 

And even cosplaying as a BRAT:

Still haven't fixed anything. Trans is still noisy and mutinous. But I do have new problems. The throw out bearing is getting worse. 

Still doing old truck things when needed though. Getting closer to an actual plan for engine/trans swapping. Gonna go with a stock reseal and no power adders on the '96 350. Will get headers and a dual plane manny. Should be plenty for the little truck. 
 

Do I really need overdrive?

plan has been to use the free 4l60 with manual vb, but size, weight, cooling, and #savethemanuals has me suddenly wanting to use the Saginaw 4 speed from the Funderbird project... already has a new clutch, and I'm pretty sure we have a 350 flywheel kicking around somewhere.

Truck has 4.10:1 rear and 24" tires. Even with 5th it doesn't like to do much more than 60 as is. 
 

Less heat into the rad, less plumbing, less weight, less $$,... there's a lot going for it. Thoughts?

without getting into personal stuff, there is actually good reason to rush the purchase of some of the parts I'll need. 
Lastly, I don't plan to be beating on the v8 in any real sense. Which is to say I'm pretty comfortable keeping a stock 5qt pan. Anyone have any recommendations on off the shelf s10-350 swap kits? Truck has no AC and no PS, so it doesn't really get much simpler. 

You're going to be spinning 3500 rpm at 60 with the saginaw combo.

Thats a nope from me.

Seconded.  Unless you swap rear ends out, I'd go with overdrive.  3.08 is easy to find on 4.3 V6 models, if you want to go junkyard hunting.  Still won't be great on the highway, but it won't be a total screamer.

Oh yeah, for the swap mounts, I started with the ones that use a plate of steel that bolts to the frame and is supposed to let you just use stock V8 style mounts.  Could not get them to work, but I think my truck has all the tolerances stacked in the wrong direction.  The mount kit that uses 2.8 V6 style frame mounts worked fine, though.

In reply to Dusterbd13 :

That is steep. I just double checked, and I actually have 27" tires but that's not a huge difference. 
quick math says that drops me to 3100, and I will have a proper muffler, but that's not exactly intended cruising speeds for a mild 350. I think. Decisions.

Tim, thanks for the input. My old truck had 3.08 rear, and was actually pretty good all around. But if I'm gonna bother replacing the rear end, it'll likely get 8.8 swapped. More options that way, and I can keep my current wheels. 
The mounting kits are kind of all over the map. Cheap is good, but simple and easy is also good. I had a set of speedway mounts kicking around somewhere but I don't know what happened to them. 

I think this kit is what I ultimately used, but it is also possible I bought the stealth conversions set, it's been a long while.  Either one should have some flexibility for mounting that the SBC mount based kits may not have.  
 

I keep an eye out for Explorer 8.8 rears around here, but they go fast.  I actually have a short side axle laying around for when I find one with a limited slip.  I lucked into an 8.6 10 bolt from a 2WD Blazer a ways back, so I'm running that, but am looking for something for the challenge truck.

In reply to eastsideTim :

They do go fast, but I have a buddy at the local scrapper who gives me a heads up when I'm looking for things. but I'll likely just leave it as is until it either breaks or I get serious about lowering. Right now the powertrain is the priority, and I can live with a 55mph cruising speed. For now. 
 

Im not sure if the 2.8 kit will work for a 2.5, but it can't be too far off. And we have cutting and welding apparatus.. 

I think by 1993 the holes in the crossmember were all there by default.

Got a line on an 8.8 with 3.73 and drum brakes for simplicity. 
 

Made an official purchase from dad for the powertrain. 
 

It's starting to all come together. 

Game plan. 
 

A- actually pay for powertrain. Done

2- secure funding for rebuild/reseal, swap. In progress

4- find the time. Uhhh. 
 

my plan is to actually pull the pan and a couple main caps to see if I want to replace bearings. Ditto with lifters for a semblance of a camshaft inspection. If it needs bearings, hopefully I can get away without any resurfacing. The timing chain should tell a story as well. So far, what I know is the valves and bores all look really good considering the truck that this impact came from had like 180k... but we don't know why it was in the yard in the first place. It rotated smoothly at least. The truck was a 1997 or 1996 3/4 ton 4x2 with a tool bed and rack.

Moving forward, once I determine what I need, I'll assemble the engine and start gathering everything for the swap. I have a good HEI and Q-jet. I do not have a manifold. eBay should provide a decent piece. Exhaust will likely be a cheap set of swap headers if none of the stuff at the compound will clear. Single 2-1 muffler from a 2nd gen tundra should flow plenty and I have a steady supply of used units. 
Fuel will be fed from the stock TBI pump, regulated down to carb pressure. 
No AC or PS helps keep it simple. Cooling is a concern. Little chance the stock radiator is up to the task in our summers. Pulley system is up in the air too. Hopefully that is an easy solution. Worst case is I go back to a V-belt. 
 

Then I get to figure out shifter placement and necessary floor alterations. I will be keeping the bench seat, so I may need to massage things a bit. 
 

Lastly, there's little chance I manage any recoup at all from the 2.5. It would be a shame to just junk it but I don't see any good, non-hoarder, solutions. Eh. Onward
 

Since the engine is new enough to be SFI, I wouldn't be surprised if it is fine, unless it was really neglected.  If you go with a v belt setup, I think that'll give you more radiator space, too.  If I still had the brackets/pulleys, I'd send them your way for free, but I gave away my last set a few years ago.

For the radiator, it's impressive what I've seen.  A third gen f-body one will fit fine, with a little trimming of the core support, but the funniest one I saw was a half ton GMT800 radiator wedged into place.  They'd actually bent it forward in the center so it would clear the accessory drive.  I'm using a C4 radiator inset into the core support, but it should fit in the normal location if tolerances aren't stacked against you.  Also, lots of people have had no overheating issues with a 4.3 S10 radiator,  which is likely the easiest to find used.

Bummer on the 2.5.  I suspect you are correct there's not much demand.  Maybe a lowrider owner wouldn't mind one as a spare, but that's about all I can think of.

In reply to eastsideTim :

4.3 rad is a good idea. Summit used to let you search by dimensions and hose size and location, but if I can avoid spending that much I will. Gonna go with cast manifolds for cost. If I don't have any laying around, the junkyard has some for friend prices. 
Time is the worst problem right now. Hopefully next weekend I can at least go get the inspection done, and engine assembly parts ordered. Hoping January slows down a bit so I can get things done. I'm setting April as my arbitrary deadline. Gonna try. 

Oh yeah, regardless of the radiator you go with, please keep as much of the plastic that mounts to the core support and bumper as possible.  S10s are really good at finding ways for air to go around the radiator instead of through it.

Speaking of plastic...

after finishing two other automotive projects this morning, I had an hour or so to start looking at things. Unbury the lump and wheel it into the light:

remove damper

and begin digging through almost 30 years worth of grease and grime. I'm pretty sure there's still an engine under the shmoo. And it should be very rust-free. Wait, what's this? An inscription?

well there's an expense I hadn't foreseen. Then it was time for the school run so I cleaned up and will do more archaeology when I can. 
 

And the trans it'll be strapped to:

And now I'm sitting here thinking maybe I should have chosen to use that blue 406 instead of the roller 350. The 406 is a known runner, and doesn't need assembled. I seem to remember it giving me reason to suspect a bad head gasket or a crack but I can't remember why... I do remember it not wanting to start last time I tried but that could have been a simple issue... HEI ignition modules are known to just poop the bed sometimes. Idk. 406 is cool though. 

Behold. A sludge factory. But every indication is it was healthy despite a lack of regular oil changes. 
 

I need to decide what I can and can't live without. It's no secret that my budget is tight, but this isn't a challenge build. If spending a little buys me some longevity, it's on the table. 
 

Option 1- minimal expenditure. Gaskets and go. 
 

Option 2- main bearings, timing set, oil pump. 
 

Option 3- full teardown. Dip/clean, hone, rings... 

How good are you at avoiding the "while I'm in here" syndrome?