In reply to matthewmcl :
My old red '90 is the one I sold. This one is firmly in the "wife would kick me out if I sell it" category. Which is both good and bad. Good because minitruck, bad because too many projects.
Updates after using the truck to haul an engine after fixing the fuel leak. It seems to fuel starve? Either I kinked the new line, or the full pressure from the pump wrecked the regulator diaphragm. Hopefully I can sort that tomorrow.
It's a tossup as to which of these is heavier. Note to self, don't lift things alone anymore.
Now I can take them over for a bath at the self-wash. The 465 is going up for sale. And the 4l60 will be manual-converted and installed in the truck with a slightly warm 350. The deal to buy sisters car fell through so I'm back to just one project which is nice. Still fickle though. Good news is I sold the 305 and zeroed the transmission so whatever I get from the 465 is going into the build budget.
In reply to barefootcyborg5000 :
Right after high school, we joked about "if ya can't lift a TH 400 into the back of a pick up, by yourself, you ain't a mechanic. "
I could, despite weighing in at 125 lbs.
after getting up to 225, still could.
By 239, and I'm my 50s, I realized I needed to stop doing things like that.
Back down to under 210, and I'm not sure I even could, today 
In reply to 03Panther :
You'll appreciate that this one still has the converter installed then.
I won't be doing it again.
No idea if you'd find them in a junkyard out there, but when my S10 had a SBC, it had 3rd Gen f-body manifolds, and they fit pretty well. Probably not the best for performance, but may be a lot cheaper than aftermarket.
In reply to eastsideTim :
Not a bad idea. Cost may force my hand there. Ideally, I can try to keep as much weight as possible off, but used manifolds are usually way cheaper.
Nothing to really report as a project. I did diagnose my somewhat touchy brakes as caused by leaky axle seals. Which I'm not in a hurry to fix. Also changed the trans oil for fresh synchro-mesh. Glad to report it didn't seem to do anything.
But, I love this little truck. It's been doing all the moving duty, commuting duty, and hauling whatever my wife wants. And reporting 25mpg all the while.
And even cosplaying as a BRAT:
Still haven't fixed anything. Trans is still noisy and mutinous. But I do have new problems. The throw out bearing is getting worse.
Still doing old truck things when needed though. Getting closer to an actual plan for engine/trans swapping. Gonna go with a stock reseal and no power adders on the '96 350. Will get headers and a dual plane manny. Should be plenty for the little truck.
Do I really need overdrive?
plan has been to use the free 4l60 with manual vb, but size, weight, cooling, and #savethemanuals has me suddenly wanting to use the Saginaw 4 speed from the Funderbird project... already has a new clutch, and I'm pretty sure we have a 350 flywheel kicking around somewhere.
Truck has 4.10:1 rear and 24" tires. Even with 5th it doesn't like to do much more than 60 as is.
Less heat into the rad, less plumbing, less weight, less $$,... there's a lot going for it. Thoughts?
without getting into personal stuff, there is actually good reason to rush the purchase of some of the parts I'll need.
Lastly, I don't plan to be beating on the v8 in any real sense. Which is to say I'm pretty comfortable keeping a stock 5qt pan. Anyone have any recommendations on off the shelf s10-350 swap kits? Truck has no AC and no PS, so it doesn't really get much simpler.
You're going to be spinning 3500 rpm at 60 with the saginaw combo.
Thats a nope from me.
Seconded. Unless you swap rear ends out, I'd go with overdrive. 3.08 is easy to find on 4.3 V6 models, if you want to go junkyard hunting. Still won't be great on the highway, but it won't be a total screamer.
Oh yeah, for the swap mounts, I started with the ones that use a plate of steel that bolts to the frame and is supposed to let you just use stock V8 style mounts. Could not get them to work, but I think my truck has all the tolerances stacked in the wrong direction. The mount kit that uses 2.8 V6 style frame mounts worked fine, though.
In reply to Dusterbd13 :
That is steep. I just double checked, and I actually have 27" tires but that's not a huge difference.
quick math says that drops me to 3100, and I will have a proper muffler, but that's not exactly intended cruising speeds for a mild 350. I think. Decisions.
Tim, thanks for the input. My old truck had 3.08 rear, and was actually pretty good all around. But if I'm gonna bother replacing the rear end, it'll likely get 8.8 swapped. More options that way, and I can keep my current wheels.
The mounting kits are kind of all over the map. Cheap is good, but simple and easy is also good. I had a set of speedway mounts kicking around somewhere but I don't know what happened to them.
I think this kit is what I ultimately used, but it is also possible I bought the stealth conversions set, it's been a long while. Either one should have some flexibility for mounting that the SBC mount based kits may not have.
I keep an eye out for Explorer 8.8 rears around here, but they go fast. I actually have a short side axle laying around for when I find one with a limited slip. I lucked into an 8.6 10 bolt from a 2WD Blazer a ways back, so I'm running that, but am looking for something for the challenge truck.
In reply to eastsideTim :
They do go fast, but I have a buddy at the local scrapper who gives me a heads up when I'm looking for things. but I'll likely just leave it as is until it either breaks or I get serious about lowering. Right now the powertrain is the priority, and I can live with a 55mph cruising speed. For now.
Im not sure if the 2.8 kit will work for a 2.5, but it can't be too far off. And we have cutting and welding apparatus..
I think by 1993 the holes in the crossmember were all there by default.
Got a line on an 8.8 with 3.73 and drum brakes for simplicity.
Made an official purchase from dad for the powertrain.
It's starting to all come together.
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