im working on a v8 swap in an s10. my target horsepower is 450 streetable horsepower (i know, i know, more is better, but you gotta start somewhere). im worried that the stock drum brakes won't be able to handle it. if they will, that's great, cuz that leaves more money to go fast with! if they won't, will the stock rear discs from another chevy swap over? i know aftermarket kits are available, but i got the truck for free, and i wanna know what it'll feel like to pull up in something that probably won't cost 3000 dollars and whoop the snot out of a ricer or two. in advance, any and all help on not only this topic, but the v8 swap in general is welcome and appreciated.  

I have a S10 with a 355 and still use the brakes it came with it's a 84 so i  don't  think u should worry about it ,if everything is working right u should be just fine.
                                                                     good hot rodding Harv  

did u upgrade the rearend any? are there a lot of gear/posi and axle upgrades available for the stock rearend? if im right, it should be a ten bolt with 7.5" ring gear. i haven't had much luck finding parts for that. is your front suspension stock? i just wanna be able to get the most bang for my buck with a bare bones budget. appreciate any more info  

Just depends how hard you hit the brakes at what speeds.  Stopping faster is always better, but laying hard into the brakes at speeds greater than I would say (pure personal opinion here) 120-130mph I would be concerned.  But it is a truck so I doubt the extra weight will be much of a factor until higher speeds are attained.  

thats good info. thanks. i guess this forum topic should have been for the s10 in general, because brakes are a straight forward topic. now i need to know about the rear end. will the stock gears/axles hold up to it? what kind of inexpensive upgrades/tricks can i do/use to strengthen the rear end? i know that there several expensive things that i can do, but the whole point of this project is to get the most bang without breaking the bank. once again, thanks again for any help/info given  

the 8.5 out of a later S10 should bolt right in, and be strong enough to hold you until you strap slicks on it. id look for a 4X4 model, those usually came limited slip.
as far as the rear discs, camaro pieces should swap, at least thats what im told. the v-8 swap will probably require stiffer front springs to have any streetability, and you should try to relocate some of the weight to the bed. think battery, etc. remove all the stuff you dont need to ditch weight.

Michael  

dusterbd13:
the 8.5 out of a later S10 should bolt right in, and be strong enough to hold you until you strap slicks on it. id look for a 4X4 model, those usually came limited slip.
as far as the rear discs, camaro pieces should swap, at least thats what im told. the v-8 swap will probably require stiffer front springs to have any streetability, and you should try to relocate some of the weight to the bed. think battery, etc. remove all the stuff you dont need to ditch weight.

Michael

thanks man. how hard is it to relocate the battery to the bed? also, how well do regular traction bars work? ive been told they don't work, and that i should get the adjustable ones. im not really looking at getting into the tens in this truck, i just wanna be able to win a street race or two and make an occasional trip down the track. any suggestions on inexpensive front springs, or another vehicle with springs that will swap over?  

dusterbd13:
the 8.5 out of a later S10 should bolt right in, and be strong enough to hold you until you strap slicks on it. id look for a 4X4 model, those usually came limited slip.
as far as the rear discs, camaro pieces should swap, at least thats what im told. the v-8 swap will probably require stiffer front springs to have any streetability, and you should try to relocate some of the weight to the bed. think battery, etc. remove all the stuff you dont need to ditch weight.

Michael

mercman:
thanks man. how hard is it to relocate the battery to the bed? also, how well do regular traction bars work? ive been told they don't work, and that i should get the adjustable ones. im not really looking at getting into the tens in this truck, i just wanna be able to win a street race or two and make an occasional trip down the track. any suggestions on inexpensive front springs, or another vehicle with springs that will swap over?

OK an S10 with a 2.2L OHV runs a 19.2 qtr mile. That same engine in a Cavalier puts it at about an 18.3. So with 450 HP, you are gonna break the truck if not the bank trying to put that much engine into such a little truck. A stock Corvette runs a 12.7 with the 405 HP 346 cu. in. 3rd gen V-8, so 450 HP will put you into low 12s with that truck. You want to take on ricers, a 260 HP 300 ft-lbs Torque crate motor will fill your desires, without 5000 dollars worth of suspension modifications. Your stock rearend and brakes should work fine with that set up. You may need to modify the frontend as described in a prior post(see above) to help distribute weight. Also important as the braking components, will your transmission hold up to a 450 HP monster that will write your name in the road(Which would be really COOL to do). I only ask as most stock transmissions will not hold up to more than 400 HP. When performing an engine swap of this magnitude, you must consider every angle of the vehicle for weak/strength points. Dude seriously, I live in Ohio, and we don't have to take regular inspections anually,and ricer are abundant here. My 267 in my Malibu BARELY has 160 HP, and it dusts ricers. I wish you the best of luck with this project man. I like a low ridin truck, but I love any muscle car/truck that is faster than the wind. I have respect for American Muscle, but imports are good for only one thing: Gas Mileage.  

i knew 450 hp was a little high, but it's always good to dream big, right? i think the transmission will hold up, b/c the truck previously had a 383 with an edelbrock single plane intake and 750 cfm carb. my dad kept the motor when he gave me the truck, tore it down and took it to the machine shop. all he had to do was buy the right cam and he was looking at 425 hp. ive also kind of got a bet going with my manager that i will beat the snot out of his honda. ive riden in the honda going 120, but im not worried about beating him. once i get the motor in ill post pics online and put a link up on the forum.  

Find you a 98-up blazer rear end, they have pretty healthy disc brakes, posi traction, and can be from 4:10-3:42, in the two wheel drive sport, and ls models. And they have swaybars!  

As far as front springs, pull a set from a v6 model and you'll be fine, preferably one with sport tuned suspension-theyre stiffer, if it has the 16 inch fatory alloys, and is two wheel drive, it will most likely have the sport suspension. And as far as traction, yes traction bars do work, just dont use the junky universal ones. Call summit, or jegs and get the ones made for your truck. They have a kit, its actually relatively cheap available for your particular swap, that has an electric fan, heavy duty radiator, motor and trans mounts, and headers. I highly recomend you get this kit. It makes things loads easier.  

hey guys, all help has been good so far, but i need help again. i ordered the hedman headers for the v8 swap from jegs, but the driver side header won't clear the steering shaft coming out of the firewall. what's gotta be done to make it work? if anyone has pics, please send em to marquisz28@yahoo.com so i can keep this project going! once again, thanks!  

mercman:
hey guys, all help has been good so far, but i need help again. i ordered the hedman headers for the v8 swap from jegs, but the driver side header won't clear the steering shaft coming out of the firewall. what's gotta be done to make it work? if anyone has pics, please send em to marquisz28@yahoo.com so i can keep this project going! once again, thanks!

I ran into the same problem on the passenger side of my Malbu. I used a hammer to dent the area of the header, not the best choice, but it worked. Maybe you can try to find an exhaust place than can bend it without fracturing any welds.  

hey man, u better get some tires and some weight or u aint gonna go no where, probably gonna have to get a ten bolt rear out of 81 z28,350 turbo tranny and a used 350 bottom end, then just get some 305 heads with a 650 on top. wanna it to have a wine, put some 100 dollar timing ears on it. u get the burnt rubber smell, oh yeah, premium only  

got some ideas i wanna toss out to get some input on. my brother in law made weights by melting old wheel weights and pouring them into valve covers. i thought about pouring 4 of these and bolting them inside the frame on both sides above the rear end. good or bad idea? also, i got a deal on some 305's (da@* near free) and a 750 edelbrock and performer rpm intake for free. good or bad? i know things could be better for more power, and they will be cuz ive got a nine inch and a .030 vortech 350, but i want to get my truck on the road, and there just isn't a budget for the 350 and 9 inch. basically, im asking if im going in the right direction with my parts finding skills to have a good ride with almost no money in it?