Hey fellas, I read an article a couple years ago on a different website of a couple guys swapping a v8 into their blazer for about $1500. I have a 2004 blazer LS 4x4, what v8's would fit? and where's my best shot at finding one cheap?

 

4x4 swaps are a little more involved than a 2wd swap. Still doable but harder. I'm doing a 2wd swap in my 96 Jimmy. Putting a 350 sbc with a 700r4 trans. You can make the 4l60e work but it's also a little more complicated. A 305 or 350 would be the easiest thing and cheapest by far but doing it for $1500 can be done but you need luck and your own equipment. I dont see the 4x4 swap happening for under $1500 unless the motor and trans you get are free.

 

yeah i figured swapping into a 4x4 would be harder/more money, but I'd still like to do it. My 4.3 runs like a bat outta hell right now so I'm looking at making a mid-long term project out of it. Where do I start?

 

k,few things you must remember. you have a 98. you have a 4l60e trans which is electric and runs off the tps on the throttle body. You said cheapest...well thats running something carbed. trans wont work with it. There is no cheapest when it comes to a engine swap. either stab a 350 in it with a oldschool 3 speed,or spend some cash. $1500 is doable if you go oldschool.

 

alright. curious..why did you say I have a 98? and where would I go to get a 350? I don't trust the junkyards or u-pick lots too much. How can I tell if the 350 I'm looking at is reliable?

 

awww damn. lol whoops. no clue why i said 98. Well, your 04 still has the electric trans. If you wanna stay injected. The "cheapest" method would be get a v8 from around the same year,and its wiring harness.,computer etc. Which lets face it a 04? its still gonna cost some chunk change. id try craigslist for a oldschool engine/tranny combo. Do you care about loosing overdrive?

 

the problem useing the existing trans is that the 4l60e behind the 4.3 is slightly weaker than one behind a v8. So chances are if you find a vortec 350, customize the wiring harness to work, it will probably smoke the trans soon anyway. You could have it rebuilt stronger but then your looking at $600-$800 for that. All 92+ blazer/Jimmy's have the electronic 4l60e trans as the automatic. After 96 they are all the same. No v8 "fits" you have to make them fit and make things work

 

Ok I'm going to look around at some prices. Is there anyway I can go with an old school 350 but put a more recent transmission on it?

 

Find yourself a 96-00 vortec 350. You don't need accessories all of yours will transfer over even the ac. The 4l60e that you have will bolt right up with no issue (I believe a bolt or two may be left out of the fly wheel unless I'm thinking of a LS swap) many run these trans behind a v8 swap and beat the crap outta them and never have an issue it just depends on what condition its in before you start. The tricky part is that you need headers that fit, motor mounts to fit the v8, an efan cause a clutch fan won't fit anymore, and then the wiring needs to be modded by adding a few wires and repining the connectors. You have a silver pcm which is a bit more involved than the black pcm but preferred by many cause it has better tuning capabilities, then you have to have the pcm flashed to run the v8, and then theres all the little things along the way! If you want to do it right double your budget and then be thrifty. Yes it can be done for less but if your gonna do it do it right!

As for a reliable motor unless you buy it from a friend I'd spend the time and money to go thru it before you stuff it in there. Nothing worse than trying to fire it up for the first time and having to pull it out cause something is wrong.

 

awesome thanks, im looking them up right now