Project: Lil Red (Bagged & V8 88' B2200)

Man, that sux! I hate that. I WILL eventually put a 4.3 in mine. That way I can stay carbed, little to no wiring, no ECM to mess with, the engines are dirt cheap, you can run a handful of auto or manual trannys, they make between 150 and 200hp and from 215 to 280 ft/lbs of torque STOCK, AND they weight less than LT1's, 302's, etc. I just gotta wait til the 2.2 dies, can't justify a motor swap in my daily when I need to be puttin money in my dually.

Oh yeah, I love this build, and if the fiance' gets mad at you or vise versa just send her this way. I don't think the wife would mind too much. She'd prolly be glad to have me outta her hair! lol

Good luck!

Thank you for following the project!
What would the 4.3 be out of? Is that a V6 or V8? Where can you find them dirt cheap? I am all about a carbed engine so I don't have to deal with wiring or ECM.

Haha, my girl was reading this with me and we both busted out laughing. Pics of said wife for possible swap? LOL... jk jk.

4.3 is a chevy v6 they put in a lot of different models, can find them in junk yards or any auto salvage for pretty cheap

LOL, I should have known. Just didn't know if he was referring to something else. I have the Chevy Vortec 4.3 in my S10.

I'm really bummed about this whole ordeal, but I think going big, or going home should be the mentality. So if we end up with a V8 swap in the longrun, I think it would be worth it. Would get so much more respect and attention.

If your on a budget find an 85-91 Ford 5.0 engine. They all came from the factory with forged pistons.

If you want more power go with a 351w, it will fit the same as the 302.

Thank you for the advice! Starting to research this on here. I think the 302 is going to be the best bet. I don't want to change out the rear end. Wong be racing or beating on it, so it should hold up.

If anyone has suggestions, other than Craigslist, to pick up a 302 with a manual tranny, please let me know.

harry's u pull it in hazelton pa .. or pennsburg pa ..



but i'm gona say negative on the 302 or 351 .. or v8 in general .. With the cost of gas going up and up i wouldn't put them in the truck unless your only using this truck on weekends only . GAS bills for trips to carshows are gona eatup your travel budget . consider the fe3 ( kia sportage) swap or going rotary out of a mazda miata (13b )

Yeah the truck is going to see less that 2,000 miles/year. It will be for shows or cruising around on nice days. Not concerned with gas mileage. Hell, I plan on getting a crew cab full size next summer...

Anyways, I still want to get this suspension stuff finished so I can roll it out of my garage and get the damn garage cleaned. What a mess.

Made these front shock relocators


Welded them to the passenger and driver side rails




Shock studs on LCA's


First coat of paint on front suspension parts and frame horns

What kind of shocks are you running? I need to find some for the front of my truck. The mounts arealready there so need to take a measurement compressed and find a shock that fits.

I'm using 1991 Nissan D21 front shocks. They have a pretty good compressed and extended height.

Otherwise, like you said, measure and use the Monroe catalog found online to cross reference.