S10 and rear end question

[Chevy305]

I have been thinking that when I graduate and start making some serious $$ I want to put a new engine in my big K10 and put the engine thats in it now into my S10 commuter truck. I was wondering if I needed to upgrade the rear end on the S10? Then i thought I could finally do the 14bsf 6lug conversion and swap it into the K10 putting the old 10bolt under it now that already has 4.10s a locker and chromo shafts into the S10. My question though is will it be too wide?

 

[Jason4x4]

don't know about the width, but it would be 6 lug versus 5 lug.

 

[sooner]

If you are going to put a V-8 into an S-10 then i would highly recommend this manual.
http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Chevrolet_S-10_V-8.html
I bought one for a project truck and it has more info in it than you could ever need. They also sell some very handy parts. A few years ago thier parts were the cheapest prices i could find anywhere. The manual i have actually has diagrams and measurements on how to build the motor mounts and alot of other useful info.

 

[abig84]

whats kinda engine are you going to put in there? i threw a stock 350 into a 95 and left the stock rear end in there and it held up fine

 

[Chevy305]

whats kinda engine are you going to put in there? i threw a stock 350 into a 95 and left the stock rear end in there and it held up fine

this would be my 305 I have currently. I would rebuild it though and add a cam and better heads. I hope to make a solid 300hp when I'm done.

 

[Dafey]

If your into S-series trucks check out http://forums.s-series.org/index.php
They have all the info you`ll ever need. And can answer almost ANY question you have. Theres a rear end swap thread on there in the tech section I know. Seems like they used a 8.8 from a Explorer , straight swap plus disk brakes.

 

[throttleissues]

As easily as my 4.3 spins the tires on my s-10, I wouldn't guess you'd have enough traction to break the rear end. But then 305s aren't generally powerhouses anyway. I keep considering a 350 swap for mine, but I have enough tickets already.

 

[b454rat]

There are alot of options out there for rears. Do you want close to stock width?? Little wider?? How strong to you want to go?? I have an early Bronco 9" that I was gonna throw in mine, but found a Dana 60 rear that is just a wee bit wider than stock, so gonna use that instead....

 

[MaxPF]

The easiest way to get a stronger rear end is to find an S10 ZR2 P/U or Blazer and swipe the rear out of one of those. They use the same 8.5" 10 bolt as the fullsize 1/2 tons, but narrowed to fit the S truck. They also have disk brakes.

The only difficult part is finding one - they seem to be about as plentiful as hen's teeth...

FWIW I have a friend who has a supercharged Vortec 350 in an S-10 with fairly wide tires. It makes well north of 400HP, and he hasn't blown up the 7 5/8" rear yet. Then again, he doesn't try to, and as someone else pointed out it is hard to get it to hook up anyway...

 

[abig84]

this would be my 305 I have currently. I would rebuild it though and add a cam and better heads. I hope to make a solid 300hp when I'm done.

this question gets asked alot at v8s10.org which is another good v8 site. and everyone answers back with they are running slicks and 11 seconds with the stock rear end. so if your going to leave the axle stock and run stock tires youll be fine, as someone said you have a hard time getting traction. i left my axle opened with stock tires and it just peels out all over the place

 

[Chevy305]

The easiest way to get a stronger rear end is to find an S10 ZR2 P/U or Blazer and swipe the rear out of one of those. They use the same 8.5" 10 bolt as the fullsize 1/2 tons, but narrowed to fit the S truck. They also have disk brakes.

The only difficult part is finding one - they seem to be about as plentiful as hen's teeth...

FWIW I have a friend who has a supercharged Vortec 350 in an S-10 with fairly wide tires. It makes well north of 400HP, and he hasn't blown up the 7 5/8" rear yet. Then again, he doesn't try to, and as someone else pointed out it is hard to get it to hook up anyway...

Good point, I was just wondering if a full size 1/2 ton rear end would be too wide and look weird. What I was thinking is that it already has a locker in it so I wouldn't have to buy one for the 7 5/8