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Thread: Chevrolet S10 S50 Powered

  1. #1
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    Chevrolet S10 S50 Powered

    I have many questions and would love to get input from as many people as possible!!

    My friend has this crazy idea of putting an M50/52 or S50/52 into and s10 and turbocharging it. His initial thought process was to get a square body base model S10 (single cab swb) and swap in the BMW engine along with a ZF 5 speed. He wanted it to be a fun little shop truck. He also would want to do a 4 link in the rear and lower it and basically make it into a track truck instead of a drag truck which seems to be the common route most S10 owners go.

    I've done some research and I've found a couple trucks where they 2JZ swapped them, so curious on everyone's thoughts.

    Any idea on the best solution for wiring? Stand alone? Would a solid one piece driveshaft put too much stress on the transmission? any other concerns?

    Thanks!

  2. #2
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    I’m actually finishing up this exact kind of swap, just an M54/ZF in a 67’ C30 but swap is about the same process. Wiring you can use the donor vehicles wiring harness if you’re good with some basic wiring. For the driveshaft you’re going to have to have one made with a slip yoke built in. My truck is a 2 piece shaft anyways with the slip yoke at the rear, but on something short like an S10 you’ll have one made with the slip built into it and run the solid guibo adapter with the ujoint flange.

  3. #3
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    Nice! I actually glanced over your post before I made this one and thought it looked really cool!

    Does the M54 not need very many wires to make it run? The wiring is going to be the hard part. I figured a driveshaft shop could build the driveshaft to length pretty easy but wasn't sure if a solid or two piece would be better. It would probably stay NA for a while so I don't think anything really needs beefed up to begin with.

  4. #4
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    It’d definitely need to be a slip shaft...the ZF has a solid flange and so will your rear axle. If it was independent rear suspension you’d be fine with a solid one piece but since the S10 has a solid axle, the up and down motion of the rear suspension will change the required length of the driveshaft throughout its travel. Without a slip yoke somewhere in the driveline it’ll just break something. The M54 actually uses more wiring than an early non-vanos engine but really they are all fairly similar in general on what they need to run. You’d have to decide if you’re going OBD-1 or OBD-2, and go from there. But best bet (dollar wise at least) is to buy a whole donor car with the motor you want and go from there. Can sell what you don’t need afterwards to make money back. The wiring really isn’t as bad as you think, but I’ve done a ton of engine conversions over the years so wiring doesn’t scare me. I’ll be boosting my M54 after it’s up and running (hopefully in the next week or two) and I finish my other projects lol.

  5. #5
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    I think ideally it would be OBD2 so the engine could be diagnosed easily. Makes sense on the driveshaft.

    I keep looking at "Dirty Love" 2JZ swapped s10 and gosh they did so much work to that thing

  6. #6
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    Have your friend take a deep breath, then punch himself in the balls, lol! He needs to do something like this, instead of shoehorning a low hp straight six into an S10. Lots of donor cars available for a swap like this, without all the headache of trying to do a BMW engine swap. The creator of this one rebuilt an LT-1 to LT-4 specs, bolted up to a T56 manual trans.



    He could install a set of dual MBZ fans like this if he wants some German pedigree to the truck, lol! These fans are operated by a switch on the dash, independent of the puller fan on the other side, which wasn't doing that great of a job keeping things cool. These fans push a LOT of air, and the beauty of this dual fan setup is only one fan is powered, the other fan is driven by a belt off the powered fan, so not that much of an add'l load on the electrical system. German engineering at its finest!


    Seats from a Cobalt SS fit perfectly, gave the truck an original-looking factory interior. This truck looked completely stock on the inside, to include the gauge cluster, so no A-pillar gauges, no extra gauges on the dash or console, no funky steering wheel, etc.




    Last edited by krab03; 02-04-2021 at 09:27 PM.
    Robert
    1999 323i E36 convertible (black, black top, tan interior)
    Newport News, VA

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by krab03 View Post
    Have your friend take a deep breath, then punch himself in the balls, lol! He needs to do something like this, instead of shoehorning a low hp straight six into an S10. Lots of donor cars available for a swap like this, without all the headache of trying to do a BMW engine swap. The creator of this one rebuilt an LT-1 to LT-4 specs, bolted up to a T56 manual trans.



    He could install a set of dual MBZ fans like this if he wants some German pedigree to the truck, lol! These fans are operated by a switch on the dash, independent of the puller fan on the other side, which wasn't doing that great of a job keeping things cool. These fans push a LOT of air, and the beauty of this dual fan setup is only one fan is powered, the other fan is driven by a belt off the powered fan, so not that much of an add'l load on the electrical system. German engineering at its finest!


    Seats from a Cobalt SS fit perfectly, gave the truck an original-looking factory interior. This truck looked completely stock on the inside, to include the gauge cluster, so no A-pillar gauges, no extra gauges on the dash or console, no funky steering wheel, etc.




    Lol. What a money pit! Great jon though

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sleepyhead97 View Post
    Lol. What a money pit! Great jon though
    What do you think a bmw swapped non bmw is... low powered money pit.. want more power.. money pit x2
    2006 X5 L83 5.3 6l80 swapped in progress
    1999 528i 5.7L 4l60e swapped w/ 31 spline 8.8 cobra diff
    2007 ZX-10r - sold
    1987 R-10 SWB L83 5.3L 6L80e swapped

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by krab03 View Post
    These fans push a LOT of air, and the beauty of this dual fan setup is only one fan is powered, the other fan is driven by a belt off the powered fan, so not that much of an add'l load on the electrical system. German engineering at its finest!

    You don't really think that the load on the electrical system is altered by the way that the other fan is powered, do you?
    Diving in at the shallow end!

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by modular93fox View Post
    What do you think a bmw swapped non bmw is... low powered money pit.. want more power.. money pit x2

    Im glad I’ve got like no money in my swap then lol.
    1967 Chevy C30 Rat Rod- M54B30/ZF swap
    1995 Subaru Impreza Coupe- 6.0/PG, 8.8 Conversion
    1987 Chrysler Conquest- Forged G54B, GT3076, MS2
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    2015 BMW X5- wife’s toy, N55, Berger Intake, ER catless dp, MHD tuned

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by modular93fox View Post
    What do you think a bmw swapped non bmw is... low powered money pit.. want more power.. money pit x2
    Same ... Another money pit !

  12. #12
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    He's wanting to do something unique to be able to stand out and hopefully start a new business. The easy swap would be a small block or Ls motor, but he loves BMWs like I do and the S10 would be a cheaper platform than other BMWs.

    To be fair, Every car you "build" is a money pit, so it's really all up to the individual and what "style" they prefer. There's no right or wrong way to "build" something unique, but there are definitely easier ways to get there and more common paths.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by motorV8ed View Post
    You don't really think that the load on the electrical system is altered by the way that the other fan is powered, do you?
    I'll admit I know little to nothing about automotive electrical systems. But I would think that if only one of those two 11" MBZ fans requires power to operate, then it would require less of an electrical load than if both fans required power, yes? I installed those dual fans with a relay, just to be safe, operated by a manual switch on the dash with the same or higher amp rating. But again, wouldn't one fan require less power than two?
    Last edited by krab03; 02-05-2021 at 10:02 AM.
    Robert
    1999 323i E36 convertible (black, black top, tan interior)
    Newport News, VA

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by krab03 View Post
    I'll admit I know little to nothing about automotive electrical systems. But I would think that if only one of those two 11" MBZ fans requires power to operate, then it would require less of an electrical load than if both fans required power, yes? I installed those dual fans with a relay, just to be safe, operated by a manual switch on the dash with the same or higher amp rating. But again, wouldn't one fan require less power than two?
    No, the motor just has to work twice as hard, and pull double the amps. Two motors would actually be more efficient due to losses through the belt. No such thing as free energy.

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