Bajablazer85: 1985 Chevrolet S10 Blazer Build

[mmp3823]

Great build. My first truck was an 84 S10 "Durango" Wished that I still had it. Maybe someday I will get one again and rebuild it from the ground up.

 

[Lunchbox2]

I swapped a 3.1 into a 2.8 s10 back in the late 90's, that little thing was fun to drive! I imagine that 3.4 will feel great. Hindsight is always 20/20 but....Why didn't you just go with stock s10 blazer rear disc brakes? Or camaro/firebird discs? Either one of those would've bolted on and been inexpensive.... nice little build man, keep up the good work!

 

[schaefer21285]

Have you made any progress on the Blazer lately?

 

[ExDementia]

He touched on the smog issue earlier in the thread. The 3.4 is the evolution of the 2.8, whereas the 4.3 while offered in later vehicles of the same platform may have required more modifications than he wanted to address. From a VIN standpoint, the engine family stays true to the VIN number. California has ever changing laws on engine swaps, so maybe this is the path of least resistance. I don't believe you can legally install a V8 in an S-10 chassis any longer in California, because it was never offered from the factory, unless it is a 5.3 LS engine which GM had certified in the state of California. A 1975 and older vehicle is not covered by any of these rules, 1976 and newer are all regulated by the Bureau of Automotive Repair. Rules are online.

This is not true, actually. The California law is that the engine must come from the same class of vehicle (for instance, because heavy-duty vehicles had different emissions regulations than light-duty vehicles), the engine must come from a vehicle of the same year or newer, and all emissions equipment that came on the engine must be hooked up and functional.

Source; http://www.smogcheck.ca.gov/Industry/Engine_Change_Guidelines.html

It's tough here in California, but that that tough!

 

[RedF]

Another one here with a soft spot for S10s/Blazers. My first two vehicles were a 85 S10 pickup (two tone brown even!), and a 90 S10 Blazer. I ran 31" LTB Swampers on the Blazer for a while, it was a really capable little unit. Fond (and not so fond) memories!

Nice work you're doing.

 

[Toyojay]

I've had 4 of these trucks, an 84, 86, 88 and 89. The first gen is the best! Good work OP, but are there anymore updates??? We're hungry!

 

[Bajablazer85]

Soooooo......its been a while. Very sorry for not updating! I havent worked on this as much as I would have liked to. When projects like this get tiresome and tough, its inspiring to see my friends (weather within the motoring community or not) still finding interest and value in this project. Helps me remember why I started it!

Life kind of happened. I got put on some wild 84hr/week projects at work. Then I bought this Mercedes project car that turned into some weird space-time amoeba that ate up my whole life. [NOT PICTURED, THANKS PHOTOBUCKET]

I left the Blazer for dead in it's garage since about October. I feel super bad....I did the fuel system at some point, as evidenced by photos I found on my phone.

Modified the original pickup with a fuel cell mat. Since I'm no longer using a carb, there is no float bowl to feed the engine if the fuel tank is at a wild angle while going offroad. This will ensure constant fuel flow.

Copying the Camaro fuel system to a T. This will be critical when getting the vehicle to pass the referee station for California registration...

Walbro mounted safely inside the frame rails

Re-using all the Blazer hard lines, since they will take EFI pressure, but replacing all the soft lines with EFI fuel line.

There's a bit of a kink in the line in this photo. I went back and bent the hard line down to lessen the severity of the kink.

I also ****ed up and stripped the threads of the U-bolt hole in the rear end U-joint. Got a new one that turned out to be the wrong part. Ended up sending the old one to a machine shop to repair it. I think this tiny little migraine is what made me kind of hate this project, and probably what caused me to walk away from it for so many months. Nevertheless, it allowed me to replace the input shaft seal because why not...

 

[Bajablazer85]

A couple weekends back I was able to complete the brakes! With help from a friend, a tab was welded to the axle tube for the rear lines, and fluid was bled through the system. Parking brake is also hooked up to the new rear calipers and seems to work. It may require final adjustment at a later point.

Picked up the miscellaneous hardware necessary to plumb the front hoses as well. However, the tubular upper control arms for the lift kit do not have a mounting point for the hose bracket, like the original control arms do. I'm not comfortable drilling these mount holes into the control arm tube, so I went with hose clamps to secure it.

Also, hooked up the throttle cable to the 3.4 V6. Thank god for GM interchangability; the Blazer gas pedal is the same as the Camaro's, allowing the throttle cable from the Camaro to connect directly to the Blazer pedal... WOT on the pedal matches WOT at the throttle body; final adjustment achieved.

I covered transmission and transfer case controls on a previous weekend, and this weekend brakes and throttle are complete. So with that, all driver controls are complete! Huge milestone.

I've temporarily mounted the Blazer's 1 1/2" down-pipe on the Camaro headers, since the Blazer's can route around the 4x4 components. You'll see I'm using solid fasteners on the doughnut connections as opposed to the spring fasteners which would allow the header to flex on the downpipe. Typically, this is a NO-NO, as it doesn't allow flexibility between the engine and exhaust system, however I plan to use proper flex joint farther down stream. And that sketchy u-bolted exhaust patch is TEMPORARY so I can run the truck with relatively functioning exhaust. I'm not really down to gas myself out or start a fire, and I'll take a temporary ugly exhaust over that any day.

So yes, exhaust is very rudimentary for the time being, but there needs to be something there for upcoming testing and tuning. After that, I'll have a professional fabricate a permanent exhaust prior to sending the vehicle off for state inspection and emissions testing.

I've also started pressure washing body parts! Never thought I'd see these out of storage again. Will be painting black to match the frame rails, fenders will only be painted on the inside for the time being. A proper exterior paint job is anticipated in the far future...

A few nights ago, the tedious electrical integration process began.

And to think that this is how my interior used to look. So fresh (and now I'm sad its not this nice anymore)

Removing dashboards is a torture method which may actually be banned by the Geneva Convention. Either way, my "storage unit" is getting full.

 

[Bajablazer85]

He touched on the smog issue earlier in the thread. The 3.4 is the evolution of the 2.8, whereas the 4.3 while offered in later vehicles of the same platform may have required more modifications than he wanted to address. From a VIN standpoint, the engine family stays true to the VIN number. California has ever changing laws on engine swaps, so maybe this is the path of least resistance. I don't believe you can legally install a V8 in an S-10 chassis any longer in California, because it was never offered from the factory, unless it is a 5.3 LS engine which GM had certified in the state of California. A 1975 and older vehicle is not covered by any of these rules, 1976 and newer are all regulated by the Bureau of Automotive Repair. Rules are online.

Sorry I never followed up on this reply, but I just wanted to clarify that you're spot on! The 3.4L V6 is very much the path of least resistance for any number of reasons and in essence the spirit of the S10 Blazer. I never wanted an "engine swap project" but the 2.8 was so bad I was left with no choice.

I will add however that V8 swaps are still legal in Cali for the S10. From my research and observation, California is really only concerned with vehicles newer than 1975 and the following:
1. New engine is of the same fuel source as the vehicle its going in to (i.e. no diesel swaps).
2. New engine is from the same year or newer model year vehicle.
3. The new engine must retain all the emissions equipment that it came with from the donor vehicle.
4. The new engine must be swapped with the transmission that it was mated to in the donor vehicle. (No idea why this one is in there but my best guess is because ECM's are integrated into the transmission control, and it gives tuners no excuse to crack open the PCM to delete transmission functions and "accidentally" delete emissions functions)
5. You can't put a truck motor into a car, but you can put a car motor into a truck. (hypothetical example: Corvette [car] motor ---> S10 [truck] is okay, but S10 [truck] motor ---> Corvette [car] is not)
"Rule #5" exists because motors above a certain GVWR have less emissions equipment. The rule is clarified by GVWR parameters which I don't know because the rule is irrelevant to my swap.

Admittedly that whittles engine swap options down by quite a lot, especially if you have an odd car. In my opinion though, the rules are a lot simpler than a lot of people make them out to be.

 

[CowFish]

Very clean Blazer and I love that Benz!!

 

[Bajablazer85]

I'm really digging your build here. You attention to detail is inspiring. The locker is going to help a lot, that's one area where GM really skimped on these things.

My first vehicle (and my first 4x4) was a '91 Blazer. I really abused that thing and took it some places it probably should not have gone but it never left me stranded. I really appreciated how the back seats folded flat for camping/sleeping in the truck and I think they're underappreciated as offroad vehicles.

When I was in college the tired 4.3 started acting up and honestly it probably needed a rebuild. I wanted to drop a 327 small block into it (always loved a 327, revs up faster than a 350, but just as reliable) but I couldn't talk my old man into it and, since I would have needed his help to make it happen at the time, I wound up selling it. I've always regretted that.

What are you thinking for suspension/lift/tires? I always wanted to run 32's on mine, but never got around to doing the lift needed for that.

You mentioned a remote oil filter. I did this on mine and it was a very smart move. If I can reminder right (been a few years), we mounted it on the top of the fender just low enough that the hood wouldn't hit it when it closed. I think we drilled a couple holes (or used some factory holes?) in the lip where the fender curved and went flat inside the engine compartment on the drivers side in front of the wheel well (if you follow my meaning there) and installed a little homemade(?) bracket that would hold the mount for the oil filter. Wish I could be more help, but it's been too long and I don't have any pictures. It was a good spot for it though, very easy to get to.

Best of luck with your build, can't wait to see how it all comes out!

Right now it's got a 2" lift from superlift. The front is lifted with re-clocked torsion keys and upper control arms which reposition the ball joint geometry, and the rear is lifted with longer shackles. I'm considering putting an add-a-leaf, since the rear still seems to sag, but I'll have to get the truck out on the road and see how it sits with full weight on the front end. Undecided on tires, but whatever will fit which will likely be 32"s. Hoping for 33"s but I'm not gonna hold my breath!

Your remote filter idea is certainly interesting! I've been struggling to think of a good spot for it, since the undercarriage of the S10 4x4 is fairly tight with packaging, and I'm not interested in mounting it too far away from the engine or in the way of rocks. Hard to know where it's gonna go until final assembly but I'll keep your solution in mind. Thank you.

 

[AggieOE]

looking great! Seem's like its coming along... almost finished... so soon!

 

[cjjohn]

Sorry I never followed up on this reply, but I just wanted to clarify that you're spot on! The 3.4L V6 is very much the path of least resistance for any number of reasons and in essence the spirit of the S10 Blazer. I never wanted an "engine swap project" but the 2.8 was so bad I was left with no choice.

I will add however that V8 swaps are still legal in Cali for the S10. From my research and observation, California is really only concerned with vehicles newer than 1975 and the following:
1. New engine is of the same fuel source as the vehicle its going in to (i.e. no diesel swaps).
2. New engine is from the same year or newer model year vehicle.
3. The new engine must retain all the emissions equipment that it came with from the donor vehicle.
4. The new engine must be swapped with the transmission that it was mated to in the donor vehicle. (No idea why this one is in there but my best guess is because ECM's are integrated into the transmission control, and it gives tuners no excuse to crack open the PCM to delete transmission functions and "accidentally" delete emissions functions)
5. You can't put a truck motor into a car, but you can put a car motor into a truck. (hypothetical example: Corvette [car] motor ---> S10 [truck] is okay, but S10 [truck] motor ---> Corvette [car] is not)
"Rule #5" exists because motors above a certain GVWR have less emissions equipment. The rule is clarified by GVWR parameters which I don't know because the rule is irrelevant to my swap.

Admittedly that whittles engine swap options down by quite a lot, especially if you have an odd car. In my opinion though, the rules are a lot simpler than a lot of people make them out to be.

This is spot on. I have an '85 CJ7 with a 5.3 swap. I love the S10!! Well done!

 

[Bajablazer85]

Thanks photobucket. Okay, I know I havent updated this build in a while anyways. I'll be going through today to fix these images with my new photo host and also update the build.

[EDIT] images are fixed, theyre not all exact but at least now I can share this thread and have a complete story to tell. I have a lot of updates to cover since last time, a lot has happened, so I hope to get to that shortly.

 

[Andrew_S]

Man great build thread. Love the detailed posts. I too am in the same boat with the 2.8 and am considering taking the same route and finding a 93' firebird/camaro and pulling everything. This info may be priceless in the near future. Keep up the great work, can't wait to see more updates.