look,i just inherited an 85 s10 blazer with a v6 and a bad auto trans.since i got for a project truck anyway,i was thinking of converting to a 350.i need some feedback and how to's.any tips,tricks or advice would be great.what's the best trans?what about rearends and driveshafts?  

if its a 2 wheel drive its a pretty easy swap. just buy one of the swap kits from jeg's or summit for the motor mounts,they come with good instructions.if your going to buy headers i recommend the hedman elite series hedders,they are more costly than the standard hedder,but worth the price for the ceramic coating.i've had mine now for over a year,i drive it every day,and they still look like new.plus they do stay cooler than a regular uncoated hedder.as for as a trans,a 350 turbo works well,but i've got a 200r4 overdrive from 86 monte carlo ss in mine(the overdrive is really nice to have).either way you may have to have a differant driveshaft made for it.depending on which rear end you have,most s10 pick ups (like mine)have the small 7.5 inch ring gear,but some of the blazers had the bigger 8.5 inch ring gear,if your not going to put over a 275 to 300hp engine in it,you should be o.k. anymore than that and you definitely want the bigger rear end.hope this helped out some.  

thanks.that's a lot of help.i may have more questions later.sure to run into a problem somewhere.but really,thanks.  

I tell ya what,,,there is a website, that I found, which was invaluble in this type of swap.Go to,,,,"s10v8.com",,,you will not only find parts to help you with this swap,but you will also find books giving you complete,and I mean complete instuctions on how to do this.Also,get on e-bay,you will find all kinds of e-bay stores for parts for half of what you would normally pay,I know,,,,I've done it.Good luck with your project.Believe me,,these trucks are a blast to drive.