V8 swap and steering column

[92EG6]

I have been told to use the manifolds from a v8 fbody since they are for tight areas, will these clear the steering column or do you HAVE to buy the $300 brand name shit to make it work, quite a few swaps under my belt just dont want to junk my fbody and piss $200 away on an '84 Ex Cab S-10 for no reason, also 5spd 4wd can you pull the front axles and just run it 2wd and can the torsion bars handle a v8 if 2wd is no do the apdtrs for transfer case really work and will they bolt to an automatic(TH350). One last question can you buy matching ratio's for F and R diff's and leave it in 4wd acting as AWD, and if so will this work on most 4x4's. Also putting a '52 chevy 3100 on an s-10 frame and would be cool with AWD. Thanks, be blunt and tell me i'm stupid if thats the case.

[OverBoardProject]

Don't know about the V8 swap, but it does sound like realistic info that you have.
Look into this web site for more info
http://hickory.engr.utk.edu/~gpowell/2.html
He did a really nice swap and offers helpfull info
The torsion bars can handle the weight of the V8, but you might have to adjust them a bit.
Your front end should drop about 1" if it has a V6 in now, 2" if it has the 4 banger
You don't need the front drive shaft, but why not use it or just buy a 2wd

With the 52 swap you'll be looking at problems trying to run full time 4wd. Unless you take the transfer case, and front diff from a truck that has it all.
Even then you'll probably have to use all the electronics to make it all work, unless it's old school.
I would recomend a older Jeep Cherokee with full time for this swap over the S-10
Although I'm using a 2wd S10 frame for one of my old cars, and consider it to be the ultimate frame for most classic 2wd swaps

[Vortec350S10]

The 82-92 F-body manifolds will work well, I've heard this from many people. The driver side dumps straight down on top of the front diff so your headpipe will have to make a sharp bend but it does work. Make sure they are the log type manifolds-straight across the exhaust ports. I think you can run an AWD transfer case from an Astro van, as for torsion bars they handle the weight fine. Its really only a couple hundred pounds difference. Your stock axle ratios match already. And if you wanna rip out the front diff, just save yourself all the trouble and buy a 2wd.