Joined
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11 Posts
Trying to decide which motor to go with, but not in the usual sense.
My goal is a truck that will tow and haul, git up and GO rather well, get decent fuel economy when I'm not git-up-and-going, and be a very good nasty weather daily driver. I already have the cheap 4 cylinder gas car(30+ mpg) which will probably still handle the vast majority of my driving, but I'd like the truck to be fun enough to drive to make me want to drive it when I don't need 4wd or hauling capacity.
I was wanting to swap a 4bt into a Chevy S10. I've started pricing things out, and find that now I'm not so sure.
$2,500 - S10 to start with
$1,500 - 4bt after scrapping the step van it came in
$200 - Dana 60/70 from a dually(hopefully narrow enough)
$1,500 - Dana 60 front(what in the world is going to have something narrow enough for an S10?)
$600 - Gears for axles
$1,500 - NV4500
$200 - NP205
$500 - wheels/tires
$3000 - Drive shafts/adapters/clutch/flywheel/air filter/intake/exhaust/fluids/seals/filters/etc.
$11,500 and I've still got an S10. That same money would buy a very decent used Dodge truck with the 6bt and the drive train to handle it, and save me a seriously large amount of blood, sweat, and tears. The 4bt powered S10 would be much lighter and have a smaller engine, and therefor get better fuel economy. I don't know how much more grin factor(git-up-and-go) the 4bt/S10 would have over the 6bt/Dodge, as I won't be leaving either motor stock, but I think the power : weight ratio would still favor the S10. On the other hand, I don't haul often but when I do I tend to haul a LOT, which points to the Dodge/Cummins.
Y'all have done this kind of thing before. Thoughts or opinions? Ways to cut costs on the S10 while still having something I can romp on and not be worried I'm going to break something? Will a Dana 44 front axle handle the weight and torque from a turned up 4bt with ~35" tires when I'm dragging a load of firewood out of the woods? If so, that'd save a lot of money both in initial cost and I'd be a lot more likely to find one that didn't need to be narrowed. It'll be a flatbed so rear axle width won't be nearly so picky. I won't be abusing it off road but I will be working it. It will get romped on when on the street, for sure. I plan to keep whatever I wind up with for many many years and I learned long ago that if you can't afford to do something right, you can't afford to do it AGAIN. I don't want to build something I have to worry about.
Thanks everyone, I look forward to hearing your opinions, even if it's just "you're a moron".
My goal is a truck that will tow and haul, git up and GO rather well, get decent fuel economy when I'm not git-up-and-going, and be a very good nasty weather daily driver. I already have the cheap 4 cylinder gas car(30+ mpg) which will probably still handle the vast majority of my driving, but I'd like the truck to be fun enough to drive to make me want to drive it when I don't need 4wd or hauling capacity.
I was wanting to swap a 4bt into a Chevy S10. I've started pricing things out, and find that now I'm not so sure.
$2,500 - S10 to start with
$1,500 - 4bt after scrapping the step van it came in
$200 - Dana 60/70 from a dually(hopefully narrow enough)
$1,500 - Dana 60 front(what in the world is going to have something narrow enough for an S10?)
$600 - Gears for axles
$1,500 - NV4500
$200 - NP205
$500 - wheels/tires
$3000 - Drive shafts/adapters/clutch/flywheel/air filter/intake/exhaust/fluids/seals/filters/etc.
$11,500 and I've still got an S10. That same money would buy a very decent used Dodge truck with the 6bt and the drive train to handle it, and save me a seriously large amount of blood, sweat, and tears. The 4bt powered S10 would be much lighter and have a smaller engine, and therefor get better fuel economy. I don't know how much more grin factor(git-up-and-go) the 4bt/S10 would have over the 6bt/Dodge, as I won't be leaving either motor stock, but I think the power : weight ratio would still favor the S10. On the other hand, I don't haul often but when I do I tend to haul a LOT, which points to the Dodge/Cummins.
Y'all have done this kind of thing before. Thoughts or opinions? Ways to cut costs on the S10 while still having something I can romp on and not be worried I'm going to break something? Will a Dana 44 front axle handle the weight and torque from a turned up 4bt with ~35" tires when I'm dragging a load of firewood out of the woods? If so, that'd save a lot of money both in initial cost and I'd be a lot more likely to find one that didn't need to be narrowed. It'll be a flatbed so rear axle width won't be nearly so picky. I won't be abusing it off road but I will be working it. It will get romped on when on the street, for sure. I plan to keep whatever I wind up with for many many years and I learned long ago that if you can't afford to do something right, you can't afford to do it AGAIN. I don't want to build something I have to worry about.
Thanks everyone, I look forward to hearing your opinions, even if it's just "you're a moron".