Something different

[Cyanide Jello]

For a while I have been questioning engine swaps for my s10 and I want something different... Everyone and their brother drops in anything from a 305 all the way up to a 400 and sometimes even bigger... I'm tired of seeing 350s shoved in s10s, so I want something different... I want to keep it or make it carbed or at least tbi and have considered some crazy stuff... Carbed import engines, i5 from a new colorado, old Iron Duke tech 4 2.5, a regular old 4.3l v6... I have this weird fascination with 4 cylinders. I like the idea of making power out of something so small... Someone give me some suggestions b/c after I get my air ride out of the way I'd like to start gathering parts to build an engine...

 

[Sam_Fear]

flat head

 

[Cyanide Jello]

Specify please... Not familiar yet with older engines/types/sizes/lingo...

<~young buck still in the learning process

 

[dmw56]

Specify please... Not familiar yet with older engines/types/sizes/lingo...

<~young buck still in the learning process

1932 to 1953 Ford V8 several size options.

There's a Mopar flat 6 for sale on this forum. Now that would be different.

http://ratrodsrule.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5916&page=2

 

[hillbilly4008]

North star V8, 500ci Caddy, Desoto hemi, any rotary engine, the old pontiac 4cyl thats literally half a v8 that they put in Tempests that i cant recall the name of, corvair 4cyl, Willys Hurricane flathead I6 , chevy Stovebolt, 266 International V8, cummins diesel, any Packard V8, Buick Dauntless V6, Nash I6, BB Mopars, John Deere 2cyl. LOL.....

 

[Cyanide Jello]

Well, I'd like to keep it clean, I'd like to keep it simple and not really small but somethin like a i4, i5, v6... Not really lookin to go v8... Somethin I can push bout 300hp... I'd like to preferably keep it GM...

I really like the iron duke 2.5s... Would it be possible to throw a nasty carb on one and build the **** out of it... Like I said, I have this strange fascination w/ 4 cyls...

However... I do have an 85 buick skyhawk custom (yes it says custom on it) that has a 2.0 OHC engine in it... I've played with the idea of swappin it over b/c they make a turbo kit for that particular engine...

Any more ideas?

 

[Unkl Ian]

SBC, and leave the hood closed.


If anyone figures it out, tell them it is a 283 from a '57 Corvette.

 

[ratterman]

I have a buddy that has a built 2.5 and it's pretty quick but no where close to 300 hp and i had a 87 skyhawk with the 2.0 and although it's "almost" bullet proof if driven sensibly I think it would cost a bunch to get 300 hp from one not to mention if there is a rwd tranny that will bolt up to it. I have thought over and over about using a different engine than the norm and have even acquired a few to choose from that would be really neat but for price and power i am still planning to run a sbc that i will try making look more like a vintage engine with a 3x2 intake/3 rochester carbs and some chevrolet script valve covers and zoomies for exhaust but in reality it will still be a chevy v8 from a 92 suburban.

 

[440shorty]

anything but

Just say "no" to one of the millions of small block chevies ever built. Every division of GM built V8's once upon a time. If you want an easy, reliable, and cheap 300 horsepower, there is no replacement for displacement. Building a 300 HP 4-cylinder will get you a high-strung engine that will be no fun on the street and get worse fuel mileage than a slow-turning, lumbering big block V8, or at least an engine at least 300 cubic inches.

I have two Olds 455s, one Olds 403, one Olds aluminum 215, one Buick 455, one Buick 340, a Buick 3800 series II V6 supercharged long block, and a Cadillac 4.1 aluminum V8 at my shop now. I'm always on the lookout for oddball stuff because I am tired of seeing small block chevies in almost every car that pulls into a cruise in or car show, no matter what brand the body is.

I'm also a fan of non-chevy big blocks because they are plenty powerful bone stock and they still are out there.

Good luck with your engine choice!

440shorty

 

[Cyanide Jello]

You are right bout the displacement thing... Maybe I'm just being too picky... I may stick to my original idea of building the p*ss out of a 4.3 out of an s10, astro, silverado or the like... Besides, its not like I can have down time to measure, re-measure and cut and measure and weld and measure and cut some more to get it right and then wait for parts and make parts etc etc just so I can do something crazy...

I could drive the buick but that thing is posessed by the devil or something... Every time you fix something, you can drive it for a week and then something else goes wrong... Heres the kicker, it only has 97k on the clock...

 

[Sam_Fear]

John Deere 2 cycle - now that's funny. Honestly, I bet a lot of 'traditional' Rodders would be ****ed if you put a Flathead in a S-10. Some would think it was way cool though. A big ol Inline-8 would be a challenge too. If not the length, the 1,000 Lbs of weight.

How about just sifting through craigs list, etc. for anything off the norm? i.e. sbc. Just think if you could find a decent Mercedes motor or something. I personally want to turbo a I6. Would a Chevy 292 or Ford 300 I6 even fit in a S-10? Probably have to leave the hood off!

Sorry, just kinda ramblin'

 

[Cyanide Jello]

Nah, keep goin... I'm open to all suggestions...

I've seen 454s shoved in s10s... Not so sure bout i8s... Turbo I6 isn't a bad idea... Like I said in previous post I had considered a i5 out of a colorado but I don't want all the electrical crap... I want it to be CLEAN... As a wise man once told me, "less is more." Problem w/ the i5 is that it is so new, its deff not gonna have a carb setup for it so its gonna have to be custom... And how do you get rid of fuel injector ports if you do go carbed? Plug em? Can you even make an FI motor carbed?

 

[440shorty]

Retrograde

There are a few newer engines that can be converted from EFI to carburetor. One example that would also be cool in your S-10 is the "new" LSx series of V8s from General Motors. Some call them small blocks, but they are nothing like the small blocks of old. MSD and Edelbrock have a package that includes the ignition controller and intake manifold that does not have the injector ports but accepts a square-bore carb instead. The LS series comes in pickup trucks mainly, as well as last-gen Firebird/Camaro and Corvette. The pickup truck ones in 4.8 and 5.3 sizes are showing up in the salvage yards now.

Ditto for the Ford 4.6 Mod motors. Dime a dozen, these now have aftermarket support with carbureted intakes and ignition systems. These look really cool.

It all boils down to money, since almost none of the modern engines have distributors. There are many companies that make distributorless ignition systems, since eliminating the distributor for racing is common now.

It is also possible to adapt a carburetor to the original intake, especially if the throttle body is mounted vertically like a carburetor, but usually only if the engine had throttle body injection, not multiport.

Here's some pics

440shorty

 

[440shorty]

distributor

I just remembered seeing an article that showed a SHO-powered streamliner that the builders adapted a distributor to - they had it driven off one of the overhead cams. That would be something one could fab.

I've seen (in magazines) a lot of real innovative hot rods built for the salt.

440shorty

 

[Cyanide Jello]

Thats some of the best news I've heard all day... Thanks for heads up... I appreciate it... I'll look into those engines... I get pretty good deals at one of the local yards... I'm there often and know a couple guys that work there... Good deal, I'll keep a look out...

 

[forty9gresr]

What about the 84-87 Grand National or T-Type motors??? turbo charged 3.8 V6?

 

[Cyanide Jello]

What about the 84-87 Grand National or T-Type motors??? turbo charged 3.8 V6?

mmm now theres an idea! Thats more my speed...

 

[440shorty]

3800 Supercharged

The later FWD 3800 Supercharged V6 (also Buick) are far more common. Problem with both these and the GN Turbo ones is they are Electronic Fuel Injected, which goes against your desire to keep it simple, although EFI really isn't complex, just a different set of issues and more electrical than mechanical modifications. I have pieces and parts of the supercharged ones, and a line on a complete one with computer - I was thinking about putting one in my 79 Skyhawk. Converting the FWD to RWD has been done and documented on the internet. You could start with a RWD 3800 from a late-model Trans Am/Firebird - they are in the junkyards - I see them every time I go to the local ones, and then see about putting the supercharged top end on one, or use the complete supercharged FWD and then convert it with the rwd specific pieces, like the oil pan and pickup, and exhaust manifolds. That is what I was thinking, but the project is back burner for now.

Oh, and your 2.0 OHC Brazilian 4 cylinder in your FWD Buick has an oddball bellhousing pattern that does not have a RWD counterpart, as far as I know. It is not the standard 60 degree GM "small" bellhousing.


440shorty

 

[51Cards]

What about the 84-87 Grand National or T-Type motors??? turbo charged 3.8 V6?

Good luck keeping a turbo in it That was THE big problem and why they don't make em no more

 

[Cyanide Jello]

The later FWD 3800 Supercharged V6 (also Buick) are far more common. Problem with both these and the GN Turbo ones is they are Electronic Fuel Injected, which goes against your desire to keep it simple, although EFI really isn't complex, just a different set of issues and more electrical than mechanical modifications. I have pieces and parts of the supercharged ones, and a line on a complete one with computer - I was thinking about putting one in my 79 Skyhawk. Converting the FWD to RWD has been done and documented on the internet. You could start with a RWD 3800 from a late-model Trans Am/Firebird - they are in the junkyards - I see them every time I go to the local ones, and then see about putting the supercharged top end on one, or use the complete supercharged FWD and then convert it with the rwd specific pieces, like the oil pan and pickup, and exhaust manifolds. That is what I was thinking, but the project is back burner for now.

Oh, and your 2.0 OHC Brazilian 4 cylinder in your FWD Buick has an oddball bellhousing pattern that does not have a RWD counterpart, as far as I know. It is not the standard 60 degree GM "small" bellhousing.


440shorty

Mmm good info... Thanks for the heads up... I keep tossing around ideas... It does go against my simplicity issue... I still keep messing with the idea of a boosted 4 cyl... Like I said, I'm not crazy hp hungry... 200-300hp would be nice... I just want somethin that will perform a nice smokey burn out and keep the ricers in check...