Old77's 1989 S10 tinkering project

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idahovette

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I'm not the one who needs one
 
Old77

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Old77 said:
Another quandry I'm having is a buddy of mine has been asking me for a while to sell the truck to him. Part of my brain wants to start tearing into it and get the thing torn down but then the lazy part of my brain wants it to leave the driveway LOL He's got plans for it (if I sold it to him) and it'd go to a good home but I have plans for it, too, and never have had plans to sell it. If I was to sell it, there's a K5 for sale local for $4,000 that I'd probably try and go haggle on to get. I don't know......... Just spewing out the dialogue that's in my head.
Click to expand...
Well, said buddy backed out on buying it so I’ve thrown it up on the place of markets for now.

If it doesn’t sell for what I want in 2 weeks I’m either going to part it out or start looking at motor swap options. There are a couple engines of the LS flavor for sale locally at ok prices or may just go carb’d 350 route. :shrug:
 
78C10BigTen

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Old77 said:
Well, said buddy backed out on buying it so I’ve thrown it up on the place of markets for now.

If it doesn’t sell for what I want in 2 weeks I’m either going to part it out or start looking at motor swap options. There are a couple engines of the LS flavor for sale locally at ok prices or may just go carb’d 350 route. :shrug:
Click to expand...
Pm your ask... i know your not close but im curious and if you part it i might buy some items.
 
Old77

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So, no real bites yet. I’ll let it run for another 7-10 days and go from there.

QUESTION, thinking this might lead into a motor swap project, potentially, and there are a few vortec 350s on the market and have even stumbled upon a vortec 4.3 or 2, as well. If I ran these off a carb I wouldn’t need to worry about the wiring harness and stuff, right? I’m wanting to simplify this as much as possible and don’t want to worry about custom harnesses and sensors at this point in time. Wondering if I’m missing something in my thinking :hmm:
 
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Will also be researching if any of these solutions will bolt up to my existing 5 speed trans or if I need track something else down.
 
bucket

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You can use your transmission (its a T5, ain't it?) but you will need a bellhousing for a 4.3 or v8. The 4.3 and the V8s use the same mounting pattern. The 4cyl and 6cyl versions of the T5 use a different ratio set than the V8 version, but it will work. Too much power will break a T5 though.
 
Old77

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bucket said:
You can use your transmission (its a T5, ain't it?) but you will need a bellhousing for a 4.3 or v8. The 4.3 and the V8s use the same mounting pattern. The 4cyl and 6cyl versions of the T5 use a different ratio set than the V8 version, but it will work. Too much power will break a T5 though.
Click to expand...
That’s good to know! When you say “too much power” what is your estimate of “too much”? I’m not planning on doing anything other than keeping these engines stock at this point so probably 250 hp or well below. Would that be within its limits, you think?
 
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Old77 said:
That’s good to know! When you say “too much power” what is your estimate of “too much”? I’m not planning on doing anything other than keeping these engines stock at this point so probably 250 hp or well below. Would that be within its limits, you think?
Click to expand...

Yeah, should be fine. Your pickup's lack of traction will help it live a lot longer too.
 
Old77

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bucket said:
Yeah, should be fine. Your pickup's lack of traction will help it live a lot longer too.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the education, Andy :)

I plan on just running carb on whatever I find. I should just need to run wires for ignition, right, to make it run? I’m not planning on running any kind of computers or anything, but am I missing anything as I think this through?

Of course, this will also mean I’ll need to run aftermarket gauges for things like speed, temp, oil pressure,….
 
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Old77 said:
Thanks for the education, Andy :)

I plan on just running carb on whatever I find. I should just need to run wires for ignition, right, to make it run? I’m not planning on running any kind of computers or anything, but am I missing anything as I think this through?

Of course, this will also mean I’ll need to run aftermarket gauges for things like speed, temp, oil pressure,….
Click to expand...

Someone smarter than me will have to advise about retaining the electric speedo, but you definitely can do it. The oil pressure gauge and water temp can easily be retained as well. With a carb and HEI, you'll be pretty well set.

Whatever you end up with, the little details can be worked through. Like whether or not the block/cam can run a mechanical fuel pump. Or it may be best just to run the in-tank pump.
 
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