Hi everyone, I'm about to pick up a 1985 s10 blazer 4x4 (free, needs abandoned title) with a 2.8 ( the iron duke) and its has massive body damage and motor missing parts like carb and alternator, you get the idea. So was thinking I have a lot of riding area around here and a mountain and river and all kinds of good stuff here and figured I could take the body off and make a truggy or something like it. pretty much was needing to know how to do a front end straight axle swap and what axles I need and what consists to do it and also could I put a manual tranny in it that would bolt up to the 2.8, and would I need a different front drive shaft if I put a straight axle in. going to put a full roll cage on the frame nothing from the original body. Trying to find the cheapest way and easiest
.And is their any suspension ideas that I should look at? Probably gonna lift it a bit and was wondering what tire sizes I can go with. Any ideas would help trying to get a plan down and would appreciate some guidance for this newbie, never took a car or truck to this level before on customizing.

 

Just quickly tho, use D44 axles or better for the front and rear. dont go cheap with D35 you will regret it.. For the suspension you have a few options depending on what you want to do with it (leaf springs, 3 link, 4 link, coils, A arms, and so on...). i believe there is a manual transmission not 100% sure tho. If youre removing the body then you can run what ever tires you want, you just have to regear, specially with the little 2.8..

hope this helps

 

First the 2.8 is a 60 degree v6. The iron duke is a 2.5 4 cylinder pontiac designed engine. Both were options in that year but the 2.5 is rare cause it didn't have the power or torque for a 4x4. Look into a 3.4 or 3.1 out of a camaro or firebird for a bolt in power increase.

Mine started off with a dana 30 front and ford 8.8 rear and it wasn't bad. When I decided to go v8 I was looking for some dana 44s and tripped over a set of dana 60s the guy didn't know what he had. Mine is street legal also.

For trail riding keep it as low as you can and still ride without hanging up. No need sitting 8 feet up with a high center of gravity if you don't need it. I'm a mudder so higher and wider is better lol. Lift and tire size depends on the areas you gonna be rolling.

 

My bad ya the 2.5 I have in my sundance is the iron duke, Been doing some thinking and gonna keep the front alone and add a leaf from rough country to front and back, just gonna keep it a 2.8 too, it needs a rebuild tho and found remaned heads for $150 for a pair.
Don't have much money at moment and we can always do upgrades at a later time. Probably put 31's on it and take body off and weld a full cage all around like a sandrail. Ill keep researching for when doing upgrades. And if I run into a problem I know where to go,thx.

 

Make sure the heads are 86+ for a bolt on power increase over the older heads. Not a super great one but every bit counts.