My ZR2 Blazer. Completely rebuilt, new paint, new interior by Sue Martin in Dallas (ASM) new 6.0 Liter Chevy built by ATK with 460 HP, custom built headers, corvette radiator with two electric fans, upgraded clutches in 4L60E transmission... awesome ride... a sleeper. Everything works perfectly... from the 4x4 to the air-conditioning.

 

Very nice. Wanting to do that with my 2003 ZR2, except I will probably use a Vortec 5.7 that I have in a 2000 Denali [my wife's car next to it]

 

Very nice. Love how it looks stock.

 

Any more pictures of the motor install? Trying to decide if mine needs an LS or keep the 4.3 and re gear the axles.

 

Yes I have tons of pictures. I wrestled with the same thing... even thought about a turbo charger or a supercharger... rehearing won't do anything but change the perspective... it will either be underpowered and or it will will top out at 55 with maximum revs. I liked my 4.3... but on the highway it constantly shifted from 4th to 3rd when going up even the slightest of inclines... rehearing would have helped.. but it was not what I wanted. This build will smoke all 4 tires in Hi 4 or Lo 4. It gets about 25 miles to the gallon on the highway and I can't tell you the number of Hemi trucks that are licking their wounds after getting smoked going stop light to stop light. It being a sleeper they must think they were outrun by a 4.3 6 cylinder. You can build one much cheaper than what I did. Everything in mine is new.. I replaced everything... even the ball joints. The A/C works and I didn't cut the firewall or fenders. The ATK LQ9 6.0, along with the transfer case rebuild and 4L60E clutch and performance upgrades set me back about 14,000 with all of the custom header work, motor mounts, radiator, fans and pullys. I had custom headers built to avoid cutting fender wells and a custom 4 inch single exhaust... everything under the hood looks like factory installed equipment... but that is what I wanted... You can get the same thing by putting in a rebuilt LS engine and doing it right by not being in a hurry... mine took a year to build. I'll post some engine install pics soon.

Thanks for all the awesome comments. I wish all of you could take this for a spin... so much fun. I wouldn't hesitate to drive it to Alaska and back. Good luck with your builds!

 

I love that Yellow and Black on a ZR2... very nice!

 

Thanks for the comment Buddy!

 

On 37's, I don't need to go much over 55 mph anyway. It would just be nice to have a little more power off the line to get me going. I'm running 4.10's right now so even just bumping up to 4.56 would be really nice. My daily driver is a 2001 Silverado w/ 5.3 so I'm tempted to keep the motor/trans and sell the rest. It's been babied it's whole life and has fairly low miles. The whole truck would only be worth a couple thousand anyway. I could do the LS swap for roughly the price of re gearing so that's my dilemma.

 

Tough choice... I would lean towards more horsepower and torque. Turning those 37's with an LS would be awesome! You'll need to swap the radiator out and if you use the stock exhaust it will fit in the engine compartment nicely... Best of luck! If you notice I swapped out the hood on mine to one that was made for Cowl induction... It was not that expensive and you can get them online. It is only to allow more air into the engine compartment for cooling purposes... and of course... I liked the look too.

 

looks great!!! I have an 2003 ZR2 that I just bought a low mile 5.3 to install and trans is going to the shop next week. What oil pan did you use? I am having a hard time finding the correct oil pan. Thanks