1987 makeover-tell me what you think

I recently bought a 87 s-10 extended cab 2wd for 500 bucks. the body is in perfect condition, it just runs rough. I plan on doing a complete SS theme, repacing the 2.8 with a 400 small block, but i dont know what a good automatic transmission to go behind it wouldbe. i only wan the truck to be a one in a while driver, i have a 98 blazer thats my ride to work. Also, would the chrome 5-star SS style camaro rims fit on the year s-10? any feedback woul be great, thanks!

That's quite the deal that you got, and a good idea.

Since it's just a weekend rocket I'd run a turbo 350, and get a few extra horses out of the motor.
A friend of mine knows how to build up strong 400's so if you need some tips just ask me. The 1 thing that I'll tell you is that the good blocks have a lot of meat at the bottom of the cylinders. Those blocks don't have an overheating problem.

Those comaro rims will fit. And should look good.

Aftermarket axles should be all that you need to beef up the rear end. Unless you plan on running very high horsepower, with slicks.

If you have a web page that you'll show the progress on please let me know the address

thanks for the input. ill have a website link shortly so i can show the progress

Look into having a medium shift kit installed in the transmission. I've also read about installing a corvette servo however, I don't know if this will work on the th-350.


http://sethirdgen.org/servo.htm

http://www.impalassforum.com/tech/drivetrain/Vette_servo/transgo_servo.htm

corvette whossie-what? whats a servo? also, i know alot of people do 350 conversions, you have to change the mounting brackets for that, but how hard is it to re-locate the bracets for a 400?

Read the links on the servo it may only be applicable on the 700r4. I'm not a transmission mechanic I'm just trying to share what I've found. I have had a medium shift kit installed in a th-350 and there was quite a noticable difference in being being able to easily chirp second gear. I wouldn't recommend the hardest of the shift kits as these are primarily for track use. A 400 should use the same mounts as a 350 ( I think) as they're both small blocks. I've seen other threads on this forum that go into more detail about this kind of swap. I remember something about a short shaft water pump and an electric fan for clearance.

this web page will give you some info for the motor swap.
http://hickory.engr.utk.edu/~gpowell/2.html
Plus he sayes that he'll help you if you need more help part way through.

I suggested a turbo 350 transmission because they are tough enough to handle lots of power, but they don't rob as much power as a turbo 400. Plus they are lighter.
A shift kit is always a good idea, and it sounds like Hunter knows what he's talking about with the medium shift

I wish that I had the time to do up a project like yours, with a 2wd Blazer. Only I'd use a comaro 5 speed

OK, chech this...I know a guy who wrecked his 99 camaro SS....Im gonna splice the entire dash from the SS into the "SS-10" as well as the front seats. cant have the engine and tranny because hes selling that on e-bay for a little too much, its only got 3,000 miles on it. anyway, i need a list of cars that came equipped with a th-350 that way when i go junkyard hunting, i can know what to look for.