The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 4 Cylinder swap advice - Please help!

I am going to throw this out to your vast knowledge and experience. I am soon to begin an amateur teardown/rebuild of my late grandfather's 46 half ton 216 into a (hopefully) reliable daily driver that can make safe minimum roadway speeds while bing reasonable on gas. I am curious if anyone has attempted a downsize swap of the 216 for a fourbanger like the GM 2.5 liter distributorless and fuel injected 4 found in the S10. I would probably find a donor and transplant the entire driveline engine to rearend. This may be heresy, but it is still Chevy, is easy to get parts for and simple and longlasting to maintain. I would greatly appreciate any opinions or direction you all could provide. I have owned this truck for 15 years and it has resided next to my father's garage up in Virginia since then. I am going up there to get it next month. Thank you all again for your time and advice. - Chris

It,s interesting. It would be sluggish but would have more power then the old 216. The S-10 runs pretty good with it. It would take a lot of weight off the front end & make the truck steer easier. I,d shure want to go with the manual trans. You would need to use an electric fan because the space between the front of the engine to the radiator would be awkward for a shroud & fan extension.

I am installing a 4 cylinder in my 48 2 ton.
It is 212ci 185 hp and 435 lbft stock. I still exepct to use it like a truck.

Grigg

How about the 5 cylinder from a Colorado?

I would use a megasquirt fuel injection system, but I like to tinker.

You may find that a bigger engine geared tall gives you better gas milage than the 2.5, but maybe not. A half ton AD only weighs 3800 pounds.

If I was going outside the GM engine family I would probably do a BMW six.

Well, he was looking for something different right?

Diesel's have so many advantages over gas.
There are very few good arguments for a gas engine today, especially for a truck.
In a few years I think diesel engines will be all you see.

Grigg

If you were going to try the 3.5 5 cylinder Colorado engine, you would be better off going for the 4.5 6 cylinder from the Trailblazer/Envoy. That 5 cylinder is underpowered, even compared to the old 4 cylider S10. I've measured the 4.2 (Parents have an Envoy), and it measures pretty close overall to the 216/235. I think it'ld be worth it to get the extra power, especially since you would have to make the same mods either way.

I once saw a '59 Ford pickup that had a Vega four under the hood. The owner claimed it ran well and was pleasant to drive.

I prefer to overpower my trucks so I'm the wrong one to ask about this. The truck I drive most has a 454.

Hope this doesn't get me banned from the forum but if you can do all the swapping it sounds like you can do then I'd consider the 2.3 turbo ford 4 cylinder. They would make a heavy T-bird turbo coupe really scoot and turbocharging is the one thing that gives both more power and better economy. An engine supercharged in any way really gets a boost in torque. There are other turbo 4's around but most were for front wheel drive.

If I was looking to stick a non-GM engine under the hood of an old pickup, I'd be looking at a Mercedes 300D engine (either the 5 or 6 cylinder) with transmission. Like Grigg said, diesels have a lot of advantages over a gas engine.

Willy

i think if you were going to do it i would just mount the cab on the s-10 truck and get wheels to fit but why i like stock better but its your truck

I truly appreciate all of the advice and counsel. I am still thinking through what course to follow with the 46, and I will surely be seeking more ideas in the upcoming months and probably years as the work begins. To Mr. McCoy, about a year after I got the truck in '93 or so, I almost dropped $200 for a good running but very, very rusted out 1964 Mercedes with a clean and smooth running dual carb inline six and 4 on the tree. Almost prophetic, i thought about the engine, tranny, and steering column with that big white steering wheel in the truck, but I was young, recently divorced and not quite ready to tackle the job. Again, I appreciate everyone's input, and will definitely seek it out all over the forum page. - Chris

Why not just bolt in a 250 or 292? How many miles are you going to be driving it a year? Why look for the "ultimate" mileage? Won't a 250 or 292 get you "good enough" moleage still maintaining some power to pull a trailer or something if you need to?
Easy to maintain? Chris, there has NEVER been a motor easier to maintain than a stovebolt Chevy six! There have neen equals, but never anything easier.

Brian

I'm not sure a turbocharged gas motor is going to get better gas milage than a normally aspirated one.

If you really want good fuel economy then dump the carburator, fuel inject the engine you have, and gear it really tall.