Hate to put up such a silly post, but I'm looking for some generic S10 info. I have a friend that wants a mid-size 4x4, and after alot of thought.. I figured a S10 Blazer with a solid axle swap and maybe a 350 (he has a ton of chevy stuff sitting around his house) would be fantastic for him for several reasons. They are super cheap around here.. $1500'ish for one in good driving shape.. and like I mentioned before, he's a Chevy guy anyways.

What side is the transfer case front output on?
Steering box or rack and pinion?
IFS removal fairly easy? Any tricks?

The rest will just be basic fab work.. no problems there.

How have you guys set up your S10's with solid front axle swaps?

Thanks

:D

not a silly question at all....

Transfer case (np231) drive side drop
Saginaw steering box (I used a yj drop pitman on my SAS)
IFS removal takes about a day for one person, working casually. If you had 2 friends help you, you could have it out real fast. The trick is to unbolt what you can at first, then just torch off the mounts or grind them out. (i didnt have a torch, so it took longer)

General fab is easy. There is actually a lot you can do before you cut off the IFS, so if its going to be transportation in the meantime its no problem.

My setup is a RC Dana30, from a YJ in the front, and a Scout Dana44 in the rear, with springs pieced together from a mini-dakota main leaf, some chrysler stationwagon springs, and a CJ add a leaf.

fourx4jimmy has a dana 44 from a wagoneer, and a 9 inch from an EB, using 2 sets of s-10 springs combined.

Pdaddy is using a dana 30 and 35 out of a cherokee??? I forget. He is on here so he could tell ya more than i know.


HTH

here are some recent pics of mine

http://www.auburn.edu/~kruegdr/D_krueger2.jpg

http://www.auburn.edu/~kruegdr/D_krueger3.jpg

http://www.auburn.edu/~kruegdr/D_krueger4.jpg

http://www.auburn.edu/~kruegdr/D_krueger5.jpg

Hey, Thanks. I'm still trying to get ahold of him to see if he'll bite.. he's got the money just burning a hole in his pocket.. and wants a beater 4x4 something fierce, and I'll do everything in my power to get more diversity on the trail.. hate seeing 90% jeeps out there.

Come to think of it.. I have a drivers side drop D44 out of a Wagoneer (61" WMS/WMS) sitting on the side of my house. He may be in luck!

www.s10-4x4.org www.s10extremist.com


Tons of info and plenty of people to ask.
And for basic reference, everything under a first generation Bronco will fit under an S10. Mark Hall actually did that on his S10. Coil sprung front with a 9" rear. He had a 383 and 38's? on it at one point.

Vermin, where are you located? If he doesn't want the waggy axle, I would be more than happy to take it off of your hands. Let me know. medic3247@hotmail.com thanks.

Used a EB 44, 6"softrides. All in all not to bad to do.

Here is the rear 60 cut down to 61" and moser axles

And the whole thing. Yes he is going to get springs for the rear and get rid of the blocks.

If your have an arsonal of chevy parts and you haven't purchased the truck yet, maybe look into starting with a 2wd. The initial investment is alot cheaper to begin with. The factory trans and case will be going to the wayside if your going v-8 anyway too. It worked great for me and that way I could use easy to find chevy parts. If you want I'll post some pics.

Hey, thanks for all the posts guys. I'm in AZ.. and I've seen several S10 Blazers in the papers and online around here for 1500'ish$. Think I'd rather have him go with the 4x4 to start with.. its always alot more fun breaking the factory stuff before replacing it anyways :D

I've got a 9" rear sprung over w/ a Waggy front 44 converted to ford brakes to match the bolt pattern on my s10. If you need any help, just let me know, and I'll see what I can do. The swap ended up not being half as bad as I expected.
Helped a friend swap in an 8.8 into his YJ the other day... easy as pie... could do it again in about 30 minutes w/ all the right parts. :flipoff2: :beer: :flipoff2:

My dad had a 1983 S10 blazer that he put on a 1/2 ton chevy frame.This swap took a lot of fabwork,but in the end,it performed flawlessly.His blazer had a stock 350 chevy/turbo 350 tranny/NP203 transfer case.This swap required a 7-3/4" body lift to mount the body.This swap required no suspension lift to run 38/14.50-15 swamper sx tires on 15x12 chrome spoke wheels.With stock chevy leaf springs,it had more suspension flex than a tj with a 5-1/2" short arm suspension lift.This whole swap took a mere $46.00 to complete.To mount the radiator, you must lower the radiator mounts or buy a conversion rad.

My dad had a 1983 S10 blazer that he put on a 1/2 ton chevy frame.This swap took a lot of fabwork,but in the end,it performed flawlessly.His blazer had a stock 350 chevy/turbo 350 tranny/NP203 transfer case.This swap required a 7-3/4" body lift to mount the body.This swap required no suspension lift to run 38/14.50-15 swamper sx tires on 15x12 chrome spoke wheels.With stock chevy leaf springs,it had more suspension flex than a tj with a 5-1/2" short arm suspension lift.This whole swap took a mere $46.00 to complete.To mount the radiator, you must lower the radiator mounts or buy a conversion rad.


7 and 3/4 " body lift? :confused: I guess if you can do it cheap why the hell bother doing it safe? What kind of fab work was involved here, cutting up pieces of square tube and welding them betwwen the frame and body? I hope to god you guys dont live near me, I would hate to be on the trail near by when Darwin's natural selection goes to work...

the s-10 frame is stronger than a 1/2 ton truck frame
it is boxed to the transfercase
If you find a good 4.3 it will do a good job with the wright gears
the 700r4 and the 231 have a great crawl ratio
Mine does good with all stock mtr/trans/tracase