91 sonoma questions

[coffinator6]

well guys im a noob at the engine swap thing. I have read alot of info on this and still have some questions.

first ill start with the truck is a 91 sonoma SL. 2.5L(carbed) automatic. the motor has a very bad knock but still runs. I paid $300 for it. Body seems to be PERFECT. no rust, no dents. well except for the front bumper.

please keep in mind this wil be a daily driver/ fun truck. i need it dependable but still be able to kick some ass and look good for some shows.

plans are a 350/th350 combo. 540 lift cam, edelbrock carm and intake.
keeping the p/s and a/c.
corvette Nassau blue with black C6 corvette motorsport wheels.
after the v8 swap it will be time for a early dash swap/autometer gauges and a custom gauge panel. Im an aircraft sheetmetal mechanic so i have some crazy ideas.


anyways my questions are basic but i just need a straight answer. I have looked and read some on all these questions but i just want a straight answer as i don't want to waste time.

1. after reading the motor mount thread im am totally confused on what to get. do the plaste mounts he gave plans for mount to the frame, 4.3L mounts, or 2.8L mounts? what works best

2. How hard will the electrical be to convert to get teh v8 to run and not throw an engine light?. Im keeping the abs (if it has it) and all the stock radio/gauges for now.

3. Will it be better to do the dash swap and autometer gauges while doing the v8 swap or after?

4. has anyone ever used the stock colume shifter with a v8 swap? how hard is it or should i just go with lokar?

5. what trans crossmember did you guys use or did you have to make one.

6. VERY soon after the v8 swap but before anything else i want to upgrade the brakes. I would like to do some new z06 brakes in the front and a clean looking disk set up in the back.

7. what stall should i get for a cam with 540-560 lift? i can get better cam specs if needed.

8. the stock rear wont hold up for long so what do you guys reccomend i replace it with? i want something that has disk brakes and I dont have to change my wheels due to the with difference.

9. anyone ever done a early model dash swap? How hard is it and what is needed from the older model truck? Will the later heater ductswork? what about the metal dash bar?

10. what drop will look good. I want it a little lowered but not too much because of the pot holes here in oklahoma. I was thinking a 3/3 or 3/4. it will still have a nice agressive look and still be able to haul a small load with no problems.

im sorry for the noob questions guys. I just want a straight answer with no bs. If someone has asked these exact questions before, feel free just to post the link where the info can be easily found.

thanks in advance, mike in choctaw

p.s. the red one is the 91. the gold one is my partial restored 83 4x4 tahoe package.

[coffinator6]

anyone?

[lt1s10onair]

bro, that is way too much stuff to ask in one post..... if ur truck is carbed now, the wiring is not a big deal..... u should be able to keep ur stock gauges if u want..... not sure bout the trans x-member.... get 2.8 mounts, the 4.3's are too soft..... for a rear, u can get an explorer rear (they have discs, and there are many install threads on it)..... or an 8.5 from a 2wd blazer with discs (MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE) you can use the column shift if you want, but itll make header/steering clearance tighter.... as of the rest, work on one project at a time
hope i was some help...... good luck

[jakethegriff]

Quote:

after reading the motor mount thread im am totally confused on what to get. do the plaste mounts he gave plans for mount to the frame, 4.3L mounts, or 2.8L mounts? what works best
-2.8 frame mounts, And The motormounts from s10v8.com (what i'm personally using, and have worked great)

2. How hard will the electrical be to convert to get teh v8 to run and not throw an engine light?. Im keeping the abs (if it has it) and all the stock radio/gauges for now.
-you said yourself you'll be running an after market gauge cluster, so this will not be a factor. unless you're running electric sensors,O2 sensors etc.. then you will need to have indicator lights/some way to diagnose these problems as they come.

3. Will it be better to do the dash swap and autometer gauges while doing the v8 swap or after?
-either way, I did it during so that when I had my truck running,it was one less thing i had to worry about to get it on the road

4. has anyone ever used the stock colume shifter with a v8 swap? how hard is it or should i just go with lokar?-i know it has been done, however with you stating you're going to run a TH350 i'm not sure how the linkage from the 700R4 would work, you might need to do some sort of fabrication in order for this to be compatable

5. what trans crossmember did you guys use or did you have to make one.
-Im running TH350, and i used the stock 700R4 crossmember and mount, just drilled a new hole and re-enforced it with some welds and scrap metal.

6. VERY soon after the v8 swap but before anything else i want to upgrade the brakes. I would like to do some new z06 brakes in the front and a clean looking disk set up in the back.- cool.

7. what stall should i get for a cam with 540-560 lift? i can get better cam specs if needed. -you said this was going to be a daily driver, with a cam like that its not going to be fun with power brakes, you'll also need rather large stall converter for it as well.

8. the stock rear wont hold up for long so what do you guys reccomend i replace it with? i want something that has disk brakes and I dont have to change my wheels due to the with difference. -this is something you should do a little bit more investigation on, there are many on here that have may different opinins and in the suspension/rear-end section you can read all of these opnions/ideas

9. anyone ever done a early model dash swap? How hard is it and what is needed from the older model truck? Will the later heater ductswork? what about the metal dash bar? once again, i haven't but i know it has been done, check in the interior styling/member's projects section for better results

10. what drop will look good. I want it a little lowered but not too much because of the pot holes here in oklahoma. I was thinking a 3/3 or 3/4. it will still have a nice agressive look and still be able to haul a small load with no problems. -that's al about personal preference, as you'll notice the majority on this site will say the lower the better, i personally dont like sacrificing ride comfort/ground clearance for an appearance. so i have a mild 3/3 combo wich will suffice for a while

im sorry for the noob questions guys. I just want a straight answer with no bs. If someone has asked these exact questions before, feel free just to post the link where the info can be easily found.

thanks in advance, mike in choctaw

p.s. the red one is the 91. the gold one is my partial restored 83 4x4 tahoe package.

Hope that helps a little bit, you can also check my project thread for alot of pictures/discussion on this subject as well.

http://www.s10forum.com/forum/f30/ja...roject-325904/

[coffinator6]

Quote: Originally Posted by jakethegriff

[b]

Hope that helps a little bit, you can also check my project thread for alot of pictures/discussion on this subject as well.

http://www.s10forum.com/forum/f30/ja...roject-325904/

you are the man. Ill be ordering my mounts tomorrow.

what rad and electric fan are you running. the truck won't necessarily be a daily but it will ger driven a lot. ill get the info on the cam and see what stall i need. I hope to have it at least running in the next month or two.

[jakethegriff]

i'm running the summit racing s-10 v8 swap aluminum radiator and dual 12" flex-a-lite pullers

[coffinator6]

Quote: Originally Posted by jakethegriff

i'm running the summit racing s-10 v8 swap aluminum radiator and dual 12" flex-a-lite pullers

Do you happen to have a link or part number for those two?

i need an honest opinion.

Out of these 2 wheels. what one should I run. Im torn between the 2. im leaning toward the c6 wheels.

18x8.5 & 18x10.5 C6 corvette motorsport wheels

or

20x8.5 KMC 701 Nova wheels.

[jakethegriff]

Quote: Originally Posted by coffinator6

Do you happen to have a link or part number for those two?

fans-
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

radiator-
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...0&autoview=sku

Quote: Originally Posted by coffinator6

i need an honest opinion.

Out of these 2 wheels. what one should I run. Im torn between the 2. im leaning toward the c6 wheels.

18x8.5 & 18x10.5 C6 corvette motorsport wheels

or

20x8.5 KMC 701 Nova wheels.

With the vette wheels you'll have to run quite a large spacer, and IMO vette wheels on s-10's are getting to be a dime a dozen it seems, i like the nova's, but it's all about personal preference

[coffinator6]

Quote: Originally Posted by jakethegriff

fans-
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

radiator-
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...0&autoview=sku



With the vette wheels you'll have to run quite a large spacer, and IMO vette wheels on s-10's are getting to be a dime a dozen it seems, i like the nova's, but it's all about personal preference

ya I will have to run a spacer but it will be ok. especially when i swap to a different axle ill make sure to get on a little wider to compensate for the high offset.

thanks for the part numbers. Motor just got delivered about 2 hours ago. 355 with a .525 lift cam. stock heads for now. edelbrock 600cfm carb and rpm intake. paid $250 for the motor and had all new bearings and rings installed. The guy who built it picked it up last night and has it done for me in 12 hours. he didnt sleep and he is a bad ass engine builder so i know its right.

it does have a mechanical pump. would that be better to use than a electrical one.

[jakethegriff]

Np. I personally like mechanical pumps, as opposed to the stock electricals, just one more electrical item to worry about IMO. But like i said you'll get mixed opinions on this topic, it's all about personal preference.

[coffinator6]

Quote: Originally Posted by jakethegriff

Np. I personally like mechanical pumps, as opposed to the stock electricals, just one more electrical item to worry about IMO. But like i said you'll get mixed opinions on this topic, it's all about personal preference.

sence I have decided to go with forced induction in the form of twin turbos. I don't know if a mechanical pump will keep up. I would like to use a mechanical one but I don't know if I can.