Hey, I've got a '86 S10 Blazer w/ 2.8 throttle body injected and auto trans. Anyone know what I can do to upgrade her for just general drivin? I plan on doin a long haul to Miami before to long and I want to have her ready for the highway. Any and all opinions will be considered.

 

Oil change, check all your fluids, check your tires, tune up if need be, make sure nothing's leaking or making funny noises.

 

there really isn't any "upgrades" for a 2-8.

Matt has pretty much covered all that you can do.

 

can u swap out the heads and whatnot from a bigger 60*v6? is that a 60*? if so does it have the same bolt pattern as an LQ1? i know that wouldnt be the best motor for 4x4ing, but for a street truck that wouldnt be bad with a turbo!! lol

hey we can all have dreams.

 

while i know the 3-1 guys drop on 3-4 & 3-5 upper ends on them, i don't know how well it would work on a 2-8.

might have some shrouding issues on the cylinder.

 

i know fierro guys take out the 2.8 in favour of LQ1s, but i mean you dont really need torque when your car weighs less than your tank of fuel.

IIFC the LQ1 has 220hp and 180ft/lbs, but the power doesnt arrive till like 3500rpm, mind you you still have another 3500 to go before you get to the redline on the stock motor.

 

Hye guys, thanks for the info. In regards to doin basic maintenance, I have already done the basic tune-up (sort of) and was just lookin for a way to bolt on a few more horses and ft/lbs.

 

put on an electric super charger... that way its more efficient at idle. :P

 

Years ago I had put a turbo on my old 86 tbi 2.8 it had a little more kick @ 5 lbs. it was fun for a second. If you just want a few basic mods just improve t he air intake and add a exhuast. I don't really even like flowmasters but on the 2.8L the flowmaster sounds the best. My cousin rebuilt a 2.8 a couple years ago with forged higher comp pistons, small cam, ported heads. It had a tiny bit of umpf buit not much more.

 

To the OP if you want to do some upgrades to your 60 degree I suggest joining up on a forum that knows more about them than just what they have heard or read. www.60degreev6.com

also read up on the mods and links at the bottom of this page
http://members.shaw.ca/betterthanyou/




Yawn, all kinds of stuff you can do. From simple bolt ons to full out. Most people don't think much of them because of the problems they had in the early 80s. They have evolved to be a pretty good engine and popular in some classes of sprint cars. About any upgrade for a 4.3 there is for a 60 degree. Everything from cams, roller rockers, to superchargers. Plus you can always do like they did before you walked into a store and ordered parts, make them if you have the skills. The aftermarket has ruined people and made them lazy. Honestly do you think the old timers at the salt flats went to the store and bought an adapter to bolt an Allison v12 to a model t trans?



1986 and newer RWD iron heads are all the same, 2.8 - 3.1- 3.4 all use the same casting. As for it being in a 4x4 I have no complaints. My 3.4 will run circles around all the 4.3s around here in the mud and get better gas mileage doing it.



Referred to as the 3x00 swap and not something I would suggest to somebody unless they are a good mechanic. Not hard to do but requires the correct pistons and the FI system has to be swapped over.

Much better options out there than the DOHC 3.4. Plus that engine is a FWD and requires major work to put in a RWD and even more for a 4x4. The 3x00 swaps are putting out that much power and doing it at lower RPMs.


Not a big fan of boost on 4x4s, water and mud tends to make problems. I've done just about everything one can to my 3.4 in mine and it puts out 183hp on TBI with the stock chip. Some custom chip work I'm sure I could beat that but I'm more worried about SFA and at least some 35s so I'm building a 5.7 for it right now. Gonna keep the 3.4 for my noma to toy with.