1999 Blazer Build Ideas

I know nothing about kits because most kits cost more than I usually spend on cars. But I have access to a welder and like cutting metal and sticking it to other metal. If you dont have access to one a simple flux core HF unit would do the job of plumbing quite nicely. And ebay turbos are great for the money. Also megasquirt is designed to run on the sensors that your blazer already has... I'm no astrologist but the stars seem to be aligning.

Caltrac bars are readily available or relatively easily made. 

And now I'm drooling.

In reply to barefootskater :

Hmm do you do commissions? Learning to weld on headers and downpipes may not be my smartest move. 

So my path is starting to look like:

Engine rebuild (it's very leaky and old)

New frame

Suspension fixes

Caltrac

Astro AWD unit

Turbos and associated plumbing and parts.

Has anyone seen a good lowered 4 door Blazer?  They always seem to look awkward to me.  If I'm going to put down turbo power, I'm gonna want some handling to go with it.

I think a lift would be more appropriate if I were going to drop in a different kind of engine as I was originally picturing.

In reply to mcbacon :

Here's the best part. The stock exhaust manifolds on the 4.3 can be flipped and swapped to opposite sides! BAM! Forward facing, upwards tilted turbo manifolds. 

In reply to barefootskater :

Hmm I'm having a hard time visualizing it.  I'll have to Google it.

My issue with a roll your own turbo 4.3 is that it's not much more work and money to do it with a 350 or 305 and not have a split pin crank.

In reply to mcbacon :

Early version of the roadkill rotsun used the flipped exhaust manifold trick. Interestingly enough that car is a good example of what happens to a 4.3 that makes too much power. The split journal cranks these motors use um... break... if things get too wild.

In reply to barefootskater :

So the new combo is a 302 that likes to split the block in half backed by a t5 that has a case that liked to twist.

Just came across this source.

Lots of good info here.  Apparently, in order to make up for the split pin crankshaft, the crankshaft itself and the conrods are beefier than they would be on the SBC, even though almost everything else is identical.

In reply to mcbacon :

I think the answer is that most full ham 4.3s are odd fire with normal looking cranks, the shakiest engine configuration ever.

I'm not looking for major power.  Maybe around 280-300BHP?  I think the stock crank and rods should be able to handle that, from my research.

mcbacon said:

I'm not looking for major power.  Maybe around 280-300BHP?  I think the stock crank and rods should be able to handle that, from my research.

 

I would imagine you could even push it a bit beyond that. IIRC the sy-ty trucks made 270 stock. I think the secret to not grenading the crank is just to keep your goals reasonable.

Now, a 350 would arguably be the smarter choice, but sbc swapped blazer/s10s are everywhere. You do you, just please don't be boring.

In reply to barefootskater :

I was reading that the stock internals are good to just shy of 400, so I should have more than enough headroom.  Another thing I need to consider that I didn't think of is that it's going to be my wife's DD after I get my bike (and her first car at that).  I'm thinking somewhat boring might be better than interesting for this use.

Maybe uncork the limitations of an NA 4300 and rebuild it with a hotter cam, head work, intake manifold, exhaust manifold, and higher compression?  Something that will run all day long with no surprises.

mcbacon said:

In reply to gearheadmb :

Which would you recommend for traction bars?  Slappers or Caltrac?

Ive never personally used caltracs, but the design is pretty genius and i dont see how they could not work. I did put a set of slapper bars on my 65 mustang and they made quite a noticeable difference for the better. So im going to say either one should be fine, especially since you arent planning to go crazy with the build.

I'd keep it at stock height with stiffer springs and great shocks and larger roll bars and stock wheels with good tires.

The frame can't be pulled back into shape? 

Ultimate sleeper.    

In reply to mcbacon :

The roadkill car was well north of that number when it broke. Some head work, a good cam, remembering that these are roller cam engines, good exhaust with full length headers and good engine management and you could pretty easily crest 300 horses power without boost. It is much less dramatic but probably less prone to dramatic failure.

There is a bunch of info on making these handle fairly well over on s10forum.com. Most of it can be done with factory parts from local scrap yards. Big sway bars, limited slip diff. There are even plans on how to make your own traction bars for around $100. I seem to remember the 4x4 units have torsion bar front ends? Not too sure on lowering friendliness, but apparently they have better front end geometry anyway.

All the major racing suppliers have kits to bolt in sbc motivation. The prices on Motors themselves seems to be going up lately for some reason...

I still vote turbo AWD. 

The Olds Bravada came in AWD versions, could get the parts from it for yours. Turbo 4.3 would be fun, LS would be a bit more fun.

In reply to onemanarmy :

If I'm going to keep stock ride height, I'll likely go +2 for wheels for handling.  I think the old Corvette 17" sawblades might look neat.

The frame has a large crack, unfortunately, so it may or may not be able to be welded.

barefootskater said:

In reply to mcbacon :

The roadkill car was well north of that number when it broke. Some head work, a good cam, remembering that these are roller cam engines, good exhaust with full length headers and good engine management and you could pretty easily crest 300 horses power without boost. It is much less dramatic but probably less prone to dramatic failure.

There is a bunch of info on making these handle fairly well over on s10forum.com. Most of it can be done with factory parts from local scrap yards. Big sway bars, limited slip diff. There are even plans on how to make your own traction bars for around $100. I seem to remember the 4x4 units have torsion bar front ends? Not too sure on lowering friendliness, but apparently they have better front end geometry anyway.

All the major racing suppliers have kits to bolt in sbc motivation. The prices on Motors themselves seems to be going up lately for some reason...

 

 

 

I still vote turbo AWD. 

That's what I'd love to do, personally.  For the little lady, maybe not until she's had some driving experience.  I  can always build it up after giving it strong basics.

I definitely have IFS here, though.

81cpcamaro said:

The Olds Bravada came in AWD versions, could get the parts from it for yours. Turbo 4.3 would be fun, LS would be a bit more fun.

Good idea.  My local youpick has tons of S10 chassis cars.  Bravadas, Jimmys, Blazers, S10s, etc.  Time to go digging.

I like the AWD idea. The Olds bravadas are AWD too, and generally sell a lot cheaper. A newer full size V8 donor truck makes a lot more sense though, but they're like a foot wider than the blazers. 

If you wanted to really get stupid, I'd look for a 7.3l powerstroke truck and get some much more robust suspension, but you'll probably double the weight. LOL

As far as the 4.3l, more reputable sources say the even-fire offset rod journals in the later motors like yours are just garbage for performance use. They're great at stock power, but the offset journals literally cut the effective rod journal size in half. 

The earlier TBI motors had straight journals but are still only *reliable* to 350-ish at the crank, which after parasitic loss in AWD would be more like 250 at the wheels, or less.  

In reply to mcbacon 

I am not sure but i do know that in the 84 to 88 the frame from a blazer was different from a pickup so measure the frame width to make sure and if it was me i would go for a sbc and that way you can make as much power as you want or as little and when i did mine it was very easy to make it fit and work  and my 406 ci made about 400 hp with about 425 tq but it is not what i am now using in my pro truck now. it has a sbc 440ci with 633 hp and 596.3 tq

In reply to Crackers :

Excellent to know. Thanks!

In reply to Blazer178 :

Thanks for the tips! I'll look around.

How can i encourage more of this.

Check on fullthrottlev6 forums for info on diy turbo setups using castoff syclone bits and marine motor fuel systems.

Check protourings10 forums for handling help. They have plenty of builds to reference.

Im mobile right now but i guess this is an IOU for real links and pics later.