Chevy 4.3 Liter V6 in one of our trucks

[ubtripn]

Just curious, I had a 1995 S10 with this great engine (basically a 350 with the front 2 cylinders chopped off and a balanced cam.) Ran smooth as silk and had great power. Throttle body fuel injection. Could a person put one of these in one of our trucks? They ran it in the full size half ton not long ago but if I wanted to do it what about the computers and stuff?

Why would I ever do it? Good power to mileage comprimise.

[Clyde65]

Yes it would work, you wouldnt have much guts because of the weight difference. I had one in an 85 GMC, was a lil bit of a slub but got decent mileage on the hwy, sucked in the city though, hwy gears.

Just get the eng and trans, should bolt right up to a sbc mount. you might need a 73-87 sbc mount.

[FLDBRED]

Yes you could do it,but I think it would be over worked! It is only 262 cu. in.,I don't think it would be to long before you were looking for more power.

[67k5]

Have 88 4.3 with 5 speed in my 67 short step. Works good.Only problem was addapting the computor for TBI.
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[ChevLoRay]

Early 4.3's in Astro vans (1985-6) came with Q-Jet 4-bbl carbs.

[ubtripn]

Awesome informatin all, thx! When my 350 goes I think I may do this. Especially if some came with carbs.

[GASoline71]

Don't expect to get any better gas mileage than you had with the 350. It'll be workin' it's butt off to haul these big ol' heavy rigs around.

Gary

[Tx Firefighter]

There was a guy on the ebay awhile back selling brand new 4 barrel intake manifolds for 4.3 engines dirt cheap. They were new pull off intakes from Mercruiser boat engines. That would be a real easy way of getting a cheap intake. Seems like they were selling for like 40 bucks.

I don't poo poo on the idea of a V6 in a full size truck. At 262 cubic inches, it's larger than the common inline 6 engine and nearly as large as the beloved 283 that powered so many GM cars and trucks.

[67k5]

No problem with power,308 gears 55 ser tires,exselent on fuel.thougt of useing a carb, but wanted to try TBI.
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[dajn]

I have an 86 chevy 1/2 ton with a four speed that came with a carburated 4.3 liter engine. It was extremely gutless and got poor gas mileage. top end speed was 85 mph. after that engine gave out, I put a 305 in it and it now gets the same or better mileage and it has way more power. no comparison. put a 305 in it if you want to gain a little mileage over a 350. maybe a newer 4.3 would be the way to go. I'm not sure. they have more power and are maybe a little better on gas than the 4.3 I had in my 86. by the way, that 4.3 in my 86 only made it to 150000 miles.

[pugs]

hell i had a couple of 85-86 lwb 1/2 tons with the carbed 4.3 and ran perfectly fine for me even with hauling and towing other vehicles with it. one was a 3 ott the other had a 400 th, both with 273 gears and got about 20 just around town and back and forth to work which is all winding back roads.

[dajn]

my 5.3 vortec gets 16 with city driving and can get 18plus if I am on the interstate. If you think it is worth sacrificing 100-150 horse to gain maybe two miles per gallon (if your lucky) than by all means you should do it. I could see it being worth it for some situations but to me it is not worth it. 305 or a 5.3 vortec would be the ticket in my opinion. I like 350's but I understand why you want a change.

[TrkEnvy]

Speaking of the 4.3, I have always wanted to see a syclone drivetrain in one of these trucks.. That would be so sweet. Or maybe a GN motor and a 200r4 hmmmm

[special-K]

There's a member here who has a very tasteful little Stepside with a 4.3 and o/d who gets 20 mpg and it runs along just fine. 2-3 miles better per gallon better comes out to 40-60 more miles to the tank which,at $4.00 a gallon,equals $8-12 +/- per tank savings. In my mind,if you are choosing a motor for better mileage it is a good choice for actually saving money,since how much you spend on motor to save money on gas has to be considered. It just comes down to if more horsepower is important to you then stay V8. But,installing a 6cyl in one of these trucks is far from an abortion.

[ubtripn]

I agree, to each their own. I just liked my 4.3 a lot, a heck of a lot. Although I couldn't find the oil filter for about an hour on the first change. Turned out my hand was resting on it. They put right up on the inside of the fender with hoses running to the engine. (Thinking about modding my 350 to do that) What a GREAT idea, it made it so much easier to change the filter, normally the engineers do the opposite and make things harder. I am really considering a 4.3 someday. Thx SpecialK and TX Firefighter for the information. I wonder if throttlebody fuel injection would be a good comprimise between full injection or full carburation? Oh well, that day is a ways down the road.

As for the abortion comment, in my world what is right is defined by what I want when it comes to my truck. I respect stock but I modify as well for my tastes. My 66 is all stock though since it came with the 327 4 on the floor and all the chrome. A guy once put it best to me once when he said, we all have a right to do what we want within our own limits. Example, my right to throw a punch ends where your nose begins." I laughed but he was right.

[brad_man_72]

I'd also go the 5.3 route. My 5.3 c10 gets about the same mielage pulling my boat as my 4.3 got in my 96 s10 empty.
then again I also think the stock fullsize with a 4.3 is gutless, and a 2.2 in a s10 is insanity. I'd love for gm to make a colorado w a 4.8 or 5.3 option.

[ChevLoRay]

My '96 GMC SWB Sportside runs a 4.3/4L60E. It weighs in around 3800 lbs, which is about what my '69 SWB Chevy weighs. I tow a 2000lb popup with it. My GMC has 3:42 gears, where the '69 has 3:23's.

I've seen a bunch of '55-56 Chevy's running 265's do some serious road work.

I also know a guy who ran a dirt track car that had a 4.3 block, 229 heads and other "modifications" that made it all work, and he gave the V8's more than they wanted. He was protested numerous times, but never found to be illegal.

You can make any engine run, if you know how and have enough money.

[Shaky]

There were two recent threads about this - one in this forum and one in the 60-66 forum. You might wanna search around a little bit...

[Clyde65]

Brad_Mann, they do put a 5.3 in a Colorado!

http://www.chevrolet.com/colorado/

[brad_man_72]

[QUOTE=Clyde65;4661961]Brad_Mann, they do put a 5.3 in a Colorado!

[url]

i-4 and available 3.7 liter i-5 is all I could find on that site. So I googled it and saw that apparently you can or at least cold get a vc colorado. I learn something new everyday. Thanks

[1LoC10]

[quote=brad_man_72;4662131]

Originally Posted by Clyde65

Brad_Mann, they do put a 5.3 in a Colorado!

[url]

i-4 and available 3.7 liter i-5 is all I could find on that site. So I googled it and saw that apparently you can or at least cold get a vc colorado. I learn something new everyday. Thanks

just click the build your own button, its right there at the bottome 5.3 3LT

[406 Q-ship]

Ask yourself how long will it take to recover the cost of the swap from the 350 (way better than ANY 305 for MPG) to the 4.3 TPI. Yes, there were Q-jeted 4.3 in vans, fullsized pickups (before 87), and cars. The 305's small bore makes the 350 a better mileage engine, everytime I have dumped the 305 for a 350 the added torque made that vehicle drive so much better, less throttle equalled better around town mileage. If your 350 gets poor mileage then work on the tune up, check the EPA mileage difference between a 5.0 truck and a 5.7, it is like 1 or 1 MPG. You could go the lower cost route by tuning up the 350, along with adding a vacuum gauge, then some careful throttle application will give great dividends for little to cash outlay.

[edhtrd71]

Do it. These trucks really arent that heavy depending on options. I like seeing different builds. The 4.3 is a good engine, still used in the new body style trucks. Use the fuel injection and overdrive trans with 3.42s or 3.73s depending on your driving style. I bet you will get pretty good mileage and performance.

[stich626]

a 4.3 with a 700r4 or the 4e60 and 3.42 gears will get up and go, and get good mpg..
dropping it in a old truck with a th350 and 3,08 gears it be a dog..

[Hubscrub]

Do whatever makes you happy don't be like me and regret stuff like i do i changed my inline over to a 350 and sometimes i hate that i did.