definetly go with the LS1, or any LS family engine.

they have great reliability, power, and decent mileage.

right now i have 320 rwhp and about 340 rwt
in the city i get 17.5 miles to the gallon, and on highway about 26/27

you're going to need the engine, wiring harness, computer, and accessories among a few other things.
it will fit, i saw a video of someone with an S10 blazer that had a beast of an LSx in it.

if you want to go cheaper you can get a 5.3L out of the early 2000s trucks. you can get all of what i mentioned for ~$1000 the 5.3L is a little less powerful than an LS1, but they can easily be built with power.

 

Yeah, I'm just curious to know how the rest of the car will handle the bigger engine and more power over the course of a few years or so. I know the transmission will hold up, just not sure about some of the other stuff.

 

the biggest issue with the rear diff's is the pinion bearing.

it's undersized considering the application, and is the first thing that gets trashed under hard shifts or decent power.


i know, i did the rear diff in my Jimmy every year for the 7 years i had it.

towed too much, shifted to hard, and a little extra "oomph" didn't help.


the trans will only "hold up" for so long. it'll have to be tuned to the new set-up.

 

yeah i was just going to say, you'll need a tune, but also tune the trans for shift points and perhaps even get a heavy duty shift kit

 

I think if I need more power, it would just be cheaper for me to get a K5, and tune that if needed.