Watching with great interest!! I have a 5.3 in my 2004 Avalanche 4x4 and a 383 V-8 in my 1989 S10 Pickup. I have the 8.65 rear that only came in 2WD S10's and Blazers. You may want to replace any Gov-lock (Gov-bomb) with an Eaton Posi if you plan on spinning tires. Keep us posted!!

Will the 4.3 4L60E trans and converter bolt right up to the 5.3 as-is?

 

Sadly my blazer is currently a peg leg open rear end. so im going to go with an eaton LS differential in the near future. This thing is a money pit but I want another V8 S10 and build it correctly.
This was my first truck I ever owned. It had a bored and built 4 bolt main 350 and it was a blast to wind that engine up and shift at 7200-7500 rpms when racing.

 

IMHO what you are doing is absolutely THE best way to put together a late model street sleeper Blazer. Do a cam swap and injectors with a little PCM tune and you're talking a lot of horsepower out of a LS 5.3 and it will idle smooth! Plus all your stuff still works!!

Mine leans toward the racing side and is definitely not a stealthy sleeper. But they are a lot of fun. Good luck with your project. Looks like you are doing it right!

Here's mine from a few weeks ago.

 

I love it! that's a nice truck. What times does it run?
I never got mine to hook like that. I had to keep to drag radials and not get them too sticky because I still had the 7.5in 10 bolt with 3.08 gears in my old s10. But I was still able to get a 13.1 time at 103MPH. I was planning to do a currie 9in with 4.10 gears but life came along and the truck sat for a few years before I sold it.

 

My best is 11.3/116 with a 1.57 60 ft. Not the fastest out there but it's fun. Originally built the engine for street/strip but very seldom drive on street anymore. I can't say enough good things about AFR heads! Want to change cam/intake next year and try to get into the 10s. Need about 30hp.

 

I was finally able to get a few hours of work into the blazer. I got the old drivetrain out and the 5.3 sitting on its mounts.
This thing fits like a glove so far.

 

Looks right at home in there.

 

Chuck and Les

GREAT TRUCKS!

Over here I'm not able to do a V8 swap. Daily driver would have gone and we have no race tracks.
So building V6 but would love to do a nice light aluminium V8

 

Made some more progress over the past couple nights.
This engine fits like a glove. With the engine pushed all the way forward in the mounts i was able to use the factory Trans cross member in the factory location. So i didnt have to shorten the driveshaft.
This should have been an option from the factory
The MAF is currently just stuck on the intake so i can test run the drivetrain.

 

You've been busy!! Neat as a pin. Looks like it belongs there. Excellent work so far!! A joy to see someone take the swap to the level that you have done! Need more photos though.